Xbox sales target lowered
Microsoft admits sales are falling short of expectations
Despite the recently announced price cut here in Europe, Microsoft have confirmed that Xbox sales will fall short of their initial targets. Originally the plan was to shift between 4.5m and 6m units by the end of June but, according to a report from Reuters, Microsoft has now lowered that figure to a more attainable 3.5m to 4m. Although the Xbox got off to a great start in the USA, sales have fallen behind those of the GameCube in recent weeks, and the Japanese and European launches have both proven disappointing. Next week's dramatic price cut should help to revitalise the Xbox's fortunes in Europe, but it has a lot of lost ground to catch up on. "This reflects the ongoing weakness in Japan and accounts for many weeks of sales opportunities lost in Europe while we were at the higher price", Microsoft CFO John Connors admitted. "[But] if we execute well, we think we can end [June] 2003 with an installed base of between nine and eleven million consoles." Related Feature - Microsoft confirms price cut