CSFB clarifies sales battle
Sony in the lead, but not by a long way
The CSFB has finally produced independent sales estimates, which give a good picture of the console industry in the United States since the launch of Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube. According to the report, Sony leads console sales by a hair's breadth, having sold 962,000 PlayStation 2 consoles between November 11 and December 8. Meanwhile, Microsoft have sold 934,000 Xbox consoles since November 15th, and GameCube may only have sold 602,000 since its launch date the 18th. In a separate release, Sony claims to have sold a staggering 1.5 million PlayStation 2 units since Thanksgiving week, giving them a total of 6.5 million since the launch of the console in October 2000. Nintendo on the other hand claimed sales of over 800,000 units, and said it would "ship 1.3 million units by Christmas," as it continues to restock retailers at the rate of 100,000 units a week. Microsoft took over where the others left off, with spokesman David Hufford's rather embarrassing "Xbox has caught fire since launch," leading to all sorts of amusing quips about campfires in the new housing extension and covering of ventilation holes. Microsoft has invested $500 million in advertising the Xbox. Presumably they have no money left to vet their press comments for this sort of thing. Related Feature - Everyone's A Winner