Xbox goes platinum!
by VGLN Staff

Sunday, December 9, 2001

Microsoft announced today that they have officially shipped 1 million Xbox units to retailers across North America

REDMOND, Wash. -- Dec. 9, 2001 -- Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft® Xbox™ video game system has surpassed the 1 million mark in shipments, with 1.1 million units "sold-in" to retailers. These sell-in results build on the spectacular Xbox sell-through rate for the system’s first two weeks of launch.

At the same time, Xbox games have been selling in record numbers. On average, gamers are purchasing several first- and third-party Xbox games every time they buy an Xbox. The most popular games to date include "Halo™," "Project Gotham Racing™" and "NFL™ Fever 2002" from Microsoft, as well as "Dead or Alive 3™" from Tecmo, Electronic Arts’ "Madden NFL™ 2002" and Activision, Inc.’s "Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater™ 2x."

"Since the launch, Xbox has driven tens of thousands of gamers into our stores," said Dan DeMatteo, president of GameStop Inc. "Each Xbox shipment we receive sells out immediately, but the great news for gamers is that we’re getting new Xbox systems multiple times each week."

"We’re very pleased with the consumer response to Xbox, having surpassed the 1 million mark at breakneck speed," said Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer at Microsoft. "This substantiates our belief that gamers would make Xbox one of the hottest gifts for the holidays."

Microsoft plans to ship at least 300,000 additional units into North American retailers through the end of year, putting the system on target with Microsoft’s goal of delivering 1 million to 1.5 million units for the calendar year. Xbox is the only system being manufactured in close proximity to U.S. retailers, accelerating the manufacturer-to-retailer cycle.

About Xbox

Xbox is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in North America at the estimated retail price of $299.99.* More information on Xbox can be found at http://www.xbox.com/.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.