360 Passes The 5 Million Mark in Europe, Continent Divided

by John Kershaw on June 26, 2008 at 11:03 pm

Contries not actially divided
I know I forgot to colour in Estonia and Greece. You get the idea.

The Xbox 360 has now passed the landmark sales figure of 5 million units sold across Europe, a figure reached by the PS3 nearly 2 months ago. Regardless, Microsoft insist they are ahead in sales.

Before you start getting confused because everybody is saying contradictory things, remember, these are PR people. Sales figures are never very accurate for many reasons, and even if they are, you will never see a breakdown of numbers to find out what they really mean.

With that in mind, David Gosen, the European VP of strategic marketing for interactive entertainment at Microsoft, told MCV that the Xbox has now sold “well over” five million units across Europe.

He also went on to dash claims by analysts who have said that this Christmas season will see the dominance of the PS3 saying that “anyone trying to call a winner this Christmas is calling too early”. He went on to say that “contrary to what’s been reported we are at least, if not more than, three quarters of a million ahead of PS3.”

Further hammering home of his message, if needed, comes in his response to industry analysts who have said that sales of the Xbox are slowing dramatically. Gosen said that his message to them “is to check their numbers”.

So I did. Granted, vgChartz are never the most reliable source of industry sales figures, but they do give at least some indication to the state of the main consoles. The 360 is selling fine, no wall to report on.

However, I did discover few more interesting facts. The Hardware Sales From Launch graph shows that the total sales between the PS3 and the 360 are basically the same right now in Europe, give or take a few tens of thousands. Even though the 360 launched a year before the PS3.

Looking at the Weekly Hardware Sales Chart paints a much bleaker picture for the Xbox in Europe, showing the PS3 has outsold its rival every month, consistently, since last September.

What do you think, are these numbers enough to convince you we are likely to be seeing a blu-ray Christmas, or does Microsoft have something planned to turn the tables back on Sony?

Source: MCV

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