Ballmer: PS3's Slip is Our Gain

[Josh]

[b]Ballmer: PS3's Slip is Our Gain[/b]
[i]by James Brightman [/i]

[size=1]Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer couldn't be happier with the recent news of the PS3 delay. From his standpoint, the slip gives MS just the opportunity it needs to make Xbox 360 the top console worldwide.[/size]

While Microsoft Game Studios General Manager Shane Kim played it cool in a recent interview, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is clearly on the offensive. In speaking with Fortune magazine, Ballmer said that he believes the delay of Sony's PlayStation 3 gives Microsoft just the edge it needs to propel the Xbox 360 to the top of the console gaming world.

Some analysts have predicted that Microsoft could ship 10 million Xbox 360 units by the end of this year (although that forecast has been scaled back by some in light of the shortages). To Ballmer, though, 10 million is a milestone that could make all the difference in the next-gen race.

"In every other generation, the first guy to 10 million consoles was the number one seller in the generation," he said. "Did we just get an even better opportunity to be the first guy to 10 million? Yeah, of course we did."

But the question is: can MS reach that 10 million mark this year? Currently, they've shipped barely more than 1 million in North America, with a worldwide total close to 2 million. MS insists that it's still on track to sell 5 million consoles by June, though, and their recent addition of a third manufacturing plant (Celestica) should certainly help. "We're sort-of on track," said Ballmer, "though it would've been nice at Christmas to have [had] one for everyone who wanted one."

The push to reach 10 million won't affect their manufacturing plans it seems. MS claims that production is already moving as fast as it can go. "We've been saying 'make them faster' before yesterday," said Ballmer.

Ballmer also played down the effect that Blu-ray or HD DVD might have on the next-gen battle. "Sony's going to try and define that as a fundamental battleground, but I don't think it is a fundamental battleground," he said. "I don't care whether it's Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, there's not going to be a lot of content in either format this year."

Now that the world knows when the PS3 will launch, MS needs to strike while it still has the time. "It's not going to be that way forever, but we're clearly in the phase where it's about how fast we can make them," Ballmer said.

As the year progresses, MS intends to make "major pushes" in regions of the world that the original Xbox didn't fare as well in, such as France, Italy, Spain and Japan.

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