Microsoft says there's 1 million more Xbox 360s in homes across Europe, but according to our research, their numbers don't add up.
In a conversation with UK magazine MCV, Microsoft's regional director boss Chris Lewis said that the Xbox 360 is leading the PS3 across Europe, with the Xbox 360 having sold 1 million consoles more.
"We're confident we're actually around one million units ahead. We count install base differently to them," Chris said.
"We count the number of units in the hands of consumers. We are committed to continuing that momentum - not only in places like the UK, France and Germany. Continued growth in all parts of Europe is integral to winning overall."
So are Microsoft's numbers accurate? We wanted to know for sure, so we delved into the task of finding out for ourselves. What we found however, was not only does Microsoft not lead in Europe, Sony is actually ahead by 1.5 million units.
Our research places the PS3 ahead by a good margin. As of August 14th, 2009, Microsoft sold 9 million Xbox 360s across Europe, and as of August 11th, 2009, there were 10 million PS3s in European homes. The PS3 Slim offically launched on September 1st, 2009, however as soon as the newly redesigned 120GB PS3 Slim was announced on August 18th, 2009, the existing models got a price cut of $100.00 effective immediately after the announcement, sending sales of said models significantly higher across the board.
From the US to Europe to Japan, the PS3 Slim has dominated sales charts and in the first month of availability, Sony's flagship console went on to sell 1 million units world wide, with almost half of them in Europe. It's not difficult math at all, in fact, if Microsoft does not revise their strategy, the Xbox 360 will be facing a blowout in Europe against the PS3 in the coming months and years.
10/12/09 Ernice Gilbert
