Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told the Japanese press that the next XBox console will be ready to launch in 2006. Although he did not specify whether the same date applies for the rest of the world it is easy to assume, given Microsoft's love of global launches, that 2006 could be the year everyone sees XBox Next. This announcement seems to push the console back from original analyst expectations which suggested it would be launched in early 2005.
During the same Japanese interview Ballmer tried to explain what Microsoft are doing in order to overcome the, rather, dismal performance of their console in that market. According to the MS CEO the acquisition of Sega is not part of the plan to make XBox more appealing to Japanese consumers. He did however, claim that a variety of new services, specifically targeted at Japanese gamers, were being considered and would soon be introduced in order to alleviate Japanese fears of an XBox disaster.
Europe
The Japanese efforts are bound to be followed up by a more persistant European marketing campaign since XBox is also struggling in that continent. Microsoft announced that
it had signed up 50,000 European customers to its Xbox Live Internet service in the first three months, a sign that online gaming is a harder sell in Europe.
Online gaming is considered an important emerging market for video game publishers and console makers but all predictions rely on a steady rate of new gamers signing on to services offering multiplayer action.
Both Microsoft and Sony have managed to impress by totaling over one million subscribers in the U.S. since launching online gaming services in Q3 and Q4 of 2002.
The initial success of these services in the U.S. however, was not matched by Europe. Since launching XBox Live, in mid-March, Microsoft have managed to sign-up a mere 50,000 European gamers across most of Western Europe. In order to expand their online service, Microsoft plan to launch Xbox Live in a further eight countries worldwide by the end of 2003, including the European markets of Austria, Denmark and Ireland.
Sony are also facing the same problems in Europe and according to them the company had signed up 3,000 UK gamers since launching its online service on June 11. The service will also launch in Germany, France and Spain.
Microsoft intends to have 100 Xbox Live game titles by Q2 of 2004, five times the number of titles currently available in Europe.
Nintendo's GameCube console, which is competing against XBox for second place, will stay out of the online gaming sector until broadband usage reaches mass market levels.
