Microsoft expects strong Xbox 360 sales

Microsoft is anticipating strong sales of the Xbox 360 throughout 2008, according to Alan Bowman, the corporation's general manager for entertainment and devices in the Asia Pacific and Greater China region.

In an interview with Dow Jones, reported on Morningstar, Bowman points a general trend for consumers to continue purchasing home entertainment goods despite problematic economic conditions - and believes that this will see Microsoft bucking any wider slowdown.

He added that high-definition content would be a factor: "If people are going to buy HDTVs, they're going to want to put content through that," he said - although Sony's PlayStation 3 also plays high-definition games and includes a Blu-ray player.

Bowman also claimed that Microsoft was "selling everything we could make" in the last three months of 2007, and went on to compare the console's attach rate, noting that the value of games and accessories sales was 2.5 times higher than the Wii and 3.5 times higher than the PlayStation 3 in the US.

The Xbox Live Video Marketplace was also discussed, with Bowman confident that the service - now available to 10 million Live users - would prove an effective method for distributing films and TV programmes.

He also said that Microsoft was trying to work with a number of parties throughout Asia on games that would prove more attractive to the region, although according to the report he declined to offer specific targets for 2008.

Sales of the Xbox 360 currently lag far behind its rivals in Japan - according to Media Create it has sold 536,702 units to date, while the PS3 has sold 1.86 million and the Wii has shifted 5.16 million.

Earlier this month Electronic Arts predicted that the PlayStation 3 would sell 9.5-11.5 million units across North America and Europe, while it expected the Xbox 360 to sell just 6-8 million.