Midway concerned at Xbox 360 Euro "lagging"

Midway's VP of International, Martin Spiess, has told GamesIndustry.biz that he finds the Xbox 360's performance in some countries in Europe "concerning", noting that it is "lagging behind" the other consoles.

Speaking in an interview at Games Convention in Leipzig, Spiess was answering a question about the progression of Europe as a market, and what Midway's perspective was.

"I think for us it's a blend of three factors," he explained. "Currency is one of them, then when I started Europe was under-developed, so basically we have more than doubled our share of business by implementing better practices, finding better people.

"The line-up also is a line-up that is more globally appealing than it was before - historically it was very US-centric, so that helps a lot," he added.

He went on to talk about Europe in comparison to the US, and noted that while the US was still dominant, Europe could grow - although that growth was hindered by a sluggish Microsoft performance.

"I don't know what it's like for other companies, but the market is not as big as the US market, so naturally we have lower attachment rates," he said.

"But it could be growing to the same size as the US - the only problem we have right now is that we see in certain territories Microsoft is lagging behind.

"Sony has become very strong, Nintendo has become very strong, but the Microsoft market in certain territories is concerning."

The full interview with Martin Spiess, as well as interim CEO and president Matt Booty, is available now.