Xbox 360 shortages will end soon, says Moore

Microsoft's Peter Moore has announced that Xbox 360 shortages should soon be at an end, stating: "Within the next four to six weeks, anybody will be able to walk into a store and buy an Xbox 360."

Moore's comments came as part of his keynote speech at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas. He attributed the stock supply problems to component shortages, adding that these issues have now been resolved.

"Now we're starting to cook. We're building a vibrant, rich and profitable business model for the future," Moore said.

He admitted that the problems were also caused in part by the fact that the console launched in North America, Europe and Japan almost simultaneously, but said while this strategy was controversial, "It was the right decision."

"It's what we needed to do to bring next-gen gaming to a global audience. There have been short-term shortages, but we're driving a clear advantage as we go forward," Moore said.

He went on to highlight the success of the Xbox Live service, stating that more than four million pieces of content have been downloaded since launch. While only 10 per cent of original Xbox owners have used the service, 54 per cent of Xbox 360 owners have connected to Xbox Live - and Microsoft intends to "maintain that all the way through Xbox 360's life cycle."

Moore also said that Xbox Live Arcade, which he billed as "The Sundance of independent games," has proved extremely popular with Xbox 360 owners. So far there have been 2 million downloads, and more than 35 per cent of gamers who downloaded the playable demo for Geometry Wars went on to buy the full game - an impressive statistic, said Moore.

"Nothing normally converts from sample to purchase at a rate of 35 percent. It's proof positive that we are dragging gaming into the online era."