Xbox 360 to hit 2m in UK "next week"

The Xbox 360 is on course to record 2 million sales in the UK next week, according to Chart-Track.

Boosted by the recent official price cut and bumper Easter sales period, Microsoft's console hits the milestone in the midst of a fierce scrap with Sony's rival PlayStation 3 in the key European territory.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Dorian Bloch, director of UK sales monitor Chart-Track, said: "We are very close to clocking through 2 million 360s in the UK. It should be next week."

The Xbox 360 launched in the UK in December 2005 and reached 1 million sales after 60 weeks. Sony announced that PlayStation 3, which launched in the UK last March, had sold through 1 million units by February of this year. According to Microsoft, the Xbox 360 has sold around 18 million units worldwide since launch.

Following price reductions to all three models of the Xbox 360 across Europe, GamesIndustry.biz revealed that 360 enjoyed a 40 per cent uplift in sales within the first weekend after the cut.

After a further leap over the Easter weekend, Bloch said sales dropped by 11 per cent for week 13, while PS3 enjoyed a jump of 14 per cent, coinciding with the launch of the heavily advertised Gran Turismo 5: Prologue hardware bundle. Microsoft was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.

"The Xbox 360 is extremely well liked in the UK and very strong," added Bloch. "Sony has a long way to go to overtake it in the UK."