Microsoft Corp expects to sell more Xbox 360 consoles in 2008 than in 2007, with Europe standing out as a key battleground for dominance in the $30 billion video game industry.
In Japan, where the Xbox 360 has far lagged Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3, Microsoft expects recent and upcoming games from popular Japanese designers to boost sales.
"We will sell more consoles next year than this year," Jeff Bell, head of global marketing for Microsoft's games business, told Reuters in an interview.
"We don't want to trade places with anybody," Bell said.
He said that the Xbox 360 was strong in Britain and was gaining market share in France and Germany, but that Sony had also been lifted in Europe by a recent price cut for the PS3.
"Europe for us is still the swing," Bell said. "The biggest challenge is that Sony as a brand has had greater staying power than in other areas. Not just PlayStation 3, but Sony as a brand," Bell said.
Microsoft had seen some retailers sell out of its high-end Elite model of the Xbox 360, as well as of the Arcade version. In the United States, the Elite sells for $450 and the Arcade for $280, with a Pro model also offered at $350.
Microsoft sold nearly 3.4 million Xbox 360 units in the United States through the end of November, according to market research firm NPD. Worldwide, Microsoft has sold more than 13 million Xbox 360s since its Nov. 2005 launch.
Bell, a marketing executive at car maker Chrysler before joining Microsoft last year, said his auto experience came in useful when juggling different models of gaming hardware.
"From my prior perspective of dealing with 20 automobile models and 100 markets and dozens of variations, I don't think three (models) is a tremendous amount of complexity," Bell said.
"Is it perfect? No. Are we learning and adapting? Yes," Bell said.
Asked if Microsoft was benefiting from Nintendo's ongoing shortage of Wii machines, which cost $250, Bell said: "Sometimes you're good, sometimes you're lucky, and it's wonderful when you're both."
Bell also took a dig at Nintendo, referring to an industry perception that independent video game publishers have not enjoyed great success on the Wii so far, in part because Nintendo's own offerings are so strong.
"Clearly, we have a competitor where they win and no one else wins. That is not sustainable, it's never been sustainable," Bell said.
Nintendo's U.S. president, Reggie Fils-Aime, told Reuters earlier this week that perception was misguided, and he pointed to recent market data showing that 60 percent of Wii game sales in November came from outside publishers.
Bell also said Microsoft was sticking with the HD-DVD high-definition disc format that is a rival to Sony's Blu-ray technology used in the PlayStation 3.
"We don't have all our eggs in one basket but in classic Microsoft fashion we are committed to all those baskets," Bell said. "If you can find a partner in the HD-DVD alliance that would say anything other than Microsoft has been committed in good times and bad times, I would be surprised."
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