Microsoft has announced the XBox sales figures for the quarter that ended in June 2003. During that time, it sold more Xbox video game consoles than it had first expected but the company claims that a price cut in mid-may played only a small part. The decision to reduce the XBox price from USD 199 to USD 179 was sudden and a direct result of Sony's move to cut the PlayStation 2 price to USD 179 from USD 199.

Microsoft chose not ot release the specific sales figures for the cosole but said its Home and Entertainment division, which is primarily the Xbox operations, saw its revenue rise by 8 per cent in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Following this new information, it would seem that XBox has established itself as number 2 in the Console Wars although the leader, PS2, continues to maintain a very large lead. Sony's console has an estimated U.S. installed base of 17.7 million units.

Since the launch of Xbox in 2001, Microsoft has sold over 9.4 million Xbox consoles worldwide, and by the end of the next fiscal year, Microsoft expects to have sold 14.5 to 16.0 million consoles. In addition, Xbox Live continued to gain momentum with over 500,000 subscribers worldwide participating in more than 1 million game sessions every week. There will be over 400 Xbox titles available for the 2003 holiday season, and there are several highly anticipated games coming out this fiscal year, including Halo 2 and the sequel to the successful Project Gotham Racing expected this fall.

The majority of the installed base to date, 6.2 million units, is in North America, with 2.2 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 1 million in the Asia-Pacific region, which is primarily the Japanese market. Microsoft admits that XBox is struggling in Japan.

The average number of games sold per console, is about 5.4:1 in the United States and 5:1 globally as of June 30, Microsoft said.