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Microsoft sees up to 3 mln early Xbox 360 sales

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday said it expects to sell as many as 3 million Xbox 360s in the first three months after its launch -- a strong start in its battle to dominate the market for next-generation gaming consoles.

Some big retailers in the United States have stopped accepting early orders for Xbox 360.

The company set that target nearly two weeks after trying to play down industry expectations. At its latest earnings announcement, it warned that initial Xbox sales might not be as high as some in the gaming industry have expected.

"In GameStop stores, the reservation process is closed," said Chris Olivera, a spokesman for GameStop Corp., the biggest U.S. video game retailer, adding that advance orders at GameStop's recently acquired Electronics Boutique stores were due to close "relatively soon."

Best Buy Co. Inc., the No. 1 U.S. electronics chain, said on its Web site that it had stopped taking orders for the Xbox 360.

Lee, the CFO of Microsoft's home and entertainment group, declined to say how many consoles would be on retailers' shelves on November 22 when the Xbox 360 launches, saying that Microsoft would have enough machines for a solid release and steady supply thereafter.

Microsoft has contracted with three electronics manufacturers to build the Xbox 360: Flextronics International Ltd., Wistron Corp. and Celestica Inc. The Celestica plant is expected to come online in early 2006.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's Xbox 360 will debut at least three months before its main rival Sony begins selling the PlayStation 3, the gaming industry leader's next-generation console.

Current-generation Xbox sales have slowed ahead of the launch.

Microsoft had cautioned on October 27 that early Xbox 360 sales would not be as high as expected. And Microsoft's shares initially sold off on the news.

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