Microsoft's Moore expects big things out of Xbox 360

Microsoft is setting some aggressive sales goals for its next-generation Xbox.

Apparently, it should only take the 12 to 16 months for the team in Redmond to sell more than 10 million units around the globe. This is according to Peter Moore, Microsoft's vice president in charge of marketing and resident Xbox pitch man.

Moore made the claim during his keynote at an Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) event in Kensington, London on Tuesday.

Certainly it's a better prognosis than Microsoft made four years ago when the original Xbox had trouble selling more than one million consoles in its first year. Microsoft didn't see a sales bump until well after it dropped the price. Prices for the Xbox 360 have not been released yet but analysts suggest the price point should be around $299. A first generation Xbox currently retails for $149 online.

However, a new report by Kagan Research backs up Moore's bold claims. The Monterey, Calif. analyst firm's "Future of Video Games 2005" forecasts Microsoft will sell about 11 million of its Xbox 360 consoles by 2007. The next generation gaming platform is expected to be globally released in November, months before its main rival--Sony's forthcoming PlayStation 3.

The findings are based on Kagan's observations of the overall videogame industry. Kagan's latest prediction suggests sales will reach $16 billion in 2007, a 61 percent increase over 2004 sales of $9.9 billion. Some 54 million U.S. households are expected to own at least one console by 2010, and most will own both a fixed and a portable system, according to the report.

But Microsoft's bold prediction doesn't mean that it will be the king of the U.S. living room. Kagan analysts noted that Sony's PS3 will still be the strongest seller of next-generation videogame consoles. However, the report suggests Microsoft's Xbox 360 will narrow the gap with Sony to come within 28 percent of the PS3 installed base.

That is nearly twice as many next-generation consoles as Kagan analysts are forecasting that Nintendo can sell of its Revolution gaming console by 2010.