Over a million 360s per month by end of '06
Winstron, one of Microsoft's three manufacturing partners (in addition to Flextronics and the recently recruited Celestica) has announced they will be roughly tripling their production capacity to "reach a capacity of one million units per month by the end of the year." With all three partners pumping out 360s, Microsoft's manufacturing troubles will seem like a thing of the past come holidays '06.
With Sony's PlayStation 3 due to launch in November, Microsoft's major tactical advantage (in addition to polished, second-wave titles) will be an abundance of consoles. With Sony facing a worldwide launch, with a technologically impressive system, they face the same risk Microsoft is just now overcoming: shortages. When little Billy wants next-gen gaming, Mom and Dad might see the possibly cheaper and readily available Xbox 360 as an adequate substitute. Who knows, maybe little Billy won't even mind so much when he's playing Gears of War or Too Human.
