European X-box 'will be on time'

Microsoft has denied that its decision to push back the Japanese launch of its X-box console to 22 February next year will have any knock-on effect on its planned European launch.

Although it is yet to set a date for Europe, the software giant says it will do so in October, and that its European manufacturing plant is nearing final readiness to begin production of the consoles.

Richard Teversham, UK marketing manager for X-box, told vnunet.com: "We will have hundreds of thousands of X-boxes ready for our European launch in the first quarter of 2002.

"The Hungary plant has not yet started production but it is built and is in the process of testing. It will not make consoles for North America or Japan, only for the European market."

But Teversham declined to detail the capacity of the Hungarian plant or when production would begin.

He said that Microsoft hadn't decided exactly how many X-boxes would be ready, but promised that the firm would be ready to release more information on that, and the release date, in October.

Sony's launch of its PlayStation 2 console last year was tarnished by the firm's failure to supply enough machines to meet strong initial customer demand. However, Sony has since recovered to sell a claimed 15 million PlayStation 2's worldwide, leaving its rivals Nintendo and Microsoft to play catch-up.

Both Nintendo with GameCube and Microsoft with X-box have promised to avoid launching with a shortage of machines, but have had to push back their US and Japan launch dates.

Teversham told vnunet.com: "The difference between our competitors and ourselves is that we manufacture in Europe, for Europe, so we're not reliant on Japan to supply Europe. We remain absolutely committed to a first-quarter launch."