5.5 million Xbox 360s shipped by June 06

As well as the already discussed announcement of an external HD DVD drive add-on for the Xbox 360, Peter Moore also spent some time bigging-up the console’s launch as well as revealing some new games to look forward to in the coming year. First off Moore highlighted Microsoft’s global launch and stated a target to ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million units by June 06.

“Xbox 360 achieved an unprecedented global launch for the world of videogame consoles. In the first 90 days we will have launched Xbox 360 in nearly 30 countries, and Xbox 360 is on track to ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million consoles by the end of June,” said Moore.

With Microsoft seemingly unwilling to divulge actual sales numbers we were left with stats on software and accessory attach rates.

“Xbox 360 has a stunning attach rate of four games per console, and an accessory level and attach rate of three per console, both of which are nearly double the previous record,” Moore added. Impressive stats but where’s the actual sales figures?

The biggest talking point of the Xbox 360 launch has been the lack of supply, meaning demand for the console has far outstripped stock levels. Moore announced a third manufacturing partner to help boost production of the in demand console.

“To further bolster our capacity for output, I’m happy to announce that next month Selectica will join both Flextronics and Wistron as our third manufacturing partner,” said Moore. “We need to meet the consumer demand worldwide and having this ability now to do that with three manufacturing partners helps us do that.”

Late last year Nintendo was proud to announce some impressive stats regarding the uptake of its Wi-Fi Connection service, which gave DS gamers the ability to play compatible games online. Not to be overshadowed, Peter Moore dished out some Xbox impressive Xbox Live stats.

“Now, on Xbox 10 percent of customers connected their box to the Internet, on Xbox 360 more than 50 percent of all consoles worldwide are now connected to Xbox Live,” announced Moore. “As evidence of this, tonight I’m pleased to announce that in just four weeks since the launch of Xbox 360, more than 4 million Xbox Live marketplace downloads have enhanced the games and entertainment experiences of Xbox 360 owners around the world.”

So what about the games? Moore announced that more than 20 games are currently available through Xbox Live Arcade and then with little fanfare announced that Streetighter 2 and Texes Hold ‘Em are coming soon to the Arcade. He also announced that by June there will be “50 high definition games from the best names in publishing” available to consumers, which as gamers is what we’re most interested in.