Xbox 360s (hopefully) now hitting store shelves

After a serious product shortage hurt early sales of the excellent Xbox 360 system, Microsoft says it is now shipping two to three times the number of consoles that had previously been shipped to retailers each week.

The company said that would keep it on track to meet forecast of 4.5 to 5.5 million units worldwide by the end of June 2006.

Microsoft needs to up the hardware push. For the month of March, the videogame tracking NPD Group reported that nearly 277,000 new PS2 units were sold in North America compared to nearly 192,000 Xbox 360s.

NOTES

PSP SALES UP: PlayStation Portable outsold Nintendo’s GameCube 192,000 to 63,000. In a year, more than 4.5 million PSP units have sold in North America. NPD data also showed that PlayStation 2 software outsold Xbox 360: (2.2 million to 1.6 million units.)

360 TITLES HOT: Xbox 360 games are doing well, however.

Both “Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter” (Ubisoft) and “Elder Scrolls IV: blivion” (Bethesda) are leaving store shelves fast.

Bethesda announced “Oblivion” shipped more than 1.7 million copies on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms between its launch on March 20 and April 7, making it one of the fastest-selling RPGs ever.

In Europe, “Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter” topped the all-formats sales charts the week it released – replaced only by “Oblivion” two weeks later.

XBOX LIVE POPULAR: More than 10 million pieces of content have been downloaded from the Xbox 360 Live Marketplace since launch.

In addition to high-definition movie trailers, games and demos, more than three million of the downloads were Xbox Live Arcade game titles. The ability to “try Arcade titles before you buy” is a big hit, with an average 20 percent trial-to-purchase conversion rate (39 percent for the most popular Arcade game, “Geometry Wars.”)

Coming up, gamers will be able to download three new content packs for “Kameo: Elements of Power” plus users will submit their own creative skin designs, with the winner’s skin available to the community after the contest concludes.

In “Perfect Dark Zero,” fans will enjoy new maps and new gameplay functions. The downloadable “Project Gotham Racing 3” Speed Pack gives racers access to new gameplay upgrades including new cars.

“Project Gotham Racing 3” also kicked off its first major tournament on April 17. When users register for the event, their game becomes tournament-enabled with the most recent update, and then they compete with other speed demons from around the world in a variety of events. Qualifiers and single-elimination tournaments culminate in a race for the gold at the Lamborghini Factory in Italy in June.

EXCLUSIVE X CONTENT: Lastly, Xbox Live users can now download exclusive content from Epic records, Each month, Epic features songs in 5.1 digital and high-definition videos from a new artist, starting with British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield whose video “Unwritten” was available in April. Artists of the Month will also participate in the “Game with Fame” program on Xbox Live Arcade, giving fans a chance to test their mettle against their favorite musicians.