Microsoft says Xbox shipments on track

Microsoft says it is on track to meet its goal for Xbox shipments by the end of the year.

The software veteran and hardware neophyte said in a statement late Sunday that it has shipped about 1.1 million Xbox units to retailers since the video game console's Nov. 15 launch. Microsoft added that it expects to ship 300,000 more Xboxes to retailers by the end of the month.

The combined 1.4 million units shipped would fall toward the high end of the range of 1 million to 1.5 million units that the company set for this year. The number, however, fits in with reports from component manufacturers, which have said that they shipped enough parts in the third quarter to manufacture 1.1 million Xbox units and were shipping more components in the fourth quarter.

The latest statement continues Microsoft's war of words with Nintendo over whose new game console is the hottest seller this holiday season.

Nintendo said earlier this month that it had sold nearly 600,000 GameCube consoles after having shipped about 740,000 units to North America in advance of that system's launch on Nov. 19. The company's goal is to ship about 1.3 million units to North America this year, putting it neck and neck with Microsoft in potential sales.

Actual sales figures for the two game systems--and therefore bragging rights for the top-selling system--won't be known until later this week, when market research firm NPD Intelect is expected to issue a console-counting report.

News.com's Michael Kanellos contributed to this report.