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Shipments of Microsoft's new Xbox games console have passed the 1 million mark, three weeks after it was put on sale in the U.S., the company announced on Sunday.

Sales to retailers reached 1.1 million units. Microsoft says it plans to ship at least an additional 300,000 units between now and the end of the year to take total shipments since the November 15 launch to around 1.4 million consoles. Microsoft has yet to announce retailer sales figures for the console, although it says that its average customer is picking up "several" games when they buy a console.

A week ago Nintendo said sales of its Gamecube console, which went on sale in North America several days after the Xbox debuted, had hit 600,000 during its first two weeks on sale. The two companies are locked in a fierce battle with each other to gain dominance in the Christmas and end-of-year sales season. Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2 is also competing, although the year-old console is seen in third place at present.

As a result of the strong sales, Nintendo said on Monday that it is considering increasing shipments of the Gamecube.

"Nintendo is planning to ship 4 million consoles by the end of this fiscal year because of the very good initial sales in the U.S. and good sales in Japan," says Yasuhiro Minagawa, a spokesperson for Nintendo. The company's fiscal year ends in March 2002. At present however, such an increase is only under consideration and there are no concrete plans, he says.

He declines to specify whether the extra machines would be for the U.S., Japan, or European markets. "So far, we know we are facing shortages in the U.S. and the best sales season in Japan is in the new year after children receive Otoshidama," he says, referring to gifts of money given to children in Japan at New Year.

Nintendo has yet to launch the Gamecube in Europe. Minagawa says a launch this fiscal year, before the end of March, remains "at least a possibility."

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