Based on industry-standard, independent statistics from research firms Chart-Track and GfK Xbox, the future generation video game system from Microsoft, has established itself as the clear number two player in the region. This makes Xbox the fastest growing debut console ever, against some well-equipped, long-standing competition with a great heritage in this market.
Chart-Track and GfK numbers for the 2002 calendar year indicate that Xbox has well exceeded the million-console mark in the UK, France, and Germany alone. This, combined with strong sales in the rest of the region, places Xbox well ahead of Nintendo"s GameCube. Based on the figures from Chart-Track and GfK during the key retail month of December, Xbox outsold GameCube by a factor of 2:1. This phenomenal result clearly established Xbox as the number-two player in the region heading into 2003.
European gamers showed their support for Xbox in huge numbers with near sell-out sales of the console in the region. The Sega Christmas Pack from Xbox, a limited edition Xbox Christmas offer that included €120/£80 worth of triple-A games from Sega for free, also proved a winner with gamers across Europe. Many stores sold out of stock before Christmas.