Lesson learned: instead of a “comes with virtual sex” viral launch campaign, next time it’s better to talk about the game, even if it’s not so innovative and has a patchy AI.
No, I’m not against Mass Effect or supporting Fox, I’m against stupid marketing decisions that put a bad light against people who play and make games.
And you need to consider consider that those stats refer to console manufactured. As also Microsoft recognized, the infamous 30% return rate of the first production run (more than 10 millions pieces) had a huge impact on the number of manufactured consoles that actually landed on retail chains.
In addition, I can confirm that MS is more than eager to let out all those faulty consoles, before selling the new Falcon hardware in every bundle. In Italy most of the 360 stocks now have the console internal packaging upside down so you cannot read the production date without opening the box. A smart move… pissing off customers during the holidays.