3 Game-Box Makers Claim to Be No. 1

In the hotly contested video game market, three companies claim theirs was the most successfully launched console of all time.

At least two are wrong.

But which ones?

In a news release last week, Nintendo Co. said its GameCube is “the fastest-selling new video-game console ever.”

On Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. countered with its own announcement that its Xbox is “the best-selling video-game console launch on record.”

Sony Corp. has objected to both claims, saying its Play-Station 2 logged the best launch, selling out of its initial shipment of half a million units within 24 hours last October.

The true winner remains a mystery, but the battle belies the enormous financial stakes involved.

Each company has invested billions of dollars to develop their respective consoles, money that must be recouped over the next five years via sales of software.

Aside from bragging rights, each company is trying to establish momentum and credibility. In this particular round, statistics have become the weapon of choice.

Nintendo last week said it sold 500,000 GameCubes in its first week, a rate it claims as “nearly twice that of Microsoft and at least 25% faster than the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 2 last year.”

Microsoft weighed in on Tuesday, firing off a release claiming to have sold the most number of consoles within two weeks of launch. Microsoft declined to back up its claims with hard numbers.

“It’s our policy not to give out these numbers,” said Jane Gordon, a Microsoft spokeswoman. “Microsoft wrote the press release based on the numbers given to them from NPD” Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.

NPD, meanwhile, said its analysis will not be completed until next week.