Microsoft Corp. expects to ship 4.5 million to 5.5 million Xbox 360 video-game consoles between its release next month and the middle of next year.

But the company will deliver the units at a steady pace, not overloading the market immediately upon launch, said Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer. That disappointed some analysts who wanted the company to ship more consoles sooner to take full advantage of the initial interest in the new machine, and to capitalize on its head start over Sony's next PlayStation.

In a conference call with analysts, Liddell said the company doesn't expect to supply enough Xbox 360 consoles in the weeks after the launch to be able to fully satisfy consumer demand. He defended the strategy.

"Whereas others have shipped significant volumes for launch, and then resupplied many weeks or months later, our process is to continually supply the channel on a regular basis," he said. Liddell said the approach "provides predictability to retailers and consumers around product availability."