Sonopress announced today that it has signed an "authorized replicator status" agreement with Microsoft to produce third-party software for the Xbox. Sonopress will assist Microsoft-licensed third-party publishers in manufacturing and distributing Xbox games for the North American launch on November 8. Sonopress currently employs 4,000 people in 12 different countries, and it is capable of producing more than 3.5 million optical discs per day worldwide.
Bob Spiller, Sonopress president, stated, "Sonopress LLC has developed a highly sophisticated array of manufacturing and service capabilities uniquely tailored to the needs of retail software publishers. In making this decision, Microsoft has reiterated that its licensed developers need to have partners such as Sonopress with a solid infrastructure to insure a successful launch of the Xbox."
Per the authorized replicator agreement, Sonopress may also court independent Xbox software publishers.