Microsoft: Xbox 360 sales double since price cuts
By Thomas Ricker 
posted September 11th 2008 4:39AM
posted September 11th 2008 4:39AM
Good things happen when you suddenly become the lowest-priced console in the US. In the first weekend since cutting Xbox 360 prices, Microsoft is reporting a 100% increase in sales of all Xbox 360 models compared to the previous weekend. While not mentioned specifically, Microsoft claims that one model sold at 6x the previous weekend rate. Gee, could that be the $250 Wii-beating, $199.99 Xbox 360 Arcade at the front of Microsoft's loss-leading lineup?
No demos?
It seems like just about every single game released for the 360 has a demo out.
A little ol' demo for a little ol' franchise called star wars just did gangbusters according to lucas arts.
Go figure.
Christmas is going to get VERY interesting IMO. MS has stock and Nintendon't. Very interesting indeed.
you really can tell the people that dont keep up to date on the revisions, since the last revision of hardware the 360 was in profit per console last i recall hearing, and the overall entertainment industry was in the green instead of red....
every analyst has said that the only console still in red is sony and their getting dug deeper into the red
He-he... Finally some real pressure on Nintendo ^_^
I'd be more interested in hearing how much sales are up versus the average for the year, not just the previous weekend. These price drops have been common knowledge for quite some time now, it stands to reason that most people who were in the market for an Xbox 360 a week before the price drop would have just waited.
Hey attention all wii fans, and the people who are crying about the prices being to high for ps3 and xbox previously, ps3 actually put together a powerhouse and nintendo just threw together the cheapest reliable parts and sold it with a controller that mimiced the ps3 motion controlled actions. I am not saying the wii isnt popular, and they made a great finicial decision but it is still crap
I'm not gonna defend the wii, I have one and am completely disapointed by it. But I though the Wii-mote was introduced before the ps3 motion control controller.
On a side note. I love my 360.
First, as noted by others, the 2x and 6x greater then last weekend figure is pure marketing spin due to people not buying since they knew the price cut was coming (indeed, only a 2x increase versus last week would seem to indicate that the price drop didn't work at all.) So, with that out of the way... if one were to go by what you see at places like this with regard to the Wii and whether or not "the games suck", you would think that Nintendo was sunk long ago, but of course they aren't. What's the reason for that? I'm guessing it's that, low and behold, most people like the Wii and the games available for it.
Huzaa for Xbox 360 owners. More sales means more games, media, and live activity. It is so affordable now, why not buy it? (other than because it is extremely loud, lacks a blu-ray drive, and has a history of shoddy quality)
I would like to buy a 360 in the near future, but even with the price drop I'm still holding off for now. Why not buy? Because I can look past the new "sticker price" and see the real costs involved. Aside from the loudness and history of shoddy quality (have they actually fixed that yet?) you mentioned, I'm still waiting for MS to build in the wireless adapter, price the hard drives reasonably, and open up Live for free. Sure, I could buy a cheap Arcade or Pro model, but to make those models functional in my entertainment center requires a lot more extra add-ons that significantly lessen the price gap.
Maybe this fall they'll put together a better bundle for the holiday shoppers...
They're not going to make Live free this generation. It's clear from Sony's last big firmware release where they were supposedly going to catch up that it's just not possible for Sony to do it this gen since they didn't have the foresight to dedicate a core to the XMB. Until MS gets some real competition on the online gaming front (which I fully expect Sony to have ready to go next gen), they can get away with continuing to charge for Live.
Of course, Sony's unwillingness to impose rules on the developers and their desire to leave everything up to said developers could keep them behind on that front next gen as well, as having everything integrated, streamlined, and exactly the same no matter which game you have in is one of the most necessary things on that front.
Why not? It may be $200 for arcade for you but by the moment we get one, its price is $800-1000 for Elite and $500+ for Arcade. So, why not buy one? :)
Last weekend sales were pretty low (partly because people were waiting for the price cut) so, a 100% boost is not a threat on the wii, not even on the PS3.
I'll wait for NPD numbers of next weeks, but if I were MS, i'd be worrying.
I'm thinking about getting the $199 Arcade for casual gaming, can I get by without the hard drive? I really only need to save games and download roster updates for Madden.
Uh, the 360 has reportedly been breaking even/making money for a year now. The MS machine was more expensive for a reason -- it has much more power that the Wii.
Sure, Wii units sell out, but 360 still has the highest game attach rate.
It still puzzles when I read comments like "... while my Wii is collecting dust" and "...but I don't use it anymore." Do you normally keep expensive electronics sitting around you don't use? Do you enjoy clutter around your place? Are you pac-rats that don't want to get rid of anything? Why not sell it and recoup some money instead of having it sit there? Seems sillly to complain about it.
Of course the sales will double, and yes that is/ was the reason why the Wii(King of casual gaming system) sells so well.
Ps3? Dont mention Japanophile shit in the presence of grown men. Ohhhh did you find that easter egg in MGS4!?!? ............
Exactly...
Hold your breath for God Of War 3.....
- You can stop kneeling now...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB6fq9Aadwk
I have a Wii and a 360. My 7 year old son loves the 360 because of Rockband downloadable content, achievements and Xbox Live. The Wii does not get played much in the house. The 360 is a more well rounded console. You really can't go wrong with a 360 or a PS3. The primary reason that the Wii sells like it does is because parents are price sensitive and the Wii was the cheapest new console on the market, parents trust Nintendo games (Mario etc...) and there was so much hype associated with the Wii.
Now that the 360 is the cheapest console, I think you will see many people gravitate towards the 360. There are a couple of reasons for this:
1. The growth in the number of high-definition TV's. Simply put: Dad's who buy these for their families (actually buy it to watch HDTV sports) will want a game console that works in high definition.
2. The games are simply better: Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Madden 09, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space, Viva Pinata, Pure, etc...
3. Growth in downloadable content. Simply put, this is what makes the XBox 360 a true market force. You not only get a fantastic game machine, but all the demos, additional game content, videos, now movies etc...
4. XBox Live Friends. Believe me when I say that the 360 is a streamlined, no lag, no hassle experience that allows me to play with people I like on a regular basis. Not only do we play the game, but it allows me to keep in touch and do things with people hundreds of miles away.
Don't get me wrong. The Wii is a fun system, but it is limited and I think given a choice based a great deal on price people will buy the 360. Nintendo will still be number 1 in console sales, but Microsoft is definetly going to be number 2. Sony simply cannot afford to drop the price to a $199 level. I honestly believe Microsoft will now do anything it takes to be the industry leader. At the end of the day, that means better games for people because great games sell consoles.
Cheers,
Kelly
Can anyone tell me if the xBox360 Arcade version can be used as a Media Extender? Since the media is actually stored inside the PC, is it necessary to have a hard drive "inside" the 360?
I am a wii owner...soon to be sold. Then I am buying a PS3 for the games and the Blu-Ray.
I think the X360 is a poorly designed and built game system. Sure some nut jobs from Day one bought one, but look at the strikingly similar numbers to sales of X1 and X360. I think those that wanted one have bought one and very little growth for their business is happening. People do not want a X360 and its not because its too expensive. Where are the 120 million PS2 owners this generation? 1/4 of them have already bought a Wii, PS3 and X360 own the other 1/4, and the other half of them are waiting for the PS3 to drop in price enough to take the plunge.
X720 needs to go ahead and come out so they can canibalize their own customer base again and everyone can have the same argument when those sales level off.
The news of the price cut probably put a huge dent in overall sales for the past few weeks. So to have a huge uptick when the price cut happens really isn't a surprise. Look what happenned with the PSP price cut. What is really important is a few weeks from now.
Also Microsoft still has not made dollar one from the XBOX division. It doesn't matter how much profit you make on a console right now until that profit reduces all loss and gives you an overall profit.
Also at $199 Microsoft is losing money on the console. They will not be able to make money at that price point until the CPU and GPU are integrated into one chip. Remember that for quite a long time Microsoft had to make 7 360s that didn't work for every 3 that did work. They still had to pay the assembly company to build those dead consoles and the parts suppliers for the parts. They didn't find out that the consoles were dead until they were tested after they shipped. In fact right now they are still only around 80% yield so for every 10 360s coming off the line 2 of them are dead from the factory. In what wasn't a very smart move Microsoft bought the production rights for the microprocessors, they have to pay for every one that doesn't work.
Microsoft had to pay for million of consoles that were broken that were never sold. Then they had to write off the cost of millions of defective consoles that were sold. If Microsoft was losing money on the sale of a console then the production cost of each console is the true cost. The true production loss could be far higher than the billion dollar RRoD writeoff.
So in reality Microsoft is very far off from turing a profit.
This doesn't surprise me. Not to bash the Wii, because I've stood up for it for a while, but the games are a little on the stale side. Most of the good games are first party. The 360, hardware issues aside, has a great library and a fairly solid online experience. And now it's the cheapest console out there.
It's going to be interesting to see how Sony and Nintendo retaliate.