Microsoft: Xbox 360 sales surge on price cut
Microsoft said today that Xbox 360 sales rose significantly following the price cuts announced by the company last week. The company said retailers are reporting that sales of the video-game console increased more than 100 percent over the weekend, compared with the prior weekend.
Of course, it remains to be seen if those bumps will be temporary or lasting. The idea behind the price cuts was to strengthen the company's position going into the upcoming holidays, said David Dennis, a Microsoft spokesman.
Following the price cut, the Xbox 360 Arcade model is selling at six times the previous rate, Dennis said. The new $199 price of that model is $50 cheaper than Nintendo's market-leading Wii game console.
Microsoft declined to provide more specific sales data.
Because of the timing, the effect of the Xbox 360 price cut won't be evident in U.S. console sales figures for August, scheduled to be released Thursday afternoon by the NPD Group market research firm. Benefiting in part from some blockbuster games, the PlayStation 3 has topped the Xbox 360 in the U.S. sales rankings in each of the previous three months.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/148413.asp
