Posted Sep 22nd 2008 3:00PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Thanks to last week's pretty substantial Xbox 360 price cut, today Microsoft announced that they've reached a 6 million Xbox 360 install base in Europe. An increase in console demand that retailers fully expected.
Chris Lewis, Vice President of Xbox business in Europe, reiterated the fact that the 360 is the cheapest entry level next-gen console in Europe and pledged to support the new low price by putting an "investment into a European advertising campaign" all of which will be launching this week. Smells like sales success to us!
Quick. Someone call the caterer, the petting zoo and the guys behind the three hundred and sixty pounds of confetti we ordered for the party to celebrate Xbox 360's win in Japan. VideoGamer.com is reporting new sales data from MediaCreate that contradicts figures released by Famitsu publisher Enterbrain which claimed the Xbox 360 had outsold the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii in the Land of the Rising Sun.
MediaCreate have released figures which now put the Xbox 360 about 1,500 units behind the Nintendo Wii with 28,188 units sold versus Nintendo's 29,686. While numbers for the PlayStation 3 were not detailed it was verified that the Xbox 360 outsold Sony's console in the period of September 8 to 14.
Uh oh. Was that the doorbell? Quick, turn off the lights! Maybe the delivery guys will leave and take the life-sized J. Allard funnel cake with them.
The news is out. The Playstation 3 managed to best the Xbox 360 in sales during the month of May. Grab your favorite pillow and get ready for a shock, because EEDAR analyst Jesse Divinich expects last month's results to be the beginning of a new trend. On the sales victory, Divinich notes that the trend "will likely continue in June as we expect Metal Gear Solid 4 [to] act as a bigger catalyst in terms of driving PS3 hardware sales than did Grand Theft Auto IV." He adds further that exclusives on the Playstation 3 platform tend to drive console sales more than exclusives on the Xbox 360 (or the Wii).
With his PS3 prediction in tow, Divinich believes that Microsoft will respond by announcing a price cut for the Xbox 360 during next month's E3. Furthermore, Divinich believes Microsoft may also announce a new Xbox 360 model with new features (Blu-Ray, perhaps?). Should the price cut take place, Divinich expects Sony to follow suit within two months of the announcement.
Canadian gamers have read over the details for GameStop's USA Game Days sale and wondered, "when's it gonna be my time?!" The answer is, right now and until June 22.
EB Games and GameStop stores in the Great White North are offering a slew of Xbox 360 games and bundles on the cheap--well, what they consider cheap at least. Gamers looking to pad their Xbox 360 library, or Gamerscore, should take a look at the sale as some offers are only available for a limited time throughout the month of June.
Oh, and if anyone asks you if you'd like to pre-order something, exclaim "Yes, I would!" excitedly and promptly leave the store. Totally messes with their heads.
Full listing of specials after the jump. $5 not required.
Posted Nov 30th 2007 12:00PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Black Friday console sales brought in the big bucks for all three major players who all benefited from the crazy shopping madness. But one (or we guess two) stood out among the rest and sold its metaphorical bum off all week long.
Early reports coming from the Microsoft camp are telling us that the week of Black Friday, Xbox 360 hardware sales hovered around 310,000 units. And if the reports are accurate, those 310,000 units in one week would nearly equal all of last month's sales combined. Bravo Xbox 360, we know we spotted you in numerous shopping carts when we were out and about last Friday. It also should be known that the Nintendo Wii also shared similiar Black Friday sales moving an estimated 350,000 units, but the PS3 didn't do as well. Microsoft is claiming that their Xbox 360 sales doubled that of the PS3's (ouch!) during the same seven day period although those numbers can't be confirmed until NPD numbers are released or until Sony musters up enough courage to release their own estimates. But we don't need to mud sling, because 360 sales are just dandy fine and we've got hot chocolate to drink. Life is good.
We agree with out kinfolk at Joystiq that it's probably time to start packing some supplies and head for your nearest bomb shelter. Why? Because the Xbox 360 outsold the Playstation 3 in Japan last week. We'll just give you a moment to let that soak in.
Got it?
Good. Yes, the impossible has happened, but it's not quite as grandiose as one might think. The Xbox 360 managed to sell 17,673 units compared to the Playstation 3's 17,434, a mere 239 units apart. Still, in a country dominated by Sony and Nintendo, it's bound to be a momentous occasion for Microsoft, especially given that the week prior saw only 3,718 360s sold. The reason for the nearly 500% increase was the release of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, which landed at number two in Japanese software sales (Super Mario Galaxy was number one). So, the message for Microsoft in Japan is clear: start making more games about jets!
Speaking to Next Gen, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg laid down some lofty goals for our favorite console. While most of the interview focuses on Microsoft's new family friendly initiative, Greenberg notes that he expects the console to have a very impressive holiday, saying that the Xbox 360 will have several top selling games. "Just this one holiday we anticipate that we'll have at least seven titles that will each sell over a million units each," said Greenberg. Seven million-sellers? That's a bold prediction to be sure. While he doesn't elaborate on which games will get the honor, we'll venture a few guesses. In no particular order: Assassin's Creed, Rock Band, Guitar Hero III, Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, and oh ... heck, Halo 3 will sell at least another million over the holidays. Anyone else care to make some guesses, or perhaps, a wager?
Oh, analysts. Always predicting such crazy things. Who doesn't love 'em? Why, just recently they predicted that the PS3 would outsell the Xbox 360 in July. Now that the July NPD numbers are out, we know that turned out not to be true, but that doesn't mean we aren't frothing at the mouth to hear the next prediction. Having seen that the 360 still managed to outsell Sony's wonder machine, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expressed his surprise to Gamasutra, noting that "Xbox 360 demand was far stronger than we expected this month." He further noted that he had expected sales to decline on news of the Xbox 360's apparent reliability problems and the PS3 price reduction. Seeing that such wasn't the case, Pachter predicts that Xbox sales will increase, as "the warranty issue appears to be of little concern to consumers, and the recent price cut should stimulate demand." The fantasy game exchange market simExchange agreed with Pachter's predictions, and further noted that they expect the Xbox 360 to outsell the PS3 "every month through the holidays." The group based this prediction on their own predicted lifetime sales of the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Gather around kids, it's NPD numbers time! May's NPD hardware/software sales just hit the news wire and aren't anything overly Earth shattering. The Xbox 360 did just fine in May, moving 155,000 units with four of the top ten selling games being 360 titles. So, things are going pretty good. Why not great? Because Nintendo is still grinning ear to ear as they unloaded an amazing 338,000 Wiis and are gaining ground on the 360's marketshare. But things aren't all that bad, because the PS3 is under performing selling only 81,000 units with no games listed on the top ten sales chart. The numbers speak for themselves and should make it pretty obvious where Microsoft needs to focus their evil. It's on Mario ... it's on.
Posted May 9th 2007 12:45PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
In the UK Spider-Man's console of choice is the Xbox 360. Activision's mediocre Spider-Man 3 swung its way to a multiplatform release including the 360, PS3, Wii, and PS2 among others. And when the UK sales figures were tallied the Xbox 360 version of the game accounted for a whopping 45% of total sales. The PS2 version (which looks just as good as the 360 version ... ouch) garnered 40% of the game's UK sales with the Wii totaling 10%.
What's most interesting is how well the Xbox 360 version of the game sold even outselling the huge install base the PS2 has. Even more interesting is that the PS3 numbers for Spider-Man 3 sales are pretty much non-existent. Either the 360's community is the prime demographic for the Spider-Man franchise or it could be the largest next-gen console install base, we can't be sure. But we do know that Spider-Man 3 is one huge marketing machine with a box office to prove it.
Posted Apr 27th 2007 12:15PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Microsoft just announced their quarterly earnings and the Entertainment and Devices Division (which the Xbox 360 is a part of) is seeing its losses decrease. Though, everything isn't peaches and cream, because Microsoft still lost $315 million in the EDD division last quarter down from $415 million last year. The reason? They are shrinking their losses due to shipping less hardware (money saver since they lose money every console sold) and improved console margins. But the launch of the Zune (which is also in the EDD division) and improved Xbox 360 warranty program offset some of those money making benefits.
We're certain Microsoft is in the video game market for the long haul, it's not only a prevention measure from competition, but could be their Trojan horse into our living rooms. But losing $315 million cannot feel good and we doubt it looks any better on paper ... maybe that's why they are charging so damn much for that 120GB HDD.
GameDaily BIZ posted the just released February NPD sales numbers which show that Xbox 360 software is selling quite nicely. Overall, things are looking bright for video games as the industry is up 66% over last year with hardware and software sales on the rise. Crackdown led the month's sales moving 427K units, with other 360 titles like Gears of War and Lost Planet in the top ten. The Xbox 360 is also moving a fair amount of consoles beating out an under-performing PS3, 295K units to 228K 228K units to 127K.
It's great to see our little boy Crackdown succeed in February and four other Xbox 360 games place in the top ten. Though, we wonder, with the Nintendo Wii selling so well (485K 335K units) does Microsoft have to shift its focus away from Sony and watch Nintendo to protect its next gen lead? Only time will tell, but we're confident that our white box can fend for itself simply by the games that will be released for it in 2007. A full list of NPD's February sales rankings for hardware and software is after the break.
Update 1: Fixified the comparison numbers between the 360 and PS3 ... and the Wii. Math is hard.
Microsoft commented on preliminary January console sales stating that they sold 18% more 360s than last January. Reports are citing that 294,000 Xbox 360s were sold in January, where as last January 250,000 were sold. This of course could have been due to the lack of consoles in the marketplace last year, but who's to say? Also, Bloomberg is reporting that the Nintendo Wii sold 426,000 units and the Playstation 3 moved 244,000 in January. It's also interesting to note that the Xbox 360 had the highest drop off from December where it shipped over 1.3 million units.
It's good to see that the 360 is outselling the PS3 and isn't letting its disappointing Japanese performance hinder its chances at console supremacy. But after watching the Wii make up so much ground in the last few months, does Microsoft have to worry about the Wii taking the next gen console crown?
In a recent Gamasutra interview, Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets suggests that year-over-year software sales for January may be up as much as 30%. Driving this push are Lost Planet and Wario Ware (Wii). Other Xbox 360 titles expected to aid in overall sales growth include Call of Duty 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, and (duh) Gears of War. Should the prediction hold true, it would mean a strong start for 2007. With lots of exclusives and system selling titles shipping in the next few months, here's hoping the 360 maintains its momentum through the typically dry spring season.
Posted Jan 25th 2007 9:05PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Today, Microsoft released its second quarter financial details. Overall they didn't quite meet their projected numbers due to the whole Vista and Office delay, but they were sure to point out that the Xbox 360 division was performing admirably. The entertainment and devices division, which houses the Xbox 360, saw a 76% jump in revenue. That makes the division 25% of Microsoft's total revenue, up from 15% last year. But everything isn't cake and roses, because that same division has seen an increasing operating loss of $289 million. We think that the Zune (which is under the same division) may have aided in increasing the operating loss, so it isn't all the 360's fault. Oh well ... the 360 is becoming cheaper and cheaper to produce, so hopefully we'll see our Xbox 360 division prosper next quarter. Show them the money!
Thanks to last week's pretty substantial Xbox 360 price cut, today Microsoft announced that they've reached a 6 million Xbox 360 install base in Europe. An increase in console demand that retailers fully expected.
Black Friday console sales brought in the big bucks for all three major players who all benefited from the crazy shopping madness. But one (or we guess two) stood out among the rest and sold its metaphorical bum off all week long.
Speaking to Next Gen, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg laid down some lofty goals for our favorite console. While most of the interview focuses on Microsoft's new family friendly initiative, Greenberg notes that he expects the console to have a very impressive holiday, saying that the Xbox 360 will have several top selling games. "Just this one holiday we anticipate that we'll have at least seven titles that will each sell over a million units each," said Greenberg. Seven million-sellers? That's a bold prediction to be sure. While he doesn't elaborate on which games will get the honor, we'll venture a few guesses. In no particular order: 
Gather around kids, it's NPD numbers time! May's NPD hardware/software sales just hit the news wire and aren't anything overly Earth shattering. The Xbox 360 did just fine in May, moving 155,000 units with four of the top ten selling games being 360 titles. So, things are going pretty good. Why not great? Because Nintendo is still grinning ear to ear as they unloaded an amazing 338,000 Wiis and are gaining ground on the 360's marketshare. But things aren't all that bad, because the PS3 is under performing selling only 81,000 units with no games listed on the top ten sales chart. The numbers speak for themselves and should make it pretty obvious where Microsoft needs to focus their evil. It's on Mario ... it's on.
In the UK Spider-Man's console of choice is the Xbox 360. Activision's mediocre Spider-Man 3 swung its way to a multiplatform release including the 360, PS3, Wii, and PS2 among others. And when the UK sales figures were tallied the Xbox 360 version of the game accounted for a whopping 45% of total sales. The PS2 version (which looks just as good as the 360 version ... ouch) garnered 40% of the game's UK sales with the Wii totaling 10%.
Microsoft just announced their quarterly earnings and the Entertainment and Devices Division (which the Xbox 360 is a part of) is seeing its losses decrease. Though, everything isn't peaches and cream, because Microsoft still lost $315 million in the EDD division last quarter down from $415 million last year. The reason? They are shrinking their losses due to shipping less hardware (money saver since they lose money every console sold) and improved console margins. But the launch of the Zune (which is also in the EDD division) and improved Xbox 360 warranty program offset some of those money making benefits.
GameDaily BIZ posted the just released February NPD sales numbers which show that Xbox 360 software is selling quite nicely. Overall, things are looking bright for video games as the industry is up 66% over last year with hardware and software sales on the rise. Crackdown led the month's sales moving 427K units, with other 360 titles like Gears of War and Lost Planet in the top ten. The Xbox 360 is also moving a fair amount of consoles beating out an under-performing PS3, 
In a recent Gamasutra interview, Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets suggests that year-over-year software sales for January may be up as much as 30%. Driving this push are 
Today, Microsoft released its second quarter financial details. Overall they didn't quite meet their projected numbers due to the whole Vista and Office delay, but they were sure to point out that the Xbox 360 division was performing admirably. The entertainment and devices division, which houses the Xbox 360, saw a 76% jump in revenue. That makes the division 25% of Microsoft's total revenue, up from 15% last year. But everything isn't cake and roses, because that same division has seen an increasing operating loss of $289 million. We think that the Zune (which is under the same division) may have aided in increasing the operating loss, so it isn't all the 360's fault. Oh well ... the 360 is becoming cheaper and cheaper to produce, so hopefully we'll see our Xbox 360 division prosper next quarter. Show them the money!
