Microsoft's Xbox 360 Is Looking Good

All three current generation home consoles are about to or have had substantial price cuts. Sony (SNE) has been forced into it by being ridiculously overpriced, Nintendo (NTODY.PK) is doing it to counter a huge slump in Wii sales and Microsoft (MSFT) is doing it because they can and because they want more market share. So let’s look at the current state of the Xbox 360.

Firstly, for every three Sony Playstation PS3s in the world there are four Microsoft Xbox 360s. A considerable success considering that this is only Microsoft’s second machine and that they entered a market dominated by Sony.

Next, the Xbox 360 is played more (figures for North America). It is played more than any other console and about twice as much as the Wii is played. This reflects the fact that it has a far bigger software library ( 684 Metacritic games) than the PS3 (384) and the Wii (455). And also that Xbox Live is a compellingly successful online portal that is a long way ahead of the competitors.

More telling is that PS3 and Wii unit sales in North America have decreased this year, at what should be the peak of the console cycle. Of the home consoles only the Xbox 360 has seen increased sales, up by 17% compared with 2008.

All this will change going into Q4; not only will the hardware price cuts be felt (for instance with PS2 owners upgrading) but there is a veritable glut of new AAA blockbuster titles on all three platforms, a glut that is continuing into Q1 ‘10. It will be very interesting to see what the state of the industry is like in March, after the dust settles.

Comments

[vassar:]

still hate Microsoft's 'point' system for buying stuff.

Aug 21 08:19 AM

[User 474750:]

The purpose of the point system is to make money. It works because most people get confused and cant tell how much points are in real dollars. I've seen people give up nearly $100 in discounts to get $1-2 dollars in airline miles.

In other words, points are profitable.

As for the article, this guy's been trying to get a marketing job for years so he keeps spinning things on this blog hoping to get his big break for his spin skills.

Aug 21 10:01 AM

[Pepbizmo:]

The point system is genious for buying stuff i love it...and btw you can choose now between creditcard if you want to spend large amounts of cash or the redeem codes.

Aug 21 10:03 AM

[Goshoo:]

I think it would seem a little desperate if Microsoft cut the price of the 360 again. They had substantial price cuts less than 12 months ago. I am not sure why Microsoft thinks the only way to sell the 360 is if it is the cheapest thing on the market. In my mind, yet another price cut will devalue the perception of the system in the mind of the consumer. It's a dangerous game to play, particularly if you take into account the fact that the Xbox division has lost a lot of money since the last price cut. It's time for Microsoft to hold its ground.

Aug 21 10:11 AM

[jack dee:]

And yet the naysayers claimed that XBOX would be a graveyard for MSFT. Turned out MSFT was able to service both the game producers and the game buyers and may even make some profit.

Blocking action? perhaps.....

Aug 21 03:20 PM

[Bruce Andrew:]

I am so sick of hearing about Microsoft and the Xbox. The Xbox was built with flaws and continues to have issues. Yes, the PS3 costs more (at least for now), but at least the darn thing will still be playable a couple of years after you buy it.

Aug 24 11:17 PM

[Zenfar:]

Very cool ad. Good article. XBox is a nice product and the whole time I was watching the add I couldn't help but think of Natal.

Aug 26 11:08 AM