Microsoft: Xbox 360 Topped PS3 On Black Fri.
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 12/2/2008
Redmond, Wash. — Microsoft said Tuesday sales of its Xbox 360 video game console out sold Sony’s rival PlayStation3 three-to-one over the Black Friday sales weekend in the United States.
Although no sales figures were released, the announcement came as some analysts’ estimated that Nintendo’s Wii console was the top-selling video game console over the key sales weekend.
Microsoft said Xbox sales for the Black Friday weekend were up 25 percent over 2007. Last year Xbox 360 sold 310,000 hardware units, more than double the volume of the PlayStation 3 in the period.
Microsoft said the increased activity was driven in part by recent popular first-party title releases including Gears of War 2, Fable II and Lips. The attach rate on the Xbox 360 was said to be eight games per console.
Microsoft added that sales of the Xbox 360 have surged worldwide since the September price drop. The company said hardware sales have nearly doubled year over year in Europe, and that the Xbox 360 is outselling the PS3 “week over week.”
Microsoft and Netflix recently announced the Xbox 360 is the first gaming console with the ability to instantly stream high-definition movies and TV programs from Netflix’s online offerings.
Last September, Microsoft cut the price of the Xbox 360 by almost 30 percent for some models. The entry Xbox 360 Arcade package dropped from $279 to $199 and the basic 60-GB hard drive step-up dropped from $349 to $299. The high-end Xbox 360 Elite with a 120GB hard drive fell from $449 to $399.
“We entered into the Black Friday sales period with cautious optimism, knowing that dollar for dollar, Xbox 360 offers more social entertainment value than any other console on the market,” stated Don Mattrick, Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment business senior VP.
