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Microsoft wants everyone to know that the Xbox 360 is the first game console in the current generation to sell 10 million units in the USA. Unsurprisingly, they don’t mention that the Nintendo Wii will likely pass the 10 million mark by the beginning of June and it has been on the market one year less than the Xbox 360.
Moreover, the Wii outsold the Xbox 360 in the USA by a ratio of 3 to 1 in April and at that rate will shortly be leaving the Xbox 360 in the dust. Not to mention that Wii units have been profitable from day one too. Still Microsoft can claim a lead over Sony’s PS3 for the big bucks loss leader consolation prize although in April in the USA that lead was only 188,000 to 187,100 units so one wonders how long that will last.
There was a bit of a kerfuffle in July when it was revealed that Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach sold $6.2 million in Microsoft shares in the run-up to the announcement of the billion dollar band-aid for defective Xbox 360 units. Executives often use scheduled stock sales to avoid any appearance of insider trading and still pick up some walking around money, but Bach’s sales were unscheduled. Now it turns out he actually sold an additional $3 million worth of shares that somehow fell through an insider sale reporting crack:
Following Sony’s PS3 price cut by a month, Microsoft today announced cuts in the suggested US retail prices of all the Xbox 360 models starting August 8. The biggest cut was $50 on the primary 20 GB version with $20 off the Core system and $30 off the Elite. The full lineup now looks like:
Microsoft today provided a modest boost for two of its troubled initiatives when it lowered the US price of the add-on HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 from $199.99 to $179.99. Adding to the incentive, those who purchase between August 1 and September 30 will get 5 free HD DVD movies from a list of 15. Toshiba has been running the same 5 free movie promotion for some time on their line of standalone HD DVD players.
