It's been a bit of a win-lose situation for Microsoft today with word that the company's Xbox 360 saw a surge in sales in Japan last week, but globally the system is floundering.
First up, the good news! The Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3 nearly 2 to 1 last week in Japan. This coincides with the release of Namco's Tales of Vesperia title.
Only time will tell.
Japan sees increase in Xbox 360 sales - Source
Michael Pachter's "Stagnant" Outlook - Source
First up, the good news! The Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3 nearly 2 to 1 last week in Japan. This coincides with the release of Namco's Tales of Vesperia title.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 scored a notable victory in Japan during the week ended August 10, shifting almost 25,000 units to outsell the PS3 2.5-1.
The console’s jump in popularity – it sold 5,359 units the previous week - was no doubt fueled by the release of Namco Bandai’s Tales of Vesperia, which debuted at No4 in the software chart after selling 108,000 copies.
Unfortunately, it looks as though the global sales for the Xbox 360 are slowing down dramatically. Analyst Michael Pachter relays his thoughts on the "stagnant" state of the system.The console’s jump in popularity – it sold 5,359 units the previous week - was no doubt fueled by the release of Namco Bandai’s Tales of Vesperia, which debuted at No4 in the software chart after selling 108,000 copies.
Pachter commented, "Xbox 360 hardware sales were again lighter than we expected, indicating that Microsoft may be experiencing stagnant demand. The company cut the price of its Xbox 360 Pro (20GB) by $50 to $299 in July, but demand remained fairly flat. We do not expect a significant bump in August with the release of the new Pro 60GB at $349. We expect Microsoft to reconsider its pricing strategy, especially if sales of the Xbox 360 continue to lag sales of the PS3."
Despite a slight slowdown in hardware sales overall for the July period, Pachter believes that "underlying software sales strength along with increased hardware supply position the industry for continued strong sales through 2008." He said that his current software sales growth forecast for 2008 (which includes PC games) of 19 percent is "clearly too low" and Wedbush will issue a revised sales forecast in the coming weeks.
Ouch. Can further price reductions really pick up sales in these Summer months, or will Microsoft just have to sit on the edge of their seats until the holiday rush kicks things back into gear?Despite a slight slowdown in hardware sales overall for the July period, Pachter believes that "underlying software sales strength along with increased hardware supply position the industry for continued strong sales through 2008." He said that his current software sales growth forecast for 2008 (which includes PC games) of 19 percent is "clearly too low" and Wedbush will issue a revised sales forecast in the coming weeks.
Only time will tell.
Japan sees increase in Xbox 360 sales - Source
Michael Pachter's "Stagnant" Outlook - Source