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Microsoft spins 360 Black Friday figures

Software giant claims Xbox 360 outsold PS3 three-to-one over holiday weekend, topped last year's numbers by 25 percent.

Last weekend's kickoff to the holiday shopping season surpassed expectations: US consumers spent 3 percent more than last year despite the weak economy. The first evidence that the game industry fared even better arrived today, as Microsoft touted a record Black Friday performance from the Xbox 360.

According to the company, early US Xbox 360 system sales for the weekend were "on pace" to beat last year's total by 25 percent. Given the 310,000 Xbox 360s sold during Thanksgiving week last year, that could put last week's number of systems sold closer to 388,000. For the entire month of October, the NPD Group reported that 371,000 Xbox 360s were sold by US retailers.

Citing retailer reports, Microsoft also said that the Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3 by a three-to-one margin. Last year that ratio (also based on retailer estimates) was two-to-one.

For most of the year, the 360 and the PS3 have been finishing neck and neck in US sales, although Sony's console won a big victory in June. However, the Xbox 360 has been pulling away from Sony's system since September, thanks to price cuts that put the hard-drive-less 360 Arcade at $199--making it the cheapest current-generation console on the market. Despite that, hardware sales for Nintendo's Wii remain well in front of either of its console competitors.

334 Comments

  • SolidTy

    Posted Dec 22, 2010 2:22 pm GMT


    I love the word spin, because that exactly what I just read above.

  • Combii

    Posted Dec 2, 2009 11:05 am GMT

    Im wishing a xbox 360 to Christmas, i hope i get one

  • mastiffchild

    Posted Dec 15, 2008 4:19 pm GMT

    Redemption. Firstly when Ihad my string of faulty 360s I had to pay for Live and as half he time I couldn't play(console away again)it , in fact , doubled in cost for me. As would the big sales in US arcade if you had to buy the MS HDD to download anything at all.
    Also,where I live the extended three year warranty is over and you now get one year(and ONLY for RROD).
    And if you find anything morally "right" about MS selling the 360 to gamers before fixing it just to get a jump on Sony led devs then there's something up. We paid people like SE to open up to MS and 360 by being sucked in to buying an untested, QA free piece of manure and givng M$ the cash to do so. I f this strategy proves very successful this gen then don't moan when Microsoft shaft us twice as bad next time out. Nintendo and Sony are no saints but the way there wasn't a mass recall for the 360 is very fishy and if you only read the US(and threfore MS pro)sites and press you'd be unaware that PS3 has a bigger install base in every other territory-and this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the MS grip on the major american based gaming sites. It's dragging something we love into the gutter and MS will make us all pay again if we don't wise up and let on we know what they've done to us-or do you enjoy being bent over by a company that could/should have done things properly for it's consumers(of which I was once a dvout one)?

  • Redemption80

    Posted Dec 11, 2008 4:53 pm GMT

    Ah, i go away a few days, and the uninformed start posting

    360's come with a 3 year guarentee, if it breaks or RROD in those 3 years, you get a new one, you don't have to buy a new one, so Blaze, no you wont have to keep buyin a new one and no that isnt why sales are higher.
    Xbox live is far better than PSN, and the money saved from getting a 360 rather than a PS3 would enable you to get about 3-4 years of Live, so i guess that means its less than free

    HD-DVD failed because Microsoft didn't push it, and didn't want to as claimed by Michal Bay, which is lookin correct now, by the amount of HD downloads on the 360.
    BlueRay look far better than DVD, the difference is as much as VHS-DVD, if you can't see it, you need a new TV, new BluRay player or better eyes

  • Blaze_Hrimfaxi

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 1:01 pm GMT

    Id like to have a 360, but i dont like the idea of having to pay for online play and to have to keep buying new ones everytime one breaks.

  • daveg1

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 12:18 pm GMT

    or so they say............

  • Blaze_Hrimfaxi

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 11:06 am GMT

    The only reason why sales are so high is they keep breaking and getting RRODs and people have to buy more. (Dont start with me Xbots, you know its true.)

  • wallywallas

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 9:11 am GMT

    Are people still trying to buy HD-DVD? Ha! Hilarious. Much like the Laserdisc and the VHS, the idea is to phase out DVD and make Blu-Ray the standard distribution.

    But with Digital Distribution and HDTV downloads from torrents and whatnot, it seems highly unlikely it will happen.

    It's pretty good for games though. See MGS4, it took almost 50gb's to complete it, and it wasn't a problem because of the size capacity of BD's.

  • corkyhookahking

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 9:04 am GMT

    Yeah Playstation lost most of it's exclusives but 360 has the same issue now i own both but i enjoy my Playstation more and if all of you can't get over yourselves than well that's sad you see neither system is going any where and if i like the PS3 and you like the 360 it doesn't matter because it's a choice.

  • airman053

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 8:59 am GMT

    @parrot of adun

    Do you even own an HDTV?? On more recent movies (within the last 5 years or so, maybe more) the video quality of BD's is WAY better. Older movies sometimes don't make much of a difference because they just weren't filmed that way.

  • gaming247

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 8:48 am GMT

    Dr Taffin...HD-DVD lost the format war thats why you cant find new movies you dumbass!!!!

  • parrot_of_adun

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 5:11 am GMT

    @"dr_taffin"

    The only Significant difference between the two is that HDDVD has a much better seek time, making them Ideal for games (despite being used for games, BD is a miserable choice as it's seek times are usually laughably high).

    The thing is, if you honestly are willing to buy a BD player and BDs, you're either rich or foolish. The difference in video quality (for movies) is so insignificant, it's pointless. DVD are just fine for that, but the whole HD format wars had the most potential for games, and Sony screwed us all by eliminating what could have actually been useful, BDs are worthless for gaming (ever wonder why so many PS3 games make you install stuff? yeah, it's because it can't read the damn disc fast enough, so it has to put it on it's own HDD).

    BTW, the REAL next format will be holographic media (which does exist and can hold hundreds of gigs).

  • dr_taffin

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 11:51 pm GMT

    Thidias, is HD-DVD really just a good as Blu-Ray? I'd do a comparison using The Dark Knight, but I'm having a hard time finding any new movies on HD-DVD for some reason.

  • jahoousa

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 7:57 pm GMT

    Awww shucks. The ps3 is so shiny though. Why why why!!!?? Why couldn't it just be the other way around...

  • msudude211

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 6:46 pm GMT

    Horray for the 360!

  • Dragorro

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 5:01 pm GMT

    360 wins for the 200th time and im tired of bashing the ps3 it bashes itself.

  • Taosaurus

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 4:17 pm GMT

    Apparently, SPAM is outselling steak by a three-to-one margin at grocery stores as well... Mmmm... Yummy.

  • coolguy681

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 3:44 pm GMT

    Thidias do u even have a 360???

  • Thidias posted Dec 9, 2008 3:32 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Thidias

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 3:32 pm GMT (hide)

    Nintendo is doing incredibly well with their current console, the Wii. I personally haven't found all that much to grasp with, I don't own one right now myself, but I do enjoy playing on friends Wiis

    I love my 360, Microsoft is doing great with the 360 as well in my opinion. The PS3 sucks, and Blueray is overrated. HD-DVD is just as good, and isn't nearly as pricey. And really, do they need 50gigs per disk? No. And, to quote Finstar:
    "Its funny:
    - The PS 3 lost almost all of their exklusives (DMC,Tekken,GTA, FF...insert more here)
    - The PS 3 lost all 4 graphics comparisons or is almost even
    - Sony ditches 4 percent of its employees
    - The PS 3 never even closely lived up to the hype Sony or the Fanboys were building

    ..and there are still people stating (out of the air) that the PS 3 is better."

    Owned. In my opinion, 360>Wii>PS3, from my more hardcore gaming perspective, as in I play Halo 3, Gears, etc., where as people that buy Wiis might play WiiFit, Mario Soccer, or Mario Party. Microsoft's online platform with Xbox Live has always been the best online, and it still is by large margins I'd say. PS3 Online has come a long way, but still sucks. Frequently disconnects, is laggy, and has basically just been copying Xbox Live's features ver batim for at least a few years now. All in all, I like the 360 and the Wii, and I think that they both have a very viable and strong place in the market. The PS3 blows. End of story.

  • vibu4

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 3:07 pm GMT

    damn...but i am still not gonna give away my ps3 its the best thing out there.....i like the 360 too but only two games...so i thought it wasnt worth it and the xbox controller is kind of ugly and not user friendly....i like the ps3 controller i love resistance i love metal gear i love uncharted i love little big planet i love a lot of stuff about ps3 and i bet that MAG is gonna own halo 3!

  • Finstar

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 2:20 pm GMT

    Its funny:
    - The PS 3 lost almost all of their exklusives (DMC,Tekken,GTA, FF...insert more here)
    - The PS 3 lost all 4 graphics comparisons or is almost even
    - Sony ditches 4 percent of its employees
    - The PS 3 never even closely lived up to the hype Sony or the Fanboys were building

    ..and there are still people stating (out of the air) that the PS 3 is better.

    Anyway, while the new ability to copy games to the hard disk is an absolutely bombastic feature, the 360 took a step back with this fruit cake avatar stuff....really scary.... its like somebody installed a Wii on my dashboard...

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 2:03 pm GMT

    Ps3 Still better

  • YoJim8obaJoe

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 2:00 pm GMT

    mankeyador

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 8:54 pm GMT

    This holiday season is funny. The year the ps3's "killer apps" come out there is a recession and the 360 pulls ahead again in sales. $199 for a gaming system sounds pretty good to a casual gamer. couldnt agree more,I know so many people that were planning on buying a PS3 before the recession kicked in,now all but 1 have decided against buying.Glad I got mine when the money was good

  • mankeyador

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 12:54 pm GMT

    This holiday season is funny. The year the ps3's "killer apps" come out there is a recession and the 360 pulls ahead again in sales. $199 for a gaming system sounds pretty good to a casual gamer.

  • Ra-Devil

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 10:19 am GMT

    D4NZEL-709

    I love your logic. It is flawless, without doubt, and loaded with facts. I think you should be some kind of Sony Spokesperson. You tell it how it is, and only that. You don't make things up or talk out of your ***. You don't commit slander of any kind. You just get your points out there, and leave the rest to the opposing. Your amazing.... simply.... amazing.

    Now that I've wiped the stupidity from my ears, yeah, I saw this coming. I mean, not in a negative way, but M$ has the cheapest console on the market, and for most people, it doesn't matter if it's lacking in a HDD. Hell, I work at GameStop, and it never helps to tell people that it only comes with a memory card. Most of them are parents, and aren't looking to play the thing online or any of that jazz. They just want a console that plays 360 games, that can save data, and that's it. They aren't looking for anything else. You don't really grasp how many people there are untill your working on Black Friday from 7 AM to 4 PM, with a line out the door from 7 to 1, and actually a lot of them are asking for Xbox's. I think we sold... 1 PS3? We sold about 10 Wii's, and about 15 or so 360 while I was there. Even to this day, I've sold people 360s and Wii's and I have yet to sell someone a PS3 or witness someone else sell a PS3. I've heard employees talking about when they got them, but yet to hear or see anything else. I don't work as often as I'd like though, so that's somewhat understandable... I'd still like to sell at least 1 PS3 before I ship off to basic.

  • jknight5422

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 10:12 am GMT

    Sounds like Mr. Softy has won the war this generation.

  • D4NZEL-709

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 10:06 am GMT

    The only time i think ps3 is going 2 outsell xbox will be 2010-2011 cause that will be when most games will lag on the xbox unless if they upgrade the system which i think they will cause they will have the money.

  • StuDevo

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 8:54 am GMT

    @ george999819
    The PSN is rather busy especially the home beta.
    Also the most players allowed on 360 online games are 12-16 players. Resistance 2 60 players. I think that sums it up

  • buffdaddy69

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 7:33 am GMT

    "CaptainHerlock Posted Dec 9, 2008 2:49 am GMT Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't GameSpot sponsor Halo tournaments? I see people saying "GameSpot is not biased". I'm not going to say that they are, however if a company that I worked for did business with sank a ton of advertising money into my company then you can better be sure my employees will "tow the line". And let's not forget that there are ways to sway journalists. Press junkets, free swag, "perks" that come with the territory, etc. It may be unethical from a journalistic standpoint, but it's the nature of business."

    Correct me if im wrong but didnt gamespot host a Resistence 2 tournament?

  • Ebaumisnoob

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 4:01 am GMT

    I really can't see why the Wii is doing so well, there are 10 good titles in a sea of party games and fad games, as well as missing out on titles like Fallout 3 and GTAIV due to inferior hardware! I wonder what a customer satisfaction survey would show?

  • gamer082009

    Posted Dec 9, 2008 2:05 am GMT

    You can't beat a $199 for a Xbox 360, and with the games it has, total domination. It's amazing how Microsoft knows what gamers want, but Sony loses touch with what gamers want. And Nintendo, they're just Nintendo. Plain and simple, the 360 hardware problems are not much of a concern anymore due to the slightly better innards of the 360 (added heatsink etc.). And Xbox LIVE, is simply unlike anyother, you'd be dumb and crazy not to delve into the world of the 360!

  • george999819

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 11:13 pm GMT

    Toysoldier34: "Well the $200 box 360 is kinda crap. For any serious gamer this simply won't do. Reminds me of the ploys taken by a little company called Nintendo. Although business wise it's great, but for the true gamers it simply won't do."

    For any serious gamer the PS3 won't do. All the big games of this generation appear either exclusively on the 360 or are multiplatform and the better version is on the 360 (Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, etc.). And any serious online gamer would chosoe Xbox LIVe. The PSN is crap with a dead, micless community, and few players online. Every game on Xbox LIVE has a huge community, even in two to three year old games you can still find many people playing. Xbox LIVe also has by far the most players online. Reportedly 8 times as many active users as the PSN.

  • Toysoldier34

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 9:56 pm GMT

    Well the $200 box 360 is kinda crap. For any serious gamer this simply won't do. Reminds me of the ploys taken by a little company called Nintendo. Although business wise it's great, but for the true gamers it simply won't do.

  • 1_9_9_4

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 8:23 pm GMT

    I am a 360 owner and despite our past differences i think 360 owners and PS3 owners must unite to destroy the Wii. All in favor?

  • CaptainHerlock

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 6:49 pm GMT

    Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't GameSpot sponsor Halo tournaments?


    I see people saying "GameSpot is not biased". I'm not going to say that they are, however if a company that I worked for did business with sank a ton of advertising money into my company then you can better be sure my employees will "tow the line". And let's not forget that there are ways to sway journalists. Press junkets, free swag, "perks" that come with the territory, etc. It may be unethical from a journalistic standpoint, but it's the nature of business.

  • trickyspider

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 5:27 pm GMT

    LOL gamespot is not biased at all.. It is a Cnet site and they always review products according to how they are sent to them in this case they are sent the 360 version. And another thing is that why would people buy a expensive console when they can get MOSTLY all the games they get on ps3 on a 360.. and why wud someone want to pay 300$ extra for 1 or 2 games like killzone, god of war.. dont u think u can like save a lot if u dint play those 2 games and plus they all going multiplatform... and yea to all the people who hate 360.. i feel ur pain.. i kno u guys paid so much more and in return u got nothing.. and as for the RROD well we get it replaced for free anyway u kno.. its not like we will spend a fortune if we get that.. so wat if there is a RROD u wudnt jst hate a console for that..... Its microsoft who has lost the money not the 360 owners cuz they still get it fixed for free and a 3 yr wty..

  • lathan94

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 5:01 pm GMT

    Why the heck do people think Gamespot is biased! If you want to know why a game gets a higher score on another platform read the freaking review they always state why. Can you not read or something? And when you say they always preview the 360 version have you ever thought that mabey thats all the developer let them preview. And when you click on a multiplatform game preview and it goes to the 360 section of the website that doesnt meant that they are previewing the 360 version it just means that linked it to that section. Ok enough rambling, I was thinking about getting a PS3 but instead am getting a very nice Computer for a good price about $800. I am a 360 owner and enjoy it.

  • stevenrkorea

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 4:21 pm GMT

    @JJDomo, I don't feel that Gamespot favors any system over the other. If they review multiplatform games on the 360 more than they do on PS3, that's most likely because the developers send them 360 versions of the game instead of PS3 ones. In fact, recently they gave the PS3 (this isn't a shot at PS3, it's just a fact) version of Fallout 3 a lower score than the PC and 360 versions because of technical issues. Honestly, if you checked Gamespot 5 years ago, you would have thought they favored PS2 over Xbox. That wasn't the case at all, it was just simply that PS2 was doing better than Xbox was. Now the tables have turned and 360 is doing better than PS3. Gamespot is just a reflection of the current software battles.

  • xBLACK-MAGEx

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 4:04 pm GMT

    sole ps3 gamers are upset because, they paid more, and are getting less. im sure about 20000000 ps3 fanboys are going to reply "yeah well at least my console never breaks". to that i humbly reply, isnt it the same having so much to play on a system that breaks, then nothing at all on a system that doesn't. there both collecting dust right? 360 collects dust in style. (btw mines never broken)

  • bulletwaster

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 3:02 pm GMT

    I wonder why the ps3 sold better in June? Hmmm...... what do you think Snake?

  • jjdomo

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 12:57 pm GMT

    oh and btw, Wii sold more units than ms and sony combined.

  • jjdomo

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 12:52 pm GMT

    @CharlieFubar

    That's because GameSpot editors and employees seem to be biased towards the 360. You ever notice how if a game is multi-platform, they almost always preview it on the 360? Why not preview it on the other systems every once in a while? Sounds like bias to me.

  • CharlieFubar

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 12:41 pm GMT

    @division 9 - if your ps3 exclusives are so much greater - why have our exclusives gotten higher reviews every time.... lol not even exclusives but 3rd party multiplat games get a point higher for 360

  • markharris31

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 12:18 pm GMT

    So all three companies are still making consoles, and people are still buying them... what's new?

  • Wardrift

    Posted Dec 8, 2008 8:53 am GMT

    No surprise that the PS3 is behind in sales. With the Xbox now on par with the Wii on pricing, the PS3 looks like an ultra-expensive, less appealing product in comparison. With low sales and still expensive hardware, it is unlikely Sony will lower their prices anytime soon. This will unfortunately to lead an ever-increasing distant 3rd place for Sony, and it will be a long time before they can start to recover, if ever.

  • Redemption80

    Posted Dec 7, 2008 3:25 pm GMT

    Inconnux
    Can't say i agree with the below or the quote in in you post.
    Vista is the first Windows OS i've not had that many things to complain about, which is weird for me, as i love to complain.
    As for the 360 being good hardware wise, yes if you don't count the RROD fiasco, but as that is a biggie, it has to be included, as its took them far too long to sort out

  • Inconnux

    Posted Dec 7, 2008 2:52 pm GMT

    "Microsoft is a great SOFTWARE developer/publisher. Unfortunately, in order to enjoy their great games, you have to enjoy those games on their failure of a console. Microsoft has gamers by the nuts."

    LOL you've never used Vista have you????? their hardware is FAR better than their software. Ive been thinking about buying a 360, but you couldn't Pay me to own a PS3...

  • picklesrocks

    Posted Dec 7, 2008 12:43 pm GMT

    ah stop winging you ps3 fanboys just because your getting your asses whooped and you can take it

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