Xbox 360 sales up 40% in UK after price cut

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 18th 2008 at 8:40AM }

Over the weekend the Xbox 360 saw an impressive 40% sales spike in the UK following a European price cut. The spike comes just as Sony prepares for another PS3 retail offering with the GT5: Prologue Bundle. According to Chart-Track, despite the Xbox 360 hardware boost, the software sales did not see an increase, but the company dismissed that because of the strong showing the previous week by Army of Two and Bully.

Chart-Track also reports that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games returned to the top spot in the software sales. Seriously, people, tell grandma to stop buying this game and end the madness.

Tags: sales, uk, xbox 360, Xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Nigeria: Cody ChesnuTT Defense Force @ Mar 18th 2008 8:50AM

It would be more useful if gamesindustry.biz provided actual numbers. 40% could mean anything.

Not that I care, just thinking aloud.

Markusdragon @ Mar 18th 2008 9:11AM

Well, it means at least 7 were sold this week. Theoretically.

cranium @ Mar 18th 2008 3:53PM

unfortunately for you, Markusdragon, your comment went right over the heads of everyone who down-rated you. I understood it though. You're not the only educated person who comments here.

SoulBlade @ Mar 18th 2008 9:02AM

Holy crap, so what you're saying is that if we reduce the price of a console, more people will buy it? Seriously???!?

Brian @ Mar 18th 2008 9:11AM

Quick tell Sony that!

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Mar 18th 2008 1:33PM

NO WAI!!!!

Korova @ Mar 18th 2008 1:52PM

The law of supply and demand strikes again! Some surprised.

Film at 11

Matt B @ Mar 18th 2008 9:39AM

So a cheaper console sells more?!? No wonder the wii is selling so much.

Mills and Boom @ Mar 18th 2008 10:37AM

The Wii still sold more though.

Better games *and* low price is why it's still the best selling console in the UK...

itsburnsie @ Mar 18th 2008 10:55AM

@Mills and Boom

I'm not going to dispute that Nintendo published games are anything but masterpieces for the most part(I own a Wii and am happy with it), but seriously... Better games on the Wii???? Are you kidding me? COME ON.

The Wii has so much shovelware in it's library it's ridiculous. Stack the number of quality games up against those available on 360 or PS3, and you can't honestly say the Wii has more quality games.... unless you really love "My Horse and Me."

You can't point to 5 amazing games and say "SEE, BETTER GAMES" if those are the only 5 games worth playing on the console.

Hyams @ Mar 18th 2008 11:29AM

The Wii is now more expensive that 360 Arcade in Europe now.

Makes its continued dominance all the more impressive, really.

xFenixKnightx @ Mar 18th 2008 9:49AM

MS, unveil the new 60gigger at $279.99 and the Elite at $349.00. Do away with the Arcade model already!! This will = more sales for you. That is all.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Zeon Defense Force) @ Mar 18th 2008 10:00AM

Don't ditch the arcade model. I still have my hard drive, once the Jaspers ship, I want to buy an arcade jasper, get some free games, and save myself about $70.

Also, keep in mind, in 6 more months, that warranty is up so the Arcade stands as a decent replacement program.

xFenixKnightx @ Mar 18th 2008 10:25AM

So you DID actually have a 360 in the past, right? So whats your Gamertag then, same as PSN ID?

Noshino @ Mar 18th 2008 2:37PM

Fenix,

You should recall sheppy complaining about how he didn't want another 360 that would RRoD on him anytime...so he decided to wait til jasper, I think it was even during the release week of Mass Effect or some other game of the same caliber....

Richard @ Mar 18th 2008 9:50AM

Well I have seen more 360 ads here in London in the past couple days. It is a compelling impulse buy for the Arcade package at £160. Then I remember to convert back to Canadian dollars and $320 is a pretty hefty fee for one without a hard drive.

DangerMouse @ Mar 18th 2008 11:01AM

Incredible. What happens in ten years when you want to pull out the old system for some good gaming, and it don't work? I doubt Microsoft will ever do Backwards Compatibility again considering how they dropped it this generation.

DangerMouse @ Mar 18th 2008 11:02AM

Wrong fucking reply again. this was for below.

Korova @ Mar 18th 2008 3:00PM

Its the same price and most of the US, because UK prices are quoted with tax included and US prices without tax.

FrankTheCrank @ Mar 18th 2008 9:55AM

Joystiq, two 360 console pictures in one day?

How about displaying a third and going for the trifecta...but this time, can you post an RROD 360?

Purdy please?

Player1 @ Mar 18th 2008 9:58AM

Not funny. I just got my third RROD last night. Will be on my fourth console when it's fixed. But apparently it's all in my head since Microsoft says it's a 3% failure rate and some dude somewhere has his launch console still.

FrankTheCrank @ Mar 18th 2008 10:03AM

dude...c'mon. You're joking, right?

Fourth console?

You're a Sony fanboy, right?

Absolutely despicable. What happens when the three year warranty is up? After you've invested in so many games(DVD and DLC). It's almost like a trap.

Player1 @ Mar 18th 2008 10:22AM

Not joking. Got my first not too long after launch, replaced with the Best Buy replacement plan when it died. Second one only lived about 5 months, and did the Best Buy shuffle again, but I think Best Buy screwed me and told me I didn't need to buy another replacement plan when I really did.

I kept them all well ventilated and clean. Hell, I didn't even have to dust this latest one off when I took it out of my entertainment center it was so clean.

I have the receipts/paperwork for all of this if you don't believe me.

The worst part is losing your DRM rights/saves if you have to return your hard drive. Some games won't let you copy to memory card or have such large game saves. Rock Band and DOA are two of the main offenders. After my first box died I had to unlock all the fighters again, but did it on a memory card so I wouldn't lose it when my box died.

Pureshooter @ Mar 18th 2008 10:26AM

What you do is sell your system while it's working right before the three years is up, then purchase a new, more reliable console with a new 3 year warranty. It'll still cost you about $150-$200, but you really have no other option.

I'm not saying this is acceptable, but this is what everyone should be thinking of doing, unless you want to lost massive amounts of money in all the software you've purchased thus far and don't care about future 360 games.

FrankTheCrank @ Mar 18th 2008 10:57AM

That's good thinking pureshooter. That's using your noggin. So at 2.8 or 2.9 years, dump it on eBay and by that time, you hope they have a stabilized hardware out.

You know, I think it might do Microsoft some good if they just redesigned the whole thing from the ground up. A new redesign will rectify the RROD situation in many peoples minds. Buying into Jasper with the same casing as the original 360 still gives me the heeby jeebies.

Player1 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:02AM

I just get the store replacement programs. But it hasn't done me much good. Each one was brand new, and each one died.

I do have a ton of money invested in it now. I probably have at least 12 games, the HD-DVD player, 10 HD-DVDs, 4 controllers, the camera, the wireless headset, memory card (which I only had to buy to transfer saves to my new 360s), all my downloaded content, etc. I have all the consoles, but if Microsoft didn't have Live and all my friends weren't on it, I'd just stick with the PS3 simply for the fact it's stable. I love the 360 other than the failure rate and DRM.

If they did a complete redesign, the whole issue would start over as they work the bugs out of the new design. I tell you one thing. I free month of Live does not make up for selling crappy hardware and claiming it's got a normal failure rate.

Dale @ Mar 18th 2008 11:23AM

Player1, ignoring dirt, do you store your system horizontally or vertically? Is the space in your entertainment center well ventilated? How long is your average session? Do you leave the system powered on when not in use?

Although the failure rate is shocking and MS definitely need to be held accountable, I can't understand how some people are seeing such frequent failures unless there is something wrong with how they use the system.

Player1 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:40AM

I have it place horizontally. It's on a glass shelf, open air on all four sides. There is at least six inches between it and the next component (which is only on one side). There is are no doors of any kind in the entertainment center it's in, it's basically glass shelves with some support beams. My average session is probably 2.5 hours. I do not leave it on all the time, only when watching a movie on it or playing a game. I also have a Wii and PS3, so I don't always play the 360. I use it maybe 4 days out of the week. Also, none of my other equipment has had any problems. And this is in an air conditioned home, which I live by myself in, so I know nobody else is abusing it.

Player1 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:48AM

Dale, I would love for someone to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I don't enjoy not having a working console, losing time on my live subscription, moving all my saves, redownloading all my content, losing the DRM on purchased content, etc. If there is a solution to this, I would love to hear it.

Mike @ Mar 18th 2008 11:51AM

*raises hand*

I am one of all of my friends who still has their launch console. I know at least 20+ people who still have their day 1 consoles.

I'm not denying the problem, but just because YOU have a problem doesn't make it some kind of epidemic. And that's not to say that you aren't helping it along somehow. Maybe you aren't taking good enough care of them on top of any manufacturing errors that may be present.

Player1 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:58AM

Mike, believe what you want. You may have 20 friends on their launch consoles and know that for a fact. I know that I'm about to be on my fourth, and I take pefect care of mine, and that most of my friends are on their second or third and I know that for a fact. I know that none of my other consoles or equipment, or ANYTHING I own fails as much as the 360 has.

I'm not a Sony fanboy or anything. I'm just a person who spend all last night dealing with my third dead 360 and I'm really getting sick of it.

dannyCage @ Mar 18th 2008 12:26PM

Bought a X360 to my younger brother for Xmas 2006, he is on his 3rd box today... and he is far from a heavy gamer..

Player1 @ Mar 18th 2008 2:23PM

Another thing to note is that Microsoft extended the warranty to three years for the RROD issue. This was reported to cost them $1 billion. $1 billion can buy you 2,857,142 Xbox 360 Pros. I know the costs don't work out like that buy that's to give you an idea of how wide of a problem it is.

Supino @ Mar 18th 2008 9:55AM

too bad we don't have NPDs for Europe..

Kola @ Mar 18th 2008 10:27AM

Ok not to a dick, but can anyone here point me to the PS3 sells more than the 360 in February post. I was looking for it to read the smart ass remarks about wait until next month and see but I can't find it anywhere. Is it even on joystiq?

deaftly (Brawl - 1075-0467-4222) @ Mar 18th 2008 10:58AM

http://i32.tinypic.com/91jxw5.jpg

Kola @ Mar 18th 2008 11:35AM

hmm interesting so no one here cares about the two month lead Sony managed to pull off in the US? interesting indeed.

Hyams @ Mar 18th 2008 11:27AM

According to VGChartz, though, PS3 still outsold the 360 in Europe last week. Having said that, the price cut had only been in action for the last two days of the week, so perhaps it'll be a different story this week.

hey_big_dck @ Mar 18th 2008 11:41AM

no apperently they will shortages till next month unless thats only in the us

pagefault @ Mar 18th 2008 12:27PM

vgchartz does not use NPD data it's pure speculation.

Mills and Boom @ Mar 18th 2008 1:31PM

Speculation it may be, but when you have a poorly rated PS3 game character as your avatar you get what you can.

Nightvortez @ Mar 18th 2008 5:45PM

NPD date only gives you US sales...

but no, vgchartz isn't fully speculations, they aren't as accurate as NPD obviously, nor are they as accurate as Media Create but if you're trying to get a fair estimate they are rarely far from the truth.

Now having said that I'm not saying the 360 didn't outsell the PS3 in Europe, but give vgchartz some credit, here is a little copypasta.

"VG Chartz collects data directly from retailers all over the world. Retailer sample sizes are small compared to professional tracking services, but are large enough to provide very accurate projections of the latest console sell through figures worldwide."