Microsoft Xbox 360 Remains Most Popular Game Console in the US

by Anton Shilov

Even despite of the fact that Nintendo has just released its all-new Wii U video game system, Microsoft Corp.?s Xbox 360 remains the No. 1 console in the U.S. According to the software giant, it managed to sell nearly twice the number of Xbox 360 consoles than Nintendo sold Wii U systems in the first week of sales from November 18 to November 23, 2012.

Microsoft?s internal Black Friday sales numbers published by Major Nelson web-site (which belongs to Microsoft) reveal that the company sold 750 thousand of Xbox 360 consoles in the U.S. alone, exceeding internal forecasts. By contrast, Nintendo only supplied 400 thousand of Wii U game systems to the hands of the end users in the first week of sales. Back in October, Microsoft sold 270 thousand of Xbox 360 in the U.S., which was more than any of its rivals.

The Redmond, Washington-based software company also revealed that Xbox Live Gold subscription sales increased more than 50% compared to last year?s Black Friday week. On Sunday alone Microsoft had more than 14 million people on Xbox Live across the world, racking up more than 72 million hours of use in just one day.

First week sales of Nintendo Wii U were 200 thousand lower than the first week sales of Nintendo Wii back in 2006. The manufacturer cited production limitations for slow shipments of Wii U, which may actually be true as online retailer Amazon has no Wii Us in stock.

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Starting mid-October, national retailers, including Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, Target, Toys ?R Us and Walmart, has carried Xbox 360 holiday console bundles, which include Xbox 360 hardware, games as well as one free month of Xbox Live Gold, Hulu Plus and Epix.

Configuration of bundles looks as follows:

• Xbox 360 4GB + Kinect with Kinect Disneyland Adventures, Kinect Adventures and one month of Xbox Live Gold for $299.99.
• Xbox 360 250 GB with Skyrim and Forza 4 Essentials Edition and one month of Xbox Live Gold for $299.99.
• Xbox 360 250GB + Kinect with Dance Central 2, Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures and one month of Xbox LIVE Gold for $399.99.

For a limited amount of time at select major national retailers, Microsoft offers $50 discounts on such consoles and bundles like Xbox 360 4GB + Kinect, Xbox 360 250GB and Xbox 360 250GB + Kinect.

Source: http://www.xboxcool.com/xbox-news/microsoft-xbox-360-remains-most-popular-game-console-in-the-u-s.html

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