Microsoft have replied to grim reports regarding XBox sales with a short, yet meaningful, press release. According to the release Microsoft's console is about to hit 6 new markets, those of South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and Mexico. In an attempt to first tap into virgin gaming markets, Microsoft will try to promote the XBox in areas not used to the excesses of the traditional western culture. Whether these markets have matured enough to accept such a move is something which has yet to be tested. Considering some of these countries, more noticeably Mexico, have high poverty figures this may be a risky decision.
The press release also went into a different interpretation of recent sales figures in an attempt to show that XBox sales are on the up. According to the release sales have increased 131 percent in the U.S. since the USD100 price cut in May. This increase is greater than the sales gains of rival consoles by Nintendo and Sony, both of which also introduced hardware price cuts in May.
Microsoft had already released figures last week showing that they had sold 3.9 million XBox units worldwide by June 30, along with 20 million units of software.
The company also said two more Xbox titles, its own Project Gotham Racing and Tecmo's Dead or Alive 3, have passed the million sold mark, joining Microsoft's Halo.
John O'Rourke, Microsoft's director of worldwide Xbox marketing, told Reuters the company is committed to bringing out new versions of both Halo and Project Gotham in the next year, and taking advantage of Xbox Live, the new online gaming service Microsoft plans to launch later this fall. According to O'Rourke, the release of the new service is one of the main reasons XBox will become available in the new markets mentioned above. Many of these countries were chosen because they are hotbeds of online gaming, said O'Rourke who went on to claim that having learned from the European paradigm, Microsoft will make sure the price of the console in the new markets will be competitive. We've learned a lot about the importance of good pricing and being competitive in the marketplace. We have every intention of being competitive.
You can read more on console sales in
XBox Faces Grim Sales Figures in Japan.