Xbox 360 Sales Double After Price Cut

Xbox 360 sales have doubled in the U.S. following the recent price cut for the console. According to a Bloomberg report, retailers have seen a 100 percent increase in demand for all models, compared to the previous weekend.

A leaked email from Microsoft said some models saw sales increase six-fold on the previous weekend, although details of which model and exact sales figures were not given.

Although all SKUs received a price cut, the least-expensive Xbox 360 Arcade bundle was reduced to a price below that of the Wii. Previously priced at $279, the Arcade fell to $199 -- $50 less than the Wii. The Premium model, which includes a 60GB hard drive, dropped from $349 to $299, and the Xbox 360 Elite fell from $449 to $399.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that the price cuts could give the Xbox 360 in general an up to 20 percent sales boostfor the remainder of the year, particularly if Wii supplies are constrained in the run-up to the Christmas season.

Similar price cuts of around 30 percent will also take effect shortly in Japan, once stock is replenished in the wake of the release of Namco Bandai’s Tales of Vesperia. However, no price cuts have been announced, or even rumored, for Europe.