Microsoft Corp expects its Xbox game console sales to outpace broader market growth next year, a senior executive said on Wednesday, projecting optimism despite dampened consumer spending.
Although the global economic slowdown has hit consumer demand, Microsoft expects the overall video game industry to continue growing next year as more people choose to stay at home, said Alan Bowman, Asia general manager of Xbox operations. Industry watchers expect the sector to grow in the 20 percent range this year, though Bowman declined to give specific forecasts for 2009.
"Outpacing the market is a key measure, but we've also managed to broaden the market to include people who have never played video games before," Bowman, who is based in Sydney, told Reuters in a phone interview. "So what is really driving our growth momentum right now is how we are broadening our consumer base to include not only hardcore gamers but also individuals who would have previously not thought about buying a game console."
In Asia, market research firm GfK said Xbox shipments in October grew by 53 percent compared to September after Microsoft cut the price of the console to less than $200. No figures were available for the same period last year as they only began tracking the market late last year.
The Xbox outsold rival Sony's PlayStation 3 in Japan in September, its first monthly unit sales win in Sony's home base. However, it still lags behind Nintendo's Wii console, which sold over 2 million units in the US in November.
Microsoft has sold about 25 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide since its introduction in late 2005, compared to 14.4 million units for Sony's PlayStation 3 and 30 million of Nintendo's Wii units, which both came out in late 2006.
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