Microsoft continues to hold 49% of the market share in terms of console sales in the US as it tops the hardware sales charts for yet another month, taking the run to 21 months in the number one spot.
There is no doubting the fact that the Xbox 360 owns the video game market in North America. The fact that Microsoft is based in the United States and understands the local market better than any other means that the Xbox 360 is designed with the needs of the core gamer in mind.
At the same time, Sony and Nintendo have struggled in the region during recent years as Microsoft continues to market and re-price its consoles. The console itself sold amazingly well but just as they were about to cross the maturity point a stroke of genius saw the sales shoot back up.
That stroke of genius was the Kinect. The motion controlled peripheral went on to become a massive hit and gave the Xbox 360 a new lease on life. The console went from entering the decline stage to one that saw yet another boom.
Throw in the new contract deal that Microsoft is offering, where anyone can pick up an Xbox 360 and Kinect for $99 up front followed by monthly instalments and the console has become more affordable than ever.
It seems that Microsoft knows how to stay on top of the game as it has spent yet another month, which makes it 21 consecutive months that the game has spent on the top of the sales charts in the US.
According to the latest figures over 270,000 Xbox 360s were sold in the previous month alone, more than any other console. In fact, it represents just under half the total hardware sales in the video game industry. At 49% of all sales, the Xbox 360 holds a monopoly in the region, as we have emphasized before.
However, analysts all agree that the current generation of consoles will feel a greater need to announce their next generation consoles as Nintendo is set to release the Wii U soon. Both Microsoft and Sony stand the risk of losing early ground to Nintendo in the next generation console race.
Demand for the Wii U has also been overwhelming, as many retailers had to stop taking pre-orders due to a lack of supply.
All in all, it will be interesting to see if Microsoft can make it 2 years on the top or whether Nintendo will come and crash the party before the Xbox 360’s special night. Either way, the next couple of months will be industry-defining and everyone should be excited not just for the first next-gen console but also for how it will affect the industry as whole.
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