14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will certainly have a very happy holiday season this year, as its Xbox 360 console is doing very well in terms of sales and profitability. The fact that the North American company employed several price cuts and partnered with quite a lot of publishers in order to launch bundles that would attract even more clients has proven to be a successful move, as it is now widening the gap between the console and its Arch rival, the PlayStation 3.
But, although things went extremely well in 2008, as it has dominated quite a lot of territories that were traditionally won over by the PS3, the company is very confident about next year as well. The fact that quite a lot of high-quality games will appear and that the low price of the console will continue to be a major selling point will bring some very big sales for Microsoft, says Alan Bowman, the head of the Xbox Asia division.
In a recent interview with Reuteurs, he talks about the fact that the Chinese New Year, which will occur at the end of January 2009, will surely move quite a lot of consoles in the Asian country. This trend of high profitability will not stop, and the fact that the North American company will continue to invest heavily in game development through its Microsoft Game Studios division will also ensure a boost in sales, says Bowman.
“Game development is the core of what we do,” he says. “Microsoft is a software company by heart, and we will continue to work with our partners and by ourselves to develop new software for the market. Any global company needs to be mindful of their costs and money, but that's a combination of good internal controls and effective cost management.”
After a very solid 2008 and considering the fact that the recession is already making a lot of people be much more careful about what they spend their money on, Microsoft is certainly very confident in its low-priced Xbox 360 console. Although these troubled times have affected some companies, it's nice to hear that others are determined to invest in the gaming industry.