2006 holiday season’s big seller: the Xbox 360

Data straight from the NPD revealed that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the top selling “next-generation” console in the United States this past holiday season. The 360 outsold the Wii and Playstation 3 combined in December. It also outsold all other next generation consoles in November and December. The increase in sales led to a 51% market share increase in the United States. Some of the success is probably attributed to Gears of War and a hearty supply of 360s compared to minimal amounts of PS3s and Wiis. Also Circuit City and Best Buy were really pushing 360s by throwing in free games like GRAW to make the price of a premium 360 package seem much more reasonable than any other console.