Analyst: 360 Markdown Interest Tops Next-Gen Launch Traffic

Online traffic analysis group Compete has released a new report that shows that Amazon.com's Thanksgiving weekend Xbox 360 markdown generated more consumer interest than the launch day traffic of both the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. Citing the 66% markdown special on core systems as the 'Xbox 360 Launch 2.0', compete notes that the promotion was so popular that it slowed Amazon's servers for 40 minutes as consumers hit the site to take part in the $100 off deal. Compete also has looked at the continued interest driving traffic for all three systems, and found that despite its relative age in the market, the 360 has been exhibiting a markedly similar upward trend as Nintendo's Wii, and that during the week of the 25th, demand for the Wii and 360 outpaced demand for Sony's PlayStation 3. Demand for the PS3, Compete says, dropped nearly 15% just one week after its launch. Most interestingly, though perhaps little surprise considering its easy availability and markdown price, Compete's chart illustrates that based off daily demand for each respective console in the week leading up to and following the launches of each system, the 360's "2.0" launch through Amazon's promotion clearly generated more interest than for the other two next-gen systems. More details and full charts can be seen via Compete's news blog.