Outpacing market is "key measure" for 360, says Microsoft

Alan Bowman, Asia general manager of Xbox operations, has told Reuters that Microsoft expects Xbox 360 to move faster than next year's market.

"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," he said.

"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."

The exec added that continued investment into software development will carry forward into next year, despite torrid general conditions.

"Game development is the core of what we do," he said. "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."

Bowman also said there were no concrete cost-cutting measures being implemented to deal with the current economic downturn, but that the company is "constantly evaluating our options".

"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," he said.