Microsoft 360 Sales Double After Price Cut!

Sept. 10 -- Microsoft Corp. doubled sales of the Xbox 360 video game machine last weekend after cutting the price by as much as 29 percent to narrow Nintendo Co.'s lead.

Retailers reported a 100 percent increase in sales for all models compared with the previous weekend, Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft said in an e-mailed statement. Some models sold at six times the previous weekend's rate. The company didn't say how many were sold.

The Sept. 5 price cut gave Microsoft a model that costs less than Nintendo's market-leading Wii for the first time.

Sony Corp's PlayStation 3, making inroads with new games and a Blu-ray DVD player, also beat the Xbox 360 in U.S. sales in June and July, according to NPD Group, a Port Washington, New York-based research firm.

Microsoft rose 34 cents to $26.44 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.