Xbox 360 sales jumped on Black Friday

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Microsoft Corp. says it scored big with Xbox 360 sales on Black Friday, claiming it outsold Japanese rival Sony's PlayStation 3 by a 3-to-1 margin.

"We entered into the Black Friday sales period with cautious optimism," said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, InformationWeek reported Wednesday.

But, at the end of the day, the Microsoft said its Xbox 360 Black Friday sales jumped 25 percent over 2007.

Sales jumped due to the popularity of several new Xbox games, including Gears of War 2 and Lips, Microsoft said.

Microsoft said it expects "continued global sales momentum in 2009," for the Xbox 360, InformationWeek reported..

Microsoft reported third quarter sales for the Xbox 360 rose 22 percent from a year ago, reaching 2.2 million units shipped in the quarter.

The company is revamping the device to broaden its appeal and uses, InformationWeek reported. A new feature, Xbox Live Party, for example, allows up to seven users share pictures and play games at the same time, the report said.