Mindy Mount, the vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, has stated that the recent global economic downturn may in fact work FOR Microsoft’s favor and more specifically the Xbox 360. The reasoning is simple. In harsh economic time’s consumer’s “penny-pinch” and want the most bang for their bucks. High ticket items are put on hold and what the consumer wants is the ability to get the most entertainment for as little as possible. Movie tickets and sports events all carry high price tags. The gaming industry has proven itself to be indispensable when it comes to offering the most entertainment for your dollars.

Ms. Mount also took the opportunity to showcase the NXE (New Xbox Experience), detailing that Xbox now supports Netflix, where customers can stream movies right to their TV’s, and casual gaming for all those not interested in the “shoot-fest” extravaganza which has defined the *cough* the “old” Xbox experience. Ms. Mount is excited at the prospect of having over 25 million Xboxes resting comfortably in living rooms, which surpasses the original Xbox sales.

Families want to be entertained, get the most for their dollars and as far as Microsoft is concerned they believe that they not only have the most to offer, but that their sales should do just fine in this bleak economy.

- Ralph Tricoche