It’s been a big month for sales figures, new consoles, and price cuts, and the hardware race in Australia is showing no signs of slowing down. This week, Microsoft revealed how many Xbox 360s have been sold so far in Australia and made a bold prediction of reaching the 1 million units sold mark by the end of the year.

　　Speaking at an Xbox 360 showcase in Sydney yesterday, group category manager for the Xbox 360 in Australia, Jeremy Hinton, said Microsoft’s console was the fastest growing in Australia for 2009.

　　“We’ve just hit 700, 000 consoles sold in Australia, and we’re now finding that it’s the fastest growing console down under,” Hinton said. According to Hinton, the Xbox 360 Arcade and Pro are both selling equally well, with the Elite finding sales success in “select channels.”

　　“The Pro is attracting people who are looking for that additional hard drive space that the 60GB console offers; others who just want to jump in and play from $AU299. At this price, the Xbox 360 is the cheapest console on the market," he said.

　　Hinton responded strongly to Sony’s recent announcement detailing the new PS3 Slim and price cuts for the remaining PS3 consoles, saying the 360 would still be more appealing to Aussie consumers.

　　“It’s only going to help them [Sony], although I don’t know that anyone was surprised by the announcement given the months of rumours before it. But it’s a long way until Christmas, and I think the Australian consumer will still see the $AU299 price point of the Xbox 360 as the more compelling offer," he said.

　　“We [Microsoft] always have things planned. In the past, we might have been in third place and we might have been thinking about what Sony’s doing, but now, things are different. We’ve had our Christmas plans set for a long time, and they won’t change simply because Sony’s plans do.

　　“We [Microsoft] expect to hit a million Xbox 360 consoles sold across Australia and New Zealand by the end of this year. We’re confident we can reach this goal with the console’s current price point and the new experiences we’re bringing through Xbox Live, such as Movies on Demand, Facebook, and Twitter.”