According to Jesse Divnich, an analyst with the simExchange (an online prediction market for the game industry), Microsoft's newly announced holiday bundles (which include Forza Motorsport 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance) will lead to a slight dip in U.S. Xbox 360 hardware sales as consumers wait for the new bundles at the end of the month. The prediction market shows a decreased forecast for Xbox 360 sales in October from an expected 315,000 units down to 304,000 units.
That said, Divnich noted that "Microsoft will more than make up for the lost 10,000 sales in November and December when the bundle is released," and that the bundle "will ultimately increase Microsoft's market share in the home console market and will continue to widen the gap between the Xbox 360 and Sony's PS3."
"The prediction market is expecting a $399 PS3 to have minimal impact on Xbox 360 sales overall," Divnich commented to GameDaily BIZ.