Microsoft thinks 2009's going to be better - thanks to its new casual appeal

We're not entirely sure if we should be believing this or not, but MS reckons 2009's going to be another scorcher for Xbox 360 thanks, in part, to "people who have never played video games before."

Alan Bowman, one of Microsoft's regional Xbox 360 general managers, told dull news reporting blog Reuters he expected Xbox 360 to outperform the market next year, doing even better than its stellar 2008. Here's a proper quote as evidence...

"So what is really driving our growth momentum right now is how we are broadening our consumer base to include not only hardcore gamers but also individuals who would have previously not thought about buying a game console."

Which means it'll be a bit less further behind Wii sales next year.