[Spike]

Following Microsoft's Xbox 360 price drop last Friday, industry watcher Chart Track has revealed that sales have surged ahead by some 36%.

But despite the rise, Chart Track added that the jump was much lower than the 260% rise Microsoft enjoyed when it first cut the price of its next-gen console, though it admitted that that rise coincided with the launch of the Xbox 360 Elite system and the acclaimed BioShock game.

“During week 11, Xbox 360 enjoyed a 36% jump on week 10, which is a nice refreshing uplift for the console,” ChartTrack director Dorian Bloch told MCV. “That was just for the Friday and Saturday after the price cut."

“The 260% rise Xbox 360 enjoyed in August last year coincided with the introduction of Elite and BioShock coming onto the market, which obviously gave it a massive boost.”

Discussing the Xbox 360's long-term sales, Bloch added: "We need to wait two or three more weeks to see if the 360 sales surge will carry on. I would predict that it will increase again over the Easter period. It’s a bit of an odd year for the industry – Easter is early, and doesn’t coincide with the end of Q1 – when publishers traditionally release very big games – like it usually does."

Last week also saw sales of the PlayStation 3 rise by 6%.