Microsoft's price cuts on games consoles are starting to show sales results around the globe, the software giant announced Thursday.

The Redmond, Washington, software maker made recent price cuts, in a move to stoke sales of its Xbox 360. The cuts helped double  Xbox 360 sales in the U.S., increase sales by over 60 percent in Europe, and quintuple sales in Japan, Microsoft said at the Tokyo Game Show conference.

The console cuts made the reduced price $200 Arcade version of the Xbox 360 the cheapest next-generation box on the market. While the cuts helped boost sales, so did the release of anticipated Xbox 360 exclusive titles such as Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery.

Also, Microsoft isoverhauling Xbox Live, having introduced Avatars and a new dashboard look, as well a deal with Netflix at this year’s E3 conference.

While the Xbox 360 Arcade may be cheaper than the Wii, the main reason why sales are higher (though still nowhere near the Wii) lies within the competition: Sony has announced that they won't be cutting PS3 prices this year. 

“As long as the current price structure stays the same, [Microsoft will] do quite well,” said Matt Rosoff, an Analyst for Directions onMicrosoft.

Keeping the same price point may seem like a counter-intuitive move for Sony, but cutting prices is something the company can’t do at this point. This is the advantage Microsoft holds over Sony by launching a year early – the games division is profitable enough that they can afford to cut prices, explains Mr. Rosoff.

In a bid to maintain the high sales, Microsoft will also be releasing several bundles aimed squarely at the casual market. The Pro and Elite bundles will come with Lego Indiana Jones and Kung-Fu Panda, while the Arcade version will come bundled with Sega Superstars Tennis. All bundles will also advertise Netflix on the box.