Gears of War forecasts rise with Australian Xbox 360 bundle

Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Epic’s Gears of War (Xbox 360) is up 4.56%, increasing the global sales forecast to 4.31 million copies sold, following news that the game will be bundled with Xbox 360 consoles in Australia. The stock had hovered around 400 DKP (forecasts 4 million copies sold) for weeks as new developments surrounding the game seemed to dry up.

This news appears to be the catalyst Gears of War longs had hoped for. Last week, NickA said “It strikes me as odd--and I should note that I own a lot of this stock--that the share price hasn't outpaced the sales of GOW by much. This still has a lot of life left.” NickA points to the long tail effect of small but continuing sales that can continue for years for a title like Gears of War.

Gaara42 notes that the game “has already hit 3.81 million worldwide” and that “this game could sell 5 million copies in its lifetime.” Many traders attribute long-term growth for the game resulting from word of mouth as a continued buying sign for the game. Other traders expressed a more cautious sentiment that Gears of War already has a very high attach rate among Xbox 360 owners. More Xbox 360 buyers are needed to increase the pool of potential Gears of War customers.

Microsoft’s announcement that Gears of War would be bundled with the Premium Xbox 360 in Australia for A$699.95 would appear to answer those concerns. This package will begin selling on March 15. Just for comparison, a Premium Xbox 360 costs $649.95 in Australia and Gears of Wars costs A$99.95. Gears of War (Xbox 360) was up 1.23% in last night’s trading and continues higher today in moderate trading.