charts are deceptive… the last update from Microsoft touted 17 million Xbox Live members. How many are there now?

Today, Microsoft made a surprising press release. Months after the Playstation network announced that they hit 20 Million, Xbox Live has achieved that they, too, have arrived at the 20 million member milestone. But that’s little more than a footnote in this announcement. The highlight was just how well the console is selling during this “global economic recession.” According to NPD numbers, “Xbox 360 achieved the highest percentage growth in hardware sales of any console so far in 2009, up 28 percent over the previous year.”

30 million consoles sold. 20 million on Xbox Live. Sales that are far above the pace that was set by their best year of sales, back in 2008. On target to trounce their record year, the Xbox group also pointed out, in the press release, that they have generated more retail sales for third party developers than Sony and Nintendo combined. Microsoft must be more than a little pleased.

Since I want something to write about, and since Black Friday is coming soon, take note that our friends at CheapAssGamer have assembled the ultimate collection of video game sales for the day after Thanksgiving, here in the US. Deals down to $10 games, Consoles with games, all kinds of good deals!

CAG will help you find the things you didn’t know you couldn’t live without, while we are working on multiple projects to enhance the site. All of the problems we had yesterday are all fixed up, but now we are working on a secret side projct, as well as enhancement to WinBreak.com itself.

And as always, don’t forget that you can always nominate yourself or a friend to be featured in Better Know a Gamer. There are 12 million people on Xbox Live, and I want to interview them all!

Trusted source C|NET put up a quick article letting people know that they could pick up a Premium Xbox 360 for as little as $149.99! Trouble is, they are refurbished systems. They may have a few scuffs, and who knows how long they will last? It’s still a pretty penny for a lot of uncertainty, but they do offer a 14-day DOA Protection Guarantee.

The website is a little confusing, as it lists another 360 for $189.99 – that one specifically notes that it includes a hard drive. The “Premium” listed at $149.99 does not specifically mention the hard drive. Perhaps a call to customer service will be in order to anyone planning to buy one, but the site itself is notable for getting liquidation stock, and should have no true intention of scamming you, unlike the yet-to-be-shutdown RefurbishedWiis.com (no hyperlink being provided).

Seems like the perfect option for those looking to void their warranty with some sort of fun case mod anyways… note that these are NOT the HDMI version of the console.