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05-28-2009, 10:46 PM
Word out of Redmond, Washington this morning is that Microsoft's Xbox 360 has reached over 30 million units sold worldwide, with over 20 million active accounts on Xbox Live -- a figure Microsoft says will soon surpass subscriptions to the largest cable provider. This milestone follows the release of the New Xbox Experience last November, which Microsoft credits for much of their continued growth.
According to Microsoft, the Xbox Live community has experienced a 136 percent boost to new members since the arrival of the New Xbox Experience. Meanwhile, the community's activity on Xbox Live has also increased, with sales of TV and movie downloads more than doubling, and other DLC purchases going up by 70 percent.
"We've always been confident that Xbox 360 offers more entertainment value than any other console on the market, and these latest numbers show that consumers agree," said Don Mattrick, Microsoft's senior VP of Interactive Entertainment Business. "We expect our growth to continue to accelerate. Our news at E3 next week will underscore our commitment to bringing blockbuster entertainment experiences to everyone and to growing the Xbox entertainment brand globally," he added.
All that growth has translated to a towering heap of money for Microsoft and their partners in software and digital content. In the U.S. alone, gamers have dropped $14.5 billion on Xbox 360 products at retail this generation. Xbox 360 consumers are also said to own an average of 8.3 games apiece, resulting in $5.9 billion in sales of third-party games at U.S. retail. Additionally, Microsoft tallies nearly a billion individual pieces of content downloaded from Xbox Live to date.
While Microsoft's 30 million Xbox 360s doesn't even come close to the Wii's global install base -- over 50 million at last count -- these figures are pretty impressive nonetheless. We'll have to wait for E3 next week to see how they plan on maintaining this steady expansion.
1UP
According to Microsoft, the Xbox Live community has experienced a 136 percent boost to new members since the arrival of the New Xbox Experience. Meanwhile, the community's activity on Xbox Live has also increased, with sales of TV and movie downloads more than doubling, and other DLC purchases going up by 70 percent.
"We've always been confident that Xbox 360 offers more entertainment value than any other console on the market, and these latest numbers show that consumers agree," said Don Mattrick, Microsoft's senior VP of Interactive Entertainment Business. "We expect our growth to continue to accelerate. Our news at E3 next week will underscore our commitment to bringing blockbuster entertainment experiences to everyone and to growing the Xbox entertainment brand globally," he added.
All that growth has translated to a towering heap of money for Microsoft and their partners in software and digital content. In the U.S. alone, gamers have dropped $14.5 billion on Xbox 360 products at retail this generation. Xbox 360 consumers are also said to own an average of 8.3 games apiece, resulting in $5.9 billion in sales of third-party games at U.S. retail. Additionally, Microsoft tallies nearly a billion individual pieces of content downloaded from Xbox Live to date.
While Microsoft's 30 million Xbox 360s doesn't even come close to the Wii's global install base -- over 50 million at last count -- these figures are pretty impressive nonetheless. We'll have to wait for E3 next week to see how they plan on maintaining this steady expansion.
1UP