Microsoft XBOX360

Microsoft Sees Record Growth for Xbox360 in 2009







Microsoft Corp. announced today that sales of Xbox 360 consoles have
passed the 30 million mark globally, with its Xbox LIVE community
swelling to more than 20 million active members. After the biggest year
in its history in 2008, Xbox 360 achieved the highest percentage growth
in hardware sales of any console so far in 2009, up 28 percent over the
previous year.¹




The success of the platform can be measured across the business,
with Xbox LIVE now considered the world’s largest global entertainment
network. Increasing consumer desire to connect with friends, download
and enjoy blockbuster movies and TV shows, and extend the life of their
favorite games has been the primary driver behind the growth of Xbox
LIVE membership and the reason Xbox continues to expand offerings on
the platform.




“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, senior vice president of
the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “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.”




Over the course of this console generation, U.S. consumers alone
have spent $14.5 billion across all categories on Xbox 360 at retail.¹
This number reflects strong interest in a comprehensive entertainment
offering that includes the ability to connect with others socially and
to digitally download entertainment, be it games, TV shows or movies.
To date, consumers have downloaded nearly 1 billion pieces of gaming
and entertainment content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, including a broad
array of premium high- and standard-definition movies and TV shows from
top studios and networks around the world.²




In addition, Xbox 360 continues to be the platform of choice for the
industry’s top games, generating $5.9 billion in sales to date at U.S.
retail for third-party publishers, which is more than those of
current-generation consoles combined.¹ Xbox 360 also leads current-generation consoles in game purchases, with consumers owning an average of 8.3 titles each.¹




Activity on Xbox LIVE, the industry-leading online gaming and
entertainment service, surged following the launch of the New Xbox
Experience in November 2008. Since that time, the community has
recorded a 136 percent increase in new members, TV and movie downloads
have more than doubled, and purchases of games, Game Add-ons and more
on Xbox LIVE Arcade have increased by 70 percent.² Xbox LIVE reaches 26 countries worldwide and is now in more homes than any satellite television provider.²
Before the end of the year, the number of Xbox LIVE members will
surpass the number of subscribers to the largest cable provider.¹




Consumers can expect more exciting announcements from Microsoft next
week as Xbox 360 kicks off the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the
world’s premier trade show for computer and video games and related
products, with its press briefing on Monday, June 1, in Los Angeles.