Xbox Live: 6 million strong and counting

Microsoft's online gaming, video download service reaches 6 million subscribers sooner than expected.

Microsoft's crystal ball is apparently a little cloudy. Last October, the company boasted that its Xbox Live service had reached 4 million subscribers, and predicted 6 million subscribers would be on board by this summer.

Well, they were off. Fortunately for Microsoft investors, they were off in a good way.

Today, the software giant announced that it has reached 6 million Xbox Live subscribers well ahead of schedule and released a list of various statistics touting its success in the gaming market.

Among the highlights:

--10 million Xbox 360s have hit stores across 37 countries
--Xbox 360 software attach rate (games sold per console) is 4.6 in the US; accessory attach rate stands at 2.9
--2.3 billion hours (260,000 years) have been logged on Xbox Live since its debut in November 2002; Halo 2 leads all games with 710 million hours
--Average Gold level XBL subscriber has 22 friends on their friends list
--more than 2 million text and voice messages are sent over Xbox Live on an average day
--almost 300 million achievements have been unlocked for a total Gamerscore of almost 7.5 billion
--XBL Arcade downloads have topped 25 million; Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting, Bankshot Billiards, Marble Blast Ultra, UNO, DOOM are the top downloaded games, in that order

312 Comments

  • Cube_of_MooN

    Posted Nov 13, 2007 8:11 pm PT

    How long till another milestone is reached...

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Mar 8, 2007 2:44 am PT

    It still hasn't reached WoW's popularity.

  • DrMario57

    Posted Mar 8, 2007 12:13 am PT

    YO nev70

    Why rate and compare a console over 6 years?! anyways, The PS3 online is no where close to being as good as xbox live. Remembering that nothing is perfect and that the sevice has been going on since 2002. Microsoft has been improveing all its bugs and crap since then, where as playstation 3 is just started.. Basically, we xbox live players know where and why we spend £40 A YEAR on this service.

  • theKSMM

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 11:43 pm PT

    Man, I only have two friends on my list. I need to add twenty more friends, quick!

    XBOX Live! has no doubt been assisted by the arrival of games that are most fun when they're played online. Going online also helps extend the life of a game well beyond the single-player campaign that you get out of the box. It makes the annual fee well worth it for even modest gamers.

    Street Fighter II is raking in the dough.

  • goldeneye_basic

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 8:44 pm PT

    Hey Eagles5, that link is to a quote by some guy. It's not a credible source, so why would Gamespot publish it as fact. I could say that I bought 100,000 PS3's and they all crapped out and Sony sucks. That doesn't make it true. Only an idiot would believe that and try to pass it along as fact. If that guy truly did have all four of his 360's break, MS would still fix them under warranty. That guy's story is totally bogus. He is an MS hater like you.

  • SpeedMan72

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 2:01 pm PT

    yuck_foo
    im sry that i just tpyed something rong and u dont like it u freakin moron.

    y whould u want 2 pay 4 online gaming its free on pc,ps2,ps3,psp, and the wii.

  • Halo05

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 12:33 pm PT

    Honestly, if you look around, it's not hard to find XBL subscriptions for well under 50 dollars. I found a 1 year subscription box (with Bankshot Billiards, another headset and some MS points (200?)) at a K-mart for 32 dollars. That's about 3 dollars a month. Even if all I do for a month is download a couple trailers and play GoW for an hour, I still feel like I got my money's worth.

  • reya10276

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 10:58 am PT

    Ah "Eagles5" come on man, look at your Picture Dude you're a Microsoft Hater man. No one wants to hear that you like MACS and PS3's. Gamespot has no fault that Sony is tripping all over themselves, also they do publish bad news about Microsoft when it's available, the problem is that you MS haters make it seem like they don't, uh...well at least you guys try to! bahahhah...............

  • SolidTy

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 10:52 am PT


    This is great and all, but M$ keeps counting people like my brother, who connected thru Silver ONCE, and never connected again.

    I want to see how many actually PAID subscribers there are, as the Original Xbox had 3 million...Have they even surpassed that yet?

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 9:51 am PT

    --SonyPSP --
    LOL...XBL is the price of one game a year...F1 is not worth buying anyway so there is the difference in price.

  • hoverboy

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 9:38 am PT

    @GonLee30:

    "...I wonder if MS are counting people like me who have xbox live but don`t use..."

    If your account is "active" (good standing Gold or Silver account that has not been canceled) then yes, they will count it. A non-canceled account is still an account, regardless of use.

  • Mr_Saturn26

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 9:04 am PT

    true the people running the servers would lose money but the it dont have to be lag free, and a game taht i play at, on a server, the person running it only had to pay a average of 100 bucks top, and has very few lag. if u have a job u could afford it, if u really cared about it, like some of hte poeple tath i seen do. if u cant afford it, u need to get a job if u want to run a server

  • GonLee30

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 9:01 am PT

    I wonder if MS are counting people like me who have xbox live but don`t use.

  • GhostStalkerX1

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 8:33 am PT

    Man why do ppl B!tch about paying 50 buks a year, cmon a hobo can pay that.For that much u get to D/L demos etc etc, and play awsome multiplayer with little lag. I mean really have you played ps2 online? ( Not hate'n sony) If you have the quality is poor but that is what you get for free poor service. Why should server companys make a kick a$$ conection for free. I myself own a 360 and i do have live but i never regreat paying 50 a year because its damn worth it.

  • R3DN1N3

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 8:25 am PT

    Mr_Saturn26 i have a good idea for live, here it is, make it free, and the people who run servers, and whatever they are called pay MS to keep it running that way MS will get paid, and we will get it for free except for those who are running the servers, MS gets free labor, we get free live, and the ones running can do what they want with the server making it fun as hell. (mods whatever it is they want)
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    That wouldn't be the best idea Mr Saturn. If Microsoft did that, then the guys who ran the servers would lose money, they're out here to make money not lose it. In any case, if they lose money then they'll go elsewhere, it's having a job and paying for the labor u did instead of getting paid. Everyone is out for a profit, and no one in their right mind would go out of their way to lose money.

  • Hvac0120

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 8:23 am PT

    Hmmm...The Dark Side clouds the future it does...

  • HighlyToxic

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 7:37 am PT

    Yo Sony PSP, it's obvious you don't have a 360, and are not on XBL, so why does this concern you? If you don't want to pay for online gaming, then PS3 is what you want, and apparently that's the choice you made. It's all about the freedom to choose, so why argue with other people about their decisions? If you don't want to play with people who are willing to pay for their online service, then I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

  • Eagles5

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 6:32 am PT

    i love how game spot never publishes a fair batch of news for M$ game console. They love to bash PS3 though. to all the adoring xbox 360 fans. This is new game spot would never publish about their beloved x box. Dont get me wrong i like x box but i hate how biased this site is. And its not fair to games worldwide who want a fair amount of news.

    http://www.gametab.com/news/835224/

  • LosDaddie

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 5:32 am PT

    Xbox Live continues to be the market leader in console gaming. Worth every penny of the $50/year fee.....and I own a PS3 and PSN is joke compared to XBL.

    Go, Wii60!!

  • maclove404

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 4:18 am PT

    Yeah that is active accounts because they also stated that most users have an average of 22 friends, and i looked at my account and thats exactly what I have.

    I don't mind paying for XBL because if I ever have any issues (none so far) then I can complain, get on here and gripe because I'm not getting my moneys worth. I'm not going to bash a brand because this forum topic was made to support and to recognize accomplishments from a company that started during the PS era and survived. Be mindful of the other systems that died during that time.

    That's a big feat in itself, and with Microsoft primarily being a software company rather than hardware gurus. The best is yet to come (tv features, tivo...)

  • Dav_id83

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 2:49 am PT

    Well done to them XB LIVE is great fun I love Call Of Duty 3 and Burnout Revenge online I hope Capcon do release Alpha 3 it was the best out the lot.

  • zsc4

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 2:05 am PT

    Why not, XBL is great fun.

  • nev70

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 12:44 am PT

    SonyPSP Sp00klorD if you want to start this one up again be my guest

    price over six years in the United Kingdom

    PS3 60GB £425 GDP online free
    wifi
    bluray

    425 or $818 usd

    360 20GB £280
    online £40/ £240 over 6 years
    wifi £60
    Hd DVD £130

    £710 or $1,367usd

    i am just putting the record straight that like for like Sony is the better valued console. it is a shame all the haters don't see this fact
    ................................................................................................................................ I'll help you shall i can i point out what the 360 comes with that PS3 does no , NO VOICE communicater , a must with online , NO HD lead , therefore what the point of having a ps3 ? , OH and NO REMOTE these are all SONY EXTRAS NOW WHAT DOES IT WORK OUT FANBOY ?

  • Dolacide

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 12:39 am PT

    No Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in the top 5, surprising.
    Hopefully Capcom will put Alpha 3 on live.

  • hoverboy

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 12:24 am PT

    @wwonka666:

    "...Does this count as all the people who got the one month membership and then didn't renew?..."

    I'm pretty sure this is "active accounts".

  • wwonka666

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 12:11 am PT

    Does this count as all the people who got the one month membership and then didn't renew? Cause if it does this number is incredibly flawed. Anyways way to go Microsoft, but some clarification or an * is needed if that is the case.

  • iuns

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 12:01 am PT

    w00t go xbl !! oh and the same as bossman - i was going to get a ps3 but live just owns all =D

  • BOSSMAN_2004

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 11:45 pm PT

    LIVE is one of the main reasons that I got a 360. I love it!

  • Brown52

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 11:00 pm PT

    VGcharts has 9.48 million 360s sold and out of those 6 million are online.
    Thats pretty impressive, and xbl is clearly the best online platform of the 3 consoles.

  • insane_metalist

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 10:37 pm PT

    yeah same with me SecretWasianMan i cant get off of my pgr3 or gears

  • hoverboy

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 10:24 pm PT

    SonyPSP:

    "...PS3 users will be playing F1 on the PS3 online with 20 players for the online cost of $0.00 ..."

    How can they play with 20 online players when only 7 people actually own a PS3?

  • SecretWasianMan

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 9:43 pm PT

    "oh i do have trouble sleeping at night its called XBOX LIVE!" well said. hahaha

    Sp00klorD pwned SonyPSP

    I just keep telling myself, "just one more round of GRAW and i'll go to bed." But we all know it doesn't work out that way, not until 3 in the morning.

  • Sp00klorD

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 9:21 pm PT

    Sony PSP
    No dickwad the point was that sony's is free cause they havnt put in the effort that microsoft has to come up with a great online service
    If they did and it was even half as good (considering that they already running on a loss due to the PS3 being too expensive to manufacture) u think u'd get it for free?
    oh i do have trouble sleeping at night its called XBOX LIVE !

  • nintendorocks

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 9:08 pm PT

    Street Fighter II the top downloaded game?!? For shame!

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:44 pm PT

    i wonder how many virtual ppl hav died on games where ppl get killed...

  • seasponge2004

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:42 pm PT

    wow...thats a lot of gamerpoints

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:33 pm PT

    2.3 billion hours (260,000 years) have been logged on Xbox Live since its debut in November 2002

    that's a big number

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:23 pm PT

    y r we all arguing? y can't we just all get along & b happy 4 Microsoft. When Sony reaches 6 million, i'll celebrate 4 them. Same with Nintendo.

  • SonyPSP

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:20 pm PT

    Yuck_Foo

    PS3 users will be playing F1 on the PS3 online with 20 players for the online cost of $0.00

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:16 pm PT

    --Mr_Saturn26 --

    You clearly have no idea what it costs to run a server 7/24 with 16-people and no lag.

    Go look up some pricing for what business prices are for bandwidth usage a month.

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:14 pm PT

    SecretWasianMan, that's wat i love about Live

    Multi-tasking

  • SonyPSP

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:14 pm PT

    Sp00klorD
    "cause Sony"s online network wont be free"

    what ever makes YOU sleep better at night pal.

    By the way any evidence that Sony will charge users the play online in the future or is just one of your made up fantasises again?

  • SecretWasianMan

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:11 pm PT

    Its funny b/c he has a PSP. I'm gonna take a break from laughing and go play some more Gears while I'm downloading that free South Park episode. Its good that Live is doing well.

    HEY HEY LETS GO!!!! LETS FIGHTING LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!!!

  • Mr_Saturn26

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 8:07 pm PT

    i have a good idea for live, here it is, make it free, and the people who run servers, and whatever they are called pay MS to keep it running that way MS will get paid, and we will get it for free except for those who are running the servers, MS gets free labor, we get free live, and the ones running can do what they want with the server making it fun as hell. (mods whatever it is they want)

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 7:55 pm PT

    i've just noticed that almost no1 is talking about Nintendo's online service, every1's talking about Sony's

  • DarkSan00

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 7:54 pm PT

    xbox live rocks! if you have a 360 and don't have live, you're wasting your console

  • Sp00klorD

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 7:49 pm PT

    Sony PSP we all know that the Sony online service is free but you get what you pay for and Sony havnt put the time into creating anything close to LIVE
    Have u seen and tried maybe a friends xbox LIVE service?
    Online gaming is only going to get bigger and i think Sony wont have a choice but to improve theres and when and if they get anything as good as what LIVE is then see if ur sittin there wastin time calculating your 6 year itch cause Sony"s online network wont be free

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 7:47 pm PT

    ya, it will increase with Halo 3, that's 4 certain

    i just wish that Microsoft let us play multiplayer 4 free. i'm not mad at Microsoft 4 charging money, though (i am the proud owner of a 360), i just wish i could play the basic multiplayer modes on my games 4 free

    but Microsoft's online service SHOULD be better because if u look at wat each company did b4 video games, it's clear. Nintendo made cards. Sony still makes TV's, cameras, and other electronics. And Microsoft basically invented the computer & internet.

  • HollywoodR15

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 7:40 pm PT

    Nicky WOW is one game, XBL is multiple games tho, everyone knows how big WOW is, the number should increase a lot when Halo 3 is out....

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 7:35 pm PT

    wat's really sad about this statistic is that more ppl play WoW than go on Live

    But there would probably b more ppl if Microsoft tallied all the Gamertags that hav been on Live EVER (even a Silver subscriber). i'd love 2 know how many ppl hav ever been on Live

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