Xbox 360 sales top 30 million - Microsoft

Publisher says new double-digit milestone comes as console sales grow 28 percent to date in 2009; Xbox Live users hit 20 million.

Toward the end of April, Microsoft announced its earnings for the first half of its fiscal year, revealing second-quarter losses that were relatively minor given the tumultuous global economic waters. A primary factor in Microsoft's buoyant performance was Xbox 360 sales, which stood at 10 million units during the six-month period--15 percent more than it managed over its entire previous fiscal year.

Now serving: 30 million.

Today, Microsoft announced that total sales for the Xbox 360 have surpassed the 30-million-unit marker, a feat accomplished three and a half years after the system launched in November 2005. For comparison, Nintendo said as part of its full-year earnings announcement earlier this month that the Wii has sold 50 million units worldwide. Sony's console had sold 22.7 million units globally through its fiscal year ended March 31, 2009.

According to Microsoft, the milestone comes as the Xbox 360 experiences the highest growth percentage "of any console so far in 2009," with the publisher noting hardware sales have risen 28 percent over the year-ago period. Microsoft also said that the Xbox Live community has grown to 20 million active members, up from 17 million in January.

Microsoft also offered a number of miscellaneous figures associated with the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 has generated $14.5 billion in US retail sales since launch, according to Microsoft, with $5.9 billion of that total going to third-party publishers. Microsoft also said that the Xbox 360's current attach rate stands at 8.3 titles per system. Xbox Live membership has risen 136 percent since the launch of the New Xbox Experience in November, the publisher said.

"We expect our growth to continue to accelerate," said Microsoft senior vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. "Our news at [the Electronic Entertainment Expo] next week will underscore our commitment to bringing blockbuster entertainment experiences to everyone and to growing the Xbox entertainment brand globally."

Microsoft's 2009 E3 press conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PDT on Monday, June 1. Rumors abound as to just what Microsoft's event will contain, with purportedly leaked information pointing to announcements for a new motion-sensing camera, Metal Gear Solid 4 for the Xbox 360, a new title from Fable II studio Lionhead Games, the debut of Turn 10's Forza III, and new looks at Realtime Worlds' APB and Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake.

709 Comments

  • Killingspree303

    Posted Aug 12, 2009 12:50 pm PT

    I switched my console gaming from Wii to Xbox 360 a few months ago, because most of the games for Wii suck. Nintendo makes a few great games, but there are too many third-party developers who creates simple family oriented games for the Wii. Also the Xbox 360 has a lot more cool games and connects me to other easily. When I play Wii I can only contact others by sending them mails, and that takes time and it's not a very good system.

  • scarface_dm

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 2:58 pm PT

    360 is on top baby

  • samanael

    Posted Jul 1, 2009 10:17 am PT

    I am playing now halo wars and I think is the best game of strategy that I play before but come on only seven hours I just want more of it but thanks for a really good play of strategy

  • LtBad

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 9:30 am PT

    More to life than gaming???!!! pshhhhhhhhhhhh

  • yakkosmurf

    Posted Jun 2, 2009 8:49 am PT

    How is it a bad time to be a PS3 fanboy, and why do you care? More great games are out than I have time to play. If I want something that's 360 exclusive, I can go buy one. But since, there aren't any that interest me yet...I won't. The PS3 hardware has also proven superior thus far, and the capabilities of the PS3 continue to increase. I'm use mine for gaming only about half the time it's on because it does so many other things. 500GB of music and movies on board, and 1080p Blu-Rays, and you'll find there's so much more to life than gaming...

  • CrimsonFlagg

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 8:38 pm PT

    Given the the MS E3 announcements it doesn't seem as if the 360 has anything to worry about. It is the cheapest console. It has a great set of exclusives. Multi-platform titles usually perform better on it. And now it even has a Metal Gear Solid game. It's a really bad time to be a Sony fanboy .

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 4:06 pm PT

    sony did release the cheaper 20gb ps3 with no wifi. sales were worst so they stoped it. they dont need to gt rid of anything in the ps3.

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 4:04 pm PT

    parhar67
    how would the ps3 console become cheaper by getting rid of features in the remote

  • parhar67

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 3:39 pm PT

    for one if you can take out the blu tooth battery s sixaxis wifi backwards compatibility from the ps3 and drop the price 200 bucks it would lead the market in sales over the 360. Thats why 360 is so great they don't force you to buy things you don't need. If you don't have internet then whats the point of wifi? If you sit close enough to your TV to plug in a cord whats the point of wireless controllers. If you can shut off six axis during games why have it at all etc etc....that's one reason the 360 is so cheap you dont have to have all that unnecessary crap. Corupptgamergx are you serious bribing? LOL @ YOU dont blame microsoft for loving its fanbase and pay money from their own pocket to give us a better gaming experience. Sony has been around since the mid 90's so evrey one knows about them. Microsoft only been in the console market for about 7 years and already beating sony. So if you going to say they bribe people maybe you should look at sony who MAKES more money a year than microsoft and tell their developers to hey....stay loyal we can make this work. I love you sony fanboys....all of you are pathetic its just way too funnuy. The ps3 is a good machine....not a great one. Your acting like the ps3 is next generation and the 360 is last gen. Yet evreyone in the world people developers all know that they are equal. Sony F'd themselves this gen thinking the ps2 momentum would carry over. Nope thats why they lost evreything like devilmay cry gta tekken final fantasy. Even konami is making a new metal gear on the 360. Give it up your console maybe equal to the 360 it is not better by any standards.

  • sexyspartan12

    Posted May 31, 2009 1:28 pm PT

    @andrew_ribbons

    "I believe Microsoft is only counting Xbox Live Gold/Silver users, there are a lot of 360's simply rarely connected to Live, hence "active" users counted here.

    I think Microsoft should be really proud, yea they've had some ups and downs, and the RRoD issues with the first consoles was a fiasco no doubt about that. However they dealt with it seriously and maturely, supporting their community with 3 year warentee's against the known defects and doing serious work on improving the reliability of the console, which has definitely paid off now, it's so much more reliable.

    Microsoft created a gaming division and a console franchise out of absolutely nothing in an already 20-years-strong market against the likes of Nintendo, Sega and Sony, and has hands down beaten two of those over the years in terms of games, quality and features. Absolutely amazing and I love my 360, alongside my PC it's my platform of choice by miles."

    That, is probably the best comment ive ever heard on a game related subject. props 2 u dude. n i agree with everything uve said.

  • plm3d_basic

    Posted May 31, 2009 11:07 am PT

    Mo' money, mo' money. Looks like they'll now be able to provide xbox live for free huh? Nah, who you trying to kid. This is M$.

  • MBrahv23

    Posted May 31, 2009 9:53 am PT

    You do know Sony already would have cut the price of the PS3 if they were financially able to right?? The price cuts the 360 were in fact NORMAL price cuts in the same time frame of the original consoles' price cuts (both PS2 and XBOX). Trying to use price cuts as an excuse as too why the 360 is fairing better than the PS3 is disengenuous at best and shows you don't have a much of a leg to stand on here..

  • MBrahv23

    Posted May 31, 2009 9:50 am PT

    @sony1978a

    They've been behind 7-8million for close to a year now..the gap isn't closing any time soon unfortunately.

  • sony1978a

    Posted May 31, 2009 4:51 am PT

    And the PS3 sold 22.73 million as of March 31, 2009.
    For PS3 that's good, that means the X360 is only ahead of PS3 by 8 Mil world wide,which is not much.ALSO DON'T FORGET THE X360 WAS OUT ONE YEAR AHEAD OF PS3, so i don't thing SONY is going to worry about it. I still believe the PS3 can out sell X360 if SONY drops the price.

  • thenephariouson

    Posted May 31, 2009 3:53 am PT

    Ahhhh......

    Right I'll say it again!

    360's that were replaced my MS (return & Return service) are not counted! as every single unit is tracked via its serial number, therefore the faulty units are simply 'flagged up' with MS as 'faulty', therefore not contributing to 'New Console Sales' as the replacement is flagged as a 'Replacement' and not a 'New Sale'.

    Dont forget, the console sales are accountable by Microsoft, therefore only NEW units PURCHASED (and not part of the replacement program) are counted as 'New Sales'.

    Ultimately MS has sold in excess of 30 MILLION units to date, weather you accept this FACT or not is up to you.

    So regarding the comment : "they definitely bumped up that number with the overwhleming mass of RRoDed 360's"

    No they didnt!, i know you'd like to think this was true, but i'm sorry to dissapoint you.

  • shani_boy101

    Posted May 31, 2009 3:25 am PT

    they definitely bumped up that number with the overwhleming mass of RRoDed 360's. most people i know have at least gone through 2, one has gone through 6 and got fed up with it (i mean who wouldn't) and bought a PS3 and sold his remaining doomed console to some poor sucker on eBay.

  • CorruptGamerGX

    Posted May 30, 2009 11:49 pm PT

    crimsonfrazzle00
    LOL. Another Sony fanboy and his silly conspiracy theories. Is it really that hard to accept the fact that the PS3 is not a success, especially when compared to its predecessors? Sony messed up, and you poor fanboys are getting yourselves worked up over it. Sucks to be you .

    Another tired bot that changes the subject to keep things going. I'm well aware Sony is in dead last so I don't need to be reminded on this site thousands of times a day. So what if Sony messed up? Big deal, everyone makes mistakes including the "invincible" M$ (Yes with a dollar sign insecure ones) and nice job avoiding the truth as usual only to counter with more BS. I'll say it again CrimsonFrazzle, how much PRICE CUTS and CHEAPER SKU'S did it take to widen the gap between PS3 AND 360 Worldwide? If you're incapable of answering a simple question, then don't bother replying by changing the subject every single time.

    And no it doesn't suck to be me or others. Even with Sony in 3rd place, they still offer good games and have MORE 1st and 2nd party exclusives than M$ who survived this long by bribing and paying 3rd parties off for exclusive and timed-exclusive material.

    PS: Please stop smiling ALL the time. You're really starting to freak me out.

  • mitch_watt

    Posted May 30, 2009 9:10 pm PT

    I'm sure RROD has artificially boosted that number a bit lol (I know I've bought more than one unit)

  • thenephariouson

    Posted May 30, 2009 2:29 pm PT

    @andrew_ribbons,

    Nice Post, and some very good points.

  • andrew_ribbons

    Posted May 30, 2009 1:36 pm PT

    "PSN reached that mark a long time ago: PSN tops 20M users, and that was begin MARCH, not begin JUNE."

    I believe Microsoft is only counting Xbox Live Gold/Silver users, there are a lot of 360's simply rarely connected to Live, hence "active" users counted here.

    I think Microsoft should be really proud, yea they've had some ups and downs, and the RRoD issues with the first consoles was a fiasco no doubt about that. However they dealt with it seriously and maturely, supporting their community with 3 year warentee's against the known defects and doing serious work on improving the reliability of the console, which has definitely paid off now, it's so much more reliable.

    Microsoft created a gaming division and a console franchise out of absolutely nothing in an already 20-years-strong market against the likes of Nintendo, Sega and Sony, and has hands down beaten two of those over the years in terms of games, quality and features. Absolutely amazing and I love my 360, alongside my PC it's my platform of choice by miles.

  • thenephariouson

    Posted May 30, 2009 1:51 am PT

    In the case of the PS3, In game chat is not the responsibility of PSN, its the responsibility of the game Dev's as it is up to them weather they add it to their games, whereas XBL has it built in to the infrastructure, therefore devs simply have very little to do in order to get it to work.

    @kavadias1981,

    No they dont, as every single unit is tracked via its serial number, therefore the faulty units are simply 'flagged up' with MS as faulty, therefore not contributing to 'New Console Sales' as the replacement is flagged as a 'Replacement' and not a 'New Sale'.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted May 30, 2009 1:12 am PT

    If M$ replaces a 360 do they count that as a sale? Can somebody in the know please let me... well, know. Thank you.

  • Shlomiki

    Posted May 30, 2009 1:01 am PT

    BTW XBL users hit 20M, WTF???

    PSN reached that mark a long time ago: PSN tops 20M users, and that was begin MARCH, not begin JUNE.

  • Shlomiki

    Posted May 30, 2009 1:00 am PT

    @kevin8se7en

    Are MGS4, KILLZONE, RESISTANCE, UNCHARTED, MAG, inFAMOUS, LBP and such not AAA?

    I think games library isn't the problem. PSN should be expanded further, more interesting apps, original titles. PSN should provide in-game chat, and there's nothing XBL offers PSN doesn't.

  • kevin8se7en

    Posted May 29, 2009 11:54 pm PT

    If Microsoft does indeed release a 3D motion censor controller similar to the Wii's 2D one... the XBOX 360 will be the best seller of 2010.

    Sony desperately needs more AAA games...
    They have done a great job of growing their AA game library (like inFAMOUS) but games like God of War and a GOOD Gran Turismo have to come out or they will lose more and more ground as time goes by...

  • boyracing007

    Posted May 29, 2009 5:45 pm PT

    thats wasup

  • acemasta21 posted May 29, 2009 5:31 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    acemasta21

    Posted May 29, 2009 5:31 pm PT (hide)

    the trouble is each xbox owner actually bought more than once .... due to defective concole.

  • Mark_sk8pu

    Posted May 29, 2009 4:00 pm PT

    well....ps3, wii, or xbox360...we ALL know that a big percent of the difference in sold consoles between x360 and ps3 is in the fact that x360 can be modded to play burned games, and ps3 cant (will it ever be??)......

  • t-coco

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:58 pm PT

  • dbreeze8

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:51 pm PT

    woooo go xbox

  • combatsoldier

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:34 pm PT

    @chubbychocobo
    Thanks brother, there is still a few of us left on here.

  • chubbychocobo

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:30 pm PT

    @combatsoldier
    Thank you! and I'm glad that there are still adults on this site.

  • combatsoldier

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:25 pm PT

    @chubbychocobo
    A very smart rebuttle that I can totally agree with. Thankyou and heres a big thumbs up from me on your comment.

  • chubbychocobo

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:22 pm PT

    @XanderZane:
    Don't just point your finger at people and tell them that what they said was trash. Tell me why my long analysis was garbage and back yourself up with counter-arguments and facts! Persuade me and everyone who agrees with me that we were wrong. Tell us who much you know, will you?

    Plus I agree that the PS2 out sold all other consoles thank to its good head start like the X360 did but the difference is Sony didn't rush out the PS2 like MS did. Stop putting words in my mouth.

    If you read what I wrote, I was very clear that Wii got a lot if attention because it was totally different from PS3 and X360. And the fact that it appeared the exact same time, if not earlier than the PS3, fenced off a lot of hype for the PS3. Comparing Wii to the other 2 consoles is pathetic. Wii aim to the casual audience, while PS3 and X360 compete for high-def and more hardcore gamers. And please do you homework and research before spitting on people. The Wii made it to every market by Dec 2006 while people in Europe couldn't touch a PS3 until March 2007. You're the one who doesn't know what you're talking about. Keep quiet and let us grownups debate, will ya?

  • shezy

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:18 pm PT

    ah good lord! stop with all the fanboi comments already sheesh!

  • combatsoldier

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:14 pm PT

    @lamprey263
    Hey brother, You know I respect you and have known you for a long time man. You make some great points and I agree for the most part.

    @Zanthia561
    Yes you are exactly right. Sega Dreamcast was the very first home console to have online gameplay. I still have my dreamcast, and every game ever made for that console. Yes I collect old games lol. Im an old fart.

  • Zanthia561

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:10 pm PT

    actually xbox is the one that made it work but they were not the ones that came out with online console gaming first you can thank SEGA for that one

  • lamprey263

    Posted May 29, 2009 3:09 pm PT

    even though I'm no stranger to the RROD issues, I still love my X360 more than my PS3 or Wii, but that's my opinion, though people should at least respect MS for some things, such as if Microsoft didn't push to make online console gaming mainstream, we wouldn't even have those features on the PS3 or Wii, except maybe in the failed peripheral network adapter kind of way, instead online gaming (for the most part) would be dominated entirely by PC gaming, but I'm glad MS is in the competitive console wars, 'cause they helped influence gaming consoles for the better now, and not just for online gaming, now we can watch online movies through our consoles (thanks MS), and XBLA (though Sega Channel did it first, they're not around, so thanks MS for keeping downloadable console games alive and well), and soon we can replace our pricey cable providers because Microsoft is introducing IPTV (thanks MS),

  • Phaselinear

    Posted May 29, 2009 2:51 pm PT

    This news is good (although inflated as per Microsoft mode of operation) news in the end. I had a feeling over the past 12 months that Sony will continue to suffer a down turn. It took Microsoft for ever to turn the corner, but it looks like it has happened to some degree. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft jumps on Sony again with it's next console, and will they get it out 6 months before sony's. We'll find out in another year!

  • Phazevariance

    Posted May 29, 2009 2:36 pm PT

    360 sales are still increasing, wii sales are slowing, and ps3 sales are steady but not increasing enough to catch 360 or wii. I guess this is goign to be the final outcome for this generation with 1st place being ww, and 360 second with sony taking the tail in 3rd.

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