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Xbox 360 sales top 40 million

Microsoft confirms its console crossed another worldwide sales milestone five years into its life cycle.

In its earnings report today, Microsoft conceded that Xbox 360 sales were slowing somewhat, with sales dropping 12 percent to 1.5 million in the January-March quarter. The slowdown came despite Microsoft trying to sweeten the deal with a $300 Xbox 360 Elite bundle that packed in Forza Motorsport 3 and Halo 3: ODST, the latter of which comes with an invite to May 3's Halo: Reach multiplayer beta.

40 million served.

40 million served.

However, the Xbox 360's first-quarter sales were enough to push the platform past 40 million consoles sold worldwide. The figure puts it behind the Wii, which had sold 67 million units as of the end of last year, but still ahead of the 33.5 million PlayStation 3s sold as of December 31, 2009.

Besides the three-month gap--Nintendo and Sony have not yet issued their January-March financial reports--the comparisons are also complicated by the timing of the Xbox 360's launch. With the original Xbox debuting the year after the PlayStation 2, Microsoft executives didn't want to be second out of the gate during the next generation. As a result, the Xbox 360 went on sale in November 2005, a full year before its two competitors, the PS3 and Wii, went to market.

805 Comments

  • badboy780

    Posted Sep 16, 2010 5:50 pm GMT

    @tekken220 you have also never owned a xbox360 because u have no xbox 360 games only ps3. i also checked your page

  • badboy780

    Posted Sep 16, 2010 5:47 pm GMT

    @heyorange. i know that your not telling the truth because every xbox360 scratches your game when moved. so stop the lie your a ps3 fanboy.

  • Dominicobaggio

    Posted Apr 28, 2010 4:38 pm GMT

    @CaptainHerlock

    I dont think its customers being stupid and rebuying them blindly. I have worked for a short while selling all consoles and what i saw of xbox customers firstly they couldnt afford anything else (usually) or all their friends had them so they got one.

    Secondly when it broke and they came back they would often want to change to something better but they couldnt. They were now locked into the console with the sundries and games they had bought (somthing microsoft knew about when they launched the console)

    This way even when they were now angry and wanted to change they couldnt.

    The worst thing was customers coming in to buy "new" xbox's which were no longer faulty but they were actually getting the same console just remarketed. Even after the problem was spotted, microsoft continued to sell the faulty ones (or companies were getting rid of their stock) and it took a while for the working ones to come through.

    Horrific state of affairs and i have to say i have never seen an electrical product with so many problems where teh poor customer was locked in. Faulty Tvs they bring them back get a different brand but this they were sadly stuck with.

    Not to say all new xboxs are bad, im sure the problem is fixed now, though i dont work in electronics anymore so dont see the returns.

  • GunBladeHero

    Posted Apr 28, 2010 11:59 am GMT

    Hmmm... good thing I waited 'till Jasper motherboard was implemented to buy it!

  • CaptainHerlock

    Posted Apr 28, 2010 10:24 am GMT

    @MacenKrace

    It's because gamers don't live in the "real world", where if a product continuously breaks down you'd get rid of it. I've brought that point up and I always hear the same thing, "that's different because we're talking about video games". It's not different. Yet, gamers and the 360 faithful continue to say "Thank you sir! May I have another!", believing all along that even though Microsoft sold them a shoddy piece of hardware, they are "swell guys" because they keep fixing it for free. As Ben Franklin said, the definition of "insanity" is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

  • Megavideogamer

    Posted Apr 27, 2010 4:05 pm GMT

    40 million Xbox 360's Well done MS even with the difficulties with this console. This is a kinda/sort of a victory. Xbox 1 sold only 24.5 million. The games for the Xbox 360 were good enough to keep the 360 going. Despite the early "tech mishaps"

    Hopefully Microsoft will not rush out Xbox 3 (or whatever they call it)

  • flameducky

    Posted Apr 27, 2010 3:59 pm GMT

    @fgjnfgh
    And most of them are related to these stupid fanboy wars

  • Ohaidere

    Posted Apr 27, 2010 3:18 pm GMT

    It's too bad the Wii has virtually no games worth mentioning other than Mario and Metroid.

  • mariokart64fan

    Posted Apr 27, 2010 3:13 pm GMT

    wii sold more since that last report so it puts it nearly 30 m more then itscompetitors which is safe lead ,,

  • snarl2

    Posted Apr 27, 2010 2:55 pm GMT

    Good for both MS and Sony! Thanks to the PS3, blu-ray has become more popular, hence AVATAR went on blu-ray(Which rocked!!!) instead of just standard dvd. And thanks to MS, Halo and Gears of War!!!

  • Flint247

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 2:24 pm GMT

    Comparing the Xbox 360 and PS3 is like comparing oranges and apples!

    @MacenKrace

    You said people are stupid for buying a new 360 after their last one broke, but you did it, too? o.o

  • CMakaCreative

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 2:06 pm GMT

    I had my 360 from day one...20gb memory & all. It did catch the RROD fever right when my warranty was up. I was close to buying an elite for the extra memory & HDMI connection but I just paid the $100 bucks to get it repaired. But I do admit, I haven't played it as much and only been playing ME2 on it. Tales of Vesperia was great & was the only other game I played along with ME1. I'm not a fan of FPS or playing online. And in the back of my head, I always have a fear that it will just cop out again.

    So I play my PS3 more, but I don't view it as the better system, just the system that has more GAMES that I enjoy playing right now. My Wii is just there......for when.........my lil neices come over & bring their games.....which is every other blue moon. So it's pretty much decoration but I really want a game I can get into to come along so I can use it again.

    But what I really want to know is where do I sign up to get free games or a check that some of you guys are getting. Something other than enjoying games are encouraging you guys to soley devote yourself to one company & belittle others for not being on "your side". I know word of mouth is the best & cheapest way to promote something but some of you are going beyond the norm the way you promote & defend you console of choice. So I can only assume you work for the company or getting something on the side for doing such a bais job.

  • FabledVeteran

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 7:56 am GMT

    39 million as of January 6, 2010

    considering that number, its no suprise that they have now passed 40 million... but the PS3 is gaining and microsoft will no doubt need to make some huge improvements to keep that lead especially with the success of Bluray helping sony sell some of their consoles to people who were undecided...

  • Ramiro00

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 7:41 am GMT

    I have a question. I heard some of the 1st ps3 explodes too (at least i know a couple of guys). Do you have any reference of that?

  • heyorange

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 6:46 am GMT

    mm my 1st 360 which died was an 06 launch not 07.
    I think they improved the hardware since then. My newer ones are alot better. (less heat and doesn't scratch my discs when they spin extremely fast).

    My 2nd x360 was to replace my dead one. 3rd one I got new for $80 which I couldn't pass up. I know of 2 other people who have multiple 360's because their launch ones died. So I guess 40 mill there would be a few people with multiple 360's.
    Because all current gen consoles are very different; comparing the sales doesn't seem all that big as with last gen.
    Prices of all 3 is vastly different and also its user base. I know a few who could only afford a wii so they bought that and a few mates who bought the ps3 only to watch blu rays (when it was the cheapest option). For somebody who has the 3, I don't find one better over the other, each has its adv. and different use.

    But fanboy debates always make for interesting reads.

    @ MacenKrace you say.."I don't get it why ppl are so stupid as to buy another one after last one broke"

    then you say "Had 2 360's and both were returned due to RROD. I sold the third one since it was a cheap piece of scrap and got a used PS3. "

    I guess you are one of the stupid ones.

  • Dominicobaggio

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 1:31 am GMT

    ps I just noticed these figures of 40 million vs 33.5 million are from playstation before the new year vs xbox now!!! What sort of comparison is that gamespot? Talk about biased...

    The PS3 has been the console to push the envelope this gen and this has been its early weakness with many companies not daring to put the time into developing for it. But things are now changing and like the ps2 its just improving graphically in leaps and bounds.

    It will be interesting to see figures a year from now since most every person i know who had a 360 now has one of the other 2 consoles also now.

    Interesting and fun for everyone no matter which console you are lucky enough to own.

  • Dominicobaggio

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 1:30 am GMT

    @COD2-The_Pope

    Wow i disagree with just about everything you said there. One of the biggest sellers for ps3 is the fact it can web browse, it can play blue rays (the ps3 is one of the drivers of the blue ray market) etc. The whole point of the wii is its cheaper and for kids. The graphics dont matter as its simple gameplay etc. If you had made it more powerfull it would be more expensive and then wouldnt have been as popular.

    I would completely disagree about xbox online. Having played both the ps3 is just as good online. No you cant chat while playing to random people but you can chat to the people in your game.

    PS3 has things like the vidzone for music videos and best of all BBC i player and any other online video service (as it runs internet) you can watch free stuff through the internet (i was watching southpark back episodes through my ps3 the otehr day).

    If all consoles had been released together than the ps3 would be leading now because it offers alot more to savvy customers. Microsoft were clever (in my opinion not very customer friendly) when they released the faulty xbox into the market early. It got them a good foothold at the cost of customer relations (i wonder how many of those 40 million are second units?

  • MacenKrace posted Apr 26, 2010 1:28 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    MacenKrace

    Posted Apr 26, 2010 1:28 am GMT (hide)

    Too bad MS sucks big time at making hardware. The problem with all 360's is that they fail at the hardware department and in the end they will RROD or suffer some other kind of unrepairable error.
    I don't get it why ppl are so stupid as to buy another one after last one broke. From the moment it appeared the Xbox was build of cheap stuff and never they never continued to improve, even though technology did. Apparently the competition learned from that mistake and made some really decent consoles. As for the Jasper fail rate of less than 10%... returned consoles don't appear in statistics, ever!

    Also you guys say 50$ a month is as much a game a year. What about the other guys, which are not from America and are not so happy to get this?

    Had 2 360's and both were returned due to RROD. I sold the third one since it was a cheap piece of scrap and got a used PS3. believe or not it never had any problems whatsover

  • lamprey263

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 11:44 pm GMT

    Microsoft did a great job since the first Xbox, not just for themselves but video games in general. They've created more competition with regards to having more powerful gaming consoles. Sony wouldn't have bothered making the PS3 as powerful as it is without having to compete with MS. Now we have console games that wouldn't have made it to consoles these days but instead would have been designed for top of the line PCs. Microsoft has also been the most successful to make online console gaming mainstream, which was mostly exclusive to PC gaming, and now almost every game out these days has an online multiplayer option. With regards to their XBL services, XBL has online features like being aware what your friends are up to online, the ability to join cross game chat parties, achievements, online stores to buy downloadable games, videos, etc, or to download game demos, and now integrating services like Netflix and IPTV. On top of that, Microsoft has one of the best digital rights systems, much more ahead of Nintendo's and slightly better than Sony's which I believe limits the number of times you can redownload what you've purchased. Their DRM has had issues in the past but now it's in a more ideal state, you can now transfer digital rights to different console and recover games you've bought through your account. Whether you're a Xbox fan or not, you can't deny Microsoft has contributed heavily toward changing video games for the better. I'm glad it's paying off for them.

  • Epzaos

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 11:29 pm GMT

    LOL fanboys fighting over which console is better.
    Just STFU and accept the fact that all 3 consoles are great.
    Stop fighting this pointless war.

  • ryogapower

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 8:35 pm GMT

    :@steelmouth

    its just you.

    did you flunk maths?

  • Flint247

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 7:33 pm GMT

    @COD2-The_Pope

    Until PSN or Wii have the same features as XBL, then XBL will still be my number 1 choice for online gaming on a console; the $50/year is worth it because you are getting what you paid for.

    Besides, it's no different from buying a video game at $50 a year. (I don't get many games to begin with, so the XBL cost doesn't bother me)

  • DACRAZYKREW posted Apr 25, 2010 5:06 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    DACRAZYKREW

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 5:06 pm GMT (hide)

    im happy cause ps3 SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Boblehead2008

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 5:02 pm GMT

    im happy to say i have contributed twice and only one broke (my fault fell on floor hard) now my elite is helping me get through boring days one game at a time

  • Dark_Arkitect

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 2:20 pm GMT

    @ COD2-The_Pope

    Ya I agree with you on some of it.You make some valid points.If Ps3/Wii offered the same quality online service as Xbl,I wouldn't have room to debate.

    Take for example your playin MK2 on Psn.You couldn't even talk to your opponent last I checked.Mario Kart wii has that same issue.Whereas Xbl no matter what your playing,your chatting it up with your opponents....or any other person who's in your party chat for that matter.

    When the others get to that standard of online freedom,i'm all up for it.

  • Locutus_Picard

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 1:35 pm GMT

    We don't need to spread the hate. Even kids from elementary school understand the 360's failing spree due to faulty hardware.

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 1:10 pm GMT

    @tekken220, I see the smiley face at the end of your statement, so I assume your joking about the 5 360s? I thought you couldn't be serious, so I checked your profile to see if you had any 360 games, which it shows 0 in your collection, unless you got rid of them all, so I just wanted to ask. Simply because some people, who are PS3 fanboys, will go to extremes to say that they have had several 360s fail due to RROD, just to spread hate. Just wondering.

  • Venom_injektion

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 10:02 am GMT

    I love my 360 during the winter, but not so much during summer. It heats my room at least another ten degrees after an hour of being on! (I'm not being sarcastic)

  • Volker777

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 9:52 am GMT

    I have both Ps3 and Xbox 360 and I have to say I much prefer the Xbox

  • howie1926

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 8:13 am GMT

    I have had 3 Xbox360's. One scratched my games. One got the RROD and was out of warranty. My third Xbox360 got the RROD but was covered under warranty. Even though I have had so many problems, I would still not play my games on any other system. I own a PS3 as well, and I prefer my Xbox360.

  • fgjnfgh

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 7:30 am GMT

    806 comments, that's alot

  • heyorange

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 5:17 am GMT

    Have 3 xbox 360's
    1 died (07 model), 2 work (08, 09 model)
    like gaming on it.

  • COD2-The_Pope

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 5:07 am GMT

    @dark arkitect: I'm not disputing that it's a great service and it is actually the best in terms of latency. I'm just saying that its a moronic idea to make people pay for something that BOTH competitors are offering for free. Fair enough if Sony and Nintendo were offering it at a price, but they're not and it all adds up. If you buy a PS3 it is more expensive than a 360. However if you account for the several years of paying for online, you end up paying more for the 360. It's just not right that they make you pay for it and imo they would have sold a lot more systems if they offered it for free. Just the same as if Sony didn't cram in useless crap people already have (seriously, people already own dvd/blueray player/recorders, music players, photo albums, internet browsers, etc) they would have sold a hell of a lot more systems because their price would have been lower. It's also the same for Nintendo. If they bothered to put in advanced processors, GPUs, etc, then they woulda been able to match the 360/PS3's capabilities and would have attracted all the third party games that these other consoles get and thus would have hung onto the core gaming demographic, as well as attracted the casual demagraphic, meaning they would have sold even more systems then they already have. So many mistakes to learn from for the next gen, and if the three companies are smart, they'll learn from them.

  • tekken220

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 4:47 am GMT

    Ahh, I remembered my 5 360's, they all got the RROD and I wanted to get a PS3 ever since

  • Locutus_Picard

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 4:26 am GMT

    About 20 million of them were rebought consoles due to RROD

  • steelmouth

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 3:40 am GMT

    is it just me or is the gap between the x360 and ps3 widening

  • Dark_Arkitect

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 2:59 am GMT

    @COD2-The_Pope You do realize that xbox live is quality service,meaning your getting what you pay for.

    "Hopefully next gen Microsoft realise this and copy the PS3/Wii's way of doing things." What you should have wrote was "Hopefully next gen PS3/Wii realize that XBL brings in massive $$ for a great quality service and leads the online fan base on consoles and copy this way of doing things"

    I own all three systems and when it comes to online service.XBL deserves the paid for subscription.Also...if you do some research.You will find that Sony is also now looking into doing a paid subscription.

  • junor69

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 1:49 am GMT

    I think lots of people have done what I did every time my 360 have died ( 7 times now ) I went out and got new cheap arcade and send my broken one to get fix once it came back fixed I sold it on ebay quick and easy.

    Im bit mixed now I have my second elite crap it self just after 5 months not happy not happy at all.

  • SocialAnXieTy

    Posted Apr 25, 2010 1:30 am GMT

    @ richioso

    Well, a place where it can breathe and get decent ventilation.. yeah. Why does that sound so ridiculous or laughable? Consoles nowadays put off a decent amount of heat. If this guy got RROD'd eleven times, then he must have placed it in the most closed-off spot possible every time he got it back, or every time he bought a new one.

  • COD2-The_Pope posted Apr 24, 2010 9:00 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    COD2-The_Pope

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 9:00 pm GMT (hide)

    The only downside of the 360 nowadays is that you have to pay for xbox live. That is a massive rip off considering both of its competitors offer free online capabilities. Hopefully next gen Microsoft realise this and copy the PS3/Wii's way of doing things. That would make it a great buy for me.

  • midway_nights

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 8:05 pm GMT

    Its a good console.
    excellent game library plus backward compatibility.
    it all counts.

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 6:32 pm GMT

    I have several friends who have had their Xbox fall victim to the RROD, including myself, but none of which have went out and purchased another one. All have been fixed under the warranty. I have a newer one, with the apparent cooler chip, and so far so good. I'm glad they are selling well, which means they will be in it for the long haul,and continue to put out games that I like.

  • blackace

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 5:48 pm GMT

    Looks like VGChartz will need to change their numbers again, lol!! Can't wait for M$ to release the 360 Slim for $199 at the end of the year. I wonder what Sony will do then? ********************************************************************************
    aliasghar96

    Xbox 360's failure rate for 08 09 is 5% people.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    You probably mean well, but those numbers are right at all. The Jasper was put into the XBox 360 starting Sept 2009. Before the Jasper the fail rate was still about 25%-30% with the Falcon. Now if you just check the fail rate on the Jasper XBox 360's alone it's somewhere between 5% - 10%. It's true though, that even with a very large fail rate, gamers still ran out and bought XBox 360's in droves. The 1st year the PS3 came out gamers were buying 360's, returning the broken ones for replacements or sending them back to Microsoft. Many gamers who were buying PS3's for $600 were selling them on Ebay or bringing them back to Wal-Mart and Gamestop once they found out they couldn't sell the over prices PS3 for $800+ during X-Mas. Microsoft was smart releasing the XBox 360 a year before the competition. Hey.. Sony did it with the PS2, even though the Dreamcast came out almost a year before the PS2 as well.

  • PhilipO45

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 3:43 pm GMT

    It's so hard to judge actual sales of eithier console, since the PS3 is often bought mainly as a BR player, or a combo unit. And the 360 had it's RROD problems and i'm sure some gamers just bought a new one to replace the broken one. So So let's be fair here, how many 360's were bought and were not replacements? And how many PS3's were bought as BR players, first and foremest? I'd say without a doubt there were more PS3's sold as BR players then 360's as a replacement to a RROD one. But will we ever know true sales of 360(non replacement) vs PS3(strickly as a game console) sales?

  • tmorri603

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 12:27 pm GMT

    @aliasghar96

    I think that 08 and 09 are when MS started to use the jasper in the 360. I do think that a indept study need to be done on the jasper so we can put this failure rate stuff to bed. The 360 still has the best game attach rate of the Wii and PS3. That means that a lot of the broken systems are being fixed. I just feel sorry for those who had their 360's brake on them. They are the only ones who have the right to complain. The rest are just fanboys with nothing better to do.

  • jamalandjboogie

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 12:08 pm GMT

    People buy the 360 because of its great online play and games. No one really cares about the failure rate of it.

  • Trogeton

    Posted Apr 24, 2010 10:18 am GMT

    well the 360s sales have dropped and the ps3s have rose so.. I don't know what to think for the future .. and if you actually read the entire thing.. the 360 only released that early so the sales would not get second place like last gen.. so yeah M$ is only worried about getting the highest # of sales they don't really care if you have to buy more than 1 xbox to stay happy and still the over all failure rates remain the same or just error reports

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