Xbox Live hits 4 million users

By Tim Surette, GameSpotPosted Oct 18, 2006 7:43 pm PT

Online service for Microsoft's consoles reaches new milestone; population expected to grow to 6 million by mid-2007.

Next month won't just ring in the one-year anniversary of Microsoft's Xbox 360; it will also be the four-year anniversary of Xbox Live. To tout the online gaming service, Microsoft announced the latest stats and figures and revealed a new milestone.

Xbox Live has surpassed 4 million members worldwide, just shy of its sixth iteration, which launches "this fall." The service, which Microsoft describes as "the first and only unified online games and entertainment network," is available in 24 countries, and the company expects it to surpass 6 million members by the summer of 2007.

Other items of note include:

--More than 70 million pieces of content downloaded in Xbox Live Marketplace's first 11 months.

--More than 12 million Xbox Live Arcade downloads in that same period, with a trial-to-purchase ratio of 24 percent (Uno leads all Arcade titles with a 50 percent trial-to-purchase ratio)

--Time logged on Xbox Live playing games has surpassed 2 billion hours

--More than 9 million text and voice messages are sent over Xbox Live each week

A fall dashboard update for the Xbox 360 is expected sometime soon.

248 Comments

  • rulo_rezn0r

    Posted Nov 1, 2006 9:13 am PT

    they are very few (live users) compared to the amount of xboxes and 360s out there in the ppls houses.
    i think the number is like 30 million or something?
    we can say that is not that huge succes (xbox live), i guess mainly because of the price and stuff

  • _Sam_

    Posted Oct 21, 2006 11:23 pm PT

    --Time logged on Xbox Live playing games has surpassed 2 billion hours

    WOW. I wouldn't have guessed that

  • chrdmau

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 1:30 pm PT

    Lol..4 million for the whole thing..its not just 360. have they even sold 4 milion 360s? its for first x box too..Microsoft licks My BA!@S

  • lord-azrael

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 11:57 am PT

    that alot but I would have guessed a higher number

  • Pugberto3122

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 11:42 am PT

    Yeah but does is it mean the in use accounts becauase they could be including banned and expired ones for all we know.

  • buzzguy

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 9:39 am PT

    Yeah, Live really is awesome...just the way it's even integrated into single-player is great. Nice job Microsoft!

  • aashkii

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 9:16 am PT

    Xbox 360 has 4 million users?! That's twice as much as Nintendo Wi-Fi users on their network! This is more interesting than the PS3's online plan.

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 9:04 am PT

    Sweet!
    XBL pwns!

  • chiefmegadeth

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 8:52 am PT

    I love my xbox live and ps3 will love there second rate rip off
    if its anything like the ps2 free live service there ganna be pissed

  • cardiac_cat

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 8:25 am PT

    wow, how long did that take. cmon out PS3 and end the suffering of the 360.

  • Sanguis_Malus

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 8:12 am PT

    XBOX LIVE - LONG MAY IT LIVE !

  • PoopTete

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 7:26 am PT

    sweet. now theres 4 million people i get to own in gears of war next month. ill never be out of a game thats for sure. U-S-A U-S-A!

  • lovermanxxx

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 7:11 am PT

    holy crap. do the math! $50x4million = $200m in revenue !!!!
    what about payed content DL - 12m x $8 (an average?) = $96m / 24% = approx $24m.

    what kind of crazy $ony fanboy would you have to be to believe that $ony (who let's be honest, are some of the biggest money grabbers going!) would turn down the chance to earn $224m upwards?!?!

    if you believe that $ony will offer a true rival service to XBL for free then you are crazy. If $ony did do that, then they would also have to be crazy. they need to recoup money ASAP after slashing profit forecast etc. have you read about further loss of confidence by financial analysts? No. and there would be loads of them screaming if $ony were going to pass up this chance of earning so much money.

    get real.

  • Ced_Quijote

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 5:12 am PT

    well said, masterbeef.

    can't wait for all that GoW, TeamFortress2 and Halo3 goodness.

  • OMasterBeefO

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 4:14 am PT

    Live is MSoft's main weapon in this new console war. And for good reason: it got it right from the beginning.

    Sony made the mistake of relying on the publishers to set up their own online components, which most can't be bothered doing (or financing). By giving them everything they need to get their game online, Microsoft has cemented its place at the forefront of online gaming, and is obviously committed to staying there. Well done MS, all the best for the future. =)

  • payback_56

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 2:26 am PT

    nice to see there will be many other to play against with all the new games coming out, see u out there

  • ZugZug4

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 11:46 pm PT

    MSoft should give a nice gift to the 4 millionth user. ^__^

  • kai88

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 11:33 pm PT

    itz all about the box ps3 sux

  • Monkey316

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 10:47 pm PT

    Dashboard update oh yeah

  • iebubu

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 9:11 pm PT

    This is the main reason i'm getting the x360

Uno Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Images | Videos | DLC & Expansions | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum

advertisement
advertisement
Click Here
Uno Boxshot
Uno
  • Downloadable Game

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement
Click Here