GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

Microsoft Shipped 6.6 Million Xbox Consoles During Holiday Quarter

Total Xbox platform revenue slides 20 percent; but Minecraft, Halo, and Forza help first-party game revenue rise.

849 Comments
No Caption Provided

Microsoft on Monday reported earnings results for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, revealing that the company shipped (i.e. sold to retailers) more than 6.6 million Xbox consoles during the period. This is down from 7.4 million consoles shipped during the same quarter last year.

The company said it saw "strong holiday season performance" for Xbox. A specific breakdown between Xbox 360 and Xbox One sales was not provided, though Microsoft mentions in the slide above that the Xbox One outsold the rival PlayStation 4 in the United States during November and December 2014.

The last official Xbox One shipment number Microsoft announced was 10 million units, which came in November 2014, before the holiday rush.

Minecraft is already paying off for Microsoft
Minecraft is already paying off for Microsoft

Total Xbox platform revenue fell by 20 percent to $703 million, "due to customer preference for new generation of consoles," Microsoft said. Total console volume fell by 10 percent, while Microsoft also recorded lower revenue from second- and third-party games and accessories.

The company's Computing and Gaming Hardware revenue fell $473 million, or 11 percent, during the quarter. This downturn was attributed in part to lower revenue from the Xbox platform overall.

Microsoft's Devices & Consumer division's "Other" category rose $562 million, or 30 percent, mainly due to "higher revenue from first-party video games," among other things. In addition, first-party Microsoft video game revenue jumped by $171 million, or 79 percent, due to Minecraft sales, and the releases of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Forza Horizon 2.

Devices & Consumer "Other" cost of revenue also rose year-over-year, in part because of "higher volume of Xbox Live transactions and $104 million higher first-party video games costs."

Overall, Microsoft reported revenue of $26.5 billion for the quarter, up from $24.5 billion last year. Net income was $5.8 billion, down from $6.6 billion last year.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 849 comments about this story