Xbox
360 Console is with 28 million Gamers
In
the sizzling
digital games market, Microsoft reveals that life-to-date
unit sales of Xbox 360 systems climbed to 28 million consoles worldwide.
With price starting at $199, Xbox 360 now offers games, TV shows, and
movies to consumers. Other companies are also playing aggressively.
According to Microsoft, the Xbox LIVE community also grew to over 17
million members. Since the launch of the Xbox 360 three years ago, more
than $1 billion has been spent on Xbox LIVE, says Microsoft.
Along
with games, the addition of entertainment content on the box is among
the factors for its increasing market acceptance. Recently, for example,
online movie rental service, Netflix, said that Netflix members
can have thousands of movies and TV episodes instantly streamed to the
TV via the Xbox 360 with the New Xbox Experience.
Other
players are also quite aggressive in the community-based gaming and
entertainment market. Last month (Dec. ’08), Sony Computer
Entertainment’s (SCE) released
PlayStation Home Beta service for
PlayStation 3. PlayStation Home is a 3D social gaming community
available on PS3 that allows users to interact, communicate, and share
gaming experiences. PlayStation Home delivers visual graphics and rich
gaming social experiences on the PS3 platform.
According to Microsoft, Xbox 360 is experiencing record-setting sales
around the globe, particularly in Japan and Europe, nearly doubling
market share in these territories. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa
(EMEA) specifically, Xbox 360 has now sold more than 8 million units.
"For
Xbox, 2008 will be remembered around the world as a pivotal growth year
at retail and online -- even in the face of tough economic conditions,"
said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive
Entertainment Business at Microsoft.
Between
Christmas and New Year's Day, says Microsoft, Xbox LIVE experienced its
busiest week ever, with a record of more than 1.5 million concurrent
members online.
The
popularity of console-based games can be assessed from the fact that
Halo 3, a video game developed for
Microsoft Xbox 360 console,
grossed $300 million worldwide in its first week of launch. Even a
Hollywood blockbuster will be thrilled to generate this kind of
revenue.
According to DFC Intelligence, a global digital games market tracker,
combined cumulative
worldwide sales for Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony
PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii systems are expected to be 180-210
million units by 2012.
