Xbox 360 coming second in console race

Xbox

October 19, 2012

Microsoft has published their Q1 financial year 2013 (Q1FY13) results, which show the company has sold 70 million units of Xbox 360 over the lifetime of the console. In Q1FY13, 1.7 million Xbox 360 units were sold, down 29% on Q1FY12 results.

Adding up Sony’s sales figures, for which the latest report came in Q1FY12, 66.7 million PlayStation 3 units have been sold. The Nintendo Wii, as of June 2012, has sold 96.56 million units in its lifetime.

This means for this generation of console, the Wii is still firmly in the lead for units sold, with Xbox 360 coming second, in a close battle with PlayStation 3.

“Xbox 360 platform revenue decreased $418 million or 24%, due mainly to lower volumes of consoles sold and lower video game revenue, offset in part by higher Xbox LIVE revenue. Video game revenue decreased primarily due to the release of Gears of War 3 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 with no comparable major releases in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013,” reported Microsoft in its earnings statement.

Interestingly, for the Entertainment and Devices Division (under which Xbox 360 operates), the company said that “Research and development expenses increased $140 million or 44%, primarily reflecting higher headcount-related expenses related to interactive entertainment and the acquisition of Skype.” Ignoring the Skype part, this could indicate increased spend in R&D on the long-rumoured and inevitable next-generation Xbox.

“The Entertainment and Devices Division posted revenue of $1.95 billion, a decrease of 1% from the prior year period. [Xbox 360] continues to be the top-selling console in the U.S., where it now has 49% market share,” said Microsoft.

At the end of financial year 2012, Microsoft boasted 40 million Xbox LIVE members, but has not provided updated numbers for Q1F13. They did however cite Xbox LIVE member growth of “up >15%”, suggesting 46 million Xbox LIVE members in Q1FY13.