The press release has a few other statistics worth noting as well. First of all, the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV helped push the number of Xbox Live members to 12 million, which Microsoft claims is double what it was a year ago (it was at 7 million last July, so that sounds about right). On the software front, Microsoft boasts more than 16 games that have sold a million copies or more, which the company claims is twice as many as the Wii and more than the PS3 by a margin of 16:2 (so, 8:1 in other words). MS is also trumpeting the critical praise lavished on 360 games, noting that 91 Xbox 360 titles average 80 or higher on Metacritic, whereas the Wii and PS3 have 22 and 50 respectively.
Rosy numbers indeed, though that's to be expected from Microsoft PR. Some of the language is a little strange, like the 16:2 ratio, which sounds bigger than it is. Also, "more than 16" is a rather odd choice of words. Does that mean 17? 20? Enough PR dissection though. Such things are the pursuit of madmen. The point is that MS has sold over 10 million consoles in the US. Whether or not this milestone truly cements Microsoft's victory remains to be seen.
[Via Major Nelson]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-14-2008 @ 5:38PM
Arnon said...
Microsoft is picking up sales in the UK as well... Japan still remains patriotic to their Playstation, but it never hurts to try new things.
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 6:05PM
Ninjakamster (PSN: Chin-Poh) said...
Not only Playstation, but Nintendo, anything Japanese.
Though I think the Ipod is doing well there.
5-14-2008 @ 6:21PM
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) said...
What about Michael Jackson?
5-14-2008 @ 5:46PM
Bubs said...
"product launched in late 2006. "
The 360 launched late 2005 .
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 5:50PM
Arnon said...
That's true, meaning it's doing even better than it was in this article.
5-14-2008 @ 6:35PM
Richard Mitchell said...
Ahem. Yes, 2005. Fixed.
5-14-2008 @ 6:48PM
Bubs said...
Thank you Rich .
5-14-2008 @ 5:58PM
Andrew said...
Does this include broken ones that were replaced?
HAHAHA
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 6:05PM
Arnon said...
Go play in traffic? =x
5-14-2008 @ 6:09PM
Andrew said...
in gta? sure
5-14-2008 @ 6:19PM
Andrew said...
Hey you stole my name!
5-14-2008 @ 6:10PM
Arnon said...
Hell yeah in GTA lol. So it's now a confirmed fact...
360 total sales: 18million or so
PS3 total sales: 9million or so
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 6:10PM
Arnon said...
*19+million
5-14-2008 @ 7:06PM
The Sound said...
Close.
Sony sold ~4 million in Fiscal Year 07 and ~9 million in Fiscal Year 08.
Math is correct, then:
360 ~19million
PS3 ~13million
Although MS did say that they were 5 million ahead of the PS3, so those are rough estimates.
5-14-2008 @ 6:11PM
Arnon said...
And that 19+million is for the 360 XD... sorry for that.
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 6:21PM
Rk4n3 said...
X3F you guys are so effing funny. The article above is one example of why i read this blog EVERYDAY. Keep up the good work and tongue in cheek humor... many thanks.
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 7:09PM
The Sound said...
Congrats Microsoft. You gambled with an early release and it paid off with a better marketshare than that of the original xbox and the PS3, problems notwithstanding.
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 7:26PM
SmooveRN said...
If the 360 had a 33% fail rate... that means there were what... 3 million and change fucked?
Reply
5-14-2008 @ 7:46PM
emirabal said...
I have ben reading the posts from my bb and i finally got to comment, this one peeked my interest because this is huge, those numbers make the 360 a huge contender in the war of the consoles (penny arcade joke), but my question is this, how many people actually went out and bought another 360 when theres red ringed, i bet you thats close to a million, just guessing though.
Reply
5-15-2008 @ 12:00PM
Trogdor said...
A million people bought a new one to replace the RROD? Not a chance there are that many stupid people out there. Even before the warranty extension it would cost like $120 to get it fixed, I'm sure almost everyone would rather pay that than full price for a new one. Though if you have money to burn maybe not...