Microsoft Says 3.2 Million Xbox 360s Sold
- April 28, 2006 14:19 PM PST
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Microsoft's Q3 earnings conference call sheds new light on the company's financial health...but some analysts are losing patience with the company's spending habits.
During their Q3 earnings conference call, Microsoft shared new details about the retail performance of the Xbox 360 console, which has now been available for six months in the US.
Microsoft confirmed that 3.2 million Xbox 360s have been sold worldwide, with 1.8 million consoles sold in the US, 1.1 sold in Europe, and 300,000 sold in the rest of the world.
There was other good news, too. Three of the top 10 games sold in March were Xbox 360 titles, an impressive number considering the system's modest install base. The company also claims that quite a few users are taking advantage of the Xbox Live Marketplace, with four million Arcade downloads and 10 million content downloads since launch.
In other news related to the Q3 earnings update, some analysts are surprised that Microsoft is preparing to spend $2.4 billion more than was initially forecast for the 2007 fiscal year. During the conference call, an analyst with Goldman Sachs asked if Microsoft was "building a Google inside of the company," a reference to Microsoft's massive new spending plan. Microsoft responded that the company had no secret projects.
But even that statement seems doubtful. Microsoft is widely rumored to be working on a portable Xbox system, a move that put the company into direct competition with both Nintendo and Sony in the ferocious handheld gaming market. But the company has had nothing to say on the matter.
Will E3 answer all questions? More updates soon.
