14 DAY TRIAL // With the NPD Group hardware and software charts released at the end of last week, all the major gaming companies have sprung into action to emphasize their successes and downplay those of their rivals. Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox 360, is saying that the install base of the Xbox 360 has reached 39 million units worldwide and sales in 2009 were satisfactory despite the overall fall in revenue and sales that the videogaming industry registered.
Microsoft is also saying that the Xbox 360 has had “more titles in the list of monthly top ten consoles games throughout the year,” trying to disguise the fact that Nintendo dominated most of the monthly software charts with titles like New Super Mario Bros., Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort, while the software giant managed to take over during the fall release season with the launches of Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3: ODST and Forza Motorsport 3.
The Redmond-based company is stating that the Xbox 360 has generated more than 4.8 billion dollars in revenue, which is a bit lower than the 5 billion registered in 2008 and the 5.1 seen in 2007. It is pointing out that the Xbox 360 is leading when it comes to third-party revenues, accounting for 43% of the third-party titles across all platforms and are evaluated at 2.4 billion dollars. The Xbox Live service also had a great year, reaching no less than 2.2 million users at the same time.
Microsoft also expressed confidence in the performance of the Xbox 360 during 2010, saying that Project Natal, which is set to arrive during the holiday season, will attract a wider array of players to the console while old school gamers will be interested in picking up Mass Effect 2, arriving at the end of January, Halo: Reach, and Splinter Cell: Conviction. The software giant is sure that 2010 will be “the biggest and best year in Xbox history.”