Those who claimed Microsoft wouldn't be able to carry a gaming console to success are probably kicking themselves right now. The software giant and third party companies have been clamoring since the new year about the Xbox 360's strong sales in 2010 in both hardware and software.
Last week, Microsoft announced that the Xbox was "the only console to show year-to-year growth at 42 percent" in December, 2010. More so, with 1.9 million units sold in December alone (admittedly less than Nintendo's 2.3 million), marking the biggest month for Xbox in Microsoft history, and three of the top 10 games being Xbox titles, it's no surprise that $6.2 billion was spent in retail on the console last year.
Half of which, apparently, went to video games and other software. An NPD Group study affirms that $3 billion was spent on games for the Xbox 360 last year in retail stores, more than Nintendo's Wii ($2.6 billion) and Sony's PlayStation 3 ($2.1 billion).
No surprise for the company which not only revamped the form factor of the console, but also released the, arguably, more innovative and most-anticipated remote technology of 2010. Or, controller-free remote technology of 2010. Kinect sales even surpassed Microsoft's original predictions; the company announced at CES 2011 that it had sold 8 million units, 3 million more than anticipated. And with rumors circulating that Microsoft is planning on releasing a second wave of Kinect games later this Spring, sales seem poised to continue rising.
To date, Microsoft has sold 50 million consoles.
[Source: TechFlash.com]
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