UK spends £64/month on Xbox 360

By Robert Purchese Published 4 March, 2011

And more than 10 per cent over £100.

UK Xbox 360 owners spend an average of £64 a month on games, Microsoft has declared.

And 13 per cent spend over £100.

That's according to a survey carried out by Microsoft's advertising branch, reported on MCV. Canvassed were 251 Xbox 360 gamers aged between 25 and 34 years-old, and most revealed hardcore gaming habits. What a happy coincidence.

Of that 251-person sample, 83 per cent play Xbox 360 games three to four days a week. And nearly half (41 per cent), play games every day for three or four hours.

The majority preferred shooters, then racers, then RPGs.

With such a lot of time spent gaming, could their spending habits be classed as disproportionately high?

Microsoft's chief advertisement researcher used the survey to conclude that gamers are "an attractive proposition for marketers".

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (83) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • coolbritannia #1 1 year ago

    WTF?! That figure is too high IMO, and the survey sample way too small.

    I maybe spend £20 every few months, no way is there enough quality content on Live to account for that £64 figure.

  • Mkwone #2 1 year ago

    I'd hazard a guess that this wasn't a broad demographic of xbox owners then.

    90% of all people know that 67% of statistics are made up, with a further 86% being misleading.

  • customfirmware #3 1 year ago

    No I don't. I hardly use my xbox anymore. 251 people representing millions of xbox owners am I the only one seeing the flaw in that.
    Edited by customfirmware at 04/03/11 @ 10:47

  • linea #4 1 year ago

    The report says £64 per month in total, not £64 per month on live marketplace!

  • TopKatt #5 1 year ago

    I wonder if Brendan Jordan was one of the 251 surveyed?
    Edited by TopKatt at 04/03/11 @ 10:47

  • Rizo #6 1 year ago

    I say this is kind of bullshit microsoft knows exactly how much each person spends on live why do they need to carry out servays to find that information?

  • cjb_bjc #7 1 year ago

    Lol

  • emhaslam92 #8 1 year ago

    Even if it included subscription fees, it still seems ridiculously high. I don't spend more than £5/month (on average) on the PS Store. Most expensive thing I've bought was BF1943.

  • Frumper #9 1 year ago

    Edit: Eurogamer says Marketplace, original article doesn't. Sorry Linea.

    @ Linea, no the article says "UK Xbox 360 owners spend an average of £64 a month on Live Marketplace".

    That result just doesn't feel right. And why go to the bother of doing a survey when you it would be more accurate, cheaper, easier, more comprehensive and quicker for someone to pull the numbers from Microsoft's own databases.... maybe it gave the 'wrong' answer. ;)
    Edited by Frumper at 04/03/11 @ 15:23

  • Toothball #10 1 year ago

    I could very easily spend £64 a month, but I've been trying to curtail that habit recently. Mostly I hold out for deals on arcade games and content, but some of it I buy when it's new. A lot of my XBLA spending goes on my Rock Band catalogue, which would take over my whole bank account if I let it.

    Edit: This comment made a bit more sense when the article claimed it was £64 on XBLA.
    Edited by Toothball at 04/03/11 @ 11:23

  • mrpon #11 1 year ago

    Bollocks

  • abigsmurf #12 1 year ago

    Tiny sample size + Poor selection method = utterly worthless survey

  • Tipsy #13 1 year ago

    If you're going to publish a piece which is so blatantly marketing puff for Microsoft you could at least have made the headline "Microsoft poll of hand-picked gives figures they like". Your allusions to this in the text don't go far enough to excuse the unwarranted free press you're giving them. It's just going to encourage them and others to engage in this kind of misrepresentation in future.

  • butler` #14 1 year ago

    LOL stats

    they're doing well, but not THAT well

  • TRUTH #15 1 year ago

    I've only spent £20 in the last year and a half - and much of that was for NBA Street - it was actually cheaper to DL then buy!...Don't really care about Marketplace - and I'm glad I don't. It's also really really sad that people pay £39.99 for CoD 4 and other overpriced old games on Marketplace - remember your console will become redundant when something new comes out!...All those DL sitting in your HDD will be worthless and useless... I'll never convert to buying DLG - my PS3 brokedown once, couldn't not claim back for the games, could not sell the games, could not, borrow the games out, could take them to a friends to play, could not transfer them to another PS3...I realized that a physical format is always the best option. I had to pay to repair my console then phone Sony, after wasting plenty of time
    , only then I was I able download the games again - NEVER AGAIN!

    Edited by TRUTH at 04/03/11 @ 11:20

  • Fab4 #16 1 year ago

    Was one of them that kid with the stupid mum who didn't check her credit card?

    Edit: Oh, I see TopKatt has already mentioned that :)
    Edited by Fab4 at 04/03/11 @ 10:56

  • DozyKipper #17 1 year ago

    What? I don't even spend £64 in a year!

  • Fab4 #18 1 year ago

    The sample size isnt that tiny, btw.

  • estoo #19 1 year ago

    Absolute bollocks, you would have to buy just about every single thing that came out every month to reach that figure. I wouldn't even believe it was £6.40.

  • coolbritannia #20 1 year ago

    From the original MCV report: 'On average UK Xbox 360 gamers splurge £64 a month on their hobby according to Microsoft.
    The format holder’s ad sales department – Microsoft Advertising – also found that 13 per cent of gamers spend more than £100 on 360 games each month.'

    Nowhere in that article does it say Marketplace. What's the story EG, do you know something MCV doesn't or is this incredibly misleading reporting?

  • Whitster #21 1 year ago

    My survey showed that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.

  • Eighthours #22 1 year ago

    Someone must have misplaced a decimal point, as that's LUDICROUS. Utter, utter bollocks.

    £6.40, maybe. MCV need to get back on their source, stat.

    EDIT: Ah, as coolbritannia points out, Marketplace isn't even mentioned in the original article. £64 a month on Xbox gaming as a whole, including retail games, makes much more sense.
    FFS, Rob. Are you going to correct this?
    Edited by Eighthours at 04/03/11 @ 11:05

  • toythatkills #23 1 year ago

    That's 8,400 points a month.

    There isn't even that much good content coming out every month.

  • dadrester #24 1 year ago

    where on earth did eurogamer get the "marketplace" bit from?

  • GreatUncleBaal #25 1 year ago

    Linea was right, if you look at the actual MCV article this story links to, Marketplace isn't mentioned at all - just that UK gamers spend £64 a month on their hobby - which seems more reasonable.

    Edit: as several others noticed before me :)
    Edited by GreatUncleBaal at 04/03/11 @ 11:06

  • captain_Carl #26 1 year ago

    I'll have to apologise and admit to spending over £1500 total on PSN, but i doubt average spend on Live is quite as high a £64. Some people spend a lot but i'd imagine it's quite a small percentage

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #27 1 year ago

    yeah this is retail not marketplace which is believeable, its only an average of 1 and a half games which is still high but if there only surveying people coming into buy games, its going to be.

  • S.F #28 1 year ago

    Did that survey took place in Strood, Kent perchance?

  • Gaol #29 1 year ago

    This article completely misrepresents the original report, and the headline doesn't even make sense. More coffee required in the EG offices.

  • coolbritannia #30 1 year ago

    That's only 3 games every 8 weeks, or a game and some dlc per month, that's about right tbh.

  • dagas #31 1 year ago

    It doesn't say anything about how they did the survey. If for example it was web based then it is unlikely that casual players decided to visit the page and take the survey. It is more likely that hardcore gamers will want to spend their time taking a survey about their favorite hobby.

  • dadrester #32 1 year ago

    @Frumper

    Did MCV change their article? It deffo doesn't make any mention of marketplace in the article now.

  • arcam #33 1 year ago

    So how come PSN and LIVE track and publish sales figures but STEAM doesn't?

    Because unlike Sony and MS, Valve is a private company that doesn't have any shareholders to report to.

  • coolbritannia #34 1 year ago

    Frumper is quoting the EG article, not the MVC article.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #35 1 year ago

    The report says £64 per month in total, not £64 per month on live marketplace!

    Overlooked that - sorry. I'll make an edit. Well spotted.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #36 1 year ago

    ...incredibly misleading reporting

    It was. I can only apologise. No bad intentions, but for some reason I saw a Marketplace where there was none. I'm still not sure why.
    Edited by Bertie at 04/03/11 @ 11:16

  • coolbritannia #37 1 year ago

    That's OK Bertie, Sony made the same mistake with Home.

  • Toothball #38 1 year ago

    @TRUTH

    PSN downloads aren't tied to the console. You should be able to log in on another and access anything via the download history in the store on up to five consoles at a time. And if you lose or sell one for whatever reason, you can unlink them via the account options or via the Sony web site.

    Physical media isn't necessarily without disadvantages either. You can still lose those to breakages, theft or other things like that.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #39 1 year ago

    Again I really am sorry. What's worse is that I spent quite a lot of time pouring over these figures trying to make sense of them.

    Genuine idiocy.

  • midnight_walker #40 1 year ago

    Again I really am sorry. What's worse is that I spent quite a lot of time pouring over these figures trying to make sense of them.

    Genuine idiocy.

    Poring.

    Ahem.

  • coolbritannia #41 1 year ago

    Poring not pouring? I never knew that.

    lol @ whoever negged this comment, you fucking retards.
    Edited by coolbritannia at 04/03/11 @ 11:46

  • djcool3005 #42 1 year ago

    Lmao sample of 251 really is a true representation LOLOLOLOLOL

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #43 1 year ago

    Poring

    Oh I didn't know that.

    Must get on now. Probably best I don't bloody dig myself deeper anyway!

  • lockload #44 1 year ago

    @I maybe spend £20 every few months, no way is there enough quality content on Live to account for that £64 figure. @

    Slightly disagree if you add in movie rentals, dlc, xbla games, skyplayer subs, the gold sub itself its totally possible

    I probably average 30pounds a month excluding skyplayer, including sky player add another 30pounds
    Edited by lockload at 04/03/11 @ 11:40

  • Darren #45 1 year ago

    I guess my average used to be in excess of £64 per month for Xbox 360 games when I first bought it (I think I used to buy above 5 or 6 games per month at one time) but with the lack of exclusive games and fact that I buy all multiformat games now for my PC, where the games are cheaper, I don't think I spend £64 in a year now (I've only bought the awesome de Blob 2 so far this year... oh and Beyond Good & Evil HD from XBLA)!

    The lack of exclusives on the Xbox 360 for 2011 so far is very, very disappointing IMO; just Forza Motorsport 4 and Gears of War 3 so far, although I may buy Top Spin 4 or Virtua Tennis 4 for the 360 depending on how they play (there's a demo available for the former now which I'll try tonight). Seems Microsoft seem more committed to Kinect at the moment and that's not great news for those of us who have no interest in it. :(

  • uiruki #46 1 year ago

    djcool3005:

    A small sample size in itself is not a problem in itself, as long as it is accounted for in the report. The problem for this article, instead, is that it only represents a small proportion of the Xbox 360 market overall. This is suitable for Microsoft's purposes (specifically, showing that people between 25 and 34 who like videogames on Xbox 360 spend lots of money on them, and therefore are worth marketing to) but extremely misleading when extrapolated without thought to the entire user base.

    Short version: the headline is still wrong. The MCV one is, too: it should be "Small section of UK Xbox 360 owners spend average of 64 pounds a month on Xbox 360 games" or something similarly inelegant. I suspect that part of the reason it is difficult to write a snappy, accurate headline is because the finding that people spend money on games isn't really remarkable at all, especially not in a demographic known for high disposable income and liking games.

  • Vortex808 #47 1 year ago

    "Canvassed were 251 Xbox 360 gamers aged between 25 and 34 years-old".

    Shit. I am into a whole new demographic now.

    Middle-age gaming FTW!

  • MattEdWithCheese #48 1 year ago

    sometimes, yes. Currently I'm spending more on PSN due to PSP games.

  • Stratix #49 1 year ago

    Did they survey people at an Xbox convention or something?

  • customfirmware #50 1 year ago

    Did the article change?

  • MaoZedong #51 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 09:40:08 17-12-2011

  • Skooch #52 1 year ago

    ^ Coolbrittannia wasn't the spelling nazi, he was just commenting that he didn't know that Pouring should have been spelt Poring.

  • MrMaaaaattt #53 1 year ago

    Yeah, in regards to purchasing games - I'm squarely in the £100 a month bracket
    Edited by MrMaaaaattt at 04/03/11 @ 12:41

  • PoundHound #54 1 year ago

    I'm in the top 10% bracket. I've pretty much spent between (approximately) £1500-£2500 every year on games since I was 18. I'm 42 now, BTW. Thing is, I'd spend even more if they would release more games! I spend a good few months of the year wishing there was something to buy.

  • mingster #55 1 year ago

    Statisticly 9 out of 10 people enjoy gang rape.

  • mossychops001 #56 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 11:49:27 04-05-2012

  • BonzoBanana #57 1 year ago

    How many pirates were included in that poll who never buy any games or content but download for free for their entire period of ownership of owning a Xbox 360? I don't know what percentage of users they are but I bet its significant.

    Seems like Microsoft are trying to present info that 360 owners are spending money like crazy and thats the format to develop for. In the last six months I've bought Fallout Vegas for £20 and a couple of cheapies for about £4 each. I'm not on xbox live and have two working 360 consoles. I have a collection of about 20 games approx plus maybe another 15 original xbox titles. My spend is about £2 a month per console going by the last six months. PS3 I have about 15 titles and a similar spending pattern.

  • coolbritannia #58 1 year ago

    Skooch, you spelt my name wrong, lol :0-)

  • Xboxfanuk #59 1 year ago

    I bet you Xbox 360 owners in their 30's and 40's spend alot of time starring blankly at the dash trying to find the energy to play something. That is why Microsoft needs to bring more IPTV solutions and maybe some bespoke entertainment.

  • davey_wells #60 1 year ago

    @Xboxfanuk - blimey, have you been watching me through the window???

    Sums me up perfectly recently...

  • huckan #61 1 year ago

    I probably spend that on steam although it's much easier to click buy and download within 30 minutes than get out and spend it

  • Sulphur_Man #62 1 year ago

    I'd say that £64, if it is indeed accurate and represetative, is driven by Zune movie rentals. It's a great service, especially if you've got the broadband speed to sustain the HD content.

    Blu-rays are still too expensive imo, far better to rent HD movies for a fraction of the price.

  • Murton #63 1 year ago

    How many 360s have been sold in the UK? For easy maths we'll say 5 million, seems like a believable figure to me. 250 people out of 5 million is 0.00005% of the population. Hardly representitive is it?

    Also, 13% of that 251 would be about 27, which would be 0.000005% of the total pop.

    Or the short non-maths version, Survey = PR bollocks with no basis in reality.

  • arcam #64 1 year ago

    Or the short non-maths version, Survey = PR bollocks with no basis in reality.

    I'm willing to bet there was more maths and statistics gone into that survey than in your teardown of it.

    The survey itself isn't bollocks, but the way its conclusions are reported most certainly is.

  • TheTrueSpin #65 1 year ago

    I doubt this somehow.

  • des #66 1 year ago

    £64 per month is nothing,not even 2 games.Not enough for weekly beer supply.

  • gjgjg #67 1 year ago

    shame it wasn't 256 people surveyed, for tech nerdiness value.

    I for one spend a little under that, there will be months without any purchase then bam! there was a few release fridays last year and this year where 100ish was/will be spent. Add to that random DLC, steam sales and the odd bit of hardware and I can see it getting that high.

  • JodSUMO #68 1 year ago

    Microsoft's chief advertisement researcher used the survey to conclude that gamers are "an attractive proposition for marketers".

    Super. Marketers, please leave me the fuck alone.

  • coldfoot #69 1 year ago

    I wonder if that figure subtracts the trade-in credits. They may be spending 64 quid on games but it's meaningless if they get 30 quid back on trade-ins.
    Edited by coldfoot at 04/03/11 @ 18:59

  • silversun #70 1 year ago

    I think these figures are a fair bit off and not always correct i know some month in gaming i spend more than other month where i might not spend any money at all on gaming , i think that it is probley more realistic and also how many people did they base this on , there are all types of different people that spend on games in different ways.
    for example i might go spend £60 on microsoft points but probley not going to use all of it up in a month, 3 months maybe.

  • mrboshingles #71 1 year ago

    "10 per cent over £100" why the mixture of american and UK currency? lol

  • shotgun44 #72 1 year ago

    I work for a bank and we get our customer satisfaction rating from about 1,000 customers. You don't need to interview 4 million people to get a fairly accurate result...

  • shotgun44 #73 1 year ago

    £64 a month spent on games (not just on Live) sounds pretty accurate, I reckon I spend a good 80-90 average (Thanks Steam mid-week madness). At least one brand new game and a bunch of £8 army of 2 type games that bulk up the shelves.

  • BlinkeredAxis #74 1 year ago

    This is a small survey, of confirmed core-demographic gamers, who are in the age range to have jobs, but not necessarily be married with a mortgage yet. Therefore, you can expect a reasonably high disposable income.

    Lets face it, if most of us had the spare cash, £64 a month wouldn't be enough. There are at least 100 little games on XBLA and indie that i'd be likely to play if I had the money and time. I guess that most of the people surveyed were in that happy position, the lucky rascals. Does the cost include movie rentals? There are tons on XBL now.

  • CaptainKid #75 1 year ago


    I maybe buy one multiplayer game a year and the rest is singleplayer torrent.

    Edited by CaptainKid at 05/03/11 @ 02:22

  • andy10 #76 1 year ago

    I probably spend about that much (over a year, on average), partly because I came to Xbox 360 quite late and have a huge back catalogue to work through.

    And I like spelling/grammar nazis.

  • Jazzy_Geoff #77 1 year ago

    I've got about ninety current gen games on my shelf and another 60-70 download titles and I doubt I spend anywhere near £100 pcm

  • actionfitz #78 1 year ago

    86% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

    ^^

  • oerhoert #79 1 year ago

    "Canvassed were 251 Xbox 360 gamers aged between 25 and 34 years-old,"

    Meaning this survey is not representative of the "UK" whatsoever. The sample size is decent enough, but the sample needs to be randomly assigned from the total population.

    Rob Purchese: Statistics 101 next.

  • NorfolkNClue #80 1 year ago

    Who the fuck in that age range has that amount of time to devote to games any more? /bitter

  • banjo21 #81 1 year ago

    Stupidly small sample. Not worth the read.

  • JamieR #82 1 year ago

    That title could be miss understood for laughs as the whole uk everyone in the uk spends that a month lol.

  • stoopidgreg #83 1 year ago

    This is why I spend £15 a month for unlimited rentals.