Worldwide Xbox 360 sales hit 40m

By Tom Bramwell Published 23 April, 2010

Software attach rate up to 8.8.

Microsoft has now sold more than 40 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide according to figures released overnight.

In January Steve Ballmer said the firm had topped 39m, and the platform holder's latest financials reveal an additional 1.5 million were sold during the quarter just ended. Microsoft later confirmed the 40m figure to IGN.

Microsoft's financials also reveal that the console's software attach rate - the number of software units sold per console - is now 8.8, although the investor presentation doesn't say whether that includes digital sales (we expect it does).

Xbox 360 launched in November 2005. PlayStation 3, which launched in November 2006, has sold 33.5 million units worldwide.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (82) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • muscleblade #1 2 years ago

    40 million happy owners.

    @Spam

    You are not one of them. I feel sorry for you buddy.

  • Shinetop #2 2 years ago

    "lololol RROD joke."

    I hate humanity.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #3 2 years ago

    i doubt MS include referbs in there figures but to say all 40 million are happy your gonna be way off the mark, friends of mine having to replace there console up to 8 times did not make them happy.

  • muscleblade #4 2 years ago

    Ive had one of mine replaced a couple of times. Im still very happy.
    Its not that much of a bother to get it replaced really. The worst is to be without a console for a few weeks. I solved that be buying another one. Its so ridiculously cheap anyway.

    New i would be negged like crazy. So many kids thats too young to remember the price of games and consoles a couple of decades ago.
    Edited by 2 at 23/04/10 @ 11:34

  • wizlon #5 2 years ago

    9 games per console. There must be lots of people who have only bought one or two games. I must have bought over 30 games for my 360 (although half of them will have been pre-owned). The 360 s a pretty good media centre too, although I prefer my PS3 for my media needs.

  • Bibbo #6 2 years ago

    Jolly good job Microsoft. RROD is old news. Let's give a bit more love to the oh so wonderful fatty YLOD. Come on, 'fess up. I'm on my third fatty PS3.

  • mfnick #7 2 years ago

    8 Times?

    WTF do those people do with their consoles? Lock them in an air tight cupboard next to a heater or something?

  • Vice.Destroyer #8 2 years ago

    I wonder if we can take the fanboy argument into a different direction and concede that an outright winner is not going to happen this generation? Also concede that 7-8 million more than PS3 with a years headstart and almost a £100 differential is also not that impressive?

    Or if we are being really bold, can we all just agree thatthe install base is now so huge, that it has essentially killed off the notion of system exclusives. Apart from first party stuff. Which is a good thing? These sales figures are good for our hobby. Let's celebrate them? Not snipe ourselves.

    if you neg me, I will cry

  • mcmonkeyplc #9 2 years ago

    I have bought way more than 9 games for the thing. Maybe 10 :p

  • miiiguel #10 2 years ago

    About 130 games here. Anyway why are you talking to someone named spam, mb?

  • Stomp224 #11 2 years ago

    "Ive had one of mine replaced a couple of times. Im still very happy.
    Its not that much of a bother to get it replaced really. The worst is to be without a console for a few weeks. I solved that be buying another one. Its so ridiculously cheap anyway."

    Conclusive internet proof that this number has been artificially inflated by inept hardware. When i worked at GAME last year, the majority of customers were buying xboxes to replace knackered ones. I'd say ACTUAL xbox customers is closer to 30m, if not less.

  • miiiguel #12 2 years ago

    I'd say ACTUAL xbox customers is closer to 30m, if not less.

    Why is that important, appart from the fact that no one said otherwise? I have 3 360s but I did have to pay for all of them. I think you always have to. It says sales hit 40m. I mean I also have 2 PS2's, and bought more than that.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 09:56

  • macmurphy #13 2 years ago

    I'm on number 2. It was an Elite that went too. In fairness to Microsoft, after the mistake of building an unreliable console, they offered great customer service. Someone came and picked it up, it was back in a week and a half. No cost. The Wii got some attention.

    I'd still rate the 360 as the best console I've ever had after being bought up on Nintendo consoles (not trolling, I've never had a Playstation and would happily buy one.) Is there anyone here that has had one long term and not had to have it replaced, or has everyone had at least one RROD?

  • Restart #14 2 years ago

    My attach rate is around 60 since I started picking up all the bargain sub £10 games, & most of those are either unplayed, or unfinished. :(

  • Beano #15 2 years ago

    "Why is that important, appart from the fact that no one said otherwise? "

    Because if (I'm not saying the numbers are much different) the actual number of users is lower that the number of sold consoles, the actual install-base (potential software buyers and revenue) is lower. MS and publishers make money on the games and not the hardware.

    I own two 360es but only buy one copy of each game :)
    Edited by 2 at 23/04/10 @ 10:02

  • Goodfella #16 2 years ago

    The worst is to be without a console for a few weeks. I solved that be buying another one. Its so ridiculously cheap anyway.

    So that makes it ok?

    I'm on my second brand new one and lo and behold, DDE's with a brand new copy of Rock Band 2. Brilliant.

  • Vice.Destroyer #17 2 years ago

    @beemoh

    If you really have to, neg this post.
    :)

  • sfp_noodle #18 2 years ago

    im not saying tht MS arent in the lead, becoz they definately are, but the fact im on my 4th 360 in jus over 3 years speaks volumes. my first 360 got the RROD, once it got repaired, i lost faith in it and sold it on and bought a new falcon elite. less than a year later, i got the E74 error. again , got it repaired and sold it on. my 3rd one didnt last 3 months! and thts a jasper model to all those claiming tht the jaspers are indestructible. once again , repaired, but this time i only sold it on as i wanted a 250gb elite for all my installs and Live games.

    also, keeping a 360 in a well ventilated area does little to prevent a RROD. all my consoles have always been kept in an open cabinet with space on all 4 sides. i only game around 2-3 hours a day if tht, so its not like i overheat it myself

    the other ones have pretty much reached their sell by date on warranties so was pointless keeping them. also, im fortunate tht my first 2 xbox 360s were bought for me. ive only really invested in 2 360s of my own. but it does highlight how rubbish MS were in building their console. the reason i stick with it is because both machines this gen are worth owning. its the first time in my 15 years of gaming tht i have owned 2 consoles. it says a lot about the quality available on both
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 10:36

  • miiiguel #19 2 years ago

    I still don't understand how the numbers of sold units are inflated (if someone knows how to find 360s for free, let me know).

  • kipper #20 2 years ago

    What I would find interesting is data on sales of Games on Demand downloads vs boxed copies. Its probably quite a small number.
    PS. I had a RROD once. It was fixed free after a week's wait. I did not mind.

  • Dizzy #21 2 years ago

    >When i worked at GAME last year

    I stopped reading there....

  • Goodfella #22 2 years ago

    The funny part is that my first 360 got the RRoD but I fixed it myself after buy a clamp kit off eBay for £6, and after that it was fine, and still is 2 years later!

    I don't know what MS do when they refurb them but they're doing something wrong when you look at the amount of people who repeatedly have them replaced with refurbs which subsequently break soon after.

  • flaming.carrot #23 2 years ago

    Actually no, it's 40m shipped not sold - but will probably be at that target within a month though. Good stuff - although I own a PS3 and not a 360 I appreciate that competition in the market is a very good thing for consumers.

  • Bigglesworth #24 2 years ago

    I don't really understand currant use of the term 'attach rate', its scope seems so wide as to be meaningless. Are they saying that in 4.5 years of ownership, the average 360 owner buys 8.8 games? This seems rather low. The PS3 attach rate is usually quoted much lower, similarly bad even over only 3.5 years of ownership. The figures are stretched tortuously between those who were day-one purchasers and those who only picked up their console last week.

    When 'attach rates' first started being quoted - and I don't remember it being an issue before the PS2/Xbox gen - I'm sure it simply meant the number of titles sold for each platform at the point of first purchase; in other words, the number of games the customer bought at the time that they purchased their console. To me this seems to be a bit more meaningful. As much as this whole subject means anything anyway.

  • sfp_noodle #25 2 years ago

    i find it funny tht my original post number 22 was negged for describing the experience i have had with my 360s. u guys must be psychic around here if u believe tht my experience was quite different. i also think they missed the whole point of my post in tht i complained it was a poorly built machine, which no-one can dispute, but tht sticking with it is worth it because it offers a library of games which rivals the ps3 and vice versa. some ppl relly need to have a bit of perspective

  • Beano #26 2 years ago

    "I still don't understand how the numbers of sold units are inflated (if someone knows how to find 360s for free, let me know). "

    I don't think the number is inflated (not more than Sony's numbers anyway) but if (a big if!) more Xbox owners than PS3 owners buy multiple consoles, the actual install base is lower. I don't think that's the case though - people buying multiple consoles are a minority IMO.

  • Cheddar99 #27 2 years ago

    While I do know people who have essentially bought 2 360's due to rrod, it's rare, most just use the (pretty high quality) customer support. And seemingly the newer models crap out less, I've had my jasper for over a year now, and so far so good. I also know someone who's buying a ps3 slim, as their fat died and repairs are expensive. It happens. I don't think it has a huge impact on sales, at least not into the millions.

  • 00.00.01 #28 2 years ago

    Waiting for teh9182 to insert flamewar comments.

  • MeBrains #29 2 years ago

    A pointless number Microsoft gives here, reading from the comments of 360 owners. Almost half of you admit that you bought two, three, four machines. The meaningful number would be how many distinct households have 360's? Or, how many 360 are continuously connected to the TV set?

    40 million sold (or shipped) means jack shit to publishers given 360's unstable history.

    @bibbo: on your third fat PS3, huh? I am on my very first over a decade old "fat" PS2 and it still runs perfectly. Going through "Black" the first time around. What a friggen awesome game it is! I am impressed by the visuals as well! :D

  • Beano #30 2 years ago

    @MeBrains : But people posting in game forums are a minority and cannot be consideres the norm for the average/canual consumer. I doubt people buying multiple console have any big impact on sales.

  • TopKatt #31 2 years ago

    Sales for all the current consoles are very healthy which is great news for all gamers. Recession, what recession???

  • toa_boa #32 2 years ago

    @quote article:
    "is now 8.8, although the investor presentation doesn't say whether that includes digital sales (we expect it does). "

    Normally that's not the fact for the attachment rates quoted by Microsoft, so I gather that isn't the case here also, pure boxed games :-)

  • Beano #33 2 years ago

    @paddy29 : So?... I was not talking about attach rates.

  • GreyBeard #34 2 years ago

    These figures include Q3 for this financial year for XBox, but not for any of its competitors, so the gap is actually a bit smaller. For example PS3 has gained a million units a quarter over 360 globally for the last 2 recorded quarters, which would put PS3 at 36m units at the same date.

    What I find fascinating is that the media perception is that 360 has been a tremendous success sales-wise, whereas the numbers paint a far more modest picture.

    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 10:38

  • MeBrains #35 2 years ago

    beano: it did cross my mind when I posted. Reading your comment, double purchases probably is not significant enough indeed...

    donnie... err... mickey: my opinion still is that the 360 has attracted an audience of FPS fans - or "muscle game" fans; I mean games with mature, realistic, male content. The sales you mention I suppose (generally) are of that genre. Please do point out if that is not the case. There might be exceptions, but generally I think what I stated is credible.

    Cheers.

  • Beano #36 2 years ago

    @MeBrains : Fair enough ;)

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #37 2 years ago

    "When 'attach rates' first started being quoted - and I don't remember it being an issue before the PS2/Xbox gen - I'm sure it simply meant the number of titles sold for each platform at the point of first purchase;"

    No. It means "games sold per console", and it's always meant that. It's just that when a console is launched and people talk about attach rates, first-week attach rate and lifetime attach rates are the same thing. And since the dawn of the console era, attach rate has always been 8-10 games per console, lifetime. Most people buy far, far fewer (new) games than anyone thinks - one or two a year is normal, though of course the attach rate figures take no account of second-hand sales.

  • Sniper_007 #38 2 years ago

    Well let's see, I've bought 4 consoles and own 65 games (not including the two extra copies of Forza 3 for multiscreen) - so that's just slightly ahead of the average. It's a little concerning that the 360 is only 6.5m ahead of the PS3, since I'm sure there's a fair few who have bought more than one 360??

  • sfp_noodle #39 2 years ago

    trebell says

    'That could be argued wit the ps3 too, seeing as stacks of existing owners went out and bought the new slim when it landed.'

    im sorry, but can u back tht up? considering how much the ps3 costs when compared to the 360, i highly doubt 'stacks of existing owners' ran out to buy it. i suppose u assume tht stacks of ps2 owners bought the new slim when it was released too? heres a thought - lets see how many 360s are sold in 5 years time after MS release their slim revision (its happening). if they manage to reach 140 million+ like the ps2, then i will believe what u are saying is correct. otherwise, its a rather poor assumption

  • Frandroid #40 2 years ago

    @Rev. Stuart Campbell "...though of course the attach rate figures take no account of second-hand sales."

    Well, they do, it's just that second hand sales have no impact on attach rates.

  • Beano #41 2 years ago

    "You said the install base being nearer 30 than 40 would bother publishers. I pointed out that it wouldn't. "

    If (again I don't agree on this!) it's 30 million customers instead of 40 million, it will of course mean a smaller install base - and affect publishers desitions. That's common sense.

    But again - I was not talking about attach rates originally.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 11:08

  • miiiguel #42 2 years ago

    This is boring and we're circling again:
    - A succeess!
    - No, not a success, households and failures and stuff
    - A success!
    - No, macho and lesser ppl and stuff

    Bah..., what I need to know is how the weapon leveling work in FF13, I'm reading some 50 page doc about it, but I do not have a master in applied math.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 11:07

  • geeza2020 #43 2 years ago

    where do people get the money to buy more than one of the same console? I could barely afford to get my one and only 360 a couple of years back. I've been desperate for both a Wii and a PS3 since, but just cant justify the cost (especially for a Wii as i only really want it for Mario Galaxy 1/2)

    Pretty irrelevant post really.

  • IronGiant #44 2 years ago

    That's a far more significant figure for the PS3 considering the 360 had a years headstart and the higher price for a PS3. Won't be too long before the PS3 overtakes the 360 sales.. Unless natal is a phenomenon!!

  • Dizzy #45 2 years ago

    If the 360 has an installed base of only 30m, then the owners are buying software like CRAZY. Even better for MS.

    How many PS3s are only Bluray players? See? Anybody can play this game.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 11:15

  • onyxbox #46 2 years ago

    Worldwide Xbox 360 sales hit 40m... and 20% of them are in landfill by now :)


    edit: i've enjoyed the 360 a lot but an awfull lot of 'em broke (5 myself). In a way, it shows how good the MS offering is, because despite the problems they have some healthy sales figures.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 11:25

  • Douche #47 2 years ago

    @Beano

    Exactly. If the Eurogamer comments were an indication of the majority of gamers thoughts and experiences, the Stimulus Pack would have been bought 5 times instead of a billion. The vast majority of people would not run out and spend £150 quid they didn't have to because there 360 got the red ring. Most people can handle two weeks without playing video games while the problems is corrected.


  • PYF #48 2 years ago

    Bought lots of games and had lots and lots of happy times as a result. It's all good.

  • Crunchers #49 2 years ago

    Big numbers. Not sure I'll ever buy a 360 myself (or ps3 for that matter). Heck, I ain't even got a hi-def tele to play 'em on. Not surprisingly, people on my street laugh at me. But I'm okay with that.

    (-:

  • Vanmunt #50 2 years ago

    I'm a two 360 man... my first gen console died a horrible noisy slow death.

  • gjgjg #51 2 years ago

    Anyone know how Jasper chipset is dealing with RROD?

    also, 40mil, thats a sizeable country!

  • Odessa #52 2 years ago

    It seems like that the PS3 fanboys complain more about RRODs as the xbox users itself.

    IMHO it speaks for itself which is the better console, when people repair/buy it again and again (up to 8 times ;)) instead of changing to the ps3.

    And 40 millions sold are 40 millions sold and not 30 million. Toyota sells 20 million cars even if 1 million people crash with their car they still sold 20 millions...

  • Beano #53 2 years ago

    "Toyota sells 20 million cars even if 1 million people crash with their car they still sold 20 millions... "

    But Toyota make their money on the cars and not the software sold to it.

  • Dizzy #54 2 years ago

    >But Toyota make their money on the cars and not the software sold to it.

    Well 360 makes most money out of all the consoles on software. Case closed then?

  • ybfelix #55 2 years ago

    You all forgot in Japan alone PS3 sold 4 million more than 360 (5:1 ratio). That irregularity skewed number quite a bit (and their gaming habit is very different from rest of the world so that would explain software attach rate to some extent)

    Anyway to top the two-generation daughtingly mighty Playstation brand, despite serious hardware problem lasting 3 years, it's still an uneasy feat.
    Edited by 3 at 23/04/10 @ 12:13

  • flaming.carrot #56 2 years ago

    The PS3 is on just over 34m (shipped) from what I've read, gap is closing on X360 but very very slowly. With both Natal and Move out by Christmas that will be an interest time to quote figures. Now, not so much.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 12:16

  • Beano #57 2 years ago

    "Well 360 makes most money out of all the consoles on software. Case closed then? "

    Source?

  • TonyHarrison #58 2 years ago

    If everyone has bought two 360 consoles, wouldn't that make the attach rate 17.6...

  • secombe #59 2 years ago

    I wonder if we can take the fanboy argument into a different direction and concede that an outright winner is not going to happen this generation?

    Err, the Wii?

    though of course the attach rate figures take no account of second-hand sales.

    How don't they?! For every second-hand game bought, somebody has (obviously) gotten rid of the game in the first place.

  • RobTheBuilder #60 2 years ago

    Frankly we have three decently successful consoles, and that's good for all of us.
    No one has a Jaguar-alike or Saturn, we all have decent games in sufficient numbers to make consoles worth owning.

    Well done everyone...

    /niceness

  • flaming.carrot #61 2 years ago

    "If everyone has bought two 360 consoles, wouldn't that make the attach rate 17.6..."

    Surely it would make the attach rate 4.4?!? If you had one console and 10 games that would make an attach rate of 10, if you had two consoles but still only those 10 games that would be an attach rate of 5.

  • ParanoidZombie #62 2 years ago

    As a gamer, I'm just glad that the x360 is alive and kicking (after the dreamcast's demise, I wasn't sure I wanted to "risk" 400€ in an unproven console back in 2006). Glad to see the numbers, it means we'll get good games for another couple of years.

    A bit surprised that none of the big 3 has kickstarted the "new next gen" yet... I know it woudn't make sense from a business standpoint, but this gen is 5 years old, now, and for an old gamer like myself it's a bit of an heresy that we haven't heard of the x720 or the wiiHD yet. ;)

  • ignatiusjreilly #63 2 years ago

    Of course the reason they managed it ... is because of not only a phenominal console but the right kind of software to go with it.

    The biggest reason is because they are one of the few companies that could afford to lose HUGE amounts of money establishing themselves and ensuring they would be successful.

  • TonyHarrison #64 2 years ago

    "Surely it would make the attach rate 4.4?!? If you had one console and 10 games that would make an attach rate of 10, if you had two consoles but still only those 10 games that would be an attach rate of 5. "

    If everyone has bought two consoles, that means there are only 20million 360 owners, but they've still sold ~352million units of software (40x8.8), which would instead be split into those 20million owners and not 40million, making it 17.6...

  • sneetch #65 2 years ago

    @flaming.carrot
    "If everyone has bought two 360 consoles, wouldn't that make the attach rate 17.6..."

    Surely it would make the attach rate 4.4?!? If you had one console and 10 games that would make an attach rate of 10, if you had two consoles but still only those 10 games that would be an attach rate of 5.

    No, for every console 8.8 games have been sold. If everyone owned two consoles then everyone would have to have on average 17.6 games in order to maintain the 8.8. attach rate.

    Basically, the attach rate is constant, the console numbers are constant the only variable here is how many consoles each individual owns.

  • GamesConnoisseur #66 2 years ago

    I m not gonna mention my attach rate, as its too awful to admit!

    However I had 2 RROD, mine was replaced under warranty and another console which belonged to my son RROD outside of his warranty. So that is 3 X360s for two people.

    Both of us wouldnt give up X360 anyday and however people argue about the numbers, reaching 40 million is a milestone that MS would be happy with as the goal was to do far better than 22 million xbox 1 or so.

    Would be a long while before the current gen race is considered over, even so when the next gen console arrived. So the final market share I expect would be respectable for all three platform holders.

    Only Sony probably unhappy at the worsened position compared to PS2.

  • Spekingur #67 2 years ago

    So if the 40m number would be closer to 30m then wouldn't the PS3 sold consoles also be lower? Or is that just impossible to those who say the previous for XBox360?

    I'd also note that this says worldwide. Everyone knows that Playstation products sell like crazy in Japan, Sony has a large market share there.

    However, it is obvious which console is the winner of this generation in the terms of sales or being in people's homes. That would be the Nintendo Wii - even if it's just gathering dust it is still there.
    Here is hoping for something awesome for the next generation of consoles :D

  • 52pickup #68 2 years ago

    The 33.5 million sales data for PS3 is out of date and does not include the 4th quarter sales. Sony PR posted the 33.5 million sales data at the start of february (therefore does not include January NPD,since that information usually gets posted by NPD between 12th-14th of each month for the previous months sales). Source below,posted on same day (Feb 4th) as Sony published sales PR)

    Source: [url][link url=http://www.vg247.c om/2010/02/04/global-ps3-sales-rise-to-33-5-million-units-na rrow-gap-on-360/[/url]
    ]http://ww w.vg247.com/2010/02/04/global-p...[/link]

    Since then PS3 has sold 276,900 (january NPD),360100 (February NPD),313.9 (March NPD), PS3 consistantly sells at least 25,000 units per week in Japan (100,000 per month,usually over that) and i don't think it's unrealistic to think PS3 can sell at least another 100,000 units per month between EU and AUS PS3 sales,so i would say PS3 is at about 35 mil right now or just over.

    I question the Wii sales data because of this too.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/10 @ 14:19

  • Machiavellian #69 2 years ago

    I do not know anyone who has bought 2 360 because of the RROD problem, but I do know people who have bought 2 PS3 because its a blu-ray player. My second PS3 was used in my bedroom strictly as a blu-ray player.Unfortunately for me, my second PS3 has taken a dirt nap displaying a red screen with a bunch of different languages besides English.

  • ronuds #70 2 years ago

    You guys are sad. MS posts a number and you all rush to try and make it irrelevant. As if you believing the number is actually less means anything to anyone.

    I'm sure some of the sales are due to people buying more than 1 console. But the same can be said of any console. Do you really think there are 140m PS2s sitting in people's homes right now - or even 34m PS3s? How can the actual number ever be proven? It can't, so it's a fruitless discussion that will end up at a dead end with nobody proving anything.

  • Bander #71 2 years ago

    "I wonder if we can take the fanboy argument into a different direction and concede that an outright winner is not going to happen this generation?"

    Looks that way. Neither is going pull ahead enough to make huge numbers of third party publishers drop one system or the other before the next generation comes, even if that is still a couple of years away. It's like Megadrive vs. SNES really.

    *MD came out first
    *SNES came out with some attractive looking specifications
    *MD is left in the dust in Japan but does well in the west
    *SNES outlives MD and statistically 'wins', but nobody who cared is thinking about 16-bit consoles anymore. Should we counting MD-based plug-and-play devices, or Virtual Console software sales?

  • bongofury #72 2 years ago

    I had RROD on my launch console under a year into its life, I rang Microsoft and they arranged to pick it up, I couldn't be arsed with that so I took it back to Gamestation with a receipt and they changed it in the shop (before the media hype of the RROD got going). a month ago that console got the RROD but is out of the microsoft extended warranty. I was pissed off!! I looked arouond on Ebay and bought a xclamp repair kit for £4.80 and repaired it myself in 45minutes. Its working perfectly now!

    My advice to anyone out of warranty is to do the same, i don't have any skill when it come st repairing electronics and found it easy! Or you could just give me your Red ringed console and I will repair it and sell it on at a massive profit!!

  • chessboxer #73 2 years ago

    "The only thing I can make from that is that you enjoyed the consoles games library one hell of a lot."

    There is also the possibility that once someone has amassed as large collection of games (as well as non retail games and DLC), it's probably cheaper to replace the console than to start again on a different platform.

  • flaming.carrot #74 2 years ago

    The whole attach rate thing is weird, irrelevant of platform. I would have thought it would be much higher all round. I have an attach rate of 30+ on my PS3 retail games and I'm a pretty casual gamer to be honest (I do have an attach rate of 1 on my Wii though!)

  • WayMucho #75 2 years ago

    Although 360 reliability was shocking, i think we're at the point now where you would expect any heavily used consoles to start to fall over. I wonder how many PS2s sold were actually replacements for what was a reasonably unreliable console.
    Yes the number of sold units could be wildly different from 40m; yes they've sold a heap of games; but how many Gold subscribers are there now - they must be raking it in big time?
    I'm just glad everyone's got a big enough slice to ensure the competition next round is even better - Sony might even be forced to treat European customers well at launch of PS4!

  • monkfishjoe #76 2 years ago

    I think Sony initially made an error with the marketing which led to quite a slow start to sales (the price didn't help either). Microsoft really pushed the console to the hardcore games audience and is only in the past year or so starting to broaden it's focus.

    It can do a lot for a brand (particularly a new one) if you get the fan(boys) on side to do some free promotion of your wares!

    I think Sony are still abit confused in their direction, but it is interesting to see them really pushing in unexpected/unusual ways (like, it seems, setting the PS3 up as a fully fleged 3D console). Still - they're making real headway now in terms of units shipped and the qulaity and frequency of games is on a par with the 360.

    Like everyone else has said - bring on the competition. It's great for us consumers!

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #77 2 years ago

    Ohh! I see the price of coal is falling!

    Oops wrong way round, thats better.

    Ohh! I see the price of coal is rising!

  • Bill Gates is Evil #78 2 years ago

    "Also concede that 7-8 million more than PS3 with a years headstart and almost a £100 differential is also not that impressive?"

    The first Playstation came out in 1994. The first Xbox came out in 2001.

    Playstation 2 sold 140 million. The Xbox sold 24 million.

    Sony has had a 7 year headstart in this industry. Microsoft's second console is in competition against Sony's third. The Xbox 360 is going to easily double the sales of it's previous iteration. The Playstation 3 will be lucky to reach half of it's previous iteration's sales.

    Even if Microsoft had sold 8 million FEWER consoles than Sony so far, they'd be doing massively well right now with the 360. You have to GAIN market share before you can the majority of it, and gaining market share is precisely what they've been doing since Day 1 with the Xbox. It's only going to get harder for Sony too-- the PS3 will not provide the PS4 with as much momentum as the PS2 provided the PS3. Because up until recently, the PS3 has been a massive piece of shit.

    Sony has been faltering-- Microsoft may a high RROD rate in their consoles, but the PS3 has been one massive metaphorical RROD for Sony.

  • milky_09 #79 2 years ago

    40 million units shipped minus 35 percent of failure rates. equals about 27 million working xboxes. and thats probably being generous

  • doulema #80 2 years ago

    @milky_09 and the rest incapable to think before they talk.

    According to the title itself you should be aware that this is the SALES number. Not repaired, not replaced, no nothing. What is so hard to understand?

    I myself have 2 360's and a PS3. The one I have from launch is the one used to the extreme ever since and hasn't even been returned for repairs the first 3 years nor died on me till now :) Thankfully. Now I just need to upgrade again my PC cause I'm hardware enthusiast so I find that more interesting than which console sold more like most of the Sony/MS haters do so. Cheer up, buy both consoles instead of making an ass out of yourselves over the web. It's rather sad. Either you are a gamer or not.

    Well done i suppose for the 40m mark to MS.

  • milky_09 #81 2 years ago

    @doulema so if microsoft had "SOLD" 40 million consoles. and the failure rate was 30 percent. you could potentially add 30% to 40 million in overall hardware sold if they hadnt ballzed it up? which would take it to what? 53 million?

    These issues were alleged to be the end results of the decisions of management in Microsoft's Xbox team and inadequate testing resources prior to the console's release. A second source cited that, at one time, there was just a 32% yield of one of the test production runs. 68 of every 100 test units were found to be defective. -source wikipedia. (oh dear)

    microsoft make great software. but clearly not particularly good hardware. as proven by fact.
    dont get me wrong im sure sony and nintendo arent perfect when it comes to hardware manufacturing.

  • bioreit #82 2 years ago

    @ milky_09

    No. Just...no.

    The quoted 40 million is for sales - as in sold, via a company, to a consumer. It does not, repeat NOT, include failed units that have been sent in for repair - these have already been included as sold at the point which they were, you know, sold. The failure rate of the 360 has absolutely no bearing on the sales figures of the console - the only possible way the figures could be adjusted to take into account failures would be if a console is returned for a refund to the original seller - eventually, the number would come off the Total Sold figure as it has not in fact been sold. But eventually, it's going to be sold on again and get counted once more - unless it's actually broken!

    As an aside, I should hold my hands up and admit to owning three 360s - my first 360 (Dec. 2006) RRODed in Summer 2007 but I got it swapped out at Game for a brand new one, which I used for just over 8 months until I got me an Elite (around March 2008), which has been abused on a daily basis (often for 10 hours and more) and has never once given me grief. Bought number 3 (a 60GB Pro) in November 2008 (and bought my PS3 a month later).

    Why do I have three 360s? Simple - I was going to use them as Media Centre Extenders and I wanted HDMI ports, so with the Elite and the Pro, I then had the two MCEs with HDMI and in the old 20GB Premium I had a spare just in case anything went wrong. In the end, I've gone for full PC clients, so now, my Pro and Premium 360s sit in their boxes, waiting for gaming weekends, so my friends just bring their 360 HDDs and games over - everything else is here waiting for them. Just had another one and very successful it was too! Plus, if my Elite Red Rings, I can send it off and still keep playing. Or lend one to a mate when theirs goes pop (as happened about a year back).