Xbox 360 passes 19 million mark

By Robert Purchese Published 25 April, 2008

MS wallet bolstered by consumer demand.

Microsoft has revealed that global sales of Xbox 360 have trundled past 19 million units mark.

Its momentum has grown steadily since the start of the year; Microsoft reported over 17 million sales in January and 18 million in February.

The figures come off the back of a successful third-quarter for Microsoft, which saw revenue from the Entertainment division perk up by 68 per cent.

The platform holder attributed this to demand for Xbox 360 consoles, and pointed to removing component shortages and delays in product delivery as a goal for the future.

Despite strong Entertainment sales, its Windows software dipped 24 per cent and earnings from online advertising came in at the low end of projections.

Observers also note that the Microsoft offer to buy Yahoo for USD 44.6 billion has had a negative affect on share prices.

Yesterday Nintendo revealed that its Wii console has now sold nearly 25 million units around the world.

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.

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

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Comments (48) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • mkreku #1 4 years ago

    No word on PS3 sales? Or is this a "10 million or more" exclusive club? :p

  • kestral #2 4 years ago

    Interesting to see how it develops after April 29th eurogamer?

  • Dizzy #3 4 years ago

    "Hmmm, I call bullshit on this figure. "

    Good for you. The rest of the planet will be playing games.

  • moggsy #4 4 years ago

    @ Arbiter

    Price cut!

  • brooza #5 4 years ago

    Interesting to see how it develops after April 29th eurogamer?

    What's happening then?

  • mcmonkeyplc #6 4 years ago

    17 million repairs.

  • hobo57 #7 4 years ago

    How many of these "sold" units are replacements for failed units? If this is in fact sold units and if approx 1/3 of all units sold fail that makes over 6 million xbox 360s sitting on a trash heap somewhere.

    either way 19 million is impressive.

  • Killerbee #8 4 years ago

    Age old question, I know, but is this "shipped" or "sold at retail"?

    Still, not a bad performance, but things definitely seem to have slowed a lot and even the price cut didn't make a massive and sustained difference in sales.

    The PS3 figures would be interesting, since I can very much see demand for that taking off as the big software titles start to arrive and (maybe) the price falls a little bit further. I'm sure there must be a decent amount of pent up demand for the PS3 that's either (like me) waiting for the oft-rumoured 80GB model to reintroduce backwards compatibility, or still thinks £280+ is too much.

  • bad09 #9 4 years ago

    here we go again cue the death squad spewing hate

    / waits for rash, swam, headbog etc

  • Dizzy #10 4 years ago

    "/ waits for rash, swam, headbog etc "

    :)

    SDF strike a pose!

  • TriggerHippie #11 4 years ago

    Yay, I'm doing my part. My 6th 360 is on its way to me from the repair center this very minute!

  • menage #12 4 years ago

    @ Arbiter

    You should become a analyst.

  • Anthony_UK #13 4 years ago

    ........so long as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo continue to sell enough of there own consoles, so that the next Zelda, Halo or Metalgear is actually released, who actually cares?

  • ccfb #14 4 years ago

    "No word on PS3 sales? Or is this a "10 million or more" exclusive club?"

    When the Sony press release comes in rest assured EG will copy and paste it into a news story after lacing it with some rich warm sarcasm.

  • Dizzy #15 4 years ago

    "NPD figures just don't tally up with this claim"

    Most sites (even the stupid VGChartz) put 360 at about 19M.

    Franky I do not give a ****, but there is always some random Internet poster walking into any thread and shouting "FALSE!!". It is getting very tiresome m8. I am glad you have an opinion about all this.... but it has no value to me or anybody else in this case since you have no way of proving you are right/wrong.

  • bushwod #16 4 years ago

    I wonder if xbox has started to make a profit yet?

  • CallousB #17 4 years ago

    @Arbiter "The NPD figures just don't tally up with this claim"

    The NPD figures are what's sold to consumers. These financial reports always deal in sold to retail.

  • keyboardmonkey #18 4 years ago

    Noooo this is just not possible all sales of the Xbox360 must stop now! how are Sony ever going to beat MSofts sales total ,come on the power of the Cell will show M$haft !

    I predict that the PS3 will out sell the Xbox360 eventually (MS will stop making it at some point)

  • muscleblade #19 4 years ago

    I think this site is dedicated to sales numbers so 19 million seem correct. The PS3 is selling suprisingly well considering the price and lack of good games and online service though.

    [link url=http://www.nexgenwars.com/
    ]http://www.nexgenwars.com/
    [/link]



  • Xerx3s #20 4 years ago

    Didn't the wii do 25? so MEH!

  • Xerx3s #21 4 years ago

    "........so long as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo continue to sell enough of there own consoles, so that the next Zelda, Halo or Metalgear is actually released, who actually cares?"

    This. Truth.

  • Skooch #22 4 years ago

    @ Killerbee - I believe neither. They actually use "sold TO retail" - so, unlike Sony, they don't count those consoles on container ships only those consoles sold to retailers.

    @ Arbiter - I think you're wrong and that MS have sold 19M. If you can find something to back up your claim then post it.

    @ hobo57 - For the umpteenth (spelling?) time it DOES NOT INCLUDE FRIGGIN REPAIRS.

    Can people please just accept these sales figures for what they are rather than whipping yourselves into a frenzy over a bloomin' games console! Remember, Wii had massive hardware shortages so 19M vs. 25M isn't too hard to believe.

  • zedzee #23 4 years ago

    @ Killerbee:

    You're right, some people have held out on buying a PS3, like me, for various reasons:

    1. It's too expensive.
    2. HDD is too small, despite the fact I can upgrade it myself - why should I spend money on a small sized unit in the first place then?
    3. No backwards compatibility.
    4. DualShock3 in UK is not bundled yet (notice I said bundled).
    5. Despite Sony saying that their models have a "consistent" base spec, they've actually made it worse for people, as they hesitate to buy a machine in the fear that the next month it might be discounted/withdrawn/upgraded/bundled better etc. That is worse that Microsoft saying: "Look, the Core/Arcade has these things only and that's it, OK?" At least that way, people know if they buy a particular model, they might need to upgrade it later, whereas with Sony, if you do, a few months later you might feel cheated!

    Generally speaking, I'm not sure what these X360 sales figures represent. Why doesn't EuroGamer and other on-line 'rags' do their proper jobs and ask the vendors some hard questions, like:

    1. Are these shipped or sold figures?
    2. Do they include/exclude returned units?
    3. Over the last 12 months, what's the average total number of consoles sold worldwide?
    4. What figures are you claiming these numbers on and how did you accumulate them?
    5. How come only first party games for the Nintendo Revolution seem to be succes...Sorry! Scratch that!
    6. How come L.A.I.R. sucks so mu...Sorry! That one slipped in by mistake!
    7. How come Halo 3 was hyped so mu...Sorry! I'm terribly sorry about this...won't happen again!

    Over & Out.
    Edited by 2 at 25/04/08 @ 10:13

  • hobo57 #24 4 years ago

    @skooch

    Re-read my post, 19 million is impressive, over 6 million failed (based on 1/3 of units sold failing, read the xbox 360 forum people have reported 4, 5 and 6 replacement units) is even more impressive.

    OK so maybe 6 million is high but hey even being conservative and say 3 million units have been replaced - that still a bucket load.

    Open you eyes, piss off backto xbox world and squeeze a pimple or two.

  • Ryze #25 4 years ago

    fuck the haters - the 360 is on fire right now.

    Now, if only M$ would market the thing properly, and release a bigger variety of titles, plus that advanced remote pointing device and an integrated Blu-Ray player in the next Elite.

    Then I wouldn't need another console at all.

  • Penguinzoot #26 4 years ago

    @Arbiter

    Don't forget that NPD figures in general exclude some major US retailers like Walmart. I believe NPD gets around this by extrapolating sales trends based on those retailers for whom it does have figures out for the market as a whole. So the figures may not match exactly. Of course there wil inevitably be a degree of inaccuracy with this methodology, but you don't find the hardware manufacturers crying foul over this.

  • Luvbeers #27 4 years ago

    I would like to see the total game sales worldwide per platform. That's where the money is at.

  • espibara #28 4 years ago

    Lets face it the chart positions at the moment are:

    1. Nintendo Wii
    2. Xbox 360
    3. PS3

    and to be honest thats how the console war this generation will end.

    The Wii will win, the 360 will be second and the PS3 will be third.

  • Skooch #29 4 years ago

    @ Hobo57 - Re-read my post. They have sold 19M excluding any repairs or replacements.

    As for the insult, you know nothing about me. Calling random people names on forums is rather childish don't you think? If it is attention you crave stomping your feet and getting all antsy isn't the way to go.

  • Gaol #30 4 years ago

    If sales figures really float your boat then http://www.vgchartz.com< /a> is probably the best freely available source. Swam is correct in his statements that the 360 is third place since January despite price cuts and lack of PS3 killer apps. In all regions. Of course, software sales for 360 are still way higher and I doubt this will change for a long time.

  • kroust #31 4 years ago


    [link url=http://vgchartz.com/
    ]http://vgchartz.com/
    [/link]

  • miiiguel #32 4 years ago

    Arbiter, this was an anouncement to the shareholders, it's not like a comment in a thread. Anyway, check other sites and maybe you'll believe... or not.

    evilfox: when is "the end"? I mean, you're starting to sound silly with this "oh the future" thing. The trains rolling.

    I still remember the same of you saying the shortage of units during feb was a lie, but then in mar 360 sold again more than PS3 in the US. Thing is I believe you're so into this bashing thing that nothing will change your mind from the sillyness of your statements, but then again where the money (profit) came then? I don't know, believing you we should expect MS to be a real, almost bankrupt company, is it?
    Edited by 2 at 25/04/08 @ 13:44

  • DrDamn #33 4 years ago

    @Farticus
    Software sales currently are at the moment Wii, 360, PS3. However Wii is miles ahead with 360 not as far ahead of the PS3 as it's installed user base suggests it should be. Software sales are of course a bit more volatile and it is trickier to find stats on total software sold.

    As an example last week worldwide Wii sold well over 2m units of software and the 360 and PS3 were reasonable close around the 1m mark. PS3 stats have recently been boosted by GT5P sales though and 360 hasn't had a big release for a while.

  • FooAtari #34 4 years ago

    NPD is a lot of bollocks. Don't include some major US retailers as Penguinzoot mentioned. They also don't record digital sales of PC games. And of course it's US only meaning you can't use it to compare to global sales figures.

    So not only is NPD pretty useless on it's own when discussing gobal sales, it's also questionalble when discussing US sales.

  • miiiguel #35 4 years ago

    "However, despite the competition, the Xbox 360 is helping Microsoft turn a profit the size of many country's entire economies. According to an earnings report filed today, the software giant's Entertainment and Devices Division--which includes income from the Xbox 360, Games for Windows, and Zune multimedia handheld--saw its quarterly revenue surge 68 percent.

    For the three months ended March 31, the division saw $1.57 billion in revenue, up from $936 million the prior year. "

    source: gamespot.com

    Again, for the non-believers, this anouncement is for the market/shareholders and cannot be lies, there's rules for this shit. This anouncements are not coments on Eurogamer or Gamespot, this is buiseness by ppl and for ppl who probably play with dolars not with video-games.

  • anamenos #36 4 years ago

    MS knows how the marketing works

  • muscleblade #37 4 years ago

    I think 19 mill is actually pretty dissapointing considering the competition ( or lack of ).

  • Madlax #38 4 years ago

    Windows sales dipped down, lets hope thats the new trend.

    The entertainment division includes more than the xbox360 system so you cannot simply attribute the 68% rise for it, its not that simple.

    As far as i care, as long as Windows continues to drop and fall i could careless which division is achieving success, if they are growing through competition then good for them, but if its through Windows monopoly, then this must end.


  • DrDamn #39 4 years ago

    @muscleblade
    It does still amaze me how well the PS3 is doing all things considered. It would be bad if either MS or Sony had walked away with it though. Good competition between these two is healthy for the gamer.

  • Calgon #40 4 years ago

    First off that figure means shipped(unlike VGChartz and the like which arent garenteed correct), second... in America atleast the shipped figure IS much closer to the sold figure because of the shortages, lets not forget Sony persuading retailers to anticipate demand at the start of the year with Blu-Ray... oh yeah Blu-Ray hmmm so considering this was supposed to me all important it hasnt really had the effect it was supposed to for Sony(some people are fooling themselves here... 360 is safe whatever happens developers are making more money there and I think they will continue to do so), sure theyve increased sales but even by these inflated figurers floating around, its just not enough(barely beating 360 sales in everywhere but japan).

    Alot of the sales could be Blu-Ray related so expect them to drop off once better cheaper stand alone players reach mass market(if that happens, thats settled it PS3 is third place), before anyone says anything about getting a console with it is like 2for1, anyone with any experience or knowlege of optical technology know that its better to keep them seperate one drive doing everything will get some heavy heavy use and we know whats likely to happen there, plus those serious about home cinema would want a serious dedicated peice of kit.

    Right now thats out of the way, if MS do some serious marketing they could sell just as many 360s as PS3s if not more off the back of GTA, £300+ or £180? If you beleive every PS2 owner will buy a PS3 too then you arent too bright only fanboys are that loyal, alot of that audience are more likely to go the way of Wii, thats just how it is.

    Jasper could be a turning point for MS(I expect the second half of 08 to be in 360s favour), that might even mean 360's more reliable than the PS3(not that the difference would be noticable), heat will be further reduced which could mean slower/quieter/no fans at all which would in turn mean a quieter console(which would be noticable)... all that would be left then is upgrading the DVD drives to quieter operating ones, even if for the elite only I think this would be well recieved, ideally the premium would get the same drives too.

    The problem here is we dont know where the sales for the PS3 are coming from the Sony fanboys are even admitting its not the games line-up, or the price ect. Sure PS3 has had a good(but not great like they hoped) spell for the first quater of 08 but 360 has had good spells already(its suddenly over now PS3 has some?... what a joke)... nothing is settled yet 360 in the US will start to outpace PS3 sales again, now that their manufacturing shortages have been addressed(new partners on board) and in Europe I think thats always been Sony's to lose and they still could depending on what MS do, a bit more difficult but its certainly doable, its nothing like Japan thats for sure.
    Edited by 1 at 25/04/08 @ 16:01

  • cyber_nicco #41 4 years ago

    You all should be focusing on which platform brings the most gaming goodness. This, obviously, is the 360.

    If other factors cause other platforms to sell better, we all lose really...

  • subtlesnake #42 4 years ago

    This is the third consecutive quarter that MS' gaming division has made a profit, and this time they didn't even have any major titles!

  • sneetch #43 4 years ago

    @Arbiter
    "NPD useless and unrepresentative? Oh just fuck right off!
    Next try sticking your fingers in your ears and singing "la-la-la-la" the next time someone says something you don't want to hear - the principle is the same.

    19 mil shipped (not sold) is reasonable, but if you honestly think Ms has shifted over 2mil units globally since January you are delusional. "

    Microsoft said they sold 19 million and they did sell 19 million. They (console manufacturers) sell consoles to retailers not to the consumer. They don't know if they've all been sold by those retailers yet, but they have been sold (i.e. Microsofts part
    in the whole "money or future promise of money for goods transaction" is complete). If you interpret their statement otherwise (such as, as a claim that all 19 million of their consoles are currently sitting beside TVs throughout the world) then, well, that's just your interpretation (obviously).

  • ronuds #44 4 years ago

    Just as an FYI: vgchartz is horrible. Many of their "sales" are nothing more than guesstimates and if you look at their weekly US figures, they rarely even come close to what's reported by the NPD at the end of the month.

    I'd suggest finding another source...

    Oh, and 19m is shipped by MS, folks. MS doesn't track how many of their consoles each retailer sells...that's what NPD and the like do.

  • mooseman721 #45 4 years ago

    18 million sold, 16 million in repair! Bet the next box will be worth having though, that thing will be carved from granite to make sure they don't have the problems they have suffered with the 360.

  • FooAtari #46 4 years ago

    @NPD useless and unrepresentative? Oh just fuck right off!
    Next try sticking your fingers in your ears and singing "la-la-la-la" the next time someone says something you don't want to hear - the principle is the same.

    TBH man I really I couldn't care which console is doing better or worse I own all 3 and a gaming PC (my platform of choice there). I just don't rate NPD figures, especially as I'm not living in the US...

    All are doing well enough that they are here to stay which is all that matters

  • FooAtari #47 4 years ago

    "And seriously, NPD figures *whether you like it or not* are the de-facto industry-wide official barometer of success. That's a fact."

    That may be true, but that doesn't make them any more accurate.
    Edited by 1 at 26/04/08 @ 14:43

  • subtlesnake #48 4 years ago

    Peter Moore said this on the accuracy of NPD (relative to their internal figures):

    "No no, I was just quoting numbers, I wasn't making any commentary about them being a threat or not. That's NPD numbers so it's very accurate stuff, and we tend not to talk anecdotally or talk about our own internal numbers, so I only talk about NPD numbers and they're stunningly accurate."

    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=7957 7&page=2
    ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...[/link]

    So I imagine their margin of error is pretty small.