Xbox 360 to hit 25m sales this month

By Tom Bramwell Published 18 November, 2008

NXE is "watershed moment" - Mattrick

Microsoft will have sold 25 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide by the end of the month, the company said this morning

"The future of home entertainment is Xbox 360 - it's on demand, it's high definition, it's always social, it's all in one place," said Xbox boss Don Mattrick.

“With the New Xbox Experience we will reach the next generation of Xbox owners, 25 million and beyond. We are at a watershed moment, backed by the largest entertainment brands, with an incredible line-up of entertainment unmatched in any industry."

25 million units puts Xbox 360 above the total number of original Xboxes sold during that console's four-year lifespan, and Microsoft is keen to point out that it achieved this in three years.

Meanwhile, Sony has sold "nearly 17 million" PlayStation 3 consoles in its first two years on sale, and Nintendo has sold around 35 million Wiis.

This July at E3 Don Mattrick said, "I'm willing to declare here today that Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PS3."

Tomorrow Microsoft reboots the Xbox 360 interface with the launch of New Xbox Experience, which introduces a party system, the option to install games to hard disk and personal Avatars among other things.

Speaking to Eurogamer recently, Xbox Live product unit manager Jerry Johnson said that NXE was a way of making Xbox 360 more attractive to people who happen by.

"When this is turned on in the household, the other person who walks by is going to see things and understand how to do some of these things," he said. "So I think it's taking that hardcore and almost making them evangelists just by the fact they're using this UI."

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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 (16) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • mingster #1 3 years ago

    I reckon NXE will help sell more as well.. the HD install is a good idea.

  • DFawkes #2 3 years ago

    I still prefer the old system, but I think that's just because it's familiar. I'm sure I'll learn to love NXE, once I know my way around.

  • keyboardmonkey #3 3 years ago

    /Joke mode on

    They aim to achieve this by breaking all existing Xbox360's via the NXE updated

    /Joke mode off

    I am hoping the new dashboard works well, bit worried about the friends bit, it could be a bit cluttered if you have a couple of mates on at the same time.

    Looking forward to the new look tomorrow.


    "I'm willing to declare here today that Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PS3."
    I think this is a big claim as Sony will sell it for ever to try and beat MS. I wonder when Sony are going to be releasing the redesigned PSThree (not for another year?)

  • captainrentboy #4 3 years ago

    I think the NXE looks cool and all, but the guys at Microsoft are hyping it up like crazy. I mean, it's not THAT exciting!!
    And unless they've got some pretty informative TV ads on the way, casual Joe isn't going to have a clue about the new look UI.

  • oupe #5 3 years ago

    I doubt more 360's will be sold because of the NXE. I don't think people look at the console's OS before buying it.

    NXE was a way of making Xbox 360 more attractive to people who happen by.
    The same can be said for the PS3 OS, which looks pretty slick too. However, I installed the leaky NXE and it definitly looks better than de the blade system.

  • metalnut #6 3 years ago

    It'll definitely be better for new users. Absolutely everyone I know who looked at the blade system for the first time said they don't understand it. Plus, it's *way* too cluttered now, and as ugly as hell even if it does the job. The PS3 interface has always had a better initial impression on people, even if the XMB does take longer to navigate.

    I think this looks like a good combination of the two - the guide gives you fast access, and the main interface makes it friendlier. I'm looking forward to it.

  • Kyledanutmeg #7 3 years ago

    lol yea what is it now about 70% of xbox's broke lol but ah well shit happens even if the ps3 catches the 360 microsoft will probly release a new console and say the 360 is obsolete lol so it does'nt count

  • citizenHUNTER #8 3 years ago

    I used a PS3 for the very first time last night and I don't like the XMB very much, it feels a bit basic and unequipped for LOTS of things cos it takes too long to navigate through a largel list of videos or trailers for example. It also looks a bit too sparse for my liking, but that's just me.

    I'm hoping the NXE is intuitive more than anything else because as crappy as the blades might look and as sluggish as it could be to load everything it did at least make sense. The main thing I like what I'm hearing about the NXE is that it's a bit more speedy at loading things which is nice and the Guide button which brings up the mini blades looks pretty quick too in videos I've seen. Cannot wait for my shiny new Xbox Interface!

  • zedzee #9 3 years ago

    The important thing that NXE introduces is quite probably still "under the hood" - in that MS is preparing to compete with Sony's Home environment.

    And while they've been preparing the underlying code for that, with NXE, they've revamped the UI, while they're at it.

    The focus should be on what NXE has not introduce yet, rather than the superficial visuals we see today.

  • systems #10 3 years ago

    @DFawkes - you can see the old system if you press the Guide button. Then you're back to the regular blades pretty much.

  • zombies #11 3 years ago

    What is the 'party' mode anyway?

  • Skooch #12 3 years ago

    This is an important milestone, and considering that 360 is stretching it's lead over PS3 month on month this is a great achievement. Playstation is an awesome brand and MS have done really well to succeed where others have failed.

  • Skooch #13 3 years ago

    @ Zombies - party mode allows up to 8 players to private chat and travel round with each other from game to game.

  • The-Bodybuilder #14 3 years ago

    If MS hits 30mil, then they should be glad. Can't be regarded as a flop if it hits 30 (unless its N64, which was regarded as a flop, even though it wasn't).

  • RickHard #15 3 years ago

    "it's on demand"...

    Well, i guess in the US and in the UK, the rest of the World is still waiting for a decent videostore. The only thing we got here - continental europe - are 2-3 lame music video :-((

  • Bill Gates is Evil #16 3 years ago

    "Party mode" is when ( i think) 8 people can talk to each other at the same time, regardless of what game you're playing.

    It's a bit like the one on one "private chat" feature, only uh...with 8 people instead.