There’s good news and bad news for Microsoft, as they reported Xbox sales down, but active Live user numbers are up, so there is a silver lining to their revenue this year.
- Xbox revenue is down 17%, mostly due to Xbox 360
- Xbox Live monthly active users is now up by 28%, standing at 39 million
- Xbox One sales are still lagging behind PlayStation 4, by a margin of roughly 10 million units sold worldwide
Hardware sales for Xbox are down 17%, though it should be noted that this implies multiple products. While the Xbox One is still doing decently for itself, the less-performing Xbox 360 is no longer selling like hot cakes. That should be understandable, considering its more superior hardware has been on the market for a while.
Xbox 360 consoles are likely the reason for the dip in sales, which is considered to be rather significant at that percentage. Major games and big titles are now being angled more toward the next-generation consoles, leaving last-generation woefully behind. Some gamemakers have also offered exclusivity in order to not compromise the “integrity” of their game.
The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles are the go-to platform to compete with the PC. It’s perhaps an obvious fact that game studios would want their players to receive their product at the highest possible quality. It’s the way they’re meant to be played.
Given that Microsoft has reported to selling 2.4 million Xbox systems during their first quarter of 2015, the dip would imply that they now stand at a rough number of 1.99 million. However, the 17% is a revenue number, which is difficult to properly understand for anyone outside of the company itself. This is because not all Xbox systems are sold at same price.
On the other side of the console wars, PlayStation 3 sales have also seen a decrease. So, both older platform have suffered an understandable downward trajectory. Gamers are obviously much more likely to flock to the newer and better performing consoles.
However, while sales for their last-generation hardware is down, Microsoft has seen an uplifting in their Xbox Live numbers. Now standing at 39 million monthly active gamers, Live has seen a 28% increase. This is essentially the number of people who log into their Live accounts on a monthly basis.
On a worldwide range, the Xbox One alone has sold 15 million units in 2015. While the numbers aren’t bad, they’re also still lagging behind Sony’s PlayStation 4, with 25 million units sold around the world. The PS 4 seems to be dominating overall, in spite of the ongoing horse race, fueled by exclusive games, bundles and price cuts.
Even according to Xbox, they’re not sure if they would ever catch up with PlayStation.
There will be several exclusives for the Xbox One come holiday season, including ‘Halo 5: Guardians’, which is expected to come up with huge numbers. Last year, nearing the holiday season, Microsoft aggressively cut down the price of their latest console to compete with Sony.
However, it was Sony’s turn this year to lower the price of their PlayStation 4 (to $349.99), so it’s doubtful that Microsoft will be able to use the same strategy twice.
Image source: attackofthefanboy.com
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