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Microsoft's booth at the Tokyo Game Show is impressive  (Source: DailyTech, Marcus Yam)
Microsoft calls Xbox Live "the largest social network in the living room"

Microsoft has released a collection of statistics on the Xbox 360 and the Live online service. Despite being recently overtaken by the Nintendo Wii in worldwide sales, the Xbox 360 still holds the crown for software sales.
 
According to U.S. NPD data, gamers have bought 24.3 million units of software for the Xbox 360, which is more than the 19.8 million units software for PS3 and Wii combined. Furthermore, the Xbox 360 boasts the largest games attach rate at 6.3 games sold per Xbox 360 owner, according to the company.
 
Microsoft was also proud to call its Xbox Live service “the largest social network in the living room with 2.6 million IM, text and voice messages sent over the service every day.”
 
Xbox Live has just recently broken the seven million user mark, and the service is on track to hit a base of 10 million by June 2008.
 
Microsoft added that Xbox Live Arcade has been a “huge hit” on the Xbox 360, with nearly 70 percent of all Xbox Live users having used the service. According to independent research, the remaining 30 percent of Xbox Live users had never heard of Xbox Live Arcade, despite being connected to the service. For those who are aware of Xbox Live Arcade, only 28 percent have purchased at least one game, according to Frank N. Magid Associates.
 
For U.S.-based users, Xbox Live Marketplace is now the leading provider of on-demand high-definition content in the country, providing more than twice the number of hours as leading cable operators. Xbox Live Marketplace has yet launch in full capacity outside of the U.S.
 
Perhaps most importantly; gamers are using Xbox Live to play online with their friends. Since Xbox Live launched, 3.1 billion games sessions have been hosted on the service – though it is unclear if Microsoft is also including original Xbox games in that number.
 
Xbox Live users are also very popular, as the average Xbox Live Gold subscriber has 23 contacts on their friends list. More than 1.2 billion cross-game invites have been sent since the launch of Xbox 360.
 
Despite the high use of Xbox Live on the Xbox 360, the most popular game played on the service is an original Xbox game. Halo 2 is ahead of Gears of War and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Las Vegas.
 
Halo 3 launches on September 25 with hopes to overtake its predecessor as the most played game on Xbox Live.

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One thing they're not reporting
By bighairycamel on 9/21/2007 2:20:22 PM , Rating: 1
I missed it, where were the statistics for failure rate?

Out of 7 close friends/relatives that I know own a 360 (including myself), 6 of them have had to send their unit back, some more than once (and the one who didn't has only had theirs for a few months).

They can brag about numbers all they want, but right now the product is shoddy. I'm just glad they upped the warranty, as inconvenient as it still may be.




RE: One thing they're not reporting
By Orbs on 9/21/2007 2:26:09 PM , Rating: 4
Mine's been just fine. I have at least a dozen friends with 360's none of which have had problems. Clearly there were issues or the warranty period wouldn't have been extended, but I don't think the product is 'shoddy'.

These numbers are impressive, and more important than the numbers (and likely the reason for the numbers) is that the Live experience is just so good. It's a shame the GFW Live effort hasn't done well because Live is truly an awesome service.

I've played Halo 2, Gears and R6V on Live and loved 'em all. I'm really looking forward to Halo 3 and Guitar Hero 3 and playing both single and multiplayer over Live on both those titles!


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By PAPutzback on 9/21/2007 2:42:34 PM , Rating: 3
I don't know of one person that had to return theirs. Although I was scared of the noise the DVD drive made on some of the early ones.


By therealnickdanger on 9/21/2007 2:48:13 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
Although I was scared of the noise the DVD drive made on some of the early ones.

I was so used to it from Xbox1, I never noticed. LOL! I have bought two 360s and one of them had to go back due to a video output failure (not RROD). OMG, 50% failure rate!


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By timmiser on 9/21/2007 2:46:42 PM , Rating: 2
It is interesting how one group of people come up with some stat where 90% of every Xbox 360 they know has needed service while another group has not had or know of any problems with the Xbox 360's of those they know. It seems to be one extreme vs. another extreme which lends one to surmise that the reality is somewhere inbetween.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By Oregonian2 on 9/21/2007 2:52:41 PM , Rating: 3
At least some must have been working some of the time to yield 3.1 Billion game sessions on their network.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By hr824 on 9/21/2007 2:56:31 PM , Rating: 2
While that may be true is was interestring to note when I droped mine off at the ups store and the clerk said "oh another 360" as I was walking up to the counter.

The softwhare side of the 360 is terrific I love the system, x box live, love the games and the movie and tv rentals.

The hardhare side is horid the thing is loud hot and unreliable.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By Locutus465 on 9/21/2007 3:14:21 PM , Rating: 2
The newer version seems fine, I have an HDMI premium console and it isn't exessivly loud, it also doesn't run very hot.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By afkrotch on 9/21/07, Rating: 0
By Locutus465 on 9/22/2007 12:39:44 PM , Rating: 3
Because that is the only way to make that judgment? One can't simply touch the console after hours of operation, and feel the temperature of the air and think "Hmm, not a whole bunch worse that my PC, which has much more airflow potential than this sucker"...

I'm sorry about your warentee problems, though to be honest I'm not sure why you would get a Japonese version, does it really offer something you simply can not get out of an american version? Are there better controllers that are not compatible with the american version? At any rate, it sucks for you that you've had some many issues, for the majority of the market though the Warentee is very compelling, 3 years guard agains RROD is enough to make me take the leap. I've had nothing but good experiences so far!

Irony of irony's, my Wii is the console that "died" on me. Didn't really die, but it started throwing out all kinds of visual artifacts in the form of random pixals on screen. Nintendo did a great job of taking care of it though.


By nitin213 on 9/24/2007 5:05:46 AM , Rating: 2
Uh... did I miss something here.....Isn't that very obvious that failure rates are somewhere in between.... or is it that you had to write something...

no harm done though... just a bit funny. Actually for that matter my mail has nothing to say either so I stand in same boat.

Cheers,


By Locutus465 on 9/21/2007 3:11:54 PM , Rating: 2
Mine has been completely fine, no exessive heat or anything. And my 360 is on *A LOT*. Downloading videos, playing HD-DVD's, playing games... The 360 has become a very important part of my entertainment center.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By Roy2001 on 9/21/2007 3:46:10 PM , Rating: 1
So what? MS stands behind their product and provides 3 years warranty even if you open the case to hack it to play copied game, no need to say pirated games.

I am not a fanboy, of any brand. MS made mistakes with 360 design and they are fixing it. Let's face the fact.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By jajig on 9/22/2007 12:50:21 AM , Rating: 4
That's crap! If the warranty sticker is broken Microsoft send it straight back saying the warranty is voided.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By Locutus465 on 9/22/2007 12:40:41 PM , Rating: 2
I'm pretty sure they would offer to fix it for a price...


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By jajig on 9/23/2007 3:34:49 AM , Rating: 2
That's not warranty, thats paying for repairs two different things.


By Locutus465 on 9/24/2007 2:17:01 PM , Rating: 2
It's also not refusing to do the work, it's just refusing to do it for free. You are correct though that opening the console will (justifiably) void the warrentee.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By SaySomeThingOrDIE on 9/22/07, Rating: 0
By SaySomeThingOrDIE on 9/22/2007 3:53:42 PM , Rating: 1
After examining the CPU on the X360 Elite, it was indeed a 65nm core.


RE: One thing they're not reporting
By SaySomeThingOrDIE on 9/22/2007 1:31:59 PM , Rating: 1
The problem is that about 68+% of all X360 manufactured from 2005-2007(February)[MS only sold 11+ million X360], all factor in this "recall" (call it whatever, extended 3 year warranty or send it back..) I found there's been complaints about: Faulty DVD player(about 10+ million games own by consumers have been scatched), Hardward Failure, HardDrive defect (HD failure, software is mostly to blame.), video/audio defect (faulty connection to the motherboard and other things), overheating (happens to all consoles when you play for 18 hours straight. But with X360, it's still a computer, which produce 3+ time more heat than a PS2,PS3; 8+ time more than a Gcube/WII.)

The probability that MS will spend $3+ billion on 4-5 million X360 sold during 2005-2007. MS was receiving about 2,500 X360 a day for the the past year. And that's about 2.4+ million console with defect. And there's no doubt that there's several class action suits against MS right now.

X360 Elite may not have these problems, the reason is, MS made some improvements on the motherboard...replace the Toshiba DVD-rom with a Hitachi... and may replace or upgrade the CPU chip to a 3.8-4.0+ Ghz in the near future.....


By SaySomeThingOrDIE on 9/22/2007 1:34:49 PM , Rating: 1
hmm.. why did it just double post??


You know what else is impressive?
By therealnickdanger on 9/21/2007 1:53:31 PM , Rating: 5
The girl in the white!

Microsoft is certainly kicking some arse in the gaming world. I am very, very excited to play the games in this Christmas line-up.




RE: You know what else is impressive?
By deeznuts on 9/21/2007 2:04:38 PM , Rating: 3
Hmm, I was just about to ask why MS is using booth gremlins instead of babes.

Different strokes! Cheers!


By deeznuts on 9/21/2007 2:05:38 PM , Rating: 3
Oh, and going to pick up a 360 this weekend if I have time when getting back from a trip. Looks like a good holiday lineup all the way around (well I'm not getting a Wii so you know, the other two).


RE: You know what else is impressive?
By therealnickdanger on 9/21/2007 2:09:59 PM , Rating: 2
Upon further review, her face leaves something to be desired, but gremlin? That's just mean. :P


By kkwst2 on 9/21/2007 2:53:07 PM , Rating: 2
That would be a Medusa, or a butter face if you prefer, but not a gremlin.


RE: You know what else is impressive?
By augiem on 9/21/2007 3:41:03 PM , Rating: 2
still probably cuter than any nerdy gamer tech geeks posing on web message boards will ever get


By The Sword 88 on 9/21/2007 6:28:25 PM , Rating: 2
Yourself included?


RE: You know what else is impressive?
By kkwst2 on 9/21/2007 2:12:41 PM , Rating: 3
If you consider her a gremlin, then I think we're talking about REALLY different strokes.


RE: You know what else is impressive?
By PAPutzback on 9/21/07, Rating: -1
By afkrotch on 9/21/2007 11:31:09 PM , Rating: 1
Lived in Japan for 2 years. You'll find a lot of girls with a rounder face with a little baby fat. Find a girl with meat on her bones is tough though.


By Jimmybones on 9/21/2007 11:33:38 PM , Rating: 1
Tan skin is just implying your own cultural beliefs onto them.

I am from the states but work at lot with folks in Thailand and Korea.

Most of the youth there idolize the Japanese.

To have a Tan skin is actually a negative to a lot of the folks, because to have tan skin implies that you are a day laborer and work with your hands or your from an under class.

Not really to add much to the conversation but I thought I would toss that out for info.


RE: You know what else is impressive?
By FITCamaro on 9/21/2007 3:32:38 PM , Rating: 1
She's excessively thin and has no ass. If that works for you, more power to you. I prefer women to actually eat and have a little meat between their bones and the skin so I don't have to stare at their ribs.


RE: You know what else is impressive?
By hrah20 on 9/21/2007 4:34:38 PM , Rating: 2
Sorry but I laughed my ass off !!!


By PAPutzback on 9/21/2007 5:25:25 PM , Rating: 2
Ham or turkey?


By One43637 on 9/21/2007 8:03:32 PM , Rating: 1
quote:

NEW! You know what else is impressive?
By therealnickdanger on 9/21/07, Rating: 5
By therealnickdanger on 9/21/2007 1:53:31 PM , Rating: 5
The girl in the white!

Microsoft is certainly kicking some arse in the gaming world. I am very, very excited to play the games in this Christmas line-up.


Ouch... I hope you're kidding.


By Spivonious on 9/24/2007 9:21:40 AM , Rating: 2
She's cute, but nothing special. You need to get out more and meet some people in real life.


Erm...2 year advantage
By SirLucius on 9/21/2007 3:19:13 PM , Rating: 3
While I love my 360, I'd really hope that Microsoft was boasting these kinds of stats right now. I mean the 360 has like a 2 year advantage on the other consoles, right? I'd really hope they have more software sales and a higher attatch rate than Sony and Nintendo. If not, I'd be very worried for the system. The same can be said for Live. Especially since the other two systems don't have a dedicated online community like Live.

I'm definatley looking forward to the Winter lineup of games though. Bring on Mass Effect.




RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By FITCamaro on 9/21/2007 3:35:19 PM , Rating: 1
Attach rate has nothing to do with how long a console has been released. Even when the 360 was brand new it was setting records for attach rates.


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By SirLucius on 9/21/2007 3:52:26 PM , Rating: 3
The attach rate is the number of games a person owns per console, no? I'm one who tends to keep the games I buy, so it stands to reason that a console that has been out longer, with a larger library, would have a higher attach rate than a console that has been out a shorter period of time with less games avaiable. If the average 360 owner only owned 2 or 3 games, that wouldn't say much for the quality of games available on the console, no? Especially given the much larger library due to the system being out for a longer period of time. Unless I'm misunderstanding attach rate when applied to consoles.


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By FITCamaro on 9/21/2007 5:35:40 PM , Rating: 2
I'm referring to the attach rate of accessories/games when people buy the console. Both are correct though.


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By feelingshorter on 9/22/2007 2:16:51 AM , Rating: 2
People buy 6.3 games RIGHT when they buy their 360 consoles? I call BS.

quote:
Furthermore, the Xbox 360 boasts the largest games attach rate at 6.3 games sold per Xbox 360 owner, according to the company.


How do you get that the attach rate is only referring to right when people buy their consoles? The article only says GAMES, not accessories.

Microsoft, despite having released their console earlier than Nintendo, will be overtaken sooner or later. Thats why they are making a move to release these stars now, while they still look good for Microsoft. If the attach rate is referring to how many games a person buys through the life of the console as it stands (and not when people buy the consoles), then its logical that Nintendo will win. How do I figure? Well, the wii is simply selling faster than the 360. The 360 is also competing with the PS3 in terms of the same genre of games (FPS, war, shooting, typical guy games), where as the Wii is hitting a whole new market.


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By peter7921 on 10/5/2007 3:32:17 PM , Rating: 2
How many consoles Nintendo sells has nothing to do with attach rate. Nintendo can sell 100 million consoles and MS only 20 Million and it still won't matter.

Attach rate is the average of games sold to consoles sold.

So hypothetically if Nintendo sells 100 million consoles and 300 million games the attach rate is 3to1, and if say MS sells 100 million games and 20 million consoles the attach rate is 5to1, so even though Nintendo sells more games and consoles its attach rate is still lower.

Now in reality who knows what Nintendo's attach rate will be in the future but i'm guessing that more casual gamers own a Wii so the attach rate might be lower.


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By atwood7fan on 9/21/2007 4:21:31 PM , Rating: 2
Actually it was only a 1 year advance


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By SirLucius on 9/21/2007 4:35:18 PM , Rating: 1
Yeah I wasn't sure so I guessed it was closer to 2. But I think the point is still valid. The 360 had a significant lead on the other consoles with stronger launch titles. It seems to me that 360 owners should own more games than other console owners due to the fact that more games were released for it before the other consoles were released and Xbox 360 games are still being developed. If the 360 had an attach rate similar to that of the PS3 and Wii, that would show me that the quality of games was not were it should be.

I'd be willing to bet that when the PS3 reaches this point on their release timeline, they won't be able to say the same as Microsoft. They don't have the games currently, and their big name games are still a ways off.


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By ZimZum on 9/21/2007 7:18:17 PM , Rating: 2
Its still impressive that the 360 has sold more games than the other 2 consoles combined . And as someone else mentioned the attach rates for the 360 have been fairly high from launch. Probably due to not only a strong game library but 360 appeals to hardcore games more than the wii.

Software sales are where the money is made.


RE: Erm...2 year advantage
By afkrotch on 9/21/2007 11:44:14 PM , Rating: 3
What is exactly impressive? Released 1 year before the other two, so it'll definitely have higher game sales.

Both the PS3 and Wii still are lackluster on games. Much like the Xbox 360 when it was released. What was it? 3 months to wait until new games appeared aside from the launch titles.


Wow
By Murst on 9/21/2007 3:14:43 PM , Rating: 2
From a social networking point of view, the numbers are really amazing. It will be interesting what kind of numbers the PS3 gets once Home is released next year so we have something to compare them to. As for the Wii... I don't think they care - they're too busy counting their money.




RE: Wow
By The Sword 88 on 9/21/2007 6:31:49 PM , Rating: 2
You would be surprised Wii doesnt move nearly as much software which is where the real money is, but they sell a ton of console and controolers and stuff.


RE: Wow
By 3DChipset on 9/21/2007 6:52:43 PM , Rating: 2
How about comparing software with everything. I would love to see the Virtual Console numbers per each console sold. If I was Nintendo, I would include their Virtual Console which I think is a huge part of their business


RE: Wow
By DFranch on 9/21/2007 6:56:04 PM , Rating: 1
If they manage to actually get Home finished on time to make their revised schedule. It seems not very much is actually being finished on schedule with the PS3.


Shipped today
By Jonwww on 9/21/2007 8:17:04 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah I just shipped mine out today for repair. I know of 2 others with 360 & they haven't had any problems....yet.




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