Amidst wrestling with the public perception of the Xbox 360’s
apparent hardware quality, Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division
reported a profit for its third quarter.
Thanks to “robust demand” for Xbox 360 consoles, the Entertainment
and Devices arm of the software giant saw revenue for the quarter grow 68
percent over the comparable period last year. The division had an operating
profit of $89 million for Q3.
"During the three months ended March 31, 2008, Xbox
platform and PC game revenue increased $418 million or 85% primarily as a
result of increased Xbox 360 console sales, Xbox 360 video game sales, and Xbox
Live revenue," the company said.
"Xbox platform and PC game revenue increased $1.4 billion or 42% during
the nine months ended March 31, 2008, as a result of increased Xbox 360 console
sales, video game sales led by Halo 3, Xbox Live revenue, and Xbox 360
accessory sales."
Interestingly, the Xbox 360 was one of the bright points for
Microsoft even though the company claimed that its console was in short supply for
the first
two
months of 2008. For the fiscal year to date, however, Microsoft said
that sales were up 34 percent to $6.57 billion, with 7.5 million Xbox 360s
shipped.
For 2008 thus far, 1.3 million Xbox 360 consoles were
shipped, bringing the cumulative console sales to more than 19 million. The
Zune music player, which shares the division with the Xbox 360, is also said to
be a contributing factor the operating profit, though Microsoft did not go into
such detail.
Nearly a year ago, Microsoft’s Robbie Bach forecasted that
the Xbox
360 division will turn a profit in 2008, something that has come true for
at least the past quarter.
Microsoft said that it expects further increases in revenue
for its Entertainment and Devices division thanks to the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV, which is expected
to drive sales of both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.