As you may know, Microsoft announced Q1 FY08 earnings results this afternoon. Xbox 360, the leading next-generation game console, announced life-to-date sales of 13.4 million consoles worldwide. The Entertainment and Devices Division revenue grew more than 90 percent to $1.9 billion, driven by Halo 3 (MGS) and higher than expected Xbox 360 console sales. Xbox 360 console units also saw an increase of more than 90 percent driven by the August console price cut, the record-setting launch of Halo 3 and an earlier ramp-up to the holiday season in anticipation for the greatest holiday lineup in history.



Below is a summary of the news:

During the quarter Xbox 360 sold more than 1.8 million units, bringing life to date sales to about 13.4 million worldwide.

The strong demand for Halo 3 generated approximately $330M of Microsoft revenue.

Looking ahead, the upcoming quarter has historically held almost half of all video game industry hardware and software sales. An upswing in console sales combined with software sales that last month alone outsold software sales for PS3 and Wii combined 3:1(according to NPD) have put Xbox 360 in a great position for the holiday season.

o On top of that, Xbox 360 continues to drive third-party game sales across all platforms. Since November, third party partners have seen their titles hit the top ten 27 times for Xbox 360, compared to 2 for PS3 and 1 for Wii according to NPD.

o Additionally, starting with Madden NFL 08 (EA), we have an unprecedented string of titles that should each sell at least a million units, including BioShock (2K Games), the record breaking Halo 3 (MGS), Project Gotham Racing 4 (MGS), Mass Effect (MGS), Guitar Hero III (Red Octane/Activision) and Call of Duty 4 (Activision). These titles make up the greatest holiday line up in video game history and its only available on Xbox 360.

o This, paired with the new Xbox 360 Arcade at $279.99 that comes with a wireless controller and five free Xbox LIVE Arcade games along with two additional SKUs with price points of $349.99 (U.S.) for Xbox 360 and $449.99 (U.S.) for Xbox 360 Elite which includes the addition of two games including Forza Motorsport 2 (MGS) and Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Activision) for a retail savings of more than $90, providing gamers with an unmatched interactive entertainment experience.

Of note, the Microsoft earnings conference call was transmitted live at http://www.microsoft.com/msft/default.mspx and the replay and press release will be available there as well.

Cheers,

The Gamerscore News Team