According to a new report from Bloomberg, Microsoft’s Xbox Live service brought in $1.2 billion revenue for the fiscal 2009 year.
For the year ended June 30th, about 12.5 million Xbox Live users paid an annual fee to play games online which Bloomberg says would account for about $600 million in revenue. Xbox Live COO Dennis Durkin says on top of that, sales of DLC, movies and TV topped subscription revenue for the first time ever, and by a significant margin, leading us to the final $1.2 billion figure.
Success with Xbox Live is key to Microsoft’s Entertainment division, which has seen slow sales of Zune media players, slow smartphone sales, and a barely profitable Xbox 360 console, which sees most of its profit from software and accessory sales.
Adds Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft: “Xbox Live has helped sell a lot of consoles and created a lot of loyalty. Everyone has been talking about Microsoft’s inability to innovate, but this is a pretty good example where they have innovated. They timed it just right with this one.”
If accurate, revenue would have jumped from $800 million in 2008, a pretty hefty increase.
Result for: s entertainment
The blockbuster Modern Warfare 2 has crushed all previous entertainment sales records, with a five-day $550 million USD launch, making it the biggest in history.
The game beat out all previous five-day records for the entertainment industry, including videogames, movies and books.
MW2 surpassed Grand Theft Auto IV, which had sales totaling $500 million. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed $394 million in its five-day launch, making it the best movie launch of all time.
“In just five days of sell through, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has become the largest entertainment launch in history and a pop culture phenomenon,” added Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. “The title’s success redefines entertainment as million of consumers have chosen to play Modern Warfare 2 at unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media.”
Result for: s entertainment
Microsoft has updated their Xbox 360 services today, adding the long hyped Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and Zune Video apps.
“It’s the community that drives us forward, and it’s the community that allows us to pioneer new ways of connecting people through the entertainment they love,” says Neil Thompson, senior director of Microsoft’s Entertainment Division in UK & Ireland. “Tonight we’re celebrating the transformation of the TV as tomorrow everyone will be able to enjoy some truly exciting interactive entertainment experiences which continues to deliver on our vision of connected entertainment for everyone.”
Users will need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to access the services and the full features are as follows (via GI.biz):
Facebook: Update your status to share the movie, game or entertainment you’re enjoying, connect with friends and view their Facebook stream, status updates and photos on the big screen - as well as compare your Xbox Live and Facebook friends lists.
Twitter: Discover, post, and reply to Tweets on your Xbox 360. You can view friend profiles, trends and conversations, or search Twitter content.
Last.fm: Set up personalised radio stations with Last.fm on Xbox 360. Skip, ‘ban’ or ‘love’ songs to create your perfect mix, with built-in “Gamer Stations” featuring music selected specifically for the gaming community (available in the US and UK).
Zune: A premium high fidelity video experience with instant-on HD in 1080p and 5.1 channel surround sound for Xbox Live, with no waiting for downloads or buffering. The experience can also be shared with up to seven friends through voice chat and Avatar integration on the TV screen.
