Microsoft’s Xbox 360 topped theU.S.sales charts again in June.
Market research company NPD released its latest sales figures on Thursday. Despite a temporary slip in December (due to shortages), Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console has dominated the charts for 12 out of 13 months. The Xbox 360 outsold both the Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 in June with 507,000 units. The sales figures are up 12% from the same period last year, the largest growth of any current generation console on the market. “Even while console and software sales across the industry have slowed, Xbox 360 continues to grow and remains on track to have the biggest year in Xbox history,” said Microsoft’s Jeff Meisner.
Microsoft’s June sales mean the company held 48% share of the overall current-generation console market. The Xbox 360 sold almost twice as many units as the Nintendo Wii and was the only console in theU.S.to show year-on-year growth in the month of June. “With the holiday season and major launches just around the corner, the second half of 2011 promises to make Xbox 360 history, said Meisner. “Microsoft expects Xbox 360 to maintain its lead and to be number one worldwide by the end of the year, selling more hardware units than PlayStation and Wii.”
Microsoft’s Kinect accessory is the likely reason the Xbox sold well in recent months. The company experienced some shipment issues in December which meant it failed to secure the top spot. Microsoft launched its controller-less console accessory for the Xbox 360 across the world in November. The Kinect sensor is a horizontal bar that sits at the base of your TV. The device has an RGB camera, depth sensor and multi-array microphone which runs proprietary software. Kinect allows for full-body 3D motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition. Owners will be able to interact with games titles using just their body. Pausing TV and fast forwarding movies can be achieved using a mix of hand movements and voice control.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console dominated U.S.charts in 2010. Microsoft revealed at CES in January that the company has sold over 50 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide since launch. Microsoft also has 30 million active Xbox LIVE members and has sold 10 million Kinect sensors in just 60 days on the market.
June highlights from NPD Group include:
- Xbox 360 sold 507,000 units in June, maintaining the number-one console spot in theU.S.
- Xbox 360 console sales during June were up 12 percent year over year
- Total retail spend on the Xbox 360 platform (hardware, software and accessories) reached $350 million, the most for any console in theU.S.
- During the month of June, four of the top 10 console game titles were for Xbox 360 including: “L.A. Noire,” “Duke Nukem Forever,” “NBA 2K11″ and “Call of Duty: Black Ops.”
[via Winrumors]
Posted on July 15, 2011 by Liam Wise