Even at the ripe age of 7 years-old, Microsoft's Xbox 360 keeps on chugging -- sitting at 76 million consoles sold worldwide, according to a press release published Monday.
The latest total is an increase of 6 million from the previous Microsoft report from September. In addition to those impressive numbers, the software giant announced it has sold 24 million of its Kinect peripherals. The motion-sensing camera launched in 2010 and has quickly become an intricate part of the Xbox ecosystem, despite the fact none of its games manage to sell well.
Yusuf Mehdi, head of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, personally tried to combat the notion that the Xbox 360 is traditionally a "core" gamer's system while speaking at media event D: Dive Into Media Monday in Dana Point, Calif. According to Mehdi, 38 percent of Xbox users are welcome, and more than 51 percent of users have kids.
U.S. Xbox account holders averaged 87 of hours of usage per month -- more than 2.5 hours a day. As of last March, more owners used their Xbox 360s for non-gaming purposes, such as streaming Netflix and HBO Go, than for playing video games. Mehdi noted a 57 percent year-over-year growth in entertainment app usage. Microsoft also touted an increase in Xbox Live user accounts -- now sitting at 46 million. Both gold and free silver accounts are included in the total.
With rumors of the new Xbox, codename Durango, requiring an online connection at all times, could this mean more than 30 million users would be locked out of the console? A disconcerting future to say the least. Still, these totals are impressive for Microsoft, which barely broke 30 million consoles worldwide with its inaugural Xbox system released in 2001.
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