The Cut Scene: Xbox Live generates at least 5 times the revenue of PSN

by David Hinkle on Feb 26th 2009 1:40PM

Xbots, arm up! You've just received a new salvo of ammo for your ongoing crusade against those Sony Cronies: Xbox Live has generated a lot more money than PSN, according to The Cut Scene's math. (Of course, dear Xbox Fanboy, let us remind you that this victory comes at the expense of your wallet.) Variety did some quick estimations based on Sony's recent 20 million registrations announcement and Microsoft's reported earnings from Xbox Live. PSN has generated $180 million for Sony, whereas Xbox Live has made Microsoft a tidy sum in excess of $1 billion.

PSN, which includes both PS3 and PSP users, has been active for 40 percent of Xbox Live's current lifespan, however, Sony's service has only managed to generate 20 percent as much revenue. Of course, PSN is free, so registrations don't generate any revenue for Sony, unlike Xbox Live, which costs $50 per year for a premium, Gold subscription. It's not known how much of Xbox Live's total revenue is attributed to Gold subscribers' annual fees.

Source

Tags: earnings, microsoft, psn, revenue, sony, xblm, Xbox-360, xbox-live

Reader Comments (141)

this is just dumb. How can you compare the two? People pay 50 bucks a year or Live. Thats not even counting if they buy anything from Live but just to play a game online. Plus its been out longer. PSN is free so they dont make that 50 bucks up front like Live. So how can you compare the two? This post is worthless.

How can you compare the two? Both are online services for video game consoles.

That's how you can compare them.

You can't compare how much something makes when one is free and one is paid for service. Its common sense that something that is free isnt going to make as much as something that you have to pay for to use. Thats like comparing how much a homeless man makes a month to someone that works a good job everyday a month. Not the same. Now if Sony started to charge for PSN at about the same price as Live then thats different.

Your right, there is no comparison...
ZING!

Well if the gold member total was 9.5 million in 2008 then Microsoft made about $475 million on gold subscriptions.

I think everyone here has missed the point that if fans of Sony are going to jump to its defense over some random article on the internet, that they could probably get $50 a year from them in subscription fees also.

Regardless of arguing about subscription fees that Microsoft charges and how its unfair to compare that with Sony, you should be arguing at how stupid it is that Sony fans praise Playstation Network for being free and being stupid enough to pay for the content that is on there that they could easily get for free off the internet.

"Sony fans praise Playstation Network for being free and being stupid enough to pay for the content that is on there that they could easily get for free off the internet."

Please explain.....

yea dude, what are you talking about? what stuff can you buy on the PSN (or XBLM for that matter) that you can get for free elsewhere?

it does matter. Whether or not we would pay for a gold PSN account isn't the issue, it's that the article is comparing apples to oranges. If a majority of that total is coming from Live accounts, it seems that PSN sells just fine for software. I would pay for a gold accoun btw, and I'm sure this comparison would be much different then. It's stupid. It's like saying that WoW brings in more money than Final Fantasy. One hs a subscription andone doesn't. Not the best comparison in the world, but neither is the article's source material.

Bah, I don't even have the NXE yet! Still waiting for my 100 ft cat5e cable to arrive.

To be honest, my 360 is going to be an offline box, so I won't be helping that number. I stuck a 320 GB drive into my PS3 just last night for $74.99, and I'd need to spend $OMGWTF for a drive for my 360 and pick up the wifi adapter and pay for a subscription to get the 'box online. I only paid $130 for it, so doing that isn't realistic.

Side note, my 360 is louder than every PC I've ever owned combined. How long does it take to get used to it? It drives me nuts!

when you get the NXE, install your games to your hard drive. it makes it run quieter cause the disc isn't constantly spinning.

i had a PS3 for a long time before i bought a 360 (just like you) and you will get used to all that stuff you complained about. i bought it because the PS3 sucks in the JRPG department as im not a fan of the tactical variety the PS3 does have. the PS3 is by far a better and more open piece of hardware but the 360 holds it's own in other departments. i dont understand the "360 is superior" praise the console gets but both consoles have their strengths, just depends on what kinds of games you like mostly.

That should help a bit. I actually thought the system's fans alone were pretty loud, then I stuck a disc in. My oh my! I'll have to look for a cheap 60GB drive. I can't fork over $150 for a 120GB drive out of principle, especially when my 320 only set me back $75.

But yeah, I don't understand the superiority thing either. But what I really don't understand is how anyone can tolerate watching movies (especially DVD!) on the 360 with the noise. That's like going to a movie theater and having someone vacuum the carpets during the movie. I'll pass.

But hey, it plays Fable 2 and Banjo, which is primarily why I bought it.

Too bad they only generate 1/16th the quality...

So, you guys at Joystiq can't figure out 50% (http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/161658.asp) of 17M (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/jan09/01-05XBoxBigYearPR.mspx), then multiply by an average of $40 per 12M gold card to get Xbox Live subscription revenue? I get $340M for subscriptions.

I'd like to see the numbers without the Live subscription fees. I'll bet they haven't made as much on downloadable game sales.

i have never paid more than $30 shipped for my 12+1 month gold membership. who the hell does anymore?

all this money crap is meaningless b/c the xbox360 doesnt have accurate numbers for actual gamers and the games they play. a gaming community doesnt really measure their greatness by how much money their system made, it's how many people play it. the same thing goes for the hacked wiis out there.

i personally know atleast 5 people who have never bought a game for the 360. they just flash their drive, download, burn and play. it's cool for them of course, but i like to invest a little in what i like. plus the game cases and stuff look cool as my collection grows but i have yet to ever spend any ms points. that's something i don't believe in and still havent played a game where i believed i absolutely needed the dlc.

ps3 numbers are accurate as hell tho b/c the ps3 has yet to be hacked.

why would you really need to hack it? it's open as hell. if you wanna run emulators and such, install Linux. only thing i could think of would be for pirated games but the games take up so much space on Blu-ray it's not really practical.

We've always been at war with Eastasia. Live has always been available for $30-40. Anyone who paid $50 is an idiot!

A good reason for that is that XBox Live is more easily accessible to any kind of gamers, even teenagers or even younger. The fact that you can buy XBox Live cards if you don't have a credit card allows everyone to purchase stuff on the service.
While the PSN cards are no where to be found so only gamers with credit cards can buy stuff on the service. It's more than due time Sony changes that.

In any case, there are a lot of exclusive contents on XBox Live, like the new GTA IV episode for example. While the PSN isn't particularly pushing that. A thing though, PSN isn't filled with as much crappyness as Live Arcade is.

Another reason is that generally (not always) people that are serious about online functionality are going to gravitate towards the 360 given it's big lead in that department.

the games. how they say in japan they sold x amount of the jrpg. well take into consideration about the people that have a hacked drive and just download and burn the game. japanese people are pretty smart, i'm sure they have been doing the same thing people do here in the states and in europe.

the fact that xbox games can be easily pirated makes the numbers in accurate. people with ps3 have to the buy the games period. there is no other way. as of now.

I don't get it. If I am an X-box 360 owner am I supposed to be proud that I am giving money to them for things i am getting for free on the PS3? That i have to pay for a subscription as well as the games i buy? Are you saying that i should be proud that Microsoft is squeezing more money out of me? How is this ammunition? I am dumb founded how it is that Xbox 360 owners and WII users can be proud of such stupid things.

Joystiq writers are experts in spin, they can make any negative news positive (when it comes to MS), any positive news negative (when it's Sony related news).

People should take into account that:
1. Live costs monthly
2. Live's point system is a rip-off

1. 12+1 month card on Amazon for $30 = $2.31 per month = 0.08 per day
vs. PSN no demos for games. Buy something you hate? TOO BAD = Out $5-$10-$15.

2. Live's Point System = Sales on points! OR Free Point Cards with Game Purchase!
I have over 12,000 MS Points. Cost? Less than $40. Thanks to Circuit City and the five games I bought this past Christmas season that I was going to buy anyway with free point cards thanks to Amazon.
vs PSN no point cards just 'Real' money. Also, means no gift cards to my nephews.

Actually, PSN does have demos of games, there are PSN cards, and Free is still better than 8 cents a day.
Plus, what if people can't find such incredible sales like you can? For the general populace, Live is a lot more expensive than it is for you. Aren't you lucky? ;)

I'm not trying to start a fanboy fight, but at least make sure your claims are true.

"PSN does have demos of games, there are PSN cards, and Free is still better than 8 cents a day."
There's a Demo for Nobe Nobe Boy COOL, flOwer AWSOME!! I'm completely wrong!!!! SORRY!

Sales on PSN Cards where? Never seen that before! Since it's 'Real' Money.

8 cents a day for a superior service? Yes please, But go ahead and buy a system that costs $100+ more because you're SO FRUGAL!

Netflix streaming has saved me $100 a month in cable bills.

Look, I don't want to get in a fight about this. You're right, no demos for a lot of games, oh well. Life isn't perfect. Neither is either system, FYI I am a frugal person, and I am the kind of guy who cares about that 8 cents, regardless of whether or not the service is superior. I don't have cable, either, so If I want to see something, I go down and pay the $1 at redbox to watch it that night. Big deal. Don't assume that everyone is FREAKIN' FLOWING MONEY OUT OF THEIR POCKETS, PAL!

Whatever. Conversation over.

Well this shows just how much Microsoft is milking its customers for a service that is free everywhere else.

Why do we, the consumers, care how much is sold?

I don't buy a toaster and then follow the toaster company's sales margins. I see no reason to care if my console sells more either.

No, I'm not a bitter PS3 owner. I'm actually a fan of the 360(though there are a few PS3 aspects that make me a bit envious). I just don't see why people....care at all.

Isn't this kinda obvious? I mean... the one that charges a fee to use their services makes more profit then the one that doesn't?

All the money PSN made was from your sicophantic ass paying them to let you blow them. See I can make shit up too.
"It's not known how much of Xbox Live's total revenue is attributed to Gold subscribers' annual fees."
Read the article fool. Oh btw those games you listed... they suck.

Nice math ps fanboys. Too bad you pulled the number straight from your ass.

Nope, Xbox is just making 5 times the money period. Know why? Because the service is worth the money.

"His math is perfectly solid." It's not perfect.
$40 is still high. $38 is probably the mean, and that is for 13 months not 12.

Netflix has nothing to do with these numbers.

Also, what makes you think that; because people pay for Live Gold that they will feel like they have to buy other things on XBLA. People with the free silver membership can buy from XBLM.

I'll bet if PSN cost as much as Live Gold their numbers wouldn't be much different.

where's Nelson when you need it

don't a lot of PS3 owners have multiple accounts for themselves, which is how Sony clain to have nearly as many members as there are on Xbox Live? or so it said on the old fanboy site a while a go - there were even some who had as many as 7 accounts..
also, I've met users on XBL that have started brand new Gamercards and discarded their old ones..
There needs to be a better way of counting how many users there are.. Console IDs?

XBL has made a load out of me, then last week was TR:U & GTA4 dlc I still mean to buy once I'm out of other 360 games to play..

MS Singapore charge $88 per year.

Previous 50 Comments

The Cut Scene: Xbox Live generates at least 5 times the revenue of PSN

Reader Comments (141)

Posted: Feb 26th 2009 4:10PM Drdre74 said

Posted: Feb 26th 2009 4:12PM NutMan said

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