Xbox 360 hits 50 million worldwide, Xbox Live users top 30 million

@FlashJS They typically say about half.

@FlashJS I second this

@FlashJS well they do get at least a month free gold trial, so technically quite a portion of them are still gold by now..

@FlashJS

Im right there with you I honestly believe that xbox live is the best online service in the video game market.

I also believe that out of those 30 million at least 75 percent has to be xbox live gold members cause when you think about it xbox live silver has nothing.

@Miami Prodigy

I would hope it is since you're paying 50-60$ a year for it.

@AltairArcanum Only idiots pay full price fro XBL.

@Enigma7ic Actually idiots pay for things that are free.

That's right I went there. :)

Come on Ballmer win this crowd over.

Developers...Developers...Developers...Developers...

@Miami Prodigy
actually silver works fine. i cancelled gold over a year ago after 5+ years and don't miss it. i've still been getting achievements and can see my friends list. until gears 3 or something with multiplayer worth playing comes out i don't see the point of having gold just to have it.

@Miami Prodigy

I also enjoy xbox live, but recently I joined steam and now I have to say it is much better than xbox live. It does everything that xbox live does, AND it's free. Not to mention that Steam has fantastic sales on games all the time.

@fohf

cross game chat? it's something i use a lot.

@Mustang Fanboy

You know what?

If there's anything somebody SHOULD be a fanboy of, it's Mustangs.

Right on!

@Mustang Fanboy They have a Wii too?!?

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Whoa! Whoa! Not mustangs from the 80's and 90's!

@The Wicker Man
Im going to tell you the best mustangs
1965-1970= Fastback, Mach 1, Shelby GT 350.
1989-1993= Only the fox bodies
1994-1998= GTs and Cobras
2003-2004= GTs and The terminator mustangs
2005-2009= GTs and Shelby Gt 500
2011= 5.0

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

More so than sandwiches?!

@A Sandwich

There's no point in being a sandwich fanboy.

It's scientifically proven that the Monte Cristo > All.

@A Sandwich I am heavy weapons guy...of course I love sandvich!
@ Mustang...Shelby all the way!

@The Wicker Man
Honestly, I don't think Microsoft cares if one person owns all 50 million and has 30 million accounts.

@The Wicker Man To be fair, that could be said about any console sales, account registrations, etc.

@darkinchworm "Any" in reference to, well, anything, and not just Xbox-related products... just in case that wasn't obvious

@Premature ejaculation man. Your avatar fills me with jou every time dear premature ejaculation man... ;) I know, it just seems like the implication is that it is different users. MOAR PEEPZ PLAY THE 360!1!! Implied.

@Premature ejaculation man yea as long as microsoft gets paid i don't think they care about anything

@darkinchworm Especially PSN, where even *forum registrations* are counted :P.

As an owner of all three current generation consoles, Xbox Live is, by far, the best of the online services. It's not even a contest--PSN is a joke, as is whatever Nintendo calls their network. Mind you, I love me some Uncharted, inFamous, Donkey Kong and Mario, and I wouldn't want to be without any of my consoles--but Xbox Live is the cream of the crop, end of story.

@Silent Killer01

Profit?

@Silent Killer01 Piracy

@Silent Killer01

$$$$

Should have stocked up during al the sales MS had before the hike. I'm paid till August of 2012.

@Silent Killer01 Cause they can get away with it.

@Silent Killer01

4. Profit.... that couldn't be the main reason. That is step four.

@Silent Killer01

to pay for ESPN unfortunately the same reason why your cable bill is so high

@R Planteer

lol.

@Silent Killer01

Cause it is totally worth the extra 10 dollars?

Doesn't matter, you can still get them for 40 bucks anytime. I just bought my 12 month card for a cool 36 bucks total.

I also wouldn't discount the added network stress from ESPN, Hulu Plus, Netflix and the new voice chat codec.

@Silent Killer01
I think they increased the price just so they can always have XBL on "sale". Seriously, if you check out the dashboard just about any time you'll see "25% off Xbox Live Gold PLUS a free game!" At the end of the day, people still pay about $40-50 per year for XBL Gold. The only difference is now it's easier for Microsoft to promote.

@JIAGPOS That's not true, they have the benefit of having lighter wallets as compared to PS3, Wii, and PC gamers.

@The angry pro consumer gaming ga

That makes sense I guess

@ghostdog

Pfft.

You'll get a price increase and like it!

@ghostdog

Don't forget all that money from the multitude of advertisements. Has anyone else noticed that since they increased the price of LIVE, it has been on "sale" almost every month? Did they raise it just so they could tell people that they are getting a good deal when they're just being charged the same old price?

@jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5

Consoles sold is weighted with the consoles repaired at the center bro. I've only purchased 2 and a half consoles. All the broken ones were replaced free of charge. The half would be me upgrading an elite to a slim.

@jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5

Meanwhile my launch PS3 would have cost me 180 dollars to repair from Sony under warranty that was not caused by user error. I returned that thing to Wally World and made them give me my money back. Ended up getting another one when MGS4 launched (the bundle) and then a slim model later.

@Anticrawl

The PS3 doesn't have an abnormaly high failure rate. Anytime you make that type of investment its wise to purchase a warranty that extendes beyond the first year from the manufacturer. I fixed my original 60 GB YLOD myself (was actually not that hard) so I didn't have to pay Sony to send me a refurb. Then, I ended up selling the 60 GB console and bought a new slim with a 3 year extended warranty from Sony. There are also independent companies that fix the consoles (360's Wii, PS3 etc) for a lot cheaper than the standard fare from the manufacturer. I'm also damn near positive the charge to fix any out of warranty PS3 regardless of it's issue if $120 not $180.

It seems crazy to tear the machine open, diagnose the issue and repair it yourself but if you have any kind of technical acumen tinkering with computers or consumer electronics it's actually pretty easy. Mine was a pretty basic reflow of the CPU & GPU. I already had the proper screwdrivers so all I had to do was find a guide online (gilksy method is free and thourough), a heat gun (returned it to home depot after I used it), rubbing alcohol (a few bucks) and thermal compound (I think the kind I bought was less than $20 - don't remember exactly) ... total labor was about 1 hour and boom it worked perfectly. I've heard of people doing similar repairs to busted 360's. Even going so far as to replace the cheap clamps and compound with high quality parts.

@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell

But yes I have repaired both consoles on several occasions at both work and home (I like to collect broken ones for parts and repair co-workers on the cheap). We have one guy that has a method for fixing the melted core on the 360 that involves floating it with wires. Looks insane, major fire hazard but it works.

Mine was most likely a drive issue though (the launch unit) and I didn't want to deal with attempting to repair a bluray drive as I'm no hardware specialist or anything, just someone who knows how to solder and replace.

@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell
Yeah I'm a PS3 reflow champ now. You'd be surprised how many console owners walk into a computer repair shop asking for fixes.

Don't ask me which console we get the most of, because you won't like the answer.

@BlackedOut

I'd say PS3, as the Xbox 360's E74 error is covered under a 3 year warranty (original Xbox 360) and fixed, but more likely replaced, free of charge. Don't think Sony have that level of customer service.

That, of course depends on which region you're in. Some areas are better than others at honouring that warranty. I live in Ireland, so my old Xbox 360 was sent to Germany. Two weeks later, I got a new Jasper with another 3 year warranty. Spent not a penny. I sold it a year later and bought a 360S though.

With my PS3, I'm kind of fearing the Blu Ray drive going more than I am it YLODing. It's out of warranty next month. That said, I know a "guy" who's pretty good at repairing them at a reasonable price.