Xbox 360 sees record fiscal Q3 sales, Kinect sold 2.4M units in quarter

by Alexander Sliwinski on Apr 29th 2011 10:25AM

Microsoft reports results were up across the board in its fiscal-year third quarter (ending March 31, 2011), with the Redmond giant's Entertainment & Devices Division (EDD) -- that's Xbox and other stuff -- one of the standouts, enjoying 60 percent growth year-over-year. The group generated $1.94 billion in revenue and saw $225 million in profit in Q3, up 50 percent from the same period last fiscal year.

2.7 million Xbox 360 units were sold during the quarter, a new record for the console in Q3 sales (and up 70 percent over last year). Kinect sales followed suit with 2.4 million units sold in the quarter -- and passed the 10-million mark to boot. Microsoft expects revenue growth of at least 25 percent for the EDD during Q4, with "more to be shared at E3 in June."

Overall, thanks to strong sales of Windows 7, Microsoft recorded Q3 revenues of $16.43 billion and a net income of $5.23 billion.

Source: Microsoft

Tags: earnings, financial, financials, fy-2011, hardware, kinect, microsoft, q3, sales, xbox

Reader Comments (65)

Kinect is moving consoles there is no doubt about that....I myself plan on getting Kinect bundled with a new console sometime this year...waiting on a price drop......and HOPEFULLY some games that I WANT to play other than Dance Central and that Star Wars game. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it up next year tho....

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi you can actually find some pretty good deals on that new console now. gamestop is giving a 50 dollar gift card with the 4gb, and kmart giving $60 with the 250... either way you get a free game.

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi I'm really hoping the new Steel Battalion turns out well. I am a proud owner of it, and damn it was fun.

There's also Rise of Nightmares that has already been rated M for kinect. Take from that what you will.

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

"It will be interesting to see if they can keep it up next year tho...."

I really hope this is the reason your post was upvoted to 3 hearts.

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

Xbox's Kinect isn't my cup of tea, but I will praise them for their fantastic use of advertising. It even rival's Nintendo's. Everyone in my family knows what a Kinect is, and I don't even own one.. nor do they play video games.

They deserve the success. I only wish Sony could learn from their example to breathe some life into the Move. Then again, I say to hell with all motion gaming in it's current state, so w/e..

Bravo Microsoft.

@mikeymilkshake

Yea I've seen those deals, trust I have my eyes on them....but thats not all I am taking into consideration. I need MORE than JUST Dance Central as the only game I want to play....4 or 5 games that I want and I'll jump on it....

@Shockwave

Yea the marketing was BRILLIANT....unmatched...

and while Kinect isn't my cup of tea either per say....there are some games that I want to play...not to mention I have kids that will also want to play with it.....I mean they love playing EyePet right now as well as Sports Champions(and they are just 5 & 6)...Gotta find ways to make my daughters love gaming....FYI...they are LONG over the Wii....lol

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

Isn't everyone? ;)

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

Behold the power of an Oprah endorsement!!!

@gangcar and Ellen...

@Shockwave
while i will give kudos to their PR, you also have to give kudos to all those independent developers out there who have done some amazing stuff with the Kinect API's that were released. those guys are the one's who have taken the Kinect to a whole new level and hopefully us gamers will see the benefits from it in the near future.

sooo does kinnect print or waggle money ??

@Adhesive

of course it does....the thing has to cost less than $50 to make at this point...

I'm happy Microsoft is selling a bajillion Kinects but I hope they are not losing interest in publishing bad-ass action games for people with great taste.

@eat it

I am hoping we here something about a new Halo game this year at E3....and not all Kinect and Casual stuff....

I mean Gears 3, as of right now, is all they have for the hardcore gamers......

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

Halo 1 remake is coming this year as well.

@R Planteer Forza 4 and possibly Kingdoms too.

@Epoque

another alan wake type of adventure game would be cool

@R Planteer I mean CONFIRMED stuff....while I want that...I would MUCH rather prefer a Halo 2 Remake.....Hopefully we will see that before too long

@eat it

I think Kinect was just a way for them to do something different while still making a crap load of money. core games make millions & millions for them, I don't see them stopping what made them. People see it as not having games but I see it as a chance to play those games to their fullest. I got 5 games last Christmas & haven't beaten any one of them yet.

Something tells me that E3 2011 will be hilariously awkward.

We don't even know what Microsoft has for us, but I am positive that they will at least gloat about the (believe it or not) success of Kinect.

Nintendo is going in with some exciting hardware / titles.

..and Sony will have an army of lawyers standing in a row like security guards at a Guns & Roses concert, followed by Jack Tretton using the words "We plan to.." a lot.

@Frozen Radiator
Sony's lineup looks fairly solid this year, and I expect a lot of talk about the NGP.

I honestly can't wait to see what they announce as well, they always have a surprise or two. Hoping for move move games, and a new Warhawk.

Nintendos should be fun, to see if they are going to push games next gen, or another gimmick.

As for MS? They need to show some kinect core games, or i'll consider it nothing more then a casual gimmick. Honestly can't see why it's selling, the games currently are terrible.

@mrantimatter
Kinect I think is built for casual games. Casual doesn't necessarily mean dull or lame though.

@mrantimatter I find it slightly ironic that you mention your anticipation of more Move games immediately before claiming that Nintendo's product is a "gimmick".

I'm sorry, but I'll take Super Mario Galaxy 2 over Kung Fu Rider any day.

@mrantimatter

I don't really see how a "core" game is even possible on the Kinect.

It was designed as a device to appeal to the casual market and it done a hell of a good job at it.

@Frozen Radiator

Kung Fu Fighter isn't even a MOVE game...all you need is the Camera....no move controller required....

@Frozen Radiator
Gimick is more 'you buy the console because of the gimmick' sort of thing.

Motion was the wiis gimick, and honestly, most of the best games, Galaxy included, used it as little as possible. Galaxy would have been just as good with a gamepad.

The 3DS is another console being sold primarily for it's gimmick: 3d. Otherwise, the console has little to offer that it's rivals don't have.

I think this all started with the DS, and touch. Touch started off very gimicky, but a few games made good use of it in the end. That was one that eventually proved it's worth, and with the arrival of multitouch, really came into it's own.

After that though, Nintendo started designing systems with one major gimmick, with games that use it seemingly as an afterthought.

and Kung fu rider was universally panned. A better motion games would be stuff like Killzone, Socom, Heavy Rain, etc.

Wow, Kinect almost matches 360 1:1. That's very impressive. I hope some more games are released for it that I'd find value in, because living off of the potential alone hasn't pushed me to make the purchase yet.

@Epoque thats because its far smarter the buy the Xbox 360/Kinect Bundle at this point...new cooler running console and a new peripheral to go with it....shit I paid $400 for my "Elite" model 360 back in 2009 with 2 suck ass games.....would have much rather gotten this new bundle, but then I would have missed out on all the good games in between there

Good for Microsoft but I think this and Move are both gimmicks with no payoff. The only advantage MOVE has is there are games that work well with it that aren't just toys but most of those are better suited for controllers. I almost picked one up last year but I'm glad I didn't...no games out and no real games coming out make this a non-issue for me right now.

@sammo21
I agree with you, but gimmicky or not, like it or not, motion sense controllers are here to stay.

If you're talking about exclusives, then yea but it's not like it use to be. There are tons of hardcore games coming to the 360 this year.

@Maximo
I was gonna comment about exclusives earlier. Sure there's a lot of good games coming to the 360 this year, but when you compare it to the PS3 release list, there's only GoW 3 and nothing more. I don't care that much about exclusives for the sake of being exclusive, but we all know they're likely to be better than multiplat games given the way they're developed (Alan Wake, Reach and on the other side, Uncharted, MGS4 - yeah, old, I know, but since I don't own a PS3 I haven't played it and can't get it out of my mind).

Hoping to see some real Kinect games soon so that I justify a purchase.

@TheShaper
*can justify

I'm looking @ gettin a Kinect when I see Kinect Star Wars turn out. If it's good, then consider it bought.

@MLC It looked a lot like rebel assult, aka an on rails game. The lack of some form of navigation control is really hurting Kinect games.

See, they knew all those overt 360 product placements would pay off eventually (see: last night's Parks and Recreation for a prime example. Also: pretty much any episode of "Chuck," if that's still on)

@baby sea tuna

Chuck is filled to the brim with Apple, not enough room for MS.

Right now the Kinect is pretty much a Dance Central bundle where Microsoft happens to pocket the money instead of Harmonix (or whoever manufactures Rock Band equipment). That's been the only way I have been able to somewhat justify my purchase so far.

What are people actually playing on this expensive Kinect device? Is every game Kinect compatible now? If I got get Portal 2 can I play that with this??

@Pipp

Aw, you're just bitter because you were so wrong about how badly Kinect was going to flop.

@baby sea tuna
Behold the power of a half billion in marketing.

Bravo Microsoft. I am glad to see profits are moving up nicely. I am glad that kinect is part of the Xbox 360 and that it'll be integrated into the X360 next console. I am looking forward to E3 this June.

I want kinect so I don't have to use my controller anymore. Lol all I want to say is "Xbox Netflix" lol and never have to pick up my controller.

@skbkoy65

You might want to wait on that, then. Netflix functionality is SEVERELY limited at this point...although there is something inherently cool about being able to pause/play a movie with the sound of your voice.

@skbkoy65

Thus furthering the laziness of this generation...

Waiting until E3, I'm considering getting one myself.

Not for kinect, though

They could always appeal to the casual AND hardcore audience by making Halo Adventures and Halo Sports - both for Kinect of course. Microsoft might need to call in a few thousand soldiers to take care of the enraged nerd army though.

Meanwhile at SONY HQ...

@(Unverified)

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/mappster39/sonyplosion-1.gif

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Xbox 360 sees record fiscal Q3 sales, Kinect sold 2.4M units in quarter

Reader Comments (65)

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:33AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:02AM mikeymilkshake said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:07AM Robborboy said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:15AM Co said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:52AM Shockwave said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:18PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:22PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:54PM Shockwave said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 1:13PM gangcar said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 1:31PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 3:36PM LexStewther said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:36AM Adhesive said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:37AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:36AM eat it said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:41AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:47AM R Planteer said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:53AM Epoque said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:25AM eat it said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:24PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:54PM Prboi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:36AM Frozen Radiator said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:47AM mrantimatter said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:00AM xreadmore said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:10AM Frozen Radiator said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:22PM Qehb said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:33PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:47PM mrantimatter said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:38AM Epoque said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:43AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:40AM sammo21 said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:58AM TheShaper said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:18AM Maximo said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:46PM TheShaper said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:47PM TheShaper said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:46AM MLC said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:49AM mrantimatter said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 10:55AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:53AM This Little Man Says His Name Is said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:07AM RickGhastly said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:09AM Pipp said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:23AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:48PM mrantimatter said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:10AM Dance Mofo said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:18AM skbkoy65 said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:25AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:50PM Prboi said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:47AM ND92 said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 11:59AM TCJJ said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:12PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Apr 29th 2011 12:33PM Prboi said

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