Xbox Live, hardware sales spur growth in Xbox unit
July 23, 2010 — Once the main driver of loss in Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division (EDD), the sustained popularity of Xbox 360 is leading the unit to profitability.
Microsoft said that for Q4, ending June 30, the EDD experienced a slight loss of $172 million on $1.6 billion in sales. The loss is an increase of 22% over Q4 2009, but the sales revenue is up 27%. For the year, Microsoft reported that the division’s net income skyrocketed 529% to $679 million.
In Q4 alone, Microsoft shipped 1.5 million Xbox 360 consoles, up 25% from the year before. For the year, the company shipped a total of 10.3 million consoles, slightly down from the previous year.
The increase in operating loses for the quarter was due to increased marketing, research and development, employee expenses, increased Xbox Live third-party royalties and the discontinuation of the Kin phone.
As a whole, Microsoft reported net income of $4.5 billion for the quarter.
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Xbox Live news – http://videogames.einnews.com/news/xbox-live-games
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