Microsoft coins $1.2 billion on Xbox Live, Windows Phone 7 to benefit from ecosystem

July 8, 2010 | By Surur

Xbox Live earns $1.2 billion, to share some with Windows Phone 7 Microsoft has one high-profile non-Windows related consumer success, that being the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.

Analysts now report that the Xbox Live aspect of the console raked in a cool $1.2 billion last year, up $400 million from the year earlier, and that for the first time the majority of this sum is from online purchases rather than subscription fees, indicating the various marketplaces associated with the console has caught on with owners, beyond just paying for online game play.

“Xbox Live has helped sell a lot of consoles and created a lot of loyalty,” said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, Washington. “Everyone has been talking about Microsoft’s inability to innovate, but this is a pretty good example where they have innovated. They timed it just right with this one.”

Windows Phone 7 is set to be the first time Microsoft is extending its Xbox Live universe to other parts of the ecosystem, with the device having access to the compelling social network around game play, and also the 800 Xbox Live Arcade games being easily portable to the handsets.

With the iPhone (and especially the iPod Touch) rapidly challenging old handheld stalwarts like the Nintendo DS Microsoft should consider pushing the Xbox Live angle much harder that it is at present, and certainly work at bringing its most compelling feature - multi-person online game play – to the handset as soon as possible.

About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

Tagged games, microsoft, windows phone 7, xbox live

http://intensedebate.com/people/chinch chinch

hopefully reports like this will shut up the lame anti-MS blogosphere (ie. tech dorks).

Anyone stating MS is dead in mobile has no clue whatsoever about their assets & how easy it is to leverage them. you just need more people using smartphones. 50 million in the USA is not even close to saturation. And as iGeeks have shown buying new phones is easily a yearly ritual.
GAM3R

In a fantasy world, Microsoft might be able to take all of these resources; all of its money and make a platform that has the best of the Zune, Windows Mobile, Sidekick, and Xbox, and roll out a compelling series of gadgets for consumers and businesses that could steal share from Apple, RIM, Sony PSP, Nintendo DSx and the others.

Big companies like EA, Konami, Pandora, and Citrix aren't big ticket, because Many developers have claimed that they dont want create their own games for Wp7.. They rather focus game platform on gaming console only..

Microsoft was thinking when it decided that social networking & Xbox live could be a key component in mobile software is anyone's guess. Yet, Microsoft is throwing everything it can at consumers with Windows Phone 7. There will be a social element; they will have access to Xbox Live; It's too much, too soon. Smartphone owners want to decide what they will use, not have programs forced upon them. Microsoft has yet to realize that Social networking and gaming aren't everything and they won't switch to Apple or Google to W7P.

This is a serious problem that will prevent the MSFT company from becoming a leader in the current mobile platform & market era. it's deja-vu all over again & it will flop..

http://intensedebate.com/people/chinch chinch

Sorry but you made no sense.

If you don't want to use Games with WP7 you don't have to. ROTFLMAO. Same for the music player or zuen service. It's not like you need to purchase Xbox live Gold to use a WP7 phone. You don't need a FB or twitter account either. But it sure handles those who spend half their day using these services.

It's far from "too much too soon" it's more a a "you took too long to move in this direction" that is giving the naysayers their lame, slippery soapbox to shout from.