In a pre-E3 pep talk, Microsoft highlighted the Xbox 360's ongoing success and teased some plans to keep its momentum rolling. The company has sold 67 million units since the console launched in 2005, generating over $56 billion at retail and earning Microsoft a 47% share of the current-generation console market. An increasing number of Xbox 360s are sold each year and that trend is expected to continue in 2012.
Microsoft says much of its recent sales have been fueled by Kinect (19 million sold), but it also attributes sales to improved entertainment options on Xbox Live (40 million members). As with Sony, Microsoft is putting forth a considerable effort to position the Xbox as a full-fledged entertainment hub instead of strictly a game console. Just yesterday, Xbox Live users gained access to Amazon's Instant Video streaming service.
Live subscribers spend an average of 84 hours per month playing games, watching videos and listening to music, a 30% increase on-year. Currently, that's only possible through the Xbox 360, but Microsoft wants to go "beyond the box" by pushing Xbox as an entertainment hub for all your devices, including your PC, tablet and smartphone – a plan that may come to fruition this year with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
"We understand that entertainment has become a multi-screen experience where you and your friends are watching TV, listening to music, and playing games while interacting with your tablets and phones in new ways. We've got ideas for making all the entertainment you love more personal, interactive and social across the devices you love – and on the phenomenal Windows 8 devices that are to come," the company wrote.
Unfortunately, that's all Microsoft is saying until its E3 event begins next Monday, June 4 at 9:30AM PT. Being a press-only conference, you likely can't attend in person, but you can tune in on live television through Spike TV, as well as online via Xbox.com or Xbox Live. It's also worth noting that Microsoft will deliver a keynote on a variety of Windows-related topics at Computex next Wednesday, June 6 at 2:00PM (11:00PM PT).