Microsoft announced the financial results for Q1 FY16, ended September 30, 2015, but details were shrouded in mystery.
For starters, Microsoft revealed that Xbox LIVE now has 39 million monthly active gamers. That's up 28 percent year-over-year, but it's unclear how many of those people are actually paying Gold members. That said, Xbox LIVE revenue increased 17 percent due to both higher volumes of transactions and revenue per transaction. Video games revenue grew by 66 percent, driven largely by sales of Minecraft, which Microsoft acquired in November 2014.
Gaming revenue in general increased "slighly," as Microsoft noted "growth in revenue from Xbox LIVE and video games was offset in part by lower Xbox hardware revenue."
Microsoft didn't reveal exactly how many Xbox systems were sold, but did reveal that total Xbox hardware sales were down 17 percent year-over-year. However, that's primarily due to slumping Xbox 360 sales. Still, the fact that Microsoft is keeping its Xbox One sales private doesn't paint promising picture for the system. The Xbox One has sold well compared to the Xbox 360, but it's presumably no where near its competitor from Sony. The PS4 has already sold more than 25 million systems worldwide, as of June, while estimates put the Xbox One around the 15 million range.
Recently, Xbox head Phil Spencer was asked about the competition, and even he admitted he's unsure if Xbox could catch up to PlayStation at this point. “I don’t know,” said Spencer. “You know, the length of the generation — [Sony has] a huge lead, and they have a good product.”
Microsoft has employed an aggressive strategy heading into the holiday season, already revealing a number of attractive Xbox One bundles. And just this week, an alleged leaked Black Friday ad for Dell revealed an Xbox One bundled with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, an extra controller, and the highly anticipated post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 4 — all for just $300.
Last holiday season was one of the few times the Xbox One was able to outsell the PS4 thanks in large part to major discounts and attractive bundles. This year, however, Sony has cut the price of the PS4 to a more competitive $350.
