Yes, you heard right, Microsoft’s Xbox division posted its first ever profit as they made $165 million for the first fiscal quarter. These huge sales have been attributed to the widely popular video game Halo 3 which sold over 3 million copies and helped sell many consoles. The Xbox division usually posts losses due to hardware repairing and other issues.
September has been the first month in a long time that the Xbox 360 outsells the juggernaut called the Nintendo Wii. Ever since the Wii has been released its been sold out within days sometimes hours of being put on store shelves. There were 528,000 Xbox 360s sold compared to 501,000 Wiis. On another note the PS3 once again sold a dismal number as they managed to move only 119,400 units. The Xbox 360’s rise to leadership has been attributed to Halo 3’s release which was the biggest first day selling video game in history and will likely become the biggest selling game in history. I personally love the game.
Speaking of Halo 3, its creators, Bungie, have formally broken off from Microsoft Game Studios in a move that is huge for Microsoft. In my opinion this was a stupid move by Microsoft unless they are given first look at anything Bungie publishes, in which case it is a good move for both companies. Recent times have not been good for Microsoft developers as they lost Bizzarre, Bungie, and Bioware (maker of Mass Effect) was sold. Hopefully they get new developers for Microsoft Game Studios.