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New member
Source: Kotaku
Original Article By: Mike Fahey
Microsoft has announced that global sales of the Xbox 360 have now surpassed the 30 million mark, with the Xbox Live community swelling to 20 million active members, all swearing at each other.
The new statistics arrive with the announcement of record growth for the console so far this year, celebrating a 28 percent jump in console sales over the previous year - the highest percentage growth of any console in 2009. Over the course of this console generation, U.S. customers alone have spent $14.5 billion on the console, including hardware, games, and downloadable content, which Microsoft's Don Mattrick attributes to offering more entertainment value than anyone else, while teasing next week's E3 announcements.
"We've always been confident that Xbox 360 offers more entertainment value than any other console on the market, and these latest numbers show that consumers agree. We expect our growth to continue to accelerate. Our news at E3 next week will underscore our commitment to bringing blockbuster entertainment experiences to everyone and to growing the Xbox entertainment brand globally."
On the software side of things, the Xbox 360 has generated $5.9 billion in sales for third-party developers to date, which according to the NPD group is more than the PlayStation 3 and Wii combined.
With more than 20 million active users, Microsoft is calling Xbox Live the world's largest global entertainment network. The service now reaches 26 countries, with an install base larger than any satellite television provider. More than 1 billion pieces of content have been downloaded from the service to date.
Live has been generating particularly amazing numbers since the launch of the New Xbox Experience last year, with a 136% increase in new members, TV and movie downloads doubling, and game add-on downloads increasing by 70 percent.
The official announcement ends with another E3 tease, promising more exciting announcements to come, as long as they don't blow the whole thing several days before the show, like everyone else seems to have been doing lately.