Xbox Revenues Up 33 Percent As Halo: Reach Hits $350 Million

Microsoft saw revenues from its Xbox 360 business rise 33% year over year to over $1.2 billion in the first quarter of their current fiscal year, with Halo: Reach alone representing $350 million of that revenue since its launch in September, the company announced today. The tech giant shipped 2.8 million Xbox 360s in the July through September period, a number 38 percent higher than the 2.1 million shipped in 2009. In a webcast discussing the newly released results, the company also noted "continued strong membership growth" for Xbox Live, though specific numbers were not discussed. Revenues for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, which includes the company's Xbox 360 business as well as Zune and Windows Phone 7, were up 27 percent to nearly $1.8 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, helping drive record first quarter revenues for the company as a whole. Notably, the tech giant's Entertainment and Devices Division generated a $382 million profit in the quarter, a 46 percent increase over last year and a significant improvement overall. Looking forward, the company projects the division will see 30 percent year-over-year revenue growth in the current quarter, which will include the release of the Xbox 360's Kinect motion controller and partly game-focused Windows Phone 7 operating system. The company also expects division revenues to be up 20 percent for the current fiscal year, which ends in June 2011. As a whole, Microsoft posted record Q1 revenues of over $16 billion, driven primarily by a 66% increase in revenues from the company's Windows and Windows Live division. Profits for the entire company were up 59 percent to over $7.1 billion, with growth in Server & Tools and Business sales helping drive the increase. Reach previously saw $200 million in day one sales alone, though not all of that money represents Microsoft revenue.