Microsoft CEO: Xbox Business "Growing Profitably;" "Very Strong Start" for Xbox Game Pass and Mixer

Microsoft's executives share more details about the state of the Xbox business, including profitability and new services.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Interesting that's make competition what it is.

[Gazondaily]

What?

[TankCrossing]

That's competition it makes is what.

[FunAndGun]

Dude, he's saying that the competition what it is that's making interesting.

[UnSelf]

Competition can't be interesting if it's not what that isn't

[tinynuggins]

haha great way to start friday morning, have a great weekend guys!

[fr0sty]

That made about as much sense as the title of a JRPG.

"Angelic Default: Heroic Blaze Guilty Storm VS Xth"

[gbsrnctaln]

That's is competition what make interesting it.

[goken]

interesting...

[RpgSama]

They may be profitable, but they're definitely not growing.

[fr0sty]

If you look at the billions Xbox has lost since the first Xbox (when looking at Xbox as a brand, not as individual consoles, as you don't get to just wipe the slate clean when you launch new hardware), it still isn't profitable.

[KillBill]

@fr0sty - not sure you understand the real story of profit and worth at least in this particular situation.

[babadivad]

Try again. . .

[AuraAbjure]

What he meant is competition is for good what is interesting.

[butchertroll]

"Xbox hardware revenue decreased 29%, driven by lower prices and a decline in volume of consoles sold"

Ooooops!

So, MAUs are down YOY :

"it's still down on Q2 FY17's 55m active users."

Microsoft reported that there are now 53m active users on Xbox Live as of Q4 FY17

http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

XB1S momentum fizzled out much faster than i thought. Especially in the US

[spwittbold]

Xbox one is a crap console. I prefer Xbox over PS4 overall and but I'm still very disappointed with the original XBO. While I'm interested and glad the Scorpio/X is a move in the right direction, I'm worried that it wasn't simply just a brand new console and that the XBO will hold it back with other games having tone compatible.

[PhoenixUp]

And Microsoft still refuses to give out hardware numbers.

They were so boastful about it last generation.

[zerocarnage]

yeah they refuse those numbers but give out subscription number, which is more of an actual figure as to who is using an Xbox. No one knows out of how many of those consoles sold, whether people still own them, sitting there collecting dust, traded in or what, that goes for your beloved Sony too as it was obvious there's fanboy in you.

You can't throw that stupid arguement around considering its less of guarantee than what subscription numbers are, your pointless little attack failed.

Besides no one really cares about sales unless your a hater or fanboy attacking the other side or if you work at one of the following developers in the rite section working with said figures.

[TejasTV]

You are as bad as he is just so you know.

[DaDrunkenJester]

Man, the irony in this comment.

[goken]

no one cares about sales other than fanboys?
i think you'd care if u are a developer...

[Silly gameAr]

Gamers shouldn't care about gaming financials yet, here we are.

[DarXyde]

Sales matter to stockholders, investors, developers, and, you know, people working in the industry altogether.

I fall under the category of "investor"-- that is, I have invested in the platforms in hopes of gaining tremendous entertainment and support out of it. Additionally, console sales translate to a larger community, more support from third parties, and revenue the platform holders can use to improve the experience for you, the end user.

Sales do matter, but not for bragging rights.

[ULTp0ltergeist]

Well it makes a lot of sense because last generation is different from today's online gaming services, and why it makes sense that' they would release mid-gen consoles.

[segamaniaco]

You can have multiple live accounts in one console

Subscriptions go for people that only have a 360 too

Means nothing

Xbox one didnt reach the 30mi mark yet (sold through)

So LESS than half of ps4

[Dragonscale]

@zero, his argument is valid. It doesn't not count just because it makes you butt hurt. You obviously cared enough about sales to comment. 'Subscription numbers' lol yeah like bullets fired or laps in forza lol. Tbh though you can bet that if by some miracle scorpio sells gangbusters, ms and their fans will be shouting sales numbers from the rooftops.

[BIGBOSS08]

Why can't they give both subscription numbers and hardware sales? Oh that's right because they getting their ass beat. That's why. Sony didn't hide ps3 sales and even Nintendo didn't hide those terrible wii u sales but the masters of lying and deception microsoft will do anything to make themselves look good.

[Bobafret]

Why? So you can beat your chest even more?

[hamburgerhill]

"And Microsoft still refuses to give out hardware numbers."

Just like Sony last generation. :0

[guyman]

Yet the ps3 still outsold the 360.

[andrewsquall]

Lol yes they did. Just a few examples

https://www.vg247.com/2011/...
https://www.digitaltrends.c...
https://www.gamespot.com/ar...

Why do your kind always try to make stuff up and have nothing to back it up???

If you were catching up with your main competitor in sales EVERY single week since the day you launched your own console, wouldn't you be talking about it? ^_^

[LP-Eleven]

Uh, Sony very much gave out numbers last gen.

[hamburgerhill]

Lol.... you guys must be new to gaming. Sony is not this perfect company some seem to believe.

This is for those of in doubt.

http://controversy.typepad....

[DarXyde]

So.... for two months they didn't release sales numbers...?

How long did they withhold that information exactly?

[BIGBOSS08]

Every quarter sony would give ps3 shipment data so we knew exactly how much it was selling and guess what? It beat 360 every single year.

[DrShoe]

"Growing profitably" is code for "We may not be in the black, but we're surely going to claim it by not explicitly saying the Boner One X is profitable"

[EatCrow]

Well if they were in the Black last gen and they said now that its still growing...no reason to think theyre not at a better place.

[Silly gameAr]

I like how MS always looks on the bright side of things, though. They give just enough information to keep it positive. In fact, according to MS, they never have anything negative to report. Even when things aren't looking so good, everything is always on the up and up with MS. I wonder how they do it.

[demonddel]

Please explain how them revealing numbers benefit you and people like you in anyway asking for a friend

[goken]

by looking at sales you can estimate the level of support the console will receive from developers.
it will help consumers to decide which console to invest in...
unless you're a fanboy, wouldn't you go where the games are? afterall you're buying a game console to play games right?

[Gh05t]

@goken

Based on that logic, why would anyone own a Mac?

"wouldn't you go where the games are?"

You need OFFICIAL sales numbers to tell you that there are more games on the PS4??? Cant you walk into a store and say which one of these has more games I want to play?

[Angeljuice]

@Gho5t

I know lots of people who own a Mac, not one of them bought it to play games on.
They bought them to utilise software suites that you don't get on PC.

Everybody I know with a PS4 bought it to play games.

[UnHoly_One]

If I had to guess I would estimate that almost ZERO people look at sales numbers and use that to decide which console to buy.

Until last gen when this became the popular thing to talk about on the internet I never knew how many of any particular console sold or didn't sell, who "won" or "lost" or anything.

I remember near the beginning of last gen I was talking with some friends about 360 vs PS3, and somebody said "the Wii is kicking both of their asses", and we all laughed at him because at the time, the Wii had almost nothing of real value to play on it. Then a couple years later I started seeing all these articles about sales numbers and realized that is what he was talking about.

We were talking about things that matter, like the games and the controllers, the online service, the features and other apps, and he was talking about something that had no bearing on anything.

It still boggles my mind that anyone cares so much about sales figures.

[Nodoze]

That fact (no numbers) says ALL you need to know about the TRUE state of the Xbox business.

[LP-Eleven]

When you're getting your butt handed to you, it can much harder to disclose this stuff (especially with the amount of trash talk we saw from people like Aaron Greenburg, last gen).

[alb1899]

Why would you care? The important thing is that they keep investing in the videogame industry making it more competitive and that is just good for us.

[NeoGamer232]

Most gamers have moved on from hardware numbers.

Everyone gets it.... PS4 is outselling the other two consoles. We don't need numbers to tell us that. It is simply a fact.

[segamaniaco]

Here are the real numbers

2017 NPD

PS4
Jan: 210,665
Feb: 398,407
Mar: 396,726
Apr: 206,247
May: 187,182
Jun: 381,196

XBO
Jan: 157,545
Feb: 215,418
Mar: 243,514
Apr: 109,950
May: 109,130
Jun: 153,389

Switch
Mar: 910,545
Apr: 280,897
May: 165,038
Jun: 215,582

Its far worse than i expected, microsoft lost usa bigtime

[itsmebryan]

But, they do give their financial statements that are legally binding and in the end that is all that matters.

[BIGBOSS08]

Don't speak the truth. Xbox fanboys hate it and will say anything to deny it yet if xbox wins one month of npd, hardware sales matter again. They're a joke just like their precious Xbox is. Most hypocritical wankers I've ever seen. Remember those 3 months last year after xbox one s? Go back and read the comments if you can find it. Xbox fanboys were having an orgasm thinking xbox was making a comeback with its shitty uhd blu ray drive.

[tyasia0]

Well now that NPD has been released it makes sense why Microsoft is doing damage control. PS4 outsold Xbone by 250% last month.

[zerocarnage]

why do you know the sales figures to throw in 250% I pretty much doubt it, you must either be working for both or know someone at both developers. Since Microsoft don't give sales figures your percentage is flawed miraculously.

[travestyj]

Because the numbers were leaked

http://neogaf.com/showpost....

[OMGitzThatGuy]

"Take with spoon full of salt"

[FITgamer]

The data was leaked. Xbox One sales were down 28% from last year.

[InTheZoneAC]

Stop trying so hard to defend MS

[LP-Eleven]

Time to get with the program, I'm afraid.

[Razzer]

Burn

[TankCrossing]

I'm sure they held their quarterly financial conference call as damage control, and not because... you know... "quarterly financial conference call".

[Mkelly]

LOL!!!!! Tank these people don't even know what a quarterly financial conference call is !!!

[jrshankill]

Sigh...

Do you know the meaning, reasoning and general expected outcomes of QFCs? The point is to share financial details with share holders and financial advisors of said share holders. It isn't damage control or to have a jab at Sony. They will share their profitable margins, ventures and endeavors with people who have a financial stake within the company.

[BigWan78]

And yet one company is $500billion & One is worth $40billion...

NPD's dont matter in the grand scheme of things

[BigWan78]

The_Infected..

And thats the downfall...Sony obviously cared and made some very harsh sacrifices to keep our gamin love going strong.

Microsoft is getting richer in droves, understanding markets and making changes for the better.. has the $$$ to keep fighting to stay in the console space.

NPD's is a very small blip, in a VERY BIG picture...

[LP-Eleven]

Which division in gaming makes more money? I mean, this shouldn't need to even be brought up, but I find that defenders of Xbox often leave The Door Of irony wide open for visitors.

[BigWan78]

LP-Eleven...

Xbox division worth $9billion
All of Sony worth $40-$45

[alb1899]

People that are interested in the xone is waiting for the X1X. Same happened with the pro, ps4 and the Slim.

[NeoGamer232]

I don't see what the damage control is.

They just stated a bunch of facts for shareholders.

Only a pure bonehead would've thought that Xbox would outsell PlayStation anytime soon.

There is nothing wrong with the console sales. I am more concerned about watching Xbox Live numbers. The user base is in Xbox Live. The console numbers provide very little idea of user base. Many people buy a console to play a game or two and don't do anything else. By focusing on Xbox Live, they are telling us how many people are actively playing games.

The Wii U won last generation with over 100 million consoles sold. I doubt any gamer really feels they won the generation given how many gamers were more focused on 360 and PS3.

[Kiwi66]

Yet they do their QF's around this time anyway so how is doing something thats done every quarter "damage control"

[NatFanBoyRestricted]

I'd wait for a X1X if I didn't have an x1 yet.

[slate91]

Glad they are turning profits :)

[NatFanBoyRestricted]

Great to see MS making profits and the Xbox division still going strong across Multiple platforms. Even better that their Dev kits are being praised left and right, and new pro consumer features being added to the service.

[Elda]

Yeah right.

[Wikkid666]

LOL... so he's lying about the division being profitable???

[dcbronco]

Of course he his. It's an effort to make Sony fanboys cry. It doesn't matter that if he was lying in a meeting about Microsoft's fiscal viability and it was a lie he could be prosecuted. It's important enough to make fanboys cry so why not destroy your career and lie. In the real world fanboy tears are the only thing that truly matters.

[goken]

i'm pretty sure Xbox is profitable.
sales are not that much down from 360 days. but pc Xbox should more than make up for it.
i expect higher subscription rate for GWG.
and i believe advertising for Xbox one is likely lower compared to 360 days.
game development... errmmm hard to imagine that they're spending more money on that this term.
if Xbox made money during 360 days, definitely making money now

[dcbronco]

Apparently ten people's tears are that important. Interesting.

[Weeblordbad]

@dcbronco

NPD numbers came out what do you expect?

"Look at all the positive vibes for the thing I bought, go me; F--- the other guys"

They're big corporations guys, if they could stab you in the face and that would solidify their own and the companies status (Financially, Culturally) they would stab you in the face....twice. Phil Spencer, Kaz Hirai, Shuhei... they would stab any of you for that.

You're all numbers to MS, Sony and Nintendo. The idea that any of you would go die on a hill for a company that just looks at you as a vector for cash flow is kinda scary. I want to point out, I don't hate MS, Sony or Nintendo I just don't have any illusions about what I am to them. Potential for profit, and that's all.

[Major_Glitch]

So much salt.

[Black0ut]

@Major_Glitch

That's quite rich coming from you. Fanboys these days, get a grip m8

[Relientk77]

So what are the Xbox One sales numbers then

[Ricegum]

200,000 laps completed on Forza.

[ModiJi]

Lol

[Relientk77]

Haha touche

[LP-Eleven]

Lulz! Perfection!

[RommyReigns]

2 billion shots fired in Halo MCC. 500 million zombies killed with a toilet. 980 million packets of Doritos consumed and 1.2 billion bottles of Mountain Dew consumed by players whilst playing Xbox, compiled using Kinect camera spying.

[DrShoe]

Oh Microsoft, no one believes you any more! Show us the numbers! SHOW US THE NUMBERS!

[TejasTV]

Agreed. Hey ladies I'm hung like a horse. You will see. 2018 a lot of penis coming your way.

[Phill-Spencer]

Lol

[Ricegum]

Haha. I've heard you're all about the micro transactions Tejas.

[tinynuggins]

but what if you ARE hung like a horse..

[TejasTV]

@tinynuggins
I'm not. Oh damn

[Wikkid666]

Just what the world needs... another clueless fan boy.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Lol

Although they haven't given us solid numbers in regards to the Xbox One Hardware I don't believe they're lying about being profitable because it's easy to see how they would be making more money releasing games on PC as well.

Also with their new services like Game Pass.

[Mkelly]

These companies don't show actual numbers, none of them do. We used to at least get NPD numbers but SONY started the trend of not releasing sales number outside of a paid NPD "subscription" last gen when they were being outsold by Xbox 360 on a monthly basis.

[BlackTar187]

Sony has announced #'s like 4x a year

[danny818]

So you can buy stocks?!

[Enjoigamin]

Ms worth 500 billion and sony for 50 billion maybe ...there are your numbers

[Phill-Spencer]

But their gaming division(we are on a gaming related site mind you) is much less worth then ms as a whole.

[TejasTV]

Most of the 500 billion is because of their stranglehold on the professional software world. Most of Sonys 50 is because of PlayStation.

[zerocarnage]

Fanboys and haterz on these forums need to get a life. Someone comes out with an article and they all have to jump on it denying it, if it were Sony though you guarantee there would be some butt hole tongue tickling.

Xbox is way to profitable in alot of ways and it's growing as they add new features, games, apps and the direction they're going is just ace for the fans who own an Xbox console. Ms do not need to compete, they have laid the foundation which sets them up for the future, they will continue to move forward because that's what they do, they have more money than we all actually think.

[Phill-Spencer]

It's because ms/ spencer is the king of liars and hyperbolic pr statements so it's more incredible that still some people believe him.

[Imalwaysright]

Considering thta it is illegal to lie about stuff like this, then yeah I'll take his word over some useless fanboys that have nothing to back up what they're saying other than their wishfull thinking.

[Kiwi66]

So people should believe people who only make comments on a gaming site over people who actually work for the company, yeah nah

[TejasTV]

It's not illegal to lie about that stuff. What laws are you talking about

[LexHazard79]

I like that Mixer and Xbox Game Pass are doing well.

[jrshankill]

Mixer's infrastructure destroys Twitch by miles, it just isn't used as widely.

[LandoCalrissiano]

The only thing I could imagine that mixer has over twitch would be the co-op streaming.

[Duke19]

Lol I love how butt hurt fanboys get over sales. So M$ is making money - that doesn't detract from your console of choice

[cfc83]

Mixer is better than twitch. Game pass is the best gaming service. Profit is King to companies.

[LandoCalrissiano]

Game pass isn't all that great, ea access is definitely better. Newer games and they won't cycle over time and only 30 bucks a year.

[_LarZen_]

The most important thing for consoles is to have a high attach rate on software as that's where they earn the most. Be it exclusives or whatnot. So it's good to see Xbox is doing good even tho they are far behind PlayStation.

And if you do a little digging it's actually a bit surprising the superb PlayStation exclusives dont have a higher attach rate with so many more consoles in the hands of gamers. But then again the importance of exclusives have diminished allot since the old days in a time where third-party and multiplatform games are so strong.

[BlackTar187]

keep trying.

Play your games that can be played everywhere while ps gamers play those same games and others.

[BlackTar187]

yes, i will play those games on my $90 windows OS( got it for free though) and will do so thru Steam. Since MS barely publishes any games locked to Windows store.

"Bruh"

[_LarZen_]

You fanboys are so delusional and out of contact with reality it's scary. Stop fapping to labels and corporations and you might see the big picture. But that's the problem with you kids. You love to fapp.

So just do us all a favor. When you see adults write things. Just move along.

[BlackTar187]

You're second post is so ironic it's insane

You act like people can't look at your Post history. Please looka t below and tell me how ADULT like you really are

"I cant wait when article after article shows all the big AAA games being best on a console that has no games in a near future."

"The thing is PlayStation exclusives clearly isn't that important to PS4 owners. Just look at the biggest and best exclusive releases in a while.

Horizon Zero Dawn has sold a impressive 3,4 million copies so far. In 1-3 years that number will most likely be ~6-10 million.

But when there is 60+ million PS4 owners out there. It's not that impressive and clear that PS4 owners care more about third-party titles."

This one had me gassed

"Logic don't work here when 9/10 are youngsters that have to defend their plastic box."

Dude all you do in yoru comments is defend your plastic box. Seriously

[_LarZen_]

Everything you quoted is the truth. Instead of throwing straw men then do a real reply on the quotes at hand. And I dont even own a Xbox. I however own a PS4Pro,Switch and a beefy PC. So stop the delusional rambling and discuss.

[Yohshida]

THAT CANNOT BE, MS IS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!
rumors say, they will sell XBOX to Burger King.

[Automatic79]

On this site, specifically with the diehard fanboys who have an allegiance with Sony, no matter how good Xbox profits continue to grow. You will always have the haters who are in denial. I wouldn't worry to much about what they say. Just enjoy your system of choice. On topic congratulations to team Xbox keep up the good work can't wait to play Cuphead, Forza 7, Player Unknowns Battleground and those great third party titles on my New Xbox One X.

[InTheZoneAC]

The transition to services is real, and should be clear to all. xXB1Xx is slowly becoming the next and possibly last platform by MS.

[Weeblordbad]

So they're going to allow XBL to run on any hardware? If they're transferring 100% to services how will that work exactly? Windows based PC's? "Services" is a funny buzz word, it doesn't mean much on its own.

[BlackTar187]

I really want MS to produce games. I get enjoyment put of having a reason to own all the consoles.

[InTheZoneAC]

Xbl has nothing to do with MS's new gaming movement

[danny818]

Fan boys asking for numbers need to understand that they (MS) make their money off of Services... Xbox Live, Cloud, Using windows. Why do you think they also make hardware in a markets and still dont sell as much as their competition but yet they make a killing off every quarter yet Sony is selling alot of ps4's and Sony as a whole turns a fraction of what Sony makes. Yes they are killing it this gen but geez relax with the jerking and play your games yall claim you support

[Angeljuice]

But they aren't asking for profit margins of services, they simply want to know how many have been sold.
It isn't hard to do, it's a lot harder to contain the sales figures.

If I want to know how many people bought a Ford Focus or a Vauxhall Astra, I look it up.
If I want to find out how many toasters Hinari sold last year, I look it up.

If I want to know how many XBox units were sold, I have to join Microsoft and work my way up to a management position so I can be in on the Top Secret sales figures.

Who else hides their sales figures? Maybe international weapons dealers and drug barons but nobody else I can think of.

[Kiwi66]

Even if ms did give out number of consoles sold some still wouldn't believe them as they'd just say ms is wrong but vg charts is correct

[Pancit_Canton]

Would they really say; " Business is bad at the moment and we are not really making any profits". It's all for the investors and media.

[Major_Glitch]

FINALLY! News about an upcoming Xbox 1 exclus...oh wait. Never mind. Just another MS PR piece. Yes yes MS we get it. You exist. Now do something useful and start making games.

[Bruh]

Microsoft lies about their financial business to their investors and the Xbox brand is actually losing money everywhere...they don't even fear the FTC or any government agency because they have them in their pocket - Sony Fanboys

[mwjw696]

I was like he cant be serious... that end though. 😂

[Black0ut]

Downvoted the crap outa you after the first line, kept reading...CRAP UPVOTE UPVOTE haha

[LordJamar]

i wish Microsoft wouldn't pander to fanboys but meh to late for that i dont really care for sales battle but man the comment section is almost as bad as gamefaq xbox board ALMOST

[TheOttomatic91]

I kinda believe Phil about Games Pass but Mixer? Something tells me his claims aren't very accurate.

[timotim]

Keep making consumer friendly decisions like digital returns, game hitting and Game Pass and profits for Xbox will continue to rise. It's that simple.

PS: Bring back popular IPs...wheres my Mech Assault, Crimson Skies, Banjo, Pro Am, Conker, Battletoads, Kameo, Perfect Dark, Fusion Frenzy, Bloodwake...we need AAA studios working on these! Make it happen.

[Enjoigamin]

Well in terms of money as a company...Microsft has Sony by the balls. But you guys dont care about the company just your precious console war.

Market cap over 500 billon for MS and 50 billion for sony...but its cool i know you guys work for both company's....but if you wanna talk money and whos "winning" lol gnere are some numbers

[christocolus]

Nice.