SYDNEY, 20 January 2010 – Xbox LIVE is firmly establishing itself as Australia’s entertainment hub as a growing number of Australians adopt online services as their entertainment medium of choice. Over the past calendar year, Australians made 8.3 million purchases through Xbox LIVE, Xbox’s online entertainment service, an increase of more than 72 per cent on the previous year’s record 4.8 million.
ANZ subscribers to Xbox LIVE grew by more than 50 per cent year-on-year (YOY), with the service now registering numbers of more than 450,000 across the ANZ region. Xbox LIVE customers in Australia and New Zealand spent more than 136 million hours on Xbox LIVE in 2009, a YOY increase of more than 36 per cent.
David McLean, Head of Entertainment, Microsoft ANZ comments; “Xbox 360 continues to deliver new and compelling entertainment experiences through its Xbox LIVE service. The introduction of our Movies on Demand service in November, which offers HD movies streamed direct to television, has particularly resonated with Australian customers. The service was accessed by more than 100,000 subscribers in its first eight weeks alone.”
“We’ve invested significantly in building our local Xbox LIVE community and the ANZ market now supports one of the biggest LIVE communities anywhere in the world. Subscribers can also access popular social networking sites through Xbox LIVE such as Facebook and Twitter, which have been specifically optimised for the living room ‘big TV’-style viewing experience. The growing demand for online services sets us up particularly well for the future, as online entertainment continues to surpass all expectations and clearly demonstrates the growth opportunities that exist in the ANZ region.”
2009 also delivered an increase in ANZ console sales of more than 12 per cent YOY and revenue growth of more than 13 per cent YOY for the company. More than 950,000 Xbox 360 consoles now take pride of place in lounge-rooms across the ANZ region, with nearly half of these connected to the Xbox LIVE network.
The Xbox 360’s attach rate (software purchases per console) continues to be a great measure of success, with Xbox continuing to enjoy the highest attach rate of any next generation console across Australia and New Zealand .
McLean closes; “As we look ahead to the coming year, we expect 2010 to be the year of the Xbox, with the release of our strongest ever games line-up, including the highly anticipated Xbox 360 exclusives; Mass Effect 2, Fable 3, Alan Wake, Crackdown 2 and probably the biggest title of the year, Halo Reach.”
ANZ facts*
- Over 450,000 Australian and New Zealand homes are connected to Xbox LIVE
- More than 136 million hours were spent on Xbox LIVE in 2009 – a year on year increase of 34%
- Over 950,000 Xbox 360 consoles have been sold in Australia and New Zealand
- Nearly 100,000 Australian and New Zealand Xbox LIVE subscribers connected to Xbox LIVE Movies on Demand in the first eight weeks
- Xbox 360 enjoys the strongest attach rate of any next gen console. Third-party publishers also sell more copies of blockbuster titles, such as Call of Duty; Modern Warfare 2, in the Xbox 360 format.
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*All stats quoted come from GfK or Microsoft internal sales data
For further information, please contact:
Alice Coulthard, Pulse Communications: (02) 8281 3818 / alice@pulsecom.com.au
Daniel Wong, Pulse Communications: (02) 8281 3826/ daniel@pulsecom.com.au
About Xbox 360
The powerful Xbox 360 video game and entertainment experience delivers amazing games, the next generation of the premier Xbox LIVE online social network, and unique digital entertainment experiences that revolve around gamers. Xbox 360 now boasts a catalogue of over 500 high-definition games. More information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/xbox360.
About Xbox LIVE
Xbox LIVE is the first and most comprehensive unified online entertainment network seamlessly integrated throughout the entire console experience, making it easy for people to find the friends, games and entertainment they want from the moment they power on their Xbox 360 system. Xbox LIVE connects millions of members across 26 countries to enjoy hundreds of multiplayer games, downloadable games via Xbox LIVE Arcade, free and premium playable game demos and movies in the as well as new game levels, characters and vehicles for all their favourite retail games. More information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/en-au/live.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential. Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 logo, Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.