Xbox 360 shipments down 35 per cent

Microsoft shipped 1.1 million Xbox 360 consoles in the three months ending June 30, a decline of 35 per cent from last year's 1.7 million.
Despite that decline, Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division - which includes its Xbox business - saw revenue rise 20 per cent in the fourth quarter and eight per cent for the year as a whole. That, however, was largely put down to the acquisition of Skype.
The company as a whole reported quarterly revenue of $18.06 billion, an increase of almost four per cent. Operating income, however, plummeted from $6.1 billion last year to just $192 million, thanks to a previously announced charge of $6.19 billion for the impairment of goodwill.
Declines in the Xbox division, while no doubt disappointing, are hardly a surprise. With the console now in its seventh year on shelves, sales are bound to fall, especially with the next generation of console hardware kicking off later this year with Wii U, and Microsoft and Sony expected to follow suit in 2013. US market reseacher NPD Group has been reporting monthly declines in hardware sales for some time.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/xbox...s-down-35-cent