Microsoft now has a couple of things to be excited about as we close out the work week. On Thursday, they unveiled a huge overhaul of their Bing engine that will debut a three-column format and heavily integrate Facebook (and other social networks) into search results. Now, some good news on the gaming console front. For the 16th month in a row, the Xbox 360 is the most popular gaming console in the U.S.
Courtesy of figures from NPD, Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 sold 236,000 units in the month of April. It held a 47% market share, which marks the 14th straight month that it has held a share over 40%.
Not only that, but the total amount spent in the month by consumer on Xbox 360 products (console, games, and accessories) hit $261 million. That’s more than the PS3 and Wii combined.
Xbox 360 software had a good month as well, according to the figures:
During the month of April, “Kinect Star Wars” held the number one game title in the U.S. Xbox 360 held seven of the top 10 U.S. console game titles including: “Kinect Star Wars,” “The Witcher Two: Assassin of Kings Enhanced ED,” “Prototype 2,” “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13,” “Mass Effect 3,” “NBA 2K12” and “Major League Baseball 2K12.” (Source: NPD Group, April 2012)
Kinect Star Wars isn’t the only Xbox LIVE Arcade game getting some recognition. Yesterday, we told you that the XBLA port of the popular PC game Minecraft shattered records, as it was downloaded more times in its first 24 hours on the market than any other game in XBLA history.
It’s possible that the sales figures for the Xbox 360 will continue to stay solid. Microsoft just announced a new promotional deal that offers the console, along with a Kinect system, for just $99. Of course, the catch is that you have to enter into a 2-year contract.