Xbox 360 Has Generated $56 Billion In Retail Alone

Wondering how much money Microsoft has made on the Xbox 360? Curious how much they raked in from retail alone? Well, a new entry on the official Microsoft blog site indicates that the Xbox 360 brand has generated more than $56 billion in revenue from retail alone.

According to the blog, Chief Marketing Officer for Microsoft Interactive Entertainment brand, Yusuf Mehdi, explains his journey through the mega-corporation, how he joined the Microsoft team, worked on a number of projects and how he expanded his experience with the growth of the Xbox brand as well as the Xbox 360 brand since its inception in 2005.

Mehdi notes that the Kinect has moved more than 19 million SKUs and has more than 40 million Xbox Live members (though he keeps it vague as to whether that's 40 million total Gold and Silver members or 40 million actual subscribers). The blog then goes on to pimp Windows 8 and the availability of Xbox services on the new OS, as well as making it easier yet to connect, share and socialize thanks to Microsoft's new services.

Getting back to the thick of things, it's interesting to note that the Xbox 360 has generated that much money over its seven year lifespan. $56 billion is no laughing matter but I'm curious how much of the Red Rings of Death ate into that revenue as well as refits, respecs and R&D on newer iterations of the 360?

Anyways, there's an added chart on the blog that shows how the Xbox 360 has steadily climbed in sales where-as other consoles over a similar period have dropped in sales. I think it's a little unfair to compare the sales to past consoles considering that Kinect created a new surge thanks to $500 million in marketing Microsoft invested into promoting the device, that's not to mention that Activision and Microsoft often have exclusive deals for the largest software entertainment brand on the planet with its annual iterations...I'm talking about the billion-dollar money maker, Call of Duty. It's not like any of the other consoles in the past had such a mainstream blockbuster brand released annually that carry the same kind of market clout as Call of Duty.

Anyways, I'm sure Microsoft will have more numbers to toss around during their press conference at this year's E3, taking place midday on June 4th, next week.