Microsoft are expecting that the Xbox One’s newfound success in the US and UK will continue into the holiday season. At their newest financial briefing, they noted that they expected gaming to continue to e a driver of growth for the company, especially on Windows 10, and for the Xbox One to continue performing well in North America and UK.
“Gaming is a leading driver of engagement on Windows 10, and opens up new experiences and scenarios across Windows devices,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said. “For the past three consecutive months Xbox One has been the number one selling console in the United States giving us strong momentum heading into the Holiday season.
“Our highly engaged Xbox Live fan base continues to grow across Windows 10, iOS and Android across up 21% year-over-year, and we now have 20 bullion hours of gameplay on Windows 10 PCs and tablets, over 5% increase year over year.”
CFO Amy Hood reiterated that strong performance from Xbox in US and UK is expected- though Microsoft are expecting lower revenues, given the lower price points for the console this year.
“In gaming we expect strong share performance in key markets like the U.S. and the U.K. this holiday, but overall revenue will decline given lower price points and lower overall console units as mix shifts towards Xbox One and Xbox One S. We expect continued active engagement growth on our gaming platform, given the holiday season.”
For this Holiday season, the Xbox One S will be going up against Sony’s PS4 Slim, PS4 Pro, and PSVR. Microsoft don’t have as many new hardware units, but they do have strong games, such as Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3.
