Microsoft: $504 Million For Third-Party Publishers In December

Microsoft says that December was the biggest month in the history of its Xbox 360, which sold 1.4 million units in the U.S -- and perhaps predictably, the company emphasized its two-to-one lead over the PS3. "Xbox 360 sold more consoles, games and online entertainment experiences in 2008 than any previous year," says Microsoft. The company also elected to highlight its third-party software sales, which increased from $298 million in November to $504 million in December. The company boasts that it's generated more life-to-date software sales at retail for third-party publishers than PlayStation 3 and Wii combined. The NPD's software top 10 for December was largely led by Wii titles, although the Xbox 360 SKU of Call of Duty: World at War, Microsoft's Gears of War and the Xbox 360 SKU of Valve's Left 4 Dead placed in the second, sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Aside from those two titles, the company says that the overall highest-performing software titles on its platform were Madden NFL 09, Grand Theft Auto IV andFable II. Regarding Xbox Live, Microsoft describes its growth as "rapid," with 84 percent more transactions in 2008 than in 2007, and a total of 40 million Live Marketplace downloads in December alone. "Our goal for 2008 was to reach new audiences by bringing ground-breaking games and entertainment to Xbox 360," says Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "Looking forward, new waves of innovation will extend our position as the global leader in interactive entertainment."