Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Microsoft Says Xbox Live Gold Users Use It 3 Hours Daily On Average
As Xbox Live adds more perks (and fees) to its Xbox Live Gold subscription, users are spending plenty of time on the service doing things other than playing games.
Joystiq reported on some of what Dennis Durkin, COO and CFO at Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, had to say at the BMO Capital Markets Annual Digital Entertainment Conference, and it's pretty interesting. There are 25 million Xbox Live Gold subscribers out there now, and 40 percent – more than 12 million – of those subscribers use the service for its nongaming applications. Durkin called those users "very, very engaged," adding that it was good for business to have them listening to Last.FM, updating their Twitter feeds, or watching videos on Netflix or the new ESPN3 service. On average, Xbox Live users are on the service three hours a day.
While the revenue coming in from those 25 million subscribers isn't exactly chump change, Durkin says the service's DLC and games on demand business is even larger. "Obviously, the majority of the revenue that we get in this segment of our business, we share with our partners," he added.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
