Xbox 360 Ship Numbers Down And R&D Costs Up

Microsoft has reported the results of the last quarter ending on September 30, and revenue for the Entertainment and Devices division (which houses the Xbox 360) is down one percent, although its operating income has decreased dramatically from $340 million to $19 million due to what the company is saying are R&D costs.

The division's R&D is surely due to the Xbox 360's successor, which Microsoft has not yet officially announced. Units shipped for the Xbox 360 for the fiscal quarter were pegged at 1.7 million units, down from 2.3 million the same period last year. The company said that some of the last revenue from the console was made up by Xbox Live.

Microsoft also noted that revenues for the division were down because there was no comparable title during the quarter to match the sales of Gears of War 3 during the same period last year.