Microsoft profits up thanks to 3.9m Xbox Ones

Microsoft has shipped 3.9m Xbox Ones into retail, which has helped Microsoft as a whole score better-than-expected results.

It’s not quite as high as PS4s 4.2m consoles sold, but then PS4 is available in more territories, is cheaper and enjoyed one of the most successful PR campaigns in console history.

Microsoft’s ‘device and consumer hardware division’ (which is Xbox and Surface) saw revenues rise to $1.9bn to $4.7bn, Xbox One and Xbox 360 accounted for the vast majority of that. Remember, Xbox 360 was the second best-selling console in the UK last year, just behind 3DS.

Surface, on the other hand, saw sales double, which sounds better than it is (the machines were hardly selling much in the first place) but it is an improvement, even if they are still selling at a loss.

Overall, Microsoft’s revenue hit $24.5bn for the last quarter, which was more than it was expecting, profit was $6.5bn.