GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

XBL revenues hit $103 million in 2009 - Analyst

Market research firm FADE says Microsoft's online platform sales grew 34 percent last year, thanks to rising average sales prices, top-performing games.

99 Comments

As part of its most recent financial report, Microsoft said that Xbox Live surged in popularity by 35 percent in 2009, with 23 million gamers having now signed up for the service. And according to a new independent study by Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, those gamers spent an estimated $103.4 million on the service's wares during the year, up 34 percent from 2008.

Battlefield 1943 made off with the most XBLA loot last year.
Battlefield 1943 made off with the most XBLA loot last year.

FADE attributes the dramatic rise in its revenue estimates to an increase in average selling prices for Xbox Live Arcade titles as well as "incredible sales" for a number of downloadable games. The market research firm found that average sales prices gained nearly a dollar last year, rising from $8.33 in 2008 to $9.12 in 2009.

EA's Battlefield 1943 topped the list of XBLA titles in 2009, selling more than 800,000 units during the year, according to FADE. In July, EA announced that DICE's World War II shooter had sold 600,000 units across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of the game. EA had not returned requests to verify Battlefield 1943's XBLA sales numbers as of press time.

The Behemoth's highly regarded 2008 beat-'em-up Castle Crashers finished second behind Battlefield 1943. According to FADE's research analysis, the downloadable game sold 485,000 copies on the Xbox 360 in 2009, bringing its lifetime sales to nearly 1 million. RedLynx's Trials HD, Epic Games' Shadow Complex, and EA's Family Game Night rounded out the top five, though FADE did not break out individual sales estimates.

FADE did not indicate how it compiled its data and had not responded to requests for comment as of press time. A Microsoft representative did comment on the report, however, saying, "Microsoft does not disclose revenue estimates or comment on speculation for Xbox Live or Xbox Live Arcade."

Estimated Top Titles by Revenue in 2009 (Average Price):
1) Battlefield 1943 (EA DICE) - $12.5 million ($15)
2) Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) - $7.3 million ($15)
3) Trials HD (RedLynx) - $7.1 million ($15)
4) Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment / Epic Games) - $6.1 million ($14.38)
5) Family Game Night (EA) - $4.2 million ($9.53)
6) Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Capcom) - $4.2 million ($15.00)
7) Magic: The Gathering (Stainless Games) - $2.8 million ($10)
8) Worms 2 (Team 17) - $1.8 million ($10)
9) Peggle (PopCap Games) - $1.8 million ($8.86)
10) Turtles in Time: Reshelled (Ubisoft Singapore) - $1.7 million ($10)

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
00:00:00
Sorry, but you can't access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 99 comments about this story
99 Comments  RefreshSorted By 
  • 99 results
  • 1
  • 2
GameSpot has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to toxic conduct in comments. Any abusive, racist, sexist, threatening, bullying, vulgar, and otherwise objectionable behavior will result in moderation and/or account termination. Please keep your discussion civil.

Avatar image for GOR_TAK
GOR_TAK

251

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

"XBL revenues hit $103 million in 2009 " and MS still can't pull together the resources to allow original Xbox live games to be played past April!?!

Upvote • 
Avatar image for tenka1212
tenka1212

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Thanks to all YOU Xbox live users for stuffing extra cash in Bill Gates's dough boy pockets.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for da_vortexx
da_vortexx

51

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

these numbers seem pretty astounding since these games are about $10-$15 a piece. Making big bucks of arcade games seems to be pretty nice. Let's hope these games get put to good use and it gets used to further support and update the games to make the experience better. and for those people arguing about the $50 a year subscription to XBL is so much, if you do the math its really only about $4.16 a month. so get off this stupid subject.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Richardthe3rd
Richardthe3rd

3844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 0

That list has a lot of great games. Castle Crashers being a year and half old and still hitting 2nd on the list with that competition is pretty impressive.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for FaintRain
FaintRain

678

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

i just hope they put that money in good use to improve the games quality even more

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Ryanrtk
Ryanrtk

95

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

psn is free and is pretty much better than xbl.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for swamptick
swamptick

1967

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 16

User Lists: 0

More win for Microsoft. I love all the Sony girls over here obsessing over Xbox Live! We appreciate your interest in Microsoft and Xbox Live!

Upvote • 
Avatar image for PixelAddict
PixelAddict

2237

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 12

User Lists: 0

....some people don't appreciate sarcasm.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for jtthegame316
jtthegame316

1009

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

xbox live is awesome.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Sirbobislost
Sirbobislost

1168

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Looks at the figures capcom!! Now get to work on MvsC3!!!

Upvote • 
Avatar image for AiRxSQUARED
AiRxSQUARED

664

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

holy platonia

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Flint247
Flint247

6866

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 0

Wow, that's a lot! Go XBL! You get what you paid for on XBL. I am sure enjoying the experience of it. I don't mind paying $50 a year, it's like buying a game; and I don't get many games at once anyways, so I am good.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for ibanezdropd
ibanezdropd

1844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 6

User Lists: 0

MvC 2 made 4.2 million? That oughtta lite a fire under capcom's ass to release more VS games online.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Sasuga
Sasuga

77

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I'm just glad to know that developers like RedLynx and Chair/Epic are getting PAID for making such awesome games as Trials HD and Shadow Complex. When too many great games fail to make money, this is always good news!

Upvote • 
Avatar image for PixelAddict
PixelAddict

2237

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 12

User Lists: 0

Finally we know how much revenues XBL had in 2009. I barely slept all this past week worrying. Finally I can sleep easy. Thank you Gamespot, thank you.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Arghyeeho
Arghyeeho

804

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Ah, I sure am glad they felt the need to report this. Good to know, good to know.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for rykh
rykh

1582

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 33

User Lists: 0

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

Upvote • 
Avatar image for deactivated-5f9e3c6a83e51
deactivated-5f9e3c6a83e51

57548

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 19

User Lists: 0

This article was about the marketplace and the games for sale on it. It's not really about the XBL service, itself. Just looking through the comments, looks like everyone is confusing the two.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for felipebo
felipebo

4170

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

5) Family Game Night (EA) - $4.2 million ($9.53) umm, whaaa...

Upvote • 
Avatar image for gnbfd
gnbfd

4128

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

I bought BF1943 when it was $10.50 on PSN and it was WAY worth it. GJ DICE. Also... $103 million still isn't enough to keep the original Xbox Live going? Wat?

Upvote • 
Avatar image for MBJC
MBJC

266

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

Capitalist pigs :)

Upvote • 
Avatar image for penguins227
penguins227

2061

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

I love dice.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Doctamonta
Doctamonta

39

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

@jaggermaster its the internet not a job applitcation so get off my wood

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Jaggermaster
Jaggermaster

443

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@Doctamonta Looking at your grammar I highly doubt you're an adult or have a job for that matter.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for DAMSOG
DAMSOG

382

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 24

User Lists: 0

When XBL first started it was a great way for developers to support gamers who purchased their products by giving away free maps/skins etc....it was stated that "some" extra content was going to be premium and was going to cost, when was the last time you got content for free? Just about all content released these days comes with a price tag, good or bad. Good for developers though, as they stuff they usually threw in the bin can now be sold to unsuspecting consumers. Some games even had content hidden on the disk that was "unlocked" by purchasing a code, wrong? You bet. New games are now released with DLC on the same day, multiplayer games suffer because of the sheer amount of content they bombard you with. I gave up on Halo/COD etc because of all the map packs available, dont have the extra content ? Good luck getting a game. Its fun to play together was XBL catch cry, it should have been its fun to PAY together.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Doctamonta
Doctamonta

39

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

xbl i great but its kinda hard to choose cuz psn is free.i gotta job but ithey do get most of the same games and choosin xbl will be just another bill...idk its hard

Upvote • 
Avatar image for CheckMate
CheckMate

4662

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 6

User Lists: 0

Ah....good news for corporate control.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for rp108
rp108

1743

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 57

User Lists: 0

This is why Xbox Live will always be superior then PSN. Publishers see these types of numbers and start foaming at the mouth which allows more exclusive and timed exclusive deals for Xbox Live. So much for people saving money on PSN and actually buying games with it.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for timepatrol
timepatrol

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Well guess I helped them make some of that. I have Battlefield 1943, Shadow Complex, Family Game Night(All Games), Turtles In Time Re-Shelled, Trials HD, and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Ghoroo
Ghoroo

135

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@ suicidalblues Trials HD Shadow Complex Family Game Night Magic: The Gathering Worms 2 And then yeah Castle Crashers for now. Really I don't care, if you had to call me any type of fanboy I would be a PC fanboy :-P I just had to point out that there was more then one. Now what ever has a better Arcade, PS3 or 360, that's up to you.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Onetwoindo
Onetwoindo

98

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

lamprey 623 thats what happened when you live in 3rd world...the oriiginal games or software cost very much.it almost same as full salaries for the most people in third world which is only beetween $100-200.so whats the solution...everybody deserve a entertainment..maybe a game maker should consider to cut retail prices for original software in 3rd world.if they dont want to be cracked

Upvote • 
Avatar image for MarcJL31
MarcJL31

742

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Both systems are beneficial in their own way. I play Live for the most part but that really is only because most of my friend have 360s. The argument that Live is better, well I would hope so since I pay for it. If you pay for anything and it is not better than something thats free then I got ripped off. If Sony rolls out a pay subscription service, which eventually they will as its has been rumored, then we can make an honest comparison of the two. Overall, if you just want to play games only, I see no problem with PSN. In MY opinion, I like playing games over PSN just for the simple fact that it seems there are more people on Live who feel that since they have a mic, they can be stupid, annoying, and talk stuff just to start a fight (got old fast). Yea they exist on PSN but at least for ME they are far and in-between where as on Live, especially MW2, there is at least 1 in every game. So if I am not playing in a party with my friends, I rather play it on PSN. I would seriously pay more if there was a way to have a verifiable system for gamers 18 and older. No offense to those younger as I have met some good people from the younger age range, just as I have met some people older who really never grew out of that. But it just seems the majority are younger. All in all, I use both and enjoy both for different reason. A good game is a good game to me such as the experience. The console is just something I need to play it on so whichever one it is doesnt matter to me at all.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for gamescottsman
gamescottsman

306

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

Yeah thanks DICE, where's the DLC?? Fail.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for lamprey263
lamprey263

45629

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

@BFKZ - since you mentioned pirated games people seem to have hard feelings about that, but having gone abroad lately I kind of undertand you in this regards, I just came back from Vietnam a few months back and I have to say in that country there's not one place to buy a non-pirated game or DVD or CD, I went shopping all over, and it's not like people buy their pirated media in dark alleyways and whatnot, they sell this stuff in upscale malls and retail all over, I saw DVDs of movies not even released yet, and not crappy theater recordings but actual DVD rips, selling for less than $1 a piece, hell even cable TV is pirated there, they rip everything like HBO shows, add subtitles or dubs, and replay them over over their own cable networks, and the funny thing is they still operate like real media outlets selling add time for commercial breaks... in some ways I'm very much against pirating, but at the same time I don't know how gaming companies expect people in poor corners of the world to be able to afford any of this stuff they're selling, even if they tried to legitimately buy it the gaming devices still cost more than they would in the United Statesor UK, that doesn't make sense to me it's sad too because I'd love to play games with people around the world if I could

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Ricochet93
Ricochet93

167

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

"PS3 fanboys. The difference between XBL and PSN is like getting two channels for free over a crappy T.V. or Paying for cable that comes with 800 channels and On Demand. But everyone pays for Cable T.V. so why is so out of the question step up your gaming experience for a small sum?" 360 fanboy. You clearly know nothing about PSN. Surely it's not better than Live, I'll admit that, but to say it's comparing nothing to something is pure BS. Live has better features, PSN is free. Take what you want, but in the end, I just wanna play games online. Now if PSN does that thing for free which in Live you have to pay for why not? Oh and BTW, I live in a 3rd world country, $60 is a quarter of my dad's salary (shame ain't it?), we barely meet end's meet, my parents would think twice, no, thrice before paying for something like that. But if I have friends who have the subscription then WTF cares ;)

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Hizakii
Hizakii

168

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Proud to see Ubisoft singapore in the top ten list.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for ChamomileBaths
ChamomileBaths

373

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 18

User Lists: 0

The features and convenience of XBL easily outweigh the price. Without Live 360 sucks, with it you have the system that can eat up all your gaming hours easily.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for badtaker
badtaker

3806

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Shadow Complex FTW

Upvote • 
Avatar image for izmickey
izmickey

910

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

@pukmok Seriously, dude. Cross game chat is really useless IMO. Your comment makes a lot of sense.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for pukmok
pukmok

775

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Betard, for the people who can only spare to buy a few games, crossing one game out hurts a lot. Screw cross game chat. I don't need to hear my friends scream when they lose.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for izmickey
izmickey

910

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

the price isnt bad at all. But i find something interesting. They use up all that revenue to secure DLC for several months. Such a waste of all that revenue. I think its time for a price cut for XBL IMO.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for BetardxFoosier
BetardxFoosier

257

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 0

Xbox Live is cheaper than a new game, so it's not a big deal to cross out one of the games on your "To Buy" list. Plus, it's well worth the money.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for deactivated-5c1c6afab6272
deactivated-5c1c6afab6272

67

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

All they need to do now is make NBA Jam a non wii exclusive and that'll sell like hot cakes.. And i'm sure Perfect Dark will do well once its released on XBLA later this year.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for gellis1981
gellis1981

1197

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

I held out hope that DICE would support BF1943 just a little...just add a couple of remake maps of old BF1942 , Hell i would've paid for it but no all we get is 4 maps. I regret buying it now.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for FoxbatAlpha
FoxbatAlpha

10669

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

PS3 fanboys. The difference between XBL and PSN is like getting two channels for free over a crappy T.V. or Paying for cable that comes with 800 channels and On Demand. But everyone pays for Cable T.V. so why is so out of the question step up your gaming experience for a small sum?

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Land-0-Funk
Land-0-Funk

863

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Thankfully my credit card expired before M$oft could zap $50 from my bank account automatically for another year of live..now I can decide when to renew..which is better. edit: :P

Upvote • 
Avatar image for BladeTrinity114
BladeTrinity114

402

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 14

User Lists: 0

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

Upvote • 
Avatar image for mgsforever
mgsforever

165

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

job well done

Upvote • 
  • 99 results
  • 1
  • 2