Xbox 360 shipments tip over 5 million; 15m targeted by mid-'07

Worldwide shipments of the Xbox 360 have passed five million units, according to the latest financial report from software giant Microsoft - which also reveals the extent of the losses the company is making on the next-generation system.

According to the fourth quarter report for the three months to June 30th, Microsoft shipped 1.8 million units of the Xbox 360 during the period - up from 1.7 million units in the third quarter, and 1.5 million in the pre-Christmas holiday season.

That brings overall shipments to over five million units, with the lion's share of sales being in North America - where over 3.3 million units have been shipped, compared with just 1.3 million in Europe and a diminutive 400,000 in Asia.

With the five million unit point reached by June - just as the firm promised last year - Microsoft reiterated its target of selling (or at least, shipping) ten million units of the console by the end of the year - and added another ambitious target, namely the sale of 15 million units by the end of the next financial year in June 2007.

Looking at the financial side of things, the Xbox 360 is causing a serious impact on the firm's bottom line at this point in its lifespan - with the Home and Entertainment Division, whose revenues come primarily from the Xbox and its software, recording healthy revenues of $1.14 billion, but losses of $414 million.

That contributed to an overall fall in Microsoft's quarterly profits - although the firm did still turn in an enormous $2.83 billion in profit, this was down from $3.7 billion in the same quarter last year.