Microsoft announced that there second games console has sold 17.7 million copies worldwide and calling it the industry leader "hands down". It suggests sales of the Xbox 360 in 2007 were down 18% from 2006. They also revealed Halo 3 had sold 8.1 million copies and BioWare's Mass Effect had sold 1.6 million copeis in its first six weeks on sales.

Last month's full retail sales figures haven't been tallied just yet, but Microsoft today gave number-hungry gamers a few morsels to tide them over. Calling its Xbox 360 the industry leader "hands down," Microsoft announced that it had sold 17.7 million systems worldwide.
It suggests 2007 sales of the Xbox 360 were actually down nearly 18 percent from the year before.

The Xbox 360's biggest game to date also received a sales update, as Microsoft revealed that it had sold 8.1 million copies of Halo 3 since its September release. Combined with the hardware base, this suggests that nearly 46 percent of Xbox 360 owners have purchased a copy of the Bungie-developed shooter.

Microsoft claims that its other holiday-season sci-fi epic, the BioWare-developed Mass Effect, sold 1.6 million copies in its first six weeks on sale. The November release was intended to be the first installment in a trilogy for Microsoft and the Xbox 360, but it remains to be seen exactly what impact, if any, Electronic Arts' acquisition of BioWare will have on the series' future. More Microsoft numbers are likely to be revealed during the company's 2008 CES keynote address on Sunday evening.

auctoria via uk.gamespot.com »