Microsoft Corp. this week said that sales of its current-generation Xbox 360 game console hit 76 million units. Since the world is still at least half a year away from the launch of the software giant’s new game system, it is likely that the company will sell a significant amount of the X360s this year and maybe even going forward.

At the D:Dive into Media session, Microsoft revealed some new data that illustrates how entertainment usage on the Xbox has exploded during its living room transformation and also unveiled sales data. Today, there are more than 76 million Xbox 360 consoles around the world. That’s three times the number of original Xbox consoles sold. Kinect sensor now sits next to roughly one third of those Xbox 360 consoles; the company has sold 24 million Kinect sensors since launch.

Despite of recent slowdowns in sales in Europe and the U.S., as well as sluggish sales in Japan, Microsoft Xbox 360 is still ahead of its arch-rival when it comes to global shipments, according to figures from VGChartz that estimate life-to-date PlayStation 3 shipments at 72.7 million. Unfortunately, both consoles are considerably behind Nintendo Wii U, which is about to conquer 100 million units milestone. Obviously, neither of three consoles will be able to repeat the LTD success of the legendary Sony PlayStation 2 (153.68 million) and Nintendo DS (154.33 million).

"Yes, we started with video games, but we have been on a journey to make Xbox the center of every household’s entertainment,” says Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business.

Social has been an important part of Xbox from the beginning, and that’s true today more than ever. The Xbox Live community has grown to 46 million members, a 15% growth since last year.

2012 also marked the Xbox’s biggest year for entertainment and games usage. Users enjoyed more than 18 billion hours of entertainment in 2012, with entertainment app usage growing 57% year over year globally. Last year in the United States, Xbox Live Gold members averaged 87 hours per month on Xbox, an increase of 10% year over year.

“We believe that Xbox is being used by more people in the household, during more hours in the day and for more forms of entertainment. People are using Xbox in the morning to work out with the Kinect Nike+ Fitness program, kids are watching cartoons, families are enjoying movies, and of course people are playing blockbuster games like ‘Halo 4’,” said Mr. Mehdi.

Tags: Xbox, Microsoft, Business