Microsoft targets big sales for games and devices division next year

Redmond (WA) - A successful attach rate with the Xbox 360 and met goals for the Zune put Microsoft exactly where it needs to be, said Microsoft today in an investor meeting.

Microsoft’s head of the entertainment and devices division and former Xbox poster child Robbie Bach spoke about the Xbox 360, Zune, and other consumer electronics parts of the company’s portfolio today. With the Xbox leading the division, Bach spent most of the time talking its moments of success and fall backs. He said that every console is, on average, attached to 6.1 games and around four accessories. Those numbers are fairly high for a console that’s sold over 10 million units. With regard to a price cut, Bach said "We’ve had a very specific plan for pricing since the beginning, and we’re on that plan."

Bach also said the Zune, Microsoft’s somewhat disheveled multimedia player, had a "good year" for Microsoft’s fiscal year 2007. According to Microsoft, the Zune holds about 12% of the hard drive-based MP3 player market, with virtually all the rest of that gobbled up by Apple’s iPod. In all, Bach said, the Zune is "on track" with where Microsoft wants it to be.

Bach expects 10 million Xbox Live users by this time next year. There are currently around seven million. For fiscal year 2008, Microsoft says it expects its gaming division will turn a profit for the first time in years.