Xbox 360 Owners Surge Online

But there's still no confirmation of how many of these people are paying for the Gold service.

Microsoft must be very pleased. Not only was the company first into the next-generation, launching the Xbox 360 last November, but it's also on track to sell 10 million of them by the time Sony arrives with the PlayStation 3 in November. Xbox Live is one of the biggest parts of Microsoft's overall package, and according to numbers given out at the Develop conference, running this week in Brighton, things are looking good there too.

Geometry Wars is one of the most popular Live games

Around 60 per cent of Xbox 360 owners are hooked up to Xbox Live, Microsoft's Jeff Sullivan told the Develop audience, as reported by Gamasutra. To put that number into perspective, only 10 per cent of Xbox owners were online.

There's still one gaping question that Microsoft has so far refused to address: how many people have signed up for the subscription-based Xbox Live Gold and how many people are opting for Xbox Live Silver instead, which involves nothing more than connecting the Xbox 360 to the internet?

Microsoft often points to the admittedly impressive jump between generations, but until these numbers are put out, it's hardly a fair comparison.

Still, that large slice of the audience that's online now is treated equally - except when it comes to playing games online. As such, all online users can use the Xbox Live Marketplace, and that's exactly what they're doing.

Nearly three-quarters of those people who have taken their Xbox 360s online have also used the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The Xbox Live Arcade is going well, too, and is used by 65 per cent of the online audience. Here, Xbox 360 owners can download games and try them out before paying for them. Around half of those who downloaded either Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved or Uno went on to buy the full game, while the average conversion ratio is 21 per cent.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games