Microsoft’s hardware, software proved powerful in 2007

Back in 2001, many people argued that Microsoft’s Xbox didn’t have a chance to make it in the gaming world. When the 360 was released two years ago, many again argued that the second generation console didn’t have the power to stand toe-to-toe with other next-gen systems. On January 25, 2008, Microsoft continued to push off those comments with the release of its latest quarterly report.

If numbers are everything in this industry, then shareholders of the Xbox will certainly be happy as the new report paints a very rosy picture for the software and hardware powerhouse, with revenue for the past three months coming in at $16.4 billion. The game division saw a 3.1 per cent raise in revenue by the end of last year.

Microsoft still faces some major problems with its hardware, as it has had to put aside $1.15 billion to deal with the Red Ring of Death issues that still plague many consoles. Even so, last year showed an increases in software sales as triple-A titles including Halo 3 (2007′s highest selling title despite only available the last 3 months of the year), Call of Duty 4, Assassin’s Creed, Bioshock and Mass Effect, has helped drive sales of the console up, resulting in $3.06 billion in game revenue.

Despite some early bumps in the road, this is the second quarter in a row that Microsoft has turned a profit. With these strong figures and more big name titles on the way, Microsoft is certainly looking to the future, and the possibilities of where their system can still take them.

Read [IGN]