In the console market, video game sales generally tend to slow down at the end of a generation, and even the dominant Xbox 360 is seeing a slight dip in profits. Even a one-percent decline is a lot of money.

Microsoft recently released their Q1 2013 earnings report, which actually shows some impressive sales in a down economy.

Looking at their Entertainment and Devices Division, the group that controls Xbox hardware and Xbox products, they’ve got a lot mixed good news and bad news:

• Revenue of $1.95 billion (down 1 percent from the prior year period)
• Xbox 360 now has 49-percent market share
• Windows Phone 8 launches this fall (2011)
• Skype registers over 280 million users within its network and corporate groups

Although the Xbox 360 has allegedly been the top-selling console for almost two years, Sony has closed the gap between the two in North America with persistent sales. An infusion will hit Microsoft’s bottom line when the Xbox 720 is announced, but sources say that won’t happen until 2014/2015 at the earliest.

Source: Microsoft