Touting sales numbers of Xbox 360 consoles in a press release ahead of next week’s Los Angeles E3 trade show, Microsoft said that not only has its Xbox consoles sales crossed the 30-million mark, it has also achieved the 20-million mark with regard to its active user base of Xbox Live online gaming service.

In comparison to the Microsoft Xbox 360 sales figures, its gaming consoles markets chief competitors Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 3 have respectively sold over 50 million and 20 million units. Microsoft said that its hardware sales in the US have soared 28 percent from the year-before figures - indicating a higher percentage growth than either the Wii or the PS 3.

Going by the Microsoft claims, ever since the 2006 debut of its Xbox 360, buyers in US alone have shelled out $14.5 billion across all categories of the gaming console at retail. Worldwide consumers have downloaded nearly 1 billion pieces of gaming and entertainment content – including hardware, games and accessories - thus far from Xbox Live Marketplace spread in 26 countries.

In addition, after the revised Xbox Live service launch in November, TV and movie downloads have shown a more than twofold increase. The new members have increased more than 136 percent, and purchases of games on the Xbox Live Arcade have increased 70 percent.