Gamers are spending a lot of time on Xbox Live. Microsoft said in a statement Friday that users spend one billion hours on the gaming console each month.

That's a significant amount of time, considering there are 25 million Xbox live users out there. The numbers break down to about 30 hours of monthly use per person, which is a lot of time to spend streaming movies on Netflix or playing games.

Microsoft has seen growth in several areas with the Xbox Live. The company said that in the past year it has seen a 157 percent increase in the amount of time people spent watching movies and TV on the console. Close to half of Xbox Live Gold members are watching at least an hour of programming each day on their systems.

Xbox Live is also growing geographically. Microsoft reported that next month, the service will be available in nine new countries, bringing the total number of countries that offer Xbox Live to 35.

Microsoft is trying to connect even more users with the highly-anticipated Nov. 4 release of Kinect. Kinect is an add-on for Xbox consoles that allows users to play games hands-free, allowing users to control it with gestures like the wave of a hand. Microsoft hasn't been marketing the device to the usual gaming community. Instead, the company has taken Kinect on a media blitz that has included appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Ellen Degeneres Show.

In addition to Kinect, Micrsoft said that ESPN will be available on Xbox Live soon.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371781,00.asp

Posted: Oct 30, 2010 5:12 pm