Microsoft's Windows 7 Beta and Windows Live out soon

Microsoft’s president of the Entertainment & Devices Division, Robbie Bach, shared the stage at CES with Ballmer.

Despite a tough economy, Xbox 360 registered its biggest year ever, driven by record retail sales with 28 million consoles sold to date, an 84 percent jump in online consumer spending, and Xbox LIVE membership that has grown to 17 million active members.

“Not only is Xbox 360 one of the world’s leading next-generation gaming consoles, but with partners like Netflix, it is one of the world’s leading entertainment devices, period,” said Bach.

“With 28 million consoles sold worldwide, an active online community of 17 million members, and more than $1 billion spent on Xbox LIVE since the launch of the Xbox 360, it’s clear that consumer demand for these great entertainment experiences has never been higher. We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible with Xbox,” he added.

Bach said consumer demand for connected TV is growing and announced the Mediaroom platform has reached nearly 2.5 million subscriber homes worldwide, an increase of more than 1.5 million new connections in the past year alone.

Microsoft Mediaroom enables broadband service providers to deliver new connected TV and entertainment experiences to consumers.

Bach also unveiled the feature Mediaroom Anytime that lets subscribers access previously aired shows directly from the Interactive Program Guide without any pre-planning or prior DVR recording.

This month, Microsoft and Netflix, an online movie rental service, will offer software that enables Windows Mobile customers to update and view their Netflix movie queue.

Changes will appear instantly on Netflix on Xbox LIVE, extending the existing service that launched in November.

He said this spring, Microsoft will introduce a new interactive entertainment genre with the premiere of the Xbox LIVE Primetime channel, which brings together the best of TV and gaming.

Xbox LIVE Primetime will debut with an online version of the popular TV show “1 vs. 100” that enables thousands of gamers to play together with real hosts and compete for real prizes.

In addition, Bach talked about the outpouring of creativity from the Xbox community since the announcement of Community Games in November, with over 100 new games available for anyone to play.

He highlighted an upcoming Xbox LIVE Community Game called “Kodu,” launching in the spring, designed to help anyone from age 7 to 70 create their own video games.

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