With the economy in the dumps and most every other form of entertainment falling to the clutches of depression, the videogame industry has held strong. It’s held so strong in fact, that Microsoft has recorded its biggest year in Xbox history, with more consoles, games and online downloads sold than any previous year. Xbox 360 sales were so good that worldwide numbers have climbed to 28 million units, expanding the lead over Sony’s PlayStation 3 to more than 8 million units. The LIVE community has also grown as a result, leaving gamers with over 17 million active members to play with.

“For Xbox, 2008 will be remembered around the world as a pivotal growth year at retail and online — even in the face of tough economic conditions,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Worldwide, a record number of players flocked to our broadest games and entertainment lineup ever, while the New Xbox Experience thrilled millions of fans by making our console even more engaging. And yet, we’ve only provided a glimpse into the new world of interactive entertainment that we’re imagining. The best of Xbox 360 is yet to come.”

Microsoft also credits their recent growth in 2008 to their partnership with Netflix and the ability to easily download many forms of media over Xbox LIVE. Netflix provides users with access to unlimited viewing of more than 12,000 movies and TV shows in DVD quality as well as offering many of those in high definition. Xbox LIVE is also home to the largest library of downloadable games, game add-ons, movies and TV shows.

Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, Xbox LIVE experienced its busiest week ever, with a record of more than 1.5 million concurrent members online. During that week, some of the most popular movies, TV shows, arcade games and game add-ons included these:

Movies:

• The Dark Knight
• Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• Iron Man
• Tropic ThunderTV Shows:

TV Shows:

• SouthPark
• Family Guy
• The Office
• House
• Heroes

Arcade Games:

• A Kingdom for Keflings
• Castle Crashers
• Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
• Puzzle Arcade
• Worms

Game Add-Ons:

• Rock Band
• Guitar Hero
• Halo 3
• Gears of War 2
• Call of Duty 4

So what does all this mean? With all the negative news going around due to poor economic situations (practically world wide), Xbox is still thriving, and will continue to grow despite its surroundings. That is great news for gamers, as in times like these, games are one of the few things that people have to look forward to. So gamers should expect to continue seeing great support throughout the economic slump, and maybe Xbox will even help turn the economy around.