Xbox 360 to last three more years, over 100 new games inbound, says Microsoft

Xbox 360 support will last until 2016 and will receive 100 new game launches, according to Xbox chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi.

Speaking at the Citi Global Technology Conference yesterday, Mehdi confirmed that the Xbox 360 will be phased out in 2016, and added that both it and the Xbox One will co-exist happily.

"We're going to continue to invest in Xbox 360," he said, "and the two devices can work in concert. So it's not like the day we ship Xbox One your 360 won't work. We'll continue to support it."

Elsewhere, Mehdi responded to questions surrounding the Xbox 360's profitability and how Microsoft hopes to maintain a solid bottom line with Xbox One. "He replied, "You've seen us over the years constantly be focused on profitability and improving year over year. There are different points in the cycle of when you invest in new hardware.

"If you look at 360 that platform lasted for seven to eight years and it's going to go for another three years. It's incredibly profitable now in the tail. Some of these things take some time in the launch year in which you invest, and then they they play out over time.

"We've seen our Xbox Live subscription service continue to grow. We're up to 48 million members now. We're shipping more games than we've ever done before. Those are things I look to to say, 'hey we can grow not just top line revenue but also profitability.'"

At the conference, Mehdi also confirmed that the Xbox One's CPU speed has been improved, and defended the console's price-point, adding that Kinect and entertainment services are its big draw.

Are you happy to see Xbox 360 support will continue until 2016? Let us know below.

Via Eurogamer.