Despite a bad economy, Microsoft managed to sell 28 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide in 2008, expanding the Xbox’s lead over its nearest competitor Sony’s PlayStation 3. Despite financial problems by some publishers, the video game industry overall has charged ahead against the recession. Market researcher NPD found video games sales rose 10% and totaled $2.91 billion in November.

Microsoft stated that global sales of the Xbox, which was launched about a year prior to the PS3, outperformed the PS3 by over 8 million units by the end of 2008. Online consumer spending on Xbox Live online service increased 84% compared to last year and members of the Xbox Live community rose to over 17 million by the end of 2008. Consumers have spent over $1 billion on Microsoft’s Xbox Live online service since its launch for the 360 in 2005, according the company.

Critical to its success, Microsoft cut the U.S. price of its entry-level console in September to $199, which is $50 below Nintendo’s Wii console.