Xbox division sees healthy boost, but not because of Xbox

Newsbrief: Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, which covers the Xbox 360, saw revenues increase 20 percent in the last fiscal quarter, but it seems the company's video game business had little to do with it. In its fourth quarter earnings report, Microsoft said that revenues for the entertainment and devices division increased to $292 million, primarily because the company acquired Skype in May. The Xbox 360, meanwhile, suffered a fairly notable decline. During the three months ended June 30, Microsoft shipped 1.1 million Xbox 360 consoles, down significantly from the 1.7 million units it shipped during this time last year. Of course, this drop isn't quite surprising, as the NPD group has reported that hardware sales have been down across the board for quite some time. Looking at Microsoft's full fiscal year, the entertainment and devices division saw revenues increase slightly to $9.6 billion, with profits reaching $364 million, down from $1.3 billion in 2011. The company at large saw revenues increase to $73.7 billion, though profits dropped to $192 million from $6.1 billion year over year. For Microsoft's full fourth quarter earnings report, visit the company's official website.