MS: Paid DLC Causes Games to Sell $21M More, Overall Xbox Live Marketplace Sales Total $240M

Xbox 360 titles supplemented by paid downloadable content on the Xbox Live Marketplace sell an average of $21M more at retail, Microsoft interactive entertainment business manager Kevin Salcedo revealed at the company's recent GameFest event.

According to Gamasutra, the manager stipulated that the boost in sales typically required the content to be launched within a 30-day "sweet spot." The data reflects growing industry trends in which more and more games are arriving to retailers with DLC already available, or with content planned well in advance of release.

"Right now we have over 12 million users in over 26 countries, with $240 million in [Xbox Live Marketplace] transactions revenue so far, with $180 million in the last 12 months alone," Salcedo added.

Downloadable content also keeps consumers hanging onto titles longer than those titles which are not supported ...