While the console hasn't quite caught up to the Wii's area yet, this number certainly rains down some smiles on the MS faithful. The system has successfully passed the 30 million mark globally and has more then 20 million active Xbox Live members. The press release bodly claims that the system has had the highest precentage growth of any console in 2009 going up 29 percent over last year.

“We’ve always been confident that Xbox 360 offers more entertainment value than any other console on the market, and these latest numbers show that consumers agree,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “We expect our growth to continue to accelerate. Our news at E3 next week will underscore our commitment to bringing blockbuster entertainment experiences to everyone and to growing the Xbox entertainment brand globally.”

Most of this info of course is based on NPD research and info from Microsoft internal. Check out more from the press release below.

Over the course of this console generation, U.S. consumers alone have spent $14.5 billion across all categories on Xbox 360 at retail.1 This number reflects strong interest in a comprehensive entertainment offering that includes the ability to connect with others socially and to digitally download entertainment, be it games, TV shows or movies. To date, consumers have downloaded nearly 1 billion pieces of gaming and entertainment content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, including a broad array of premium high- and standard-definition movies and TV shows from top studios and networks around the world.2

In addition, Xbox 360 continues to be the platform of choice for the industry’s top games, generating $5.9 billion in sales to date at U.S. retail for third-party publishers, which is more than those of current-generation consoles combined.1 Xbox 360 also leads current-generation consoles in game purchases, with consumers owning an average of 8.3 titles each.1

Activity on Xbox LIVE, the industry-leading online gaming and entertainment service, surged following the launch of the New Xbox Experience in November 2008. Since that time, the community has recorded a 136 percent increase in new members, TV and movie downloads have more than doubled, and purchases of games, Game Add-ons and more on Xbox LIVE Arcade have increased by 70 percent.2 Xbox LIVE reaches 26 countries worldwide and is now in more homes than any satellite television provider.2 Before the end of the year, the number of Xbox LIVE members will surpass the number of subscribers to the largest cable provider.1 Consumers can expect more exciting announcements from Microsoft next week as Xbox 360 kicks off the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games and related products, with its press briefing on Monday, June 1, in Los Angeles.