At the tail end of this console generation, Microsoft has released some sales figures and statistics relating to the Xbox 360.

In a press release bringing up the Xbox 360 and hinting about its future, Microsoft revealed that 76 million Xbox 360 consoles had been sold, along with 24 million Kinect motion sensors. In other words, on average, that means just under one in three 360s are attached to a Kinect. In comparison, at last count, Sony’s PlayStation 3 had sold 70 million units.

Over the past year, the Xbox Live community expanded by 15%, taking the total number of members to 46 million.

Xbox users spent more than 18 billion hours using the gaming and entertainment services on their consoles, whilst US Xbox Live Gold members averaged 87 hours per month on Microsoft’s console.

The press release also highlighted the growing variety of entertainment apps offered on the Xbox 360. Last year, the U.S. Presidential debates were aired on Xbox Live. More recently, the service offered interactive red carpet coverage of the Grammys, an approach which will be replicated for the Oscars.

During this calendar year, Microsoft plans to release over 40 new voice-controlled (via Kinect) TV and entertainment apps for Xbox users.

You can read the full press release, with all the marketing speak, on Microsoft’s site.

On the other side of the console war, Sony is preparing to make a huge announcement on February 20 at 6 pm EDT. This event is likely to be the unveiling of the PlayStation 4, probably concentrating on the hardware, with software detailed at this year’s E3 convention in June. And of course, we’ll be liveblogging the announcement!