Microsoft profit dips on lower Xbox holiday sales

Microsoft Corp reported a dip in fiscal second-quarter profit on Thursday, as weaker sales of its Xbox game system in the holiday quarter offset a solid start for its new Windows 8 operating system.

The world's largest software company reported profit of $6.4 billion, or 76 cents per share, compared to $6.6 billion, or 78 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Overall sales rose 3 percent to $21.5 billion.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Richard Chang)