If there’s one thing Xbox 360 owners have never been able to complain about it’s the number of games available. And it seems that won’t be changing anytime soon as Chris Lewis, Xbox VP for Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Europe, has stated that Xbox 360 will offer a total of 1,000 games, both boxed and downloadable, by this summer.

MCV recently had a chance to speak with Lewis, who elaborated on Microsoft’s focus on the casual gaming market, “Titles such as our sports games, Scene It! and Guitar Hero – which has become a preferential experience on Xbox 360 – has already proved that, and we have lot more coming in that space this year.”

In addition to its great games, a huge selling point for the 360 is its LIVE online service, which is currently head and shoulders above the competition. LIVE sports a number of features like in-game communication, TrueSkill matchmaking, and a variety of cross-media options. “The number of people that have signed up to the LIVE service so far is testament to the fact that there are a broad spectrum of consumers enjoying the service,” explained Lewis. “That can only grow as we expand the likes of LIVE Arcade and LIVE Video Store. We’re listening hard to what casual consumers want as you see us release more and more content that appeals to a broad audience.”

Lewis seems confident that LIVE will continue to be a driving force behind the platform, and looking at the numbers, there’s no reason to doubt him. So if you own a 360, prepare to put those utility bills on hold, because you have some games to play!