very informative article. thank you yahoo

Sorry bud, but what point is that? That they should take away the device that has been raking in 100's of millions and throw it out the window? Very next Q you'd see a massive loss in the EED due to devices that are the ones actually losing money. Anyways, someone on gaf put it perfectly: " Yeah, take fucking advice from Yahoo . That'll definitely work out for you. ".

But they are not making enough to cover the previous loses, anyways it's just an opinion, no need to take it personally, we all know microsoft won't stop the xbox anytime soon.

The losses they incurred this gen are not necessary, it's all about their choices. They suffered from the RROD issue in the past, sold the console at a loss, but in 2008 they were already ramping back up, pre-kinect.

So, in the end, it's not about Kinect more than it is about tying up the lose ends, and launching a better console a tad later this time (to ensure quality and reduce component costs of seasoned tech).

That's because Microsoft throws away money for the sake of market share with the 360 (thank god for the Call of Duty Phenomenon that gave the 360 a good attachment rate to the console). Sony does the same thing. Nintendo didn't start doing that until 3DS and Wii U, but even then, they're doing it less than Sony and Microsoft. All you need with Wii U is a single game purchase to make it profitable.

It's easy to make a better console when you're willing to throw away money and profit. Sony made a console that was comparable to PC's back in the day (PS3), and they were forced to price cut it multiple times to make the sale numbers not so pathetic. That's good for the consumers, not the company.

Not taking anything personally, just debating this article, that is why you posted it, no?

Also, that's not really an accurate way to look at it, they are making enough profit to erase previous losses, they're just not making enough profit to erase previous losses, current R&D expenses and current losses of other products combined.

Anyways, I'll leave it at that.

I think the article is just pointing out some of the concerns that investors have about Microsoft's growth prospects going forward.  The stock is nearing its low for the year as people take note on a multitude of issues the company currently has facing them . Some of the ones I outline may overlap the article but there are the ones I can think of off the top of my head

1.  Wintel.  The windows/intel dominated pc landscape is changing pretty rapidly.  You are seeing the reaction in Intel more aggressively as they had to revise their earnings outlook downward because PC sales are doing poorly (as evident by slowing sales at HP, Dell and pretty much every PC maker)  If fewer pc's are sold, fewer microsoft licenses are sold.

2. Coming to the tablet and phone OS war late

3. Soft response to Surface and Windows Mobile 8

4. Fiscal cliff

5. Window 8 not business/government friendly

6. Bing not competitive with Google in search

7. Questionable acquistions

Xbox and its prospects are at the bottom in terms of need, even though I think Microsoft will continue to invest in that part of the business.

actually the 360 covered all the losses it made for the gen. SO the 360 is a profitable business. If they talk about the original Xbox, MS has a way to go, but they are doing fine right now. Especially with XBL generating a profit from the very start of next gen.

If Microsoft cant afford to keep investing in the xbox, than I know damn well Sony cant afford to invest in the playstation due to their entire company failing much worse than microsoft and their rating downgraded to junk.

Microsoft has lost more money in this gen, then they have made..

Even with xbl profits and all.

2005-2006 and 2007 hurt them the most.