Do you want to see MS have the same kind of monopoly over the gaming industry that they do with Windows and Office applications?

I give credit to the fact that MS has really taken alot of Sony's thunder in terms of being the undisputed king they were in the PS1 and PS2 generation.  MS's direct measure of success, as they have stated many times, is the failure of Sony.  Why?  Because they want to have the same control over the living room as they do in the office.  They saw Sony as being their biggest enemy.

With Windows and Office, we as consumers and small businesses have to pay a huge premium over market price because it's really the only viable option.  You can argue that Apple is there, but that has limitations.  Apple really had a window of opportunity to level the playing field when Vista was released, but they wanted to keep their image as a high class setup, rather than get greater marketshare.  Heck, now Apples are equipped with a similar x86 platform that IBM/PC compatibles are.

In the gaming industry, there are alternatives.  The most direct alternative is the PS3, which outsold the Xbox 360 for all of 2008 until the price was dropped.  A combination of brand image, percieved value (BD and free online), and reliability statistics (for PS3) helped that case.  Because of that, MS lowered their price to a more consumer-friendly price and fixed their overheating issues, since we haven't heard any widespread RROD cases beginning with the Falcon revision.  Isolated cases will always happen, just like the PS3 and Wii. 

At the beginning of this gen, Sony really thought they were in the monopoly position so they thought releasing a $600 system when they weren't completely ready to release software was going to be ok with both consumers and developers.  Obviously, other alternatives were available, and both consumers and devs have seeked other alternatives.

What I'm really concerned about, and why I've always been reluctant to support Xbox (I bought one for my jRPGs), is that once MS gets into the monopoly position, they really know how to keep it going and we consumers have to bear the grunt.

For me as a GAMER, this generation has been one of the best ones since SNES/Genesis for the same reasons.  There are two companies that have to duke it out each other by constantly 1-upping their offerings.  Sony has offered some of the best gaming experiences I've had since I was a kid with the likes of MGS4, Valkyria, and Little Big Planet.  On the same token, MS has made it possible to get some really good jRPGs that they probably had to give some financial incentive to the devs because HD consoles are too risky for most jRPG developments outside of big titles like FF that cater to a small fanbase.

In the end, we want the competition so the benefits are passed on to us - the gamer.

Oh noes.  Evil ol' M$ is going to ruin gaming just like everything else!  Fact is, M$ has a monopoly on many of those things because nobody else puts out a decent alterntive.  People will probably continue putting out something to try to compete in the gaming world.  And if they don't?  Oh well.  Saves me money.  Now I only need to buy one system instead of two.  If M$ ever charges too much or provides a poor product then someone else will step in to compete with them.  The end.

Anyone who answers yes to this is too stupid to have their opinions taken seriously. However, this goes for all firms - it's one of the reasons I roll my eyes when I see people getting really happy about "Nintendomination".

What is the goal of this thread?

No gamer wants a monopoly, not Nintendo fanboys, not MS or Sony fanboys, and it should be obvious. Are you frustrated there buddy?

Oh you poor man.

As consumers you can choose whatever you want.

If you don't play PC games, then Linux and Mac OS are both viable alternatives

If you do want to play games, then dual boot linux and xp. Or buy a mac and use boot camp to get xp on there

Open Office is multiplatform, and is a very good program, slightly better than MS Office

In a business you are a little bit more limited, but talk to your company's tech team - I'm sure they'd be more than happy to install Linux on your comp

"Noooooooooooooo!" /darthvader

That made me laugh pretty hard.

That's where I draw the line between "fan" and "fanboy."  A "fan" is more focused on positively promoting the success of their preferred company/console.  A "fanboy" attacks / promotes the failure of their non-preferred company/console.

I've seen plenty of people around here want to see some company drop out of the market.

Sony acted like the "cool" 30 year old trying to hang out with teenagers.  They think they have everything going for them.  In reality everyones ignoring them as best as they can while laughing behind their back.  I used to be one of those guys that thought the ps3 was gonna stomp the 360.  Now I only use my ps3 for blu-ray and the occasional ps3 exclusive worth playing.  Yes, they do finally exist.  Finally.

Office isn't over priced unless you need the full suite and you're a company, then its very expensive, but so is all software used for business purposes.