| Zombl337 said: Duh, they have been profiting on the 360 for over a year now. Unlike Sony, Microsoft made thier console profitable from the beginning. |
Umm. Microsoft most certainly didn't make their console profitable from the start...Although they designed it in such a way to ensure it wouldn't be a loss leader after awhile.
The initial wave of X360's to the market cost Microsoft over $500 per Premium ($513 to be exact). Fortunately, MS has sawed down costs significantly, and the Arcades are being made for under $200 (probably closer to $150-160 before shipping costs come in).
@NightstalkerX -
Microsoft does have a strategy to keep the X360 relevant in 2009. It's called the Slim model. We've known for a year that Microsoft was/is going to put out a fully-redone version of the X360 in 2009, and every source close to the manufcaturer has stated that we're going to see a totally new Xbox 360 that is similar to the PS2-PStwo changes...That should keep momentum strong in 09.
I don't think MS will have a problem of 'overshipping' the X360 this Christmas...Everything I've seen points to MS having a rather weak manufacturing base in comparison to Nintendo, so there are only so many consoles MS can pump out a month. It's very unlikely that, given the X360's strong performance this quarter, that they could overship...Estimates point to 5-6m consoles shipped in the Oct-Dec timeframe..Well above 06 which was at 4.0m, but it should have very strong sellthrough. If anything, MS may go supply constrained.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
