Synergism for me describes Sony's plan more because the PS3 gave a huge boost to Blu-Ray. In my opinion Blu-Ray would have beaten HD-DVD anyway but that wasn't a risk Sony wanted to take. I'm not sure how synergistic Microsoft is. Their plan seems to be more just to throw Sonys synergy off. That's why they supported HD-DVD, if High-Def movie playback was really that important to their console in their eyes then the XBOX would be supporting Blu-Ray playback now.
I'm pretty sure most people would agree that the E & D division is pretty indicative of the Xbox's success. If you were to extend this graph back to 2001 then June 2007 is a pretty reasonable date to assume first time profitability for the XBOX brand.
Also it's been a pretty rocky road since then according to the graph. With a potential price cut looming and heavy marketing for the Natal who knows what the future holds for their bottom line.. When Microsoft releases a new console they will go the Nintendo route in my opinion and try to be profitable out the gate by making a less powerful console and like Nintendo it could be what makes or breaks them in the end.
Admittedly I'm no expert but this is what I've observed.
"What have i done.? Is it too late to save me from this place? From the depths of the grave? We all are those .. who thought we were brave."
