Microsofts small 1st party, the reasons.

[wholikeswood]

Squilliam said:

makingmusic476 said:

I agree to an extent, though I have two issues with what you say:

1.  Netflix sold a significant amount of 360s in 2008. 

We've discussed this before, and I still feel you have little evidence that this is the case.  Netflix was already available on a variety of platforms at the time, and at that time the 360 had just dropped to $199/299.  I'm pretty sure any such gains in hardware sales during that period would be more attributable to the latter than the former.

1. We've seen data posted on the forums here that Netflix subscriber numbers jumped considerably when Netflix was released and we've also seen data showing from Neilson which showed Netflix was a high useage Xbox 360 feature. So whilst Netflix was available on some rare platforms, netflix discs and on PC none of them were as convenient as the Xbox 360 which was plugged right into the TV and gave and easy to use interface. Given the strength and popularity it has to be considered a system seller as it was the first real non cable VOD service on consoles in the United States.

Not really interested in a colossal back-and-forth about the extent of Netflix' effect on HW sales, but thought I would simply point out that the bold adds absolutely nothing to your argument. The jump in subscribers could be 10% down to current 360 owners taking advantage of a new feature and subscribing to Netflix and 90% down to new consumers purchasing 360s for Netflix (as you try to suggest). Or it could be vice versa. Or it could be 50/50. Ultimately, none of us can say how the split fell, so it's just not a cogent point.