Machiavellian said:
What do you mean that the Xbox is not integral to MS. Where are you basing this information from. So are you telling me that MS does not want a console on the market with an established fanbase to still conbat their competitiors like Amazon, Google and probably Apple at some time. So you are saying that MS still does not want to have a presense within the Home and have a footprint on the number one entertainment hardware which is the TV. The reality is who cares if the Xbox division is vital to MS business. MS sell a lot of products and spend billions on them that are not vital to their business. As long as MS is willing to continue to fund development and growth within the department, that is all that is needed. If MS is willing to fund 1 billion or better to keep the department running smooth so that Phil has the resources to continue to make a solid if not great product then where is the problem. The confusion is most people posting here thinking that the Xbox division has to be vital to MS but instead, the Xbox unit needs to be revelant to MS and also stand on its own. |
Neither Apple, Google or Amazon really have a gaming console. Especially not a $500 behemoth. They have a small, neat box for about $99 that can be used for TV and Candy Crush.
Sony gets it with PSTV, although I think that it will not be a success for them. XBox brand can still be salvaged in the US, and probably by going smaller. But, as usual with hardware, they are just too late to the party, and will probably stay a bit player in the TV accessory/streaming business.
As I said in another thread, MS is slowly starting to divest XBox console from their portfolio, first by declaring it non-essential, then by shutting down its TV/Entertainment branch, and today by scaling down its presence outside of North America.
