| Prodigy_BE said: @ The RealMafoo On one hand, you make a good point, with your Toyota remark. But on the other hand: think about SEGA. Microsoft still has a gap of more than 6,6 billion dollars to fill, before its break even on their lossen (Xbox + Xbox 360 combined). And they need to broaden their market this generation to stand a chance in the next. Look, Xbox 1 was technicaly better than PS2, so with their 360, they could really convince gamers to make the switch. But now, PS3 is more future proof than 360 (Cell , blu-ray, swappable hdd...), so if they want to compete in the next round of console wars, they will have to have a wide base of satisfied users to make that transition. And that means, 60, 70 million users. If they don't act now, and PS3, with its GTA4 and MGS4 bundles, it's blu-ray and it's superior end-of-year line-up, can create a gap, they've got no more ammo to turn the tide. |
Sony has already turned the tide. They are winning by a large margin, and will sell far more consoles this generation then MS. That's a given.
But, MS will still make money, and built a large market base. They have learned a lot in these two attempts to make a console, and all the biggest issues have been experiences. Next time around they will get it right.
As far as the 6 billion in losses, they are the most profitable company in the world, and in the US, you pay about 50% taxes on profit. That 6 billion offset there earning, so they paid 3 billion less in taxes because of it. I am sure a good accountant can find far more reasons to mitigate those losses as well. So 6 billion in losses is really not 6 billion dollars lost.
The real thing that has to be done in this industry to be successful, is offer exclusive games that people want to play. If they want to play them, they have to have your console. MS has accomplished this.
In the end, it's all about the games. MS has done a great job of securing enough to make them viable in this market for a long time (something SEGA didn't do).
