| dallas said: don't get ahead of yourself yo, *every* console maker uses 3rd parties to make their hardware....this thread is neanderthal-dumb |
Actually, your the one not understanding what Microsoft is wanting to do.
Microsoft is wanting to sell the rights to make Xbox 360's to other companies, not sell the rights for various manufacturers to make their Xbox 360 (such as Flextronics, Celestica, ect).
What this means is that a company could build a device, any device, that incorporates Xbox 360 functionality into their device without the exact product going entirely through Microsoft - the company could take the license, find various CPU, GPU and other manufacturers to build the device and incorporate whatever kind of functionality they want into the device.
It's like Blu-Ray disks. The license to make Blu-Ray disks, as well as Blu-Ray players is through Sony. However....Another company such as Samsung could license the ability to make Blu-Ray players, and meld them with another product, or idea outside of what Sony actually does (such as the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Dual Players. That's not a Sony device, but they're paying Sony for the right to build BR players on their own).
Does this make sense? Theoretically, Nintendo could buy the rights to make a Xbox 360, and release a combo Wii360 with functionality for both systems, because they would be paying Microsoft a royalty for each Wii360 made, as the 360 is a licensed product.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
