(Business Perspective) Does MS really need Xbox Hardware?

[Leynos]

We just saw Google fail to enter the market. Apple failed to enter console gaming. It's not as easy as just hey we have money to make a console. Phillips & Panasonic were big Electronics companies once and they failed the console market. You also have to know the market and have the right timing. Had Sony tried in 1991 they likely flop. Sony worked with Nintendo and SEGA and learned the market plus the benefit of Nintendo and SEGA tripping over themselves in the 32-bit era. MS at least had worked with PC gaming in the 90s and worked with SEGA 90s as well. Even pre Dreamcast. MS used Dreamcast in focus test groups when developing Xbox. Nearly had a VMU and BC with DC games. The console market has proven difficult to get into and even more difficult to even have success. It's a much more exclusive market than PCs or TVs.