(Business Perspective) Does MS really need Xbox Hardware?

[DonFerrari]

Pemalite said:

Azzanation said:

We have been running the Hardware business between AMD and Nvidia for GPUs and AMD and Intel for CPUs for decades, they have been the only two that really matter.

MacOS and Windows is the only thing that matters for home PCs and Android and iOS only matters in Mobile. You can throw all these random small names which literally mean little in the grand scheme of things for the main consumer.

The console business is a complete waste of money for the 3rd player. Just leave it up to Sony and Nintendo and focus on selling software.

False, AMD and nVidia were also competing with Intel in the graphics arena, there was a point where Intel had 80% of the PC graphics marketshare, albeit even if it was all integrated.

It forced AMD and nVidia to build GPU's that exceed that bar.

For CPU's, again... x86 doesn't exist in a vacuum, you have VIA.
You also have ARM, MIPS, PowerPC all competing for the same markets that AMD and Intel sell into. (I.E. Servers, Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Phones, Consoles etc').

Name a platform that is dominated by Intel/AMD and I bet you there is an ARM alternative.

Competition keeps things progressing forwards... And anyone who tries to downplay/shove aside competition is actually damaging themselves and their position as a consumer.

I would say that the integrated cards being such a big portion of the market (even with all the limitations on the result, but well it is budget option) also pushed AMD to have APU designs and perhaps even the NVidia was a result of this (and without it not even Switch would have been feasible, Nintendo likely got a good deal from the original project not reaching the goals projected initially).