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Forums - Microsoft - How Did Microsoft Lose In The Video Gaming Market?

mrstickball on 14 March 2010
shio said:
mrstickball said:
shio said:

How will Microsoft survive if the hardware becomes irrelevant?
How will Microsoft recapture the PC Games Market?
How will XBL/GFWL stop the Steam train?
Will Microsoft be profitable in it's third try in the console market?

 

 

Could you tell me where "money is still being lost"?

As for your answers:

  • How will hardware become irrelevant? If in case it does (which if it happens, is decades away), Microsoft has Xbox Live which has been the biggest online success of any console. It could easily ensure that Microsoft can offer a service system in the event that consoles go by the wayside (again, I do not see that for decades)
  • Why does Microsoft need to capture the PC gaming market, again? The market is far different today than it was 10 years ago when MS was in its prime. The market is going towards smaller, bite-sized games. I doubt Microsoft can really do a lot there. However, it can continue to be a strong value proposition for developers that want to build cross-platform games between the 360 and PC, which its been doing pretty well at.
  • Why is XBL in competition with Steam? XBL offers a much different breadth of content than Steam does. Its not just a gaming platform, but VoD and other such offerings. Microsoft does not need to compete with Steam. They need to compete with PSN and Nintendo Connect.
  • Given that MS has been profitable on the 360 for the past 2 years with pretty good profits, I fail to see why they could not manage to make a profitable 3rd console.

Money "being lost" in the sense that they won't be able to break even with Xbox 360, let alone the losses from the original Xbox.

I said IF the hardware becomes irrevelent, and the trend definitely supports that. The graphical quality gained by better hardware isn't as big as before, and hardware is much cheaper than ever.

Microsfot is trying to recapture some of the PC gaming market, or else they wouldn't have made any effort in making GFWL. I bundled XBL with GFWL because they're essentially a cross platform thing, although the GFWL side is much worse. In regards to cross-platforming, Steam is also doing that with MAC, and there are really strong rumors of them working on a Linux version.

Although MS has been profitable in the last 2 years, they won't break even from their efforts this gen.

No. Read what you said. You said money is still being lost. There is a difference.

Given that hardware is selling more than ever, I don't see it becoming irrelevant any time soon, from a vantage point of it becoming useless to manufacturers. That is, that systems will be around for many more decades.



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

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Ldn.se on 14 March 2010
tuscaniman said:
supercat said:
I think that MS's opportunities for the next gen have both lower risk and return.

Less risk b/c they won't be so studpid the next time and make a console that will melt during a halo game

Less return, because they won't have the advantage of a highly overpriced PS4 and will have to pay royalties to Sony for every Blu-ray based game, assuming of course that the 720 will be using blu-ray for its games.

So, the 720 should have a lot less upside and also get rid of the losses in profits sooner (no RROD w/ the 720) .

The next Xbox will not use BluRay. Expect something new, HVDs, or Digital Distribution.


It would be unreasonable if they didnt use bly ray. How are they going to introduce a new format? Thay tried HDDVD and failed. Blu ray is here to stay IMO. DD maybe. It worked with music but games are so much large. 5-8 years earliest



shio on 14 March 2010
mrstickball said:
shio said:
mrstickball said:
shio said:

How will Microsoft survive if the hardware becomes irrelevant?
How will Microsoft recapture the PC Games Market?
How will XBL/GFWL stop the Steam train?
Will Microsoft be profitable in it's third try in the console market?

 

 

Could you tell me where "money is still being lost"?

As for your answers:

  • How will hardware become irrelevant? If in case it does (which if it happens, is decades away), Microsoft has Xbox Live which has been the biggest online success of any console. It could easily ensure that Microsoft can offer a service system in the event that consoles go by the wayside (again, I do not see that for decades)
  • Why does Microsoft need to capture the PC gaming market, again? The market is far different today than it was 10 years ago when MS was in its prime. The market is going towards smaller, bite-sized games. I doubt Microsoft can really do a lot there. However, it can continue to be a strong value proposition for developers that want to build cross-platform games between the 360 and PC, which its been doing pretty well at.
  • Why is XBL in competition with Steam? XBL offers a much different breadth of content than Steam does. Its not just a gaming platform, but VoD and other such offerings. Microsoft does not need to compete with Steam. They need to compete with PSN and Nintendo Connect.
  • Given that MS has been profitable on the 360 for the past 2 years with pretty good profits, I fail to see why they could not manage to make a profitable 3rd console.

Money "being lost" in the sense that they won't be able to break even with Xbox 360, let alone the losses from the original Xbox.

I said IF the hardware becomes irrevelent, and the trend definitely supports that. The graphical quality gained by better hardware isn't as big as before, and hardware is much cheaper than ever.

Microsfot is trying to recapture some of the PC gaming market, or else they wouldn't have made any effort in making GFWL. I bundled XBL with GFWL because they're essentially a cross platform thing, although the GFWL side is much worse. In regards to cross-platforming, Steam is also doing that with MAC, and there are really strong rumors of them working on a Linux version.

Although MS has been profitable in the last 2 years, they won't break even from their efforts this gen.

No. Read what you said. You said money is still being lost. There is a difference.

Given that hardware is selling more than ever, I don't see it becoming irrelevant any time soon, from a vantage point of it becoming useless to manufacturers. That is, that systems will be around for many more decades.

I thought it was clear that temporally I was talking about this generation. "Money is still being lost" meaning that Microsoft will still be on a negative income with the Xbox 360 at the end of this generation (unless something highly unexpected occurs).



http://i48.tinypic.com/120qaon.jpg
NoPantsHoSlappa on 14 March 2010

gtfo with this topic. you loose not ms.



ChrisIsNotSexy on 14 March 2010
NoPantsHoSlappa said:
gtfo with this topic. you loose not ms.

There was no need to say that



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ruff_romeo on 14 March 2010

Does it really look like MS is facing any serious financial or status problems in the gaming industry? With Xbox Live and soon Natal, I think they are on their way to expanding their returns by an enormous amount. The way Xbox Live is growing, it looks like it is unstoppable. MS has shown that hardware is just as important as software, and as we have seen they are the first to dominate software ideas and experts now with hardware side of things too considering all their resources they have worldwide. The only company making loses is Sony and with direct imitation of the WiiMote, its in further serious trouble....!

In the next gen, MS will be on it like wildfire, the way the company as a whole is going, I don't think they will have any trouble creating something that the world will easily embrace. Next gen, I really don't think they will incorporate blu-ray, I think they will devise their own media. Thats what I personally think.

As far as I am concerned I think PC gaming seems to be becoming more & more of a blurr to me, and if it gets left behind, I won't complain. With a firm grasp of the industry with revolutionary hardware and record selling franchises in such a SHORT time frame in comparison to its competitors, I think its safe to say MS know exactly what they are doing. They have accomplished so much in so little time despite their mistakes....I think it's time everybody gave them the benefit of the doubt.

This gen is already setting whole new heights to how games are played, and Microsoft are creating a new trend, they are trying to lead the industry where they think the future lies.....

....and I'm completely on board....!



ruff_romeo on 14 March 2010

HD DVD WAS NEVER A MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY, IT WAS ALWAYS A TOSHIBA TECHNOLOGY AND MICROSOFT SUPPORTED IT BECAUSE TOSHIBA USED MICROSOFT'S OWN HDi TECHNOLOGY, WHEREAS THE BLU-RAY USES JAVA. SO IT WAS NEVER EVER A MICROSOFT MEDIA, THEY NEVER HELPED CREATE IT, IT WAS ALL TOSHIBA. SO TOSHIBA FAILED! NOT MICROSOFT!

THAT SAID, I THINK FOR THE NEXT GEN, MS WILL NEVER TAKE ON BLU-RAY IF THEY WERE PLANNING TO, THEY WOULD HAVE DONE IT BY NOW, OR EVEN SET A GREEN LIGHT TO OFFER AN ADD-ON LIKE THEY DID WITH THE HD DVD. NEXT GEN, I THINK IT WILL DEFINITELY BE THEIR OWN MEDIA EXCLUSIVE FOR THEIR OWN GAMES....?



Mvp4eVa on 14 March 2010

Microsoft is doing better in video games than before (1st gen Xbox) especially from the last 2 1/2 years.

The Xbox 360 is cheaper to manufacture now and are more reliable= profits and less loss.

1) Microsoft still supports PC gaming.

2)Microsoft makes tons of cash in peripherals .

* Xbox harddrive
* Memory Unit
* Charge and Play
* Xbox controller
* Head set
* Wireless Head Set
* Quick and Charge kit
* Messenger Kit or mini-Keyboard
* Xbox Wireless Racing Wheel
* Universal Media Remote Control
* Xbox wireless Microphone
* Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter
* Xbox live Vision Camera

3) Xbox Live subscription

4) Natal

Microsoft is making a profit on every Xbox made and it doesn't even comes close to how much money is making on accessories alone .

Games are not included because its obvious.



My Trigger Happy Sixaxis controller

 


                            

DirtyP2002 on 14 March 2010

Xbox 360 is making money and will break even this year.

They are close to 1 billion USD / year just with XBL fees. They are posting profit after profit for more than 5 quarters right now, they still carry the Zune and WinMo. Look at the WinMo 7 R&D (or Zune HD). That cost some money, but the Xbox360 still made a profit.



Imagine not having GamePass on your console...

tuscaniman on 14 March 2010
mirgro said:
tuscaniman said:
mirgro said:

The fact more games are coming out on platforms other than Windows, that is the Mac, does not bode well for Microsoft's main source of revenue, Windows and Office.

I remember reading, on this very forum actually, that in Revenue the Xbox part is almost half that of the OS and Office part of Microsoft, yet the Profti from Xbox is something like 1% of the profit from their OS and Office. Makes me wonder if them giving up on PC gaming has hit their OS, since that would mean they made a huge mistake.

Well seeing as PCs don't run a Mac OS I don't think that is a problem. I don't see PC gamers spending $1500 on a Apple to play games. Microsoft will always have the huge market share as long as Apple decides not to license their software.

I am not so sure on that end. People are stupid and Apple can market. I know many people where they only had Windows so they can play games. Microsoft has been working very hard to remove that benefit, for some retarded reason it seems, and as it stands a lot more people will get  Macs or Linux and play on their 360s instead of bothering with Windows.

Whichever way you slice it, the OS trade of Microsoft makes the Xbox looks like fractions of a penny.

I think you are missing the point. Apple can market their asses off but the average consumer is not gonna drop minimum $1500, but normally $2000 and up on an apple because its Apple. PCs are half the price and you can bet Microsoft gets a piece of every PC sold. So unless your average consumer deliberately decides to build their own PCs and put Linux on it or spend 2 months salary on an Apple Microsoft will own the OS market.

Second of all how can you be using people playing games on their 360s as argument of them abandoning Microsoft PC gaming? Microsoft won't care if you have a 360 or PC so as long as you are using a Microsoft product.