100% completely agree, Hell with the Xbox section worth about 17 Billion! who could really buy it anyway? without having to shell out even more money than that for the purchase, Microsoft is i doubt very much , they are willing to get rid of the section because of its value. with both Nintendo and Sony both investing more and more into the gaming sections of the company, Microsoft doing the same with buying iP's like gear's i doubt shelling out that much Money means they are wanting to get rid of the section. Investor's have a habit of wanting short selling over building growth over time.

it's Ironic investors keep Harking on about growth is flat, but they get High returns and the fact that Microsoft has indeed grown the xbox as a platform for the living room, its very short sighted of Investors in my opinion to get rid of all that investment. despite mind share being not as great. The fact there is profit's being generated is good no matter how it seen by some in the market.

OH' yeah Ed did an interview and talked about that day, and Bill took a lil time to think it over , but not too much..grin he loved the idea at first but when he also found out it was not going to run the full windows OS he was not as excited for it as he was when it was going to be another windows OS based platform, as a matter of fact

"A key reason why Bill [Gates] chose our team instead of the Dreamcast guys was because our idea for the Xbox kept Windows’ OS inside, theirs didn’t.

"So he wasn’t exactly happy when we told him we’d changed our minds and didn’t want to run Windows anymore."

check this out:

http://www.develop-online.net/interview/inside-story-the-birth-of-xbox/0116893

Thanks a lot for the link.

We'll see, as has been pointed out it's all about profit and in this respect MS may actually have done a decent job in designing the Xbone in such a way to maximise revenue streams other than games - there is the potential for Kinect to provide very detailed, precise demographic information which can be used to sell finely tailored advertising space to other companies at higher than normal rates for example

Obviously they still need a decent size install base for this to work, but even if they do lose to Sony, they should still have enough people for this to work and along with other strategies they may well make money off it. However I think Xbox will continue to live on the edge with regards to its opportunity cost and the hostility of some shareholders. It should be alright for a while though

No problem, i also think that's one of the reason's why many Gamers i think; may feel that since the first xbox, that core concept than from the change over from the xbox360 they may feel of the soul of the xbox as a platform has changed.

That is not In my opinion really tied to what the xbox is seen as, its more along the lines as i think in my opinion a creative investment into the direction of the platform itself that many gamer's are saying it seem's that its somehow now missing in the xboxone, the fact that over the past 10 years all 11+ of the founding father's if you will who help create, develop and set out to make one of the best idea's for a game console, are now gone with direct involvement and getting that direction of the very first xbox and the very start of the 360 is kinda what many are saying is now missing with the XBOXONE. Some feel its not catering to the needs as a gamer as the very 1st xbox and the 360 was.

The more power has something to do with it as well.  That, and the fact that MS policies all last gen have burned a lot of former 360 owner (like myself)  Even at the same price PS4, more power, upgradable hard drive, greater install base, etc. with Plus (free games that are actually good) still has a much more compelling value proposition than Xone with Live.