"MS has pretty much given up on the pursuit of profitability this generation which is probably why your referring to gross profitability instead of net profitability , I also think your gross profit figure is innacurate and is pretty much an estimation based on even weaker assumptions."

Actually I referred to gross profit because I was estimating and I didn't want to potentially account for things like advertising, staffing etc of the whole operation. But as for assumptions they are pretty good really. Console owner royalty = ~$6.50/$7.00, 100 million software units sold in the last year so its pretty safe to assume that it will sell just as much in 2011 with twice as many consoles sold.

"To have a better look at the 360's performance it would be wisest to compare it to it's closest competition on the market (PS3 maybe Wii) , but considering the PS3 has sold faster since launch and will probably outsell the 360 in the year 2008 with a higher price point , smaller libary and less marketing and promotion etc it would hinder you in your pursuit to convince yourself the 360 is the ultimate format."

Except PS3 launched into a more mature market and the Xbox 360 had to fight to get the generation going. The Xbox 360 had a rough launch and supply was extremely constricted to top things off. Its definately not a fair comparision to make. So consider the total sales since the PS3 launched and they are almost dead even. But hey, if you want to mislead yourself - thats fine. Btw the libraries that counts are whats been released in the last year, so I would say that at this point the Xbox 360 and PS3 are about even there. If the games aren't selling, they probably aren't selling consoles - am I right? Lastly @ bolded: Absolutely not, I know that the Xbox 360 is a better format than Blu Ray - I like games more than moves/tv! Go figure that.

"Microsoft didn't make a penny on the XBOX , the won't likely make anything of the XBOX 360 and might aswell be in this industry for the fun of it (IMO) . :)"

"Im afraid that the Xbox 360 profitibility will be fully operational when your friends arrive" Darth Sideous. Actually The Games and entertainment devices division has shown profitability, but who the hell knows exactly what proportion of the losses are actually attributed to the Xbox 360? IIRC noone has been able to determine exactly how much the Xbox 360 gains/loses Microsoft per financial year.

Whoever said the 360 isn't making money hasn't paid attention. They have been in the black since mid year.

As for next year on 360 things are already looking good in the exclusive area.

Halo 3 Recon
Halo Wars
Alan Wake
Ninja Blade
Splinter Cell Conviction
Champions Online
APB (last word was it was still only 360/PC)
Mass Effect 2 (Rumored for 09)

and MS probably has a few things up their sleeves still in the first party area.

I always enjoy such a good writing pro my favorite platform without "OMFGZ!!! GAME OF THE YEAR!!! UNBELIEVABLE SCREENS!!! BEST JRPG EVER!!! BEST SOMETHING EVER!!! WHATEVER!!!"
The 360 is maturing and its audience ia maturing with it.
I wouldn't say the same thing for users like Imperial for example

"Microsoft didn't make a penny on the XBOX , the won't likely make anything of the XBOX 360 and might aswell be in this industry for the fun of it (IMO) . :)"

So, Sony are the professionals hah?

 Don't forget to add Star Ocean 4, what is shaping up to be one of the best JRPGs ever.

Nice list: But I don't think exclusives are really going to be moving that many consoles on their own from this point onwards as much of the potential userbase which would be moved easily by a game or 3 has already been moved. The games have to either A - Be huge and sell 5 Million + Or B target an under-represented but sizeable chunk of the potential market which hasn't been catered for yet. So potentially the only system sellers in that list wear the "Halo" name.

Most people just buy whats available on the console at the time, so I doubt that most people would really worry about an exclusive on another console when there is either a competing exclusive or a multiplatform game which fills the niche just as nicely and most likely there will be both available.

Great thread Squilliam, and I agree completely. 360 has become a dominant force in gaming. Competition is great for gaming, and it doesnt look to be slowing down anytime soon!

So I guess SONY has also given up on profitability to as they sell their consoles for loss. So are u making fun of SONY since they are in worse situation than MS as they have a smaller library, lose money and are last and probably will never make a profit on the PS3?? No trolling about SONY plz.

I agree with the OP

Well 360 is doing well, and it will continue in the 2009, the PS3 still is too expensive plus it does not have superior game library.

The biggest thing I'm happy about is that I think MS has proved to me that they are behind the 360 all the way. I don't predict a premature exit for the 360 and I don't predict a lack of new titles going forward. I honestly don't care if the 360 takes 3rd place in the end. (BTW, I consider "the end" to be whenever the next gen begins, not Sony's 10 year plan.) I'm just glad that my platform of choice is viable, still selling quite well, and has a bright future.

I honestly don't care if the PS3 does or doesn't do well. It's a great console, it should do well. But honestly, I would be severely pissed right now if I was an early PS3 adopter. There are games they were promising at launch that are STILL not out. Second Li....I mean, Home is STILL not out. It took until just recently to have DualShock back in the controllers, and then Sony acted like it was some big accomplishment when they did put it back in. The list goes on.

As some of you probably know, I switched back from PC gaming in January of 08. The last console I had before that was the SNES. I didn't want to switch, but having a kid kind of makes you rethink how much money you really want to spend on PC hardware. I brought home that Xbox 360 box with the swirly green and yellow circles on it and immediately thought "What the hell am I doing?" I had buyer's remorse for the next two weeks and almost took the thing back.

10 months later, I have switched 100% to gaming on my 360. I thought I would still play things on the PC too, but so far I haven't. PC gamers say a lot of dumb things about consoles that really are not true at all. I was brain washed. The 360 changed my mind. It has all the things I liked about PC gaming (especially since there is a BF game with amazing multi player for consoles now) PLUS the fact that my friends all have them. No more playing games online with people I don't know.