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Microsoft Announces Q3 Financial Results: 1.2 Million Xbox One Consoles Shipped; Xbox Revenue up 45%

It's quarterly financial results day at Microsoft today, and Redmond's corporation sent in a press release right in time for its earnings report right in time for the closure of the markets.

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Axios23655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

$20,000,000,000 in revenue

Well done

The "Devices and Consumer hardware" devision account for almost $2 Billion in revenue for this quarter.

"Xbox platform revenue UP 45%"

KendrickLamar3655d ago

20B in revenue not from Xbox, from the company as a whole.

georgeenoob3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

Xbox is at its most successful state now than it has ever been. Congrats to MS.

@kingthrash

Sorry, forgot this was N4G. M$ is d00med!!

NewMonday3655d ago

"On the other hand gross margin decreased by 34%"

"xbox gross margin =0"

Kingthrash3603655d ago

lol george.
c'mon man really?
lol too much...i should +bub you for "funny"

Thehyph3655d ago

The next quarterly will be better. (Office on iOS)

It's important to note the difference between revenue and profit.
Read the quote from NewMonday and then look up gross margin.

Xbox does not truly appear solid to investors on this sheet, BUT I will give Xbox the benefit of the doubt here and say that the next few quarters Microsoft will spend recouping R&D costs for Xbox One.

mikeslemonade3655d ago

Yea of course you revenue goes up when you just released a system as compared to just selling 360s.

That's all Microsoft can say. The system is faltering and they're using zombie stats to try to spin the good in the numbers.

FriedGoat3655d ago

bubbled george for funny. good idea kingthrash

truefan13655d ago Show
Pogmathoin3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

For 1% of that profit, I could care less about the Great Sony/MS wars...... Just drop 1% my way..... Will not be missed....

Edit: NewMonday, you some kind of Killjoy or what? You would kill an orgasm with Kate Upton..... Try be cheerful!

TomShoe3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

So about 3.8-4.2 XBOs sold compared to 7M+ PS4s.

The Xbox might be able to win back the US, but it's not looking good. Losing all of that XBL free money won't help either.

UltimateMaster3655d ago

1.2 million shipped in the 3rd quarter?
I tough it was more, around 2-3 million.

tbone5673655d ago

Unbelievable. Net profit was around 15 billion? Holy cow.

RoboticusRex3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

Sony is worth more than 20 billion
Sorry to burst your xbubble @truefan

scott1823654d ago

lol @ shipped numbers, MS is too funny. Nintendo and Sony should jump on the shipped numbers train too.

JoySticksFTW3654d ago

So X1's shipped for the whole quarter (1.2 mil) what PS4 sold through to actually customers in one month (1 mil).

Dang, MS... Say goodbye to that marketshare you gained last gen at this rate.

kneon3654d ago

@scott182

It would make little difference to Sony's numbers
at this point as shipped and sold are nearly the same.

MysticStrummer3654d ago

XB1 is selling better than XB, which did ok but released late in the game against the juggernaut PS2 so it never really had a chance, and 360, which was in short supply at the beginning of it's lifespan.

1.2 million consoles (XB1 and 360) shipped isn't great when the competition is actually selling so many more of just it's new console on a consistent basis.

I wonder how much of the increase in XB revenue is due to XBL being required now...

GameNameFame3654d ago

So 1.2 million sold over 3 months.

That is nothing.

PS4 is selling over a million per month. lol

DragonKnight3654d ago

@truefan1: This isn't a Sony article, is there any reason you decided to bring them up?

I hope you realize that $20 billion is more than you're worth, guess you'll be going bankrupt soon and won't be able to post your troll comments on here anymore right?

Kribwalker3654d ago

20 billion in net profit in the last 9 months is equal to Sony's losses the last 5 years. I really think sony needs to rethink their buisness plans as something's just not working for them. Hate all you want, but Microsoft knows how to make money , they get almost 2 billion a year on android royalties alone. They may not be selling as many consoles, but as a company they'll be around a lot longer then Sorny at this rate

uptownsoul3654d ago

@truefan1 "It looks like XBOX is under a secure umbrella, no leaks." The Xbox division during it's entire history has been a loss for Microsoft. In other words, Xbox IS the leak.

morganfell3654d ago

Good analysis on the X1 numbers at Gaf: http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

PS4 has almost doubled the X1 on sold to consumers.

jebabcock3654d ago (Edited 3654d ago )

Just to put things into perspective.

For the quarter MS reported a $20billion in revenue overall... $1.97 billion included all hardware devices sold.
Of that $1.97billion approximately $600million came direct from console sales of X1(1.2mil * 500). another $200 million came from the 360(.8mil * 250).

The surface tablets alone accounted for $494 million which roughly equates to 1.2 million sales(494mil / ~$400).

The rest probably came from other peripherals and mobile devices that ms sells.

The total revenue for all Devices & Consumer Other category was 1.95 billion which included office 365, ad revenues generated from sources like bing as well as xbl transactional revenues among other things. I would guess at least half of that comes from bing and potentially alot more as it now has an 18% market share in the US. I'd guess that 500-600 million might be reasonable for xbl transactions. Might be generous though too. I'm shooting in the dark here.

Revenue is meaningless though. The actual net income overall for MS was $5.6 billion. This is what they gained after subtracting all costs. For all of devices and hardware the gross margin was $256million. Please stop and let that sink in for a moment. The actual net income would be less than that as the gross margin does not factor in all costs... (they neglected to report any net incomes at this level in the article as MS probably didnt report them either).

Last year the gross margin for the same quarter was 393 million. Its nearly half as profitable as it was at this time last year. That is what georgeenoob means by being at its most successful state.

The gross margin (which again doesn't include all costs) for Devices and Consumer other(bing, office 365, xbl) was only 540 million. Once again the net income is less than that. and the xbl generated income is less than that still probably by at least half. That is for the massive install base of the 360 along with the x1.

To say it is doomed isn't true, but these aren't exactly good numbers or something to be exactly proud of. The margins and volumes even on the software side do not look too stellar. I understand why they are hiding things.

@truefan Generating 20billion is not the same thing as being worth 20billion. A company could theoretically generate 100 billion in revenue but if the margins are terrible and they have no assets, the company may only be worth a 100 million or less on paper. Typically its assets and current and projected profit margins that determine worth. Revenues have little to do with it...

JohnnyBadfinger3654d ago

Lol at people who think sold to consumers and sold 2 retailers are a different thing entirely. They are only insignificantly different at best.

Why would a retailer order more consoles if they arent being sold? Bottom line is no matter where you go now you can find PS4s and X1s sitting on the shelf. Get this stupid idea out of your head that your PS4 is still in red hot demand. Month after month their sale figures prove its decline just as much as the X1.

PS4s price just helped it grab its early adopters when most of the console gamer community are still content with their last gen consoles. X1s price tag is its reason for its slow start, just as it was for the PS3. Fact.

feel free to respond to my reply but i wont be reading it so your views opinions and insults wont be received by me.

DragonKnight3654d ago

@johnnybadfinger: They are different things. Sold to retailers represents available stock and can remain as available stock indefinitely. Sold to consumer represents stock that has been sold through and requires replacing, meaning a necessity to produce more product to sell to retailers.

Microsoft can sell 5 million to retailers, but the retailers could only sell, say, 3 million. This means there are 2 million units out in the wild not being bought which forces either Microsoft, or the retailer, to take measures to make the console an enticing purchase. This may result in bundles, or price cuts where either Microsoft or the retailer take a hit in their own profits just to get the product off their shelf.

Sony selling 7 million to consumers means that everyone is making money. Sony, and their retail partners, don't have to resort to bundles or price cuts in order to get the product off the shelf and so they are making more and more money all the time.

Needless to say, Microsoft wouldn't want to be in the position of having no reason to replenish retailer stock.

chuckyj13654d ago

If you actually read his comment that's exactly what he states... He never states the$20B in revenue is from the Xbox Division... Be he does correctly state that almost 2 Billion of that is from the Devices and Consumer hardware (Xbox is part of that division)

Now let's sit tight and see if Sony can pull a profit. It's been a while since they've been in the black ink as a company as a whole.

jebabcock3654d ago (Edited 3654d ago )

@chuckyj1

Revenue isn't profit... MS likely took a significant loss on the X1 according to the numbers we see here..

According to the article, the revenue is 2 billion for hardware devices. but gross margin was only 256 million.

the profits for all hardware devices would be a chunk less than the gross margin(which subtracts only part of the costs). The x1 is one part of quite a long list of devices and peripherals that MS includes in this amount.

Also note that the Hardware devices division had a drop of 34% in its gross margin which is much more closely aligned with profit and makes the 45% increase in revenue kind of a bad thing. It is a strong indicator that the X1 is in the red and eating into profits. As much as people want to pretend the reported numbers are good it is never a good sign when you are charging people ALOT more money but making less of it yourself. We call that a lose-lose situation.

So yes MS is likely taking a loss for the actual console sales. They may be recouping it from transactions in XBL. No way of knowing really just how much profit the XB1 is generating there though. I'm sure the 360 generates a decent amount due to the install base, but i would wager the x1 is still fairly small due to only having a fraction of the install base of the 360.

To be honest i would be shocked if Sony isn't taking a loss on consoles as well at the present. Once again online transactions will enable profitability for sony just like MS.

UltraNova3654d ago (Edited 3654d ago )

@dragon

And to add to your breakdown, when your product barely sells (compared to the competition) you have to keep retailers happy in order for them to accept your product that will sit in shelves and storage for god knows how long.

One common practice is to is give free merchandise to that retailer or increase their profit margin by decreasing yours per product sold to them, not by much but just enough. Its a necessary hit wholesalers have to take from time to time. (This goes further into why their net profit might be even lower than you guys estimate)

I can definitely see MS trying this especially when they need to present yearly and quarterly reports to share holders.

DiRtY3654d ago

Why do I have to correct N4G users every 3 months?

first: Every company reports shipped numbers in their financial reports. EVERY COMPANY. Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Samsung, Nintendo. E.V.E.R.Y.

Got this now?

second: This puts Xbox One at 5.1 million consoles sold to retailers (See what I did here?) at the end of March.

Third: Sonys market cap is 18.96 billion USD now. If you want to buy 100% of Sonys shares, you have to pay this amount. So if MS invested their operating income for the last 9 months, they could buy 100% of Sony. (In theory, share prices will go up if someone wants to buy that much, but you get the idea).

Sony will report their financial results soon and after 5.66 billion USD net income is bad now, breaking even after years of losses becomes 'doing great'.

rainslacker3654d ago

@george

The last few years of the 360 were much more profitable for the Xbox division. X1 is selling more than the 360 did in the same time frame but the 360 monthly sales the past few years still dwarf the current X1 sales overall. 360 was selling at a pretty decent profit margin, so while MS isn't doing poorly based on the 360, your assumption is just wrong.

AndrewLB3654d ago

Well according to their quarterly report, M$ has sold a total of 5 million Xbones. That's 800k more than what Vgchartz claims. And since this is a quarterly report where it's highly illegal to lie or even play loose with the facts, looks like VGchartz has been under-estimating Xbone sales by almost 20%. http://www.forbes.com/sites...

Also... to all the Sony fanboys out there. Can someone please show me where in Sony's announcement of 7 million PS4's sold does it even mention "to consumers"??

http://blog.us.playstation....

If Sony truly had sold that many to actual people and not stores, you'd think their announcement would have specified this right? Notice how they DID make it clear about the game sales to consumers though. hmm..

Ritsujun3654d ago

It's okay, MS. Don't ever give up!!! lol

TheRealHeisenberg3654d ago (Edited 3654d ago )

Exactly so this should be considered great news for all the Sony employees and Sony Fanboys that own MS stock and bad news for anybody that wants to see MS fail. Seems to me that MS and Xbox will continue to be around for a while which should be considered great news for gamers that are reaping the benefits of the competition for our money. Game on whatever you choose but chill on the hate. I mean damn...there is a lot of hate going on in here for MS and it is just pathetic. N4G would be such a better place if fanboys just stayed in news for their consoles of choice.

DragonKnight3654d ago

@AndrewLB: Don't you think that if Sony knows how many games they sold to consumers (which is a result of turning the PS4 on, connecting to PSN, and playing the game) that they know how many PS4s they sold to consumers via the same method? Face facts, they sold 7 million to consumers.

morganfell3654d ago

Yes every console manufacturer reports shippeed numbers BUT... there is an ocean of difference between shipped in and shipped through which are the two methods of reporting. You can bury your head in the sand and pretend those numbers do not matter or you can deal with the facts.

illtownNJONE3654d ago

Sony is worth 16 billion as a whole

frostypants3654d ago

@JohnnyBadfinger, channel stuffing is a thing. Companies do it.

morganfell3654d ago

http://www.gamasutra.com/vi...

"We do expect to work through some inventory in Q4," said Hood, referring in this case to the period between April 1 - June 30, 2014. She also referred to "channel inventory drawdown for Xbox consoles," implying that manufacturing of Xbox consoles will slow or stop, to allow retailers time to work through existing inventory.

PONTIAC08G8GT3654d ago

I love how many haters are on this website. Why does it bother you if they sold 8 million X1's in a month or 8? Like does this really matter to you? It's so funny reading all these posts and how everyone is a financial analyst or gaming expert. It's pathetic how many sad people are on here. Getting panties in a bunch over numbers Microsoft released, who honestly cares. If you bought a PS4, knock yourself out. You bought an X1, good for you. If you bought a Wii U, well I just feel bad for you lol.

+ Show (35) more repliesLast reply 3654d ago
christocolus3655d ago

I wish I had some of that in my bank account right now. That's a alot of cash and Bill just keeps getting richer every day and yet he lives such a simple life style.

Well I hope this spurs the new management to continue investing more into the xbox division. Nadella im talking to you. Sign off another $1b for games.

NewMonday3655d ago

you will get $0 in your bank account because if look up the actual profits after revenue the number is "0"

DiRtY3654d ago

@NewMonday

Only on N4G false information get agree votes.

The profit for the Devices and Consumer Hardware division (Xbox 360, Xbox One and Surface) is 260 million USD and this does not include first party games!

MS as a whole reported a 14.5 billion USD profit for 3 months.

Where did you get that nonsense from? The last quarter the the devices and consumer hardware (former EDD) division reported a loss was July 2012. The EDD post an annual profit since 2008.

This is not Sony we are talking about.

Magicite3655d ago ShowReplies(5)
3655d ago Replies(5)
Utalkin2me3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

They shipped a paltry 1.2 million Xbox 1 units in Q3 and people think they got 20,000,000,000 in revenue, lol. The Xbox division is still in the red and the only reason MS makes a profit is due to having a monopoly in desktop OS....SMH

Dewitt3655d ago

Wow you are so clueless it isn't funny. Actually, read the article before you post.

fr0sty3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

Actually, he isn't clueless about Xbox being in the red. The original Xbox lost 4 billion dollars. The 360 went on to lose a billion more with RROD. So far Xbox as a brand has never turned a dime of profit, it hasn't even repaid its investment to the company. This is why so many are calling for it to be sold off.

That said, Sony erased all of their PS1 and PS2 profits with PS3, so they haven't been profitable with gaming either... though they haven't lost as much as MS has when you factor everything together. PS4 is also selling like hotcakes, so that picture only continues to improve.

fonger083655d ago

@Utalkin2Me yes technically Xbox is in the red but so is Sony in that timeframe... so not really sure where you're going with that.

@Fr0sty Xbox turned a profit for 4 years straight (2008-2011). Though they've lost 3 billion (2003-2013), and Sony has lost 5 billion over that same time frame. Gaming is an expensive venture...

http://www.neowin.net/news/...

k3rn3ll3654d ago

Actually the majority of their money is made off enterprise now a days.

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Nekroo913654d ago (Edited 3654d ago )

TrueFan let me explain how it works...

It doesent matter for the xbox if the company makes 20 billion in profit (twice as much Sony value) because the xbox division is non profitable. And hey stock owners want to make MORE money, not lose it to make kids like you happy.

Theres a reason why the CEO wants to sell it ...to make the board happy.Its a business when is non profitable its time to cut..just like what sony is doing with pc division

miDnIghtEr20C_SfF3654d ago

Wow.. Looks like Xbox is really in trouble.. Insert rolling eyes gif here. Up way big time than before.

All the die hard Sony fans will not want to believe the factual numbers.

Here we go!

LambOfLucifer793654d ago

You know if you're pro xbox on this site you'll be downvoted. That's hysterical to me. Honestly, it looks like xbox is doing really well. Let's see how many disagrees I get. LMAO

randomass1713654d ago

The best way to look at it is Xbox One may not be outperforming PS4 but it's still doing respectable numbers. No reason to downvote anyone for being happy about that. The Xbox One could be doing much worse than this and people don't seem to realize that.

Jazz41083654d ago

Sonys projected report for the quarter is more loses and its around 5 billion this year. Sony is in trouble as a company and ms is doing great as a company. Go ahead and break up little pieces of the company to try to make ms look bad when its the bottom line that matters and thats Ms is makeing a profit consistantly while sony has lossed over 3 times what the company used to be worth maybe more. Like I said its the bottom line that counts and alot of companys keep divisions around that dont make huge profit because it can be used in other venues. Im not trying to rag on sony so dont rag on ms when all they did was generate more billions in a quarter.

Thunderhawkxbox3654d ago

Woow look at Sony fan boys giving u dislike guess wat Sony fan boys Microsoft doesn't have to se their building or laptop or tv division at least try to enjoy your last console which is indie station 4 before Sony goes completely bankrupt

XxExacutionerxX3654d ago

Xbox One!!!! Greatest system on the planet!!

Lowsnamebrand3654d ago

Good job passing an opinion off as fact, even though the console is selling less and has bottlenecks the competing console doesn't have...

TripC503654d ago

Read xxEx and lows comments above.

Sums up what happens all day everyday on N4G.

medman3654d ago

Yet more meaningless bs stats from the Microsoft camp who prefer deflection and distraction to actually telling gamers how many consoles have actually been sold to consumers. Shameful. F Microsoft.

BG115793654d ago

They will be able of telling you how many bullets were fired in certain games. How many hours per day people live the bone on. How the revenue from ads increased.
But consoles sold to costumers? That's pure science fiction man. Let's keep it at consoles sent to retailers. Those are good numbers.

sak5003654d ago

Much better with games and updates than the always mum sony who have no clue how to update their new console since they haven't updated a single thing since it was launched. Turning their rabid fanboys into mental patients who can only vent their frustration by trying to troll MS articles.

They are called Sonmbies. Sony's zombies.

Alsybub3654d ago

@medman

These are the stats given to shareholders. They cannot lie on these. If they do then they will be breaking the law. If you have insider information I suggest you report it to the relevant authorities.

Also, it is a requirement that the numbers are based on shipped. If you have an issue with this you should take it up with the international stock exchanges.

Muzikguy3654d ago

I couldn't for one second believe that was all "Xbox". That's a ton of money. They would need to sell 40 million XboxOnes to do that O_O (well, games too but still)

Alsybub3654d ago

It's because that figure is for the whole company.

imt5583654d ago

Well, MS shipped 1.2 mil. Xbone's from Jan.-Mar. to retailers, Sony SOLD 2.7+ mil. PS4's to customers from Jan.-Mar. ( 4.2+ sold in 2013. )

So, sell ratio is greater than 2:1 in PS4 favor from Jan.-Mar.

greenlantern28143654d ago

Great news for any one who owns stock in the company. But why can't they say what the actual sales of the xb1 is already?

+ Show (12) more repliesLast reply 3654d ago
Lawboy23655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

Andbeforetheseareshippedconsol es

To shareholders this is $ in their pockets....whether sold to consumers or sold to retailers...the shareholders make money...and so does microsoft

Also as stated in the comments in the article

U have to REMEBER the shareholders are not looking at the ps4 sales figures...this is the quarterly report it has to be reported so that the shareholders can see what state the company is in...and from the looks of things the xbox division is doing good

Also u must REMEBER that retailers wouldn't continue buying consoles if they weren't selling...that's why only 1 million consoles were shipped in the quarter...that's a good way of seeing how the console is selling...retailers order more stock when they've sold their previous stock

@ 2pac

This is the quarterly report...also how does sales figure help gamers other than to boost gamers egos....in actuality its not about the amount of consoles sold...it's about the revenue and profit the consoles brings in...more revenue and profit more games can go into development and things like better online also come into play

2pacalypsenow3655d ago

Yes because Shareholders are gamers and its about the shareholder not the gamer

nypifisel3655d ago

Sillyness. Shareholders say "Why aren't Xbox selling as well as PS4?"

There are nearly 1 million Xbox Ones sitting on shelves.

T23655d ago

well regardless of whether or not these are shipped or sold I wonder if ms is happy with xbox sales...

1. xb1 is selling better than 360!
2. PS4 is likely to have sold 2X more than xb1 at this point.

Those are strange figures that I think few expected... so the question remains, is MS happy? we may never know.
One thing is certain though, if there are a boatload of xb1 on shelves, the coming months may not be very good.

k3rn3ll3654d ago

And what makes you think that there are 1.5 million Xboxes sitting on the shelves? That would mean they didn't sell any xboxes in Feb and march. Now being in 16 countries that means their is an average of close to 100000 sitting on shelves in each country. Highly unlikely

T23654d ago

It may not be exactly 2x but it's 7.5 million vs 4.3 million so you get my meaning. Double in a short time basically

DefenderOfDoom23654d ago

Who cares what the shareholders make ! I want to know how many people here own MICROSOFT shares! I guess i have a sour taste in my mouth due to the fact, i have been living check to check since the economy tanked in 2007! . The rich get richer and the poor suffer!

Chevalier3654d ago

@Lawboy

Actually Xbone isn't selling well. My store since March has sold well over 100 PS4's and only 35 or so Xbone. That was during their biggest release Titanfall. We have a dozen sitting in my back room and unsold. The systems we sell do not generate any money for us or Sony it's the peripherals and all the games where we both make money. The Xbone sitting is a loss because the space we pay rent on.

MS doesn't benefit at all from us havint units sitting unsold. They need those unitsto be in a customers hands to generate sales continuously.

For example when my customer buys the system with game, PS plus annual, controller etc. Sony and us both profit. These customers also come back for new games and trade in old ones profitting us both again. MS however haven't made much if anything by selling us the system. As long as they sit the less our company orders and the less they generate in profit.

Lawboy23654d ago

If missing the point...once the console is ordered ur company pays Microsoft....and yes I understand they don't make money while the system sits in the back because games and peripherals aren't sold....but the only reason ur company orders so many consoles is because they believe they can sell it....I promise you...if they didn't they wouldn't order it or they would ship it to another retailer in the company that is selling the system better...that's how business works....

Chevalier3654d ago (Edited 3654d ago )

@Lawboy

Yeah you might think that, but, we don't get many Xbones anywhere near a regular rate. Our company is sitting on stock and there is no need to order any more stock or we order much less overall. We're receiving stock replenishment from our remaining company stock not necessarily new stock.

Also your missing the point which is that the hardware themselves are NOT profitable. Yes we paid MS for those units, but, they either break even or take a loss. Their manufacturing cost is just under what they sell them to us for and the extra money they make goes into paying the shipping to get us the units once you get that cost in they made no money or took a loss. Sitting in our backroom is a cost too because we pay rent and every month they go unsold is a slight loss.

So the point is our company will stop buying stock till we sell through our stock. In fact our company may not be sitting on many units because our company thinks we'll sell them so much as MS may have offered deals to take so many units offering them for cheaper then usual or absorbing the cost by allowing us to send them back unsold units.

Also they stuff the channels purposely during March in particular by offering retailers deals to stock up not because it will sell, but, to put up higher numbers to report to shareholders and make you think they're doing well by having an inflated number and say to naive people that there is 5 million units in retailers hands. They do this during March because it is fiscal year end for most major corporations and they need their annual reports to stockholders to be deceptively good sounding. So in reality if you look through all the BS they are not doing well.

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Lawboy23655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

Also nice article abriael very detailed...I really do like dual shockers website starting to be one of my favorites

@ death

Yeah I like n4g but dual shockers report on everything and they are pretty good at getting to the news first which is why I like them

DeathOfTheFanBoy3655d ago

Better than N4G, that's for sure.

TheRedButterfly3655d ago

Well that's not really saying much... My infant cousin does less whining than N4G.

Utalkin2me3655d ago

@TheRedButterfly

Says the guy whining about N4G, roflmao

TheTowelBoy3655d ago

Agree, I don't hate the site completely but the community is very, very toxic. And one sided.

Zhipp3654d ago

@Utalkin2me
He's not whining. He's just making a statement of fact.

randomass1713654d ago

N4G is not a bad site, but unfortunately the community can be pretty unreasonable and antagonistic. I'm a Sony fan, but I like to think I'm more open minded about other game companies and what they have to offer. I want all three to do well. Microsoft's competition and Nintendo's competition HELP Sony improve themselves. I wish more people recognized that.

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christocolus3655d ago

Yeah Abriael thanks for this post...you doing good.

Went through Nadella and Hoods comments once more. As good as this was i'm certain theyll improve on it next quarter.

"CEO Satya Nadella accompanied the release with a statement:
This quarter’s results demonstrate the strength of our business, as well as the opportunities we see in a mobile-first, cloud-first world. We are making good progress in our consumer services like Bing and Office 365 Home, and our commercial customers continue to embrace our cloud solutions. Both position us well for long-term growth.We are focused on executing rapidly and delivering bold, innovative products that people love to use.

CFO Amy hood also commented:
We delivered solid, broad-based financial results driven by strong execution and continued cost discipline. We are focusing our resources to drive growth and long-term shareholder value."

I wish the new management all the best and i hope they continue doing really well.

NYC_Gamer3655d ago

I hope MS uses some of that profit to build up the Xbox brand in terms of software

AceBlazer133655d ago

Can't speak for profits but the revenue already went into price cuts and a ton of free games bundled in . Good guy microsoft.

Abriael3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

Just as a clarification, the price cuts weren't sponsored by Microsoft. That's retailers taking a loss in order to sell more consoles, and get a higher profit on accessories and games as a result.

When Microsoft or Sony sponsor a price cut, it happens across the board, not just at certain retailers.

GameSpawn3655d ago

Abriael,

Sometimes you can get deals with distributors by ordering certain amounts. Usually stores chalk this up to a better profit margin and don't pass along the savings to the end customer, but sometimes when the product isn't moving you eat your "bonus" profit to get the product out the door.

So, you are 80% right. A price cut from Sony or Microsoft would be across the board (though could still be limited to a region). However stores aren't always eating as much of a loss as you think they are, because you don't know if they got extra "incentives" (read discounts) with their last order.

True_Samurai3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

They already are with 1 Billion spent on exclusives whether it's 1st-3rd party exclusives or just exclusive content. Also by opening new first party studios such as Leap Experience Pioneers

BTW CAN'T WAIT FOR SUNSET OVERDRIVE REVEAL IN EDGE MAGAZINE ON MAY 8TH

jackanderson19853654d ago

The 1bil is first/second party cuz I'm pretty sure they said it was invested within Microsoft studios so that would exclude the third parties from that amount

corvusmd3655d ago (Edited 3655d ago )

Nice, well done MS. Growth is always a great thing, and it's good to see that the XB1 is doing very well financially as well. The more profitable it is for them, the more they will be willing to invest in it.

Abriael makes a good point above, it wasn't MS making official price cuts as of yet, that was retailers competing with each other for business. And if it was due to an inability to move consoles...they would not have shipped-in 1.2 mil more consoles.

DoubleM703655d ago

Yes any growth is positive. As long as your not in the red your doing fine. You got disagrees....LOL

T23655d ago

uhh nooo , it was just as likely retailers competing to OFFLOAD excess stock as it was competing, you don't slash prices to compete with a sold out product, you slash price to try and ditch your product so that your competitor is left holding the bag. nice try though. and their sales are just fine , but "shipping in" 1.2 mil console isn't saying squat.

Chevalier3654d ago

No company likes dropping prices unless they have large stocks and are desperate to clear space. The longer they sit they actually lose money because of the rented space and taking up space of product that actually sells. A sale at full price without a peripheral, year of live , points or game is a loss. Selling a discounted system is a bigger loss leader in hopes of generating profit. 1.2 million shipped across a quarter when your competition actually sold through 3 million units isn't good.

In the last 7 weeks my store has sold well over 100 PS4's and our company orders as much as we can because we sell every single unit where's since Titanfall bundles we've only sold out we have only sold 3 regular units. That's already 3 x the sales of Xbone.

If that's your idea of great sales I don't know what to say. The stock I receive this week for PS4 represent a guaranteed sale and I can guarantee you that shipment is more than the Xbone we'll sell all month. Plus there aren't any other major titles coming out till fall? This is why retailers will be continue to bundle free games and MS will also start making bundles to try to boost sales. Generally bundles come much later in a systems lifetime when sales start dropping.

Show all comments (245)
240°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

Read Full Story >>
theverge.com
darthv7220h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle7h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18814h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio4h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Cacabunga7h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

shinoff21836h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga5h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

itsmebryan1h ago

@shin
Well keep it simple Sony 's operating income is down 26% and Microsoft's is up 32%. No MS spin there, just facts. 😉
Cheers

purple1019h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos9h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

XBManiac8h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1018h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic6h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

Show all comments (26)
300°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

Read Full Story >>
insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere1d 17h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 14h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos1d 12h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN1d 5h ago

They can form a company if they want, they are just as jobless as if "Microsoft had left them as 3rd party".

peppeaccardo1d 6h ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

ChasterMies1d 2h ago

I think Microsoft and other game publishers are letting people go because they think ai will replace them. Doesn’t matter how much profit they make. They were always going to be let go.

PassNextquestion1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger1d 14h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Mr Logic1d ago

What a stupid thing to say. The elites give 0 fucks what we say on an obscure website in the comments section.

Crows901d ago

You can always reach out and give them jobs at your company man. Don't wait

Profchaos1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto1d 16h ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos1d 16h ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long1d 13h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel1d 15h ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator1d 14h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

Show all comments (21)
280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple10112d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref12d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde12d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander197212d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville12d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff218311d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos11d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
isarai12d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref12d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan12d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis00711d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander197212d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

12d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197212d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

12d ago
12d ago
Zeref12d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde12d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander197212d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander197212d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier12d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto12d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff218311d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto11d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
Hofstaderman12d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts12d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts11d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)