1120°

Microsoft Is Making An Astonishing $2 Billion Per Year From Android Patent Royalties

Microsoft is generating $2 billion per year in revenue from Android patent royalties, says Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund in a new note on the company.
He estimates that the Android revenue has a 95% margin, so it's pretty much all profit.

This money, says Sherlund, helps Microsoft hide the fact that its mobile and Xbox groups are burning serious cash.

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businessinsider.com
theBAWSE3823d ago ShowReplies(16)
bleedsoe9mm3823d ago (Edited 3823d ago )

console launches are very expensive sony sold every except shuhei yoshida's toupee to get liquid enough for their launch . funny thing about stock analysts they actually don't like companies spending money .

kneon3823d ago

It's not just the launch. If you add up the profit and losses since the first xbox Microsoft have yet to make money with the xbox. That kind of performance doesn't make investors very happy, that's why it's often suggested that they sell off the division.

bleedsoe9mm3823d ago

the first xbox was a loss leader just to get their foot in the door , the 360 and its services were very profitable

kneon3823d ago

The RROD cost them billions, they have yet to recover all their costs. If the xb1 is profitable early on then perhaps the breakup talk will go quiet. On the other hand if it does poorly then expect it to continue and potentially intensify.

bleedsoe9mm3823d ago

if you want to look at ms failed ventures xbox is not high on the list of things that are dragging down stock prices

AndrewLB3822d ago

What's hilarious is how all the Sony fanboys constantly rip micro$oft (<--example) for being incredibly greedy and how they rip off consumers, yet once you get back into the real world, you'd realize that Microsoft is currently about even on their Xbox division.

Bleedsoe9mm- No, the 360 was no different. Microsoft didn't "rape" consumers, "screw" gamers, or all the propoganda from uninformed idiots. http://www.forbes.com/sites...

Sony has made far more profit from their gaming division, and to thank their lemming-like followers they release a console that can't do 1080p/60 as standard. At least microsoft has the excuse of not making any money off Xbox, so they couldn't go crazy on hardware this time.

kneon3822d ago

@AndrewLB

Whether or not Microsoft loses money has no bearing on whether or not they are ripping off their customers.

I don't understand how anyone doesn't see the fact that they charge you to access services for which you've already paid as ripping people off.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3822d ago
Dehnus3823d ago (Edited 3823d ago )

That is because arsehole groups.. I mean "Activist Funds" like Value act only think in the short term. They rather stay in a slowly declining market of profit (Like MS and there Business services and Server software) then trying to get into new markets.

They forget for instance that MS knows very well that Servers are more and more moving to Open Source solutions. MS also knows very well that the consumer market is where the money is. THey also know that the time of "paid operatings systems" is also on their decline. Either you get an Open Source OS or you'll be using a cloud based system in about 10 years.

So what Value Act wants is basically delayed suicide, well murder as they will pull out with a profit before that happens. At the expense of a lot of scientists and Engineers now (MS research) and later the whole company... losing their jobs. They would make a short term very high gain, and get richer, while they socialise the loses for the company to the normal taxpayers in the form of unemployment costs and bailouts.

They did this before with Motorola and they aren't the only "fund" out there doing this crap. They defend it with sayings like "Cutting the fat!" or "We make them profitable again!" or "We make them more profitable!". But it is always a short term gain, and a long term loss.

Sadly that is what most stock owners care about. There are exceptions like Isoa Okawa (SEGA's stockholder after SEGA wend bankrupt for the n'th time) but such "sugar daddies" are rare.

The few companies that survived this and aren't sold off/bought out, are set back years. They either go bankrupt in the end anyway, or they take for ever to regain some form of "healthy business".

iceman063822d ago

The selling everything to get liquid had more to do with the change in paradigm from cell architecture to AMD chipsets. They had to build factories to build the Cell. Once those were no longer needed, they sold off those properties. True, Sony has a set of financial issues all it's own and they are currently addressing them through restructuring, less aggressive forecasting (stop guessing at the money market), and a new approach to consoles (less hit up front).
MS, on the other hand, had the issue of investors that didn't see the return that was expected with the Xbox brand. After 10 years of "heavy" investment, they keep seeing money being thrown at it to modest to no real gains. The issue is simply that they thought that they could get a fast buck and game's industry dollars are not fast. When they are, they must be carefully managed and applied to the future of the brand.

quarkist3823d ago

Console business is like a drug, you keep losing and still don't give up! :D

3823d ago Replies(2)
Games_R_Us3823d ago

Wow, some analyst says MS should drop out. Wow, thats amazing. Gee I am an analyst too, how about I predict Sony folds due to loosing 95% of its value since 1985? Here is MS with more cash in the world than most companies and this shit is spun. Anything for hits.

Yes, you got me to click.
Congrats.

Now deal with the trolls!

JustPlay43823d ago (Edited 3823d ago )

They probably should will they probably not becauses they have tons of money to cover the cost but none of it comes from xbox, why?

Xbox brand is worth 4.9 Millon

Micsroft as a company is worth about 230 Billion

Manic20143823d ago

Seriously??

The xbox brand is worth $11 billion at estimate. They have lost billions but since 08 they have been recouping the loss from Xbox live and the 360 slim sales.

JustPlay43823d ago (Edited 3823d ago )

@MMEHTA Sorry I was wrong website was bad i guess

devwan3823d ago

@MMEHTA "They have lost billions but since 08 they have been recouping the loss from Xbox live and the 360 slim sales."

Yes, trouble is they've gone and invested millions upon millions more in their next venture - xbox one.

This cycle can only end if they do so well that they break even and begin to generate real profit. I'm not sure anyone sees that happening right now with the fiasco that has been xbox one so far. It's been nothing short of a catastrophe.

Themba763823d ago

they will never catch apple keep dreamin.

sentury1113823d ago

Yeah the company they saved when they were broke.
Things change and MS is still very profitable.

JustPlay43823d ago

They will they never catch up to google more like it

mcstorm3823d ago

@JustPlay4 you do know Microsoft are worth more than Google? Also Themba76 no one can say they will never catch Apple as these things come in cycles. Look back 10 years ago and people would of said Apple would be worth more than Microsoft or that Samsung would of been bigger than Sony. The technology world can change over night and it goes round in cycles too. Look at Nokia who were untouchable but then along came the IPhone and it took the market by storm. Then everyone was saying Android will never be bigger than IOS yet it did.

It has also been said about Windows Phone but it is now growing and has 10% of the market around the world.

No one knows what will and wont be a success even in the gaming world its hard to say what will sell and what will not. Look at the stick the 3DS was getting and everyone one here was saying the PSV would walk all over it but Nintendo turned it around.

TheGreenMan3823d ago

@ Paul

You fail to understand how business works. It's about properly leveraging your assets and maximizing return on investment. The fact is, MS makes a much better return in its other divisions when compared to the Xbox. Investors see this and want MS to "trim the fat" and focus on its money-makers. The Playstation brand on the other hand, is quite successful for Sony (even though the company is not doing well as a whole); therefore, investors and analysts aren't calling for Sony to exit gaming.

iceman063822d ago

Think we said the same thing, in different ways!!! Bubs back at ya!

iceman063822d ago

Firstly, this is FAR from the first analyst to propose this. It's been reported multiple times. Second, IF we were talking about SONY...you'd have a valid argument. Sony has not been turning a profit either and actually lost more money on the PS3 then MS did with the Xbox. MS has a shit ton of cash...correct. The investors want to continue a venture that costs them more than the effort and losses are worth!?!? See, that's the issue. WE see MS and think endless buckets of cash. Investors see MS and think...that's money out of MY pocket!
Personally, I don't think Xbox will fold. However, if there is not much improvement. There WILL be pressure to restructure, augment, and scale the operation to achieve a much better profit margin.

TheGreenMan3822d ago

Very well said sir....bubbles for you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3822d ago
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140°

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
darthv7213h 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.

solideagle31m ago

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

purple1012h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos2h ago

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

XBManiac1h ago

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

SimpleDad1h ago(Edited 1h 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.

purple10159m ago

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

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos30m ago(Edited 28m 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

Show all comments (9)
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 10h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 7h ago

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

Barlos1d 4h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN22h ago

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

peppeaccardo23h ago

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

ChasterMies19h 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 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h 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 7h ago

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

Mr Logic17h ago

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

Crows9017h ago

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

Profchaos1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h 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 9h ago

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

Profchaos1d 8h ago

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

Yi-Long1d 5h ago

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

XiNatsuDragnel1d 8h ago

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

Profchaos1d 6h ago (Edited 1d 6h ago )

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

TheColbertinator1d 7h 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 ☝️

Zeref11d 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.

DarXyde11d 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.

PhillyDonJawn11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

Einhander197211d 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.

MrBaskerville11d 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?

Zeref11d 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.

MrNinosan11d 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
Zeref11d 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.

DarXyde11d 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.

Einhander197211d 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.

Einhander197211d 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.

BehindTheRows11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

Zeref11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

Chevalier11d 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.

Tacoboto11d 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
Hofstaderman11d 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?

crazyCoconuts11d 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.

crazyCoconuts10d 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.

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