Microsoft: Is Their Failure Inevitable? Probably Not...

While you’d think we all eagerly await the announcement of the next Xbox from Microsoft (MS), it seems some parties have a somewhat different view on what the future holds. Forbes analyst Adam Hartung recently delivered what can only be described as an utterly damning verdict of MS’s future chances, suggesting that the company’s failure may already be inevitable, and their entertainment section could be sold to Sony!

Anything said by an analyst with a grain of salt as their every statement seems to be intended to get their name into the press but is there any cause for concern?

[TheLyonKing]

To one word: Money

Even if they fail it won't stop them

[NastyLeftHook0]

gotta have that street cred tho. when i skateboard i know alot of people who have mongoose decks and there crap(break and snap easy (too heavy) and you can get them anywhere, point is that money can only get you so far. and thats why i am sticking with a certain company i want.

and ps: i want to buy that doll.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Well, what does "fail" really mean? A lot of idiots called the PSP a failure, yet it sold nearly 80 million and had a gigantic library of awesome JRPGs, puzzle games, action games, etc. (stuff that wasn't available or possible on the DS).

I guess some people just want everything except their favorite to be a failure.

[StrongMan]

It will fail if the rumors about always online, used games blocked, Kinect required, and Kinect spying on you are true. MS employees are already defending always requiring an online connection to play so that the next Xbox always requiring an online connection must be true.

[steve30x]

When the normal joe soap brings home their shiny new console , connects it up and BAM!!!! they cant play their games without online connection then thats when the hurt will start hitting. I know a few people with PS3's and Xbox 360's that dont have their consoles connected to the internet and they dont want to do so either. Microsoft is thinking inside their own box and not venturing outside the box if they think always online is a good thing.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

this proves xbox online rumor is not true!!

Xbox fans stand up!!
http://n4g.com/news/1225655...

then

http://n4g.com/news/1225873...

xbox ftl!

[DivineAssault]

if rumors are true, they will fail.. Im sure their media options will be better than PS4 as well as their camera but that always online, & required install for games will kill it.. Not to mention if they continue catering to casuals with camera games & not stepping up their exclusives.. They will dig their own grave but who knows? This can all be false but i for one will buy PS4 day 1... Not doing that with nx box regardless what cool things illumiroom kinect 2.0 or media apps it has.. Games are all i care about & installing all of em isnt something i want to do

[baldulf]

Microsoft was able to sold Kinect by simply throwing a bazillion dollars in marketing.

They would do the same with Durango. Maybe some EA exclusive to sweet the deal and people would even eat a mandatory Gold live service. Yeah, consumers are that dumb.

[mcstorm]

@baldulf this is not true. Just because money is thrown at something's dose not mean it will be a success.

The Original Xbox had a load of money thrown at it yet it was outsold by the PS3. WP7 has just as much money as Kinect put into it yet it was not a success its only now starting to get a grip of the market due to Nokia pushing the hardware and it now getting the Apps it was missing.

For a product to sell it has to have hype and also work. Kinect did work and worked very well for games like Kinect Sports and Dance central. This is the Market that MS wanted to get into and this is where it sold. Yes it was a flop in terms of Core games but was better than Move and Wii Mote for games like this.

I work in the IT industry and ive been following Google, Apple and Microsoft over the past 10 years and seen Apple and Google over take Microsoft in a lot of areas that Microsoft had a grip on and Microsoft deserved to lose out in some of the Markets like Phone and Tablets because they were just looking in one direction but now MS have woken up and the start of having one eco system could see MS over take Google and Apple again on the next 10 years as they are now making very good products. WP8 is a very stable and fast growing OS and Nokia to push it. The surface is imo the best tablet on the market at the moment and offers more than Android tablets and IOS and then adding that to the rise in touch screens over the next few years Windows 8 is ahead of OSX and Chrome. MS will also have the xbox to sit in the middle of WP and Windows that will connect everything together form Games, Music & videos to work Skype ect.

I think in the games industry Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will have a good gen this up and coming gen though and I don't think there will be a clear winner like in the last 3 gens come the end of it.

[BanBrother]

I'm not buying a 720 at all if it is online only. Not only that, I will immediately stop buying games for the 360. I'll buy all my multi-plats for PS3 instead. The nerve of these pricks is astounding.

[Belking]

Then don't buy it. It's a simple choice.

[shinrock]

people who live on the internet complaining about a machine thats always online. LMFAO.

[clintos59]

Having options is always a better choice. How can anyone even defend that. Just like paying for xbl. How is paying for something that is free on every other system out there even a good thing? Because HBO? Lol Microsoft is screwing ya'll because they know they can because ya'll let them do it to u.

[shinrock]

ok.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

People really need to chill on all of the 720/durango hate.
Until Microsoft confirm always online requirements there is nothing to get worked up about.
All of these rumours for the next Xbox and PS4 are getting out of hand we just need to be patient. I can't wait for everything to be out in the open because the next gen hype trail is on overload lol.

[Why o why]

ms are more resilient than that

just think....they rode out this gen charging their customers just to access the online components of games they've already paid for survived rrod and disk scratching, rode upping the price for the said online service and slyly switched their gaming focus. If they can survive that...they can survive almost anything PLUS none of these next gen issues have been confirmed so it doesn't even matter yet .

[wheresmymonkey]

The silence from MS about the whole always online, No used games thing is doing tons of damage. They need to address it. make a gesture, having the creative director turning around and be a douchebag about the issue probably didn't help matters either.

Like any kind of contest getting people on side is incredibly important. Both inside and outside the industry.

Sony at the moment seem to be doing everything in their power to please devlopers and consumers with the ps4.

Devs are happy because its easy to make games for and sony are relaxing a lot of their policies regards what they can and cant do with updates.

In the meantime they've already confirmed to us lot that the ps4 wont require an always on internet connection and wont block used game sales.

regardless of how this pans out MS are going to have an uphill battle trying to keep people onside. PLenty of people jumped from sony to MS this gen and i don't think they'll have any problem jumping back in the next.

[dcbronco]

It doesn't do damage. A fool will be a fool. Some will believe what they want to believe. People have throughout history. If something fits what works for them they will accept the most idiotic ideas and beliefs. The real problem is that those are the sheep that are used by smarter people to screw up things for anyone with half a brain.

Forbes has clearly hired a monkey to get them hits. Sheep will continue to give them those hits even though this guy has done nothing but talked out of his a--. He is a Fox News all unto himself. This is a failing media form trying to re-invent itself online and using people dumb enough fall for the same old tricks.

People need to use common sense. If you believe online MP doesn't hurt Sony's bottom line, then you have to believe MS makes a huge profit on Gold. If you believe the PS3 is being sold at a profit(and it is), then you have to know the 360 is since it cost more and combined the two most expensive parts into one chip. If you know MS gets ten dollars for every game sold on the 360 and they've sold hundreds of millions of games since launch, you know they are making money. We also know the parts inside Kinect cost less than $60 and it is sold for $100.

MS is making a lot of money in gaming. It magazines that are losing money.

[wheresmymonkey]

It is though. Its doing dmage to their reputation and i know plenty of people that are quite happy with their next gen systems being a wiiU and a ps4.

I'm not talking finanacially, I'm alking about public opinion which in this age of endless net debate about everything is pretty damn important.

[dcbronco]

That's typical N4G talk. It's like when a new Sony exclusive is announced. You see a day one purchase comment and 200 agrees. It gives you the impression that millions are going to buy something or do something. Then Battle Royale releases and no one buys it. Or Starhawk.

All of this is based on rumors and people willing to believe anything. Mostly just followers. I understand that if it were true. But the reality is things won't be nearly as bad as what's been written. It' been written because gamers are everyone's new "hits" suckers. They've replaced Moms and the "This is killing your child" headlines.

Besides. The PS4 will be always on. The PS4 will also be able to block used games. Every negative thing rumored about the 720 will also apply to the PS4. All the things that will supposedly chase them from the 720. Then it will be evident that most of the talk was from Sony fanboys and naive people. Naive enough to believe on company isn't running a business.

[ThatsGaming]

MS demise has been rumoured since the early early 90's...

First, the mac os was going to kill MS, then it was IBM OS/2, then netscape, then java, then Linux, etc. etc.

Anyone thinking that MS will disappear easily and abruptly is plain wrong. MS is still very profitable and they are managed internally to respond to all market changes.

MS has several strengths...

- Integration of tools: development, OS, Office, and now Xbox and Windows Phone...
- Their history of backwards compatibility... In the OS specifically
- Their ability to respond to market changes. They are never the first to change, but they make sure they do change for everything that is relevant

[mamotte]

A failure based in rumors? Why dont we doom the PS5 and Xbox 1440 while we're at it?

[urwifeminder]

Keep bringing the fear ms love it.