Microsoft's COO has reiterated that the software giant "believes" in the gaming space, even though the Xbox 360 continues to be a money-losing business-after all, "it took seven, eight, or nine years before Windows was profitable."
Since Microsoft entered the console market in 2001, the Xbox strategy has been one of heavy investment, leading to significant losses in its home and entertainment division.
The losses are clear in recent financial reports. For fiscal year 2005, Microsoft's game division posted a $485 million net loss. In fiscal 2006, ended June 30, 2006, the division lost $1.26 billion.
Microsoft COO Kevin Turner told San Jose Mercury News journalist Dean Takahashi that the heavy losses are all part of making Microsoft an increasingly viable player in the games space.
I'm thinking i'll slowly back out of here before the fanboys show up.
ERrr....Braking News
Sony won't give up on the PS3... OMG!
As long as investing means earning in the long run, that's fine. The most important quote from this article is:
"During the 2006 Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting, he said that fiscal 2007 would again show losses for the company’s games business, but in fiscal 2008, he said that gaming would turn a profit, which would be a first for a full fiscal year."
The fiscal year of 2008 starts July 2007 by the way. Now that's earning profit earlier then they expected in the first place. Probably because the attach rate of games is so high on 4.5 games per unit sold average
ANd yeah, the title is a bit dumb chosen in this case. But well, that's making an article more interesting then it actually is. By the way, this is old news...
I think I read somewhere that Bill wants this to succeed and he says 20 billion has been reserved to do it the right way, so I guess still some dollars to go and burn then MS ;)
@ Orielkiller I really don't believe you own a 360, because any gamer that got a console, if it's a PS2, Gamecube, XBOX or 360 uses it. Period. If not you're a lying dude
wow that much Money ... i wonder how much does nintendo has to suffer ... oh wait they are not suffering cuz with the ds they are making so much million ...lol anyway im getting a PS3 since i already have a 360 and dont even use it
Sure, MS has only seen a loss since it decided to get involved in the gaming market. But you have to take into consideration of the fact that it had to go against PS2 and Nintendo. Not only did it have to go against such companies but they also had to gain respect and credebility from outside developers, MS had to create partnerships with publishers, and above all had to create a fanbase. Also, I do remind you that it did all that in one generation of hardware, it's called Xbox. So for all that said that the original Xbox was a flop, you're mistaken. MS in it's first generation of hardware created, XBL, XBL Arcade, created the Halo Series, created relationships with publishers/developers, and affirmed itself as a legit home-entertainment console.
Just look what MS is gaining in this next generation and what it has already gained. Look at the X amount of games it's helping develop. The innovations that is has helped to frontier. MS is not a monopoly but a contributer to the cause.