Is Microsoft's Xbox 360's Success Really All That Successful?

There's been a lot of talk about whether Microsoft is really making any profit from the Xbox 360. For all the money that the company has invested in the "next generation" gaming machine, it simply begs the question if Microsoft and other third-party contributors are really making headway from all their efforts? Well, CB Games takes a quick look to see what the progress has been for the 360.

[ChefDejon]

no doubt about that as of now but why are so many peopl coming out and questions microsoft. I guess the reign of Xbox 360 isnt all that big.

I dont see the Xbox 360 goign anywhere next year i think the iptv is gonna be the last great upgrade then after that they are just gonna do game and dashboard updates which is boring. thats kinda why i dont have one and wont ever get one.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

I see your comment wasn`t very well accepted. Looks like you need to read the article before the commenting.

[DG]

This article is kind of bias simply because MS entertainment division included the Zune which failed miserably and they spent close to half a billion dollars on development and marketing. Which took that money form the same division as the 360 and since the devision only includes two products its kind of unfair to judge 06 numbers, Ill wait till 07 to decide if MS's Entertainment division is profitable.

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

If the wii can sell half wat they sold in under a year are they really that successful...

[techie]

begging the question a bit arent we?

Mart shut up. No need for your ill-informed bias campaign here. The games coming to the ps3 are next-gen goodness and will be very impressive so leave it out. DOn't know if you saw but there was media from three of those games. HS, Lair and Uncharted. Quit being so blind.

[TheMART]

If it has real next gen games to play, yup the 360 is succesfull.

Wait, what's on the PS3...

Some ducks in a bath? And what's there the comming months before the summer?

Uh oh... Only 360 has some nice exclusives in the coming months:

May: Forza 2 and C&C3
June: Bioshock & Mass Effect.

It seems the Wii just has the 'it's cheap and the controller is new' effect. That'll fade after the initial succes. Now the PS3 will decline like sh!t flushing with the toilet, because after the fanboys spend a whooping 600 dollar/euro, no one will anymore.

February North America: PS3 sold 130k. the 360 almost sold double of that. The 360 always sold at a steady 200k to 300k a month there. The PS3 falls close to 100k...

Japan: PS3 latest week number came @ 17k a week. The Wii sells constantly 3 to 4 times as much.

Europe, UK: a massive 165k @ launch. Those same fanboys. And people that wanted a cheap BluRay player. 2 weeks after: 17k a week. It'll fall to 12k this week max. Next weeks? Who knows, but a lot less.

So about 2.8 million sold. That's still at least 7 million to catch up with the 360 while that one sells more in USA on a steady rate and the PS3 doesn't.

High price combined with no content on PS3 makes it like thin sh!t even going that fast down. Read my words.

Gamers can't stand the high quality games that'll arrive the coming months on the 360 and not on the PS3.

[gooner]

someone who comes on a site to talk bad about a company 24hrs
would go on to make himself look idiotic even when facts face him

all because he cant afford a 600 euro console
you decidfe

[tethered]

TheMART has tunnel vision.
He can only see positives for the 360 and negatives for the PS3.

[BIadestarX]

Define success?

As a gamer - does the 360 have any good games?

As a company - Were they able to succesfully introduce themselves into a market known to be one of the most difficult market to survived (Only room for 1-3 companies, unlike other markets).

As much as hate microsoft and wish it would fail, they are meeting both of those criterias; so where is the failure?

[techie]

did you even read it? they come to the same conclusion as you. No wonder there's flaming..

[BIadestarX]

I know, they did... I was talking mostly to what fanboys such as @DAverage were writing. Not to the person who wrote the article.

And as usual, 3 people disagree including yourself.. just for the sake of doing so. Damn, I'm I that famous?

[PS360PCROCKS]

"We’ll have to track how well Microsoft fares by the end of this year to see if the software continues on an upward trend, especially with triple-A PS3 titles on the horizon." This quote sucks by the way...

Yea Deep their are some excellent games coming for the PS3, but this year for major major titles the 360 wins hands down. Next year is Sony's time to shine, if they can't deliver than Microsoft will grab a foot hold if they can deliver again like this year.

[sajj316]

Its quite obvious that the PS3 does not have the titles to wooo the crowds in 07. Yes, I've heard all the arguments about price point. In all honesty, if the gamers are there, I'm sure the masses will 'work harder' to afford it (sorry Kutaragi-san).

For the PS3 line-up to compete with the 360 2nd year line-up is nonsense and as a PS fan and more importantly a 'gamer', I have no problem admitting that. In fact, I'm admitting something that is logical.

but ...

I also believe that 2nd and 3rd year PS3 titles will look and play marginally (high margins) better than 4th year 360 titles. Now, I'm not going to sit here and throw RAM, CPU, and bandwidth numbers at you. In all honesty, I don't know much about it. All I can comment on is potential. Its the potential I see in the hardware I bought. Yes, thats an opinion so quit knocking me for it and killing my bubbles (screw the bubbles).

So yes people, I'm content playing my God of War II in HD, Resident Evil 4, and Shadow of the Colossus until the PS3 games come out. And yes, I will be getting those games that the TheMart keeps listing every post.

[techie]

Are you absolutely kidding me? Killzone, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, Little Big Planet, MGS4, Ratchet and Clank...dude those games are for the masses. Two of those will redefine gaming. COme one. Mass Effect, Bioshock and Halo3 are for the masses? They're for the hardcore gamer...ps. not dissing the games, but to say that they are for the masses over the games I just listed is absurd.

I'm sure you realise that what you said was absurd. Price point I can swing with, but the "no exclusives for the masses"...you've lost me there. The PS3 competes with a line-up I and many people are excited about and I'm so surprised they are coming out in the first year of it's life.

Saj...I wasn't refering to cross-platform games...and if you think that's whats important to the average consumer who has no idea which looks better on which platform then OK. But what I'm saying is that the PS3 line-up THIS YEAR is amazing. I had no idea they would have these games when I started doing some researc and to me they are more wide-reaching to the average consumer. Of course the price-point holds it back. But in no way do 360 exclusives out shine the PS3's. They both have aces up their sleeve.

[sajj316]

exclusives + third Party content bro. The sheer number of potential AAA titles that are first/second party coupled with the potential number of AAA titles from third party developers give the 360 an edge this year. Honestly, the third party stuff isn't really going in the favor of the PS3 currently and I don't blame lazy developers, just unedumacated ones about the PS3 architecture. I'm giving the 360 an edge this year just because of the lack of polish that third parties are giving to PS3 ports. I'm sure once all the developers get accustomed to the new EDGE toolset, things will be alot better. I am in no way saying that the PS3 games lack mass market appeal.

Do I think the 360 offers games that have mass market appeal. Nope, but having a 10 million userbase doesn't hurt and its enought to sell like Gears did. I think sales will cap off. I said ... "I think" since most of the Xbox 360 users I know are quote ... "hardcore gamers".

Deep, I only said this year mate.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Agreed Sajj to pretty much everything you said, so bubbles for you. Deep man this year like Sajj said the sheer amount of games third and first party outshine what the PS3 has...Also if I have learned anything from next gen technology release dates don't mean anything.
"Killzone, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, Little Big Planet, MGS4, Ratchet and Clank" Out of this list the only one I am certain will be this year is Heavenly Sword. Killzone is nowhere to be seen really, heard nothing about uncharted, MGS4, and little bits about Ratchet and Clank. I have no idea what little big planet is I totally went around that article a while back. Just keep in mind AAA titles take alot of resources and people to get them to shine. Look at Gears Of War, they were showing demo footage in early 2005, and playable game by October 2005 and the game came out in November of 2006. So we'll see that's why I say 360 wins hands down because most of those titles I believe will be 2008, most of the 360's are 2007 when they were supposed to be 2006

[techie]

Dude times have changed after the flaming of Too Human. SOny are keeping their cards very close to them. From the insider info I know all those titles are out this year (MGS4 may push into 2008) also there's about 40 other exclusives out this year. And E3...Killzone, Uncharted, HS, 8 Days, MGS4, LBP, (2 originally 360 exclusives)...Uncharted out in the winter is confirmed. HS out in September confirmed. Ratchet out in Autumn confirmed. LBP out same time as HOME confirmed. Go look at the exclusives list on IGN...if they are listed as 2007...they're coming out 2007.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Alright man I will let you keep your faith. But be warned that games get pushed back alot. Bioshock, Mass Effect, Forza, Alan Wake, Fable 2 etc...it just happens, look 3rd parties are already pushing games back like GRAW2 for PS3. We'll see but don't get too mad if it does happen.

[sajj316]

by a lifespan of 1+ years in the market. Success is not guaranteed because of previous success. Success is not even selling like hotcakes after release. I guess you know which machines I'm referring to.

Instant success does not lead to long-term success. Short-term failure might not lead to long-term failure.

Success is quite subjective and its not necessarily justified with profits.

[vidoardes]

Yet another flamebait article, brought to you by the fanboys of N4G. Well actually, let me correct that. Flamebait title. It's just begging for fanboys to comment on it without actually reading the article. I wish it was harder to become a Contributor...

[Xi]

I would agree. I would say that the 360 is a success, and I would say that microsoft's entry into the game industry a success. Compare microsoft to some other entries into the market, you have sega, who's consoles never gathered enough support to stay attop the industry, the 3do(wtf), etc. Had microsoft been a failure they would've failed by now, but they continue to make headway and create a great gaming experience for it's consumers. They're making money this time around on the 360, not bleeding money like last gen, they have games that sell and they console has one of the highest attach rates for any console ever. But i guess what lies ahead for microsoft is important to, iptv can be a very important thing for microsoft.

[kewlkat007]

Personal comments gives falcontri and company a cause to spew Null and un-related comments to the damn article. Not sure why everyone is so obsessed with "the MART". You can tell when he gets under some of you guys skins, the guy has opinions like everybody on here.(I know not everybody likes to read them) It's Ok to disagree is all I'm saying.

The original Xbox 1 had a difficult time breaking into this industry with SONY of a million Users going against Microsoft's "300".
The Xbox 1 did what it was suppose to, Crack the market. Even though the Xbox 1 died in vain, just like those "300" men Vs the Persian Empire, it's legacy lives on and thats why we have the Xbox 360.

Unlike the "Panasonic 3DO" that just gave up and didn't put a dent in the Video Game Market-Share,thanks to Gates deep pockets, the Xbox did not encounter the same fate. If you make Movie 1 and it flunks at the Box-office there most likely will not be a part 2.

Xbox gamers and I think (Halo somehow), gave MS/developing partners a reason to continue. Well now they know they have a following, just as SONY did when they release the PS2.

1.The gaming library is getting bigger.

2.Good amount of Users, online/offline

3.They are making good partnerships with developers.(Great Tools)

4.Getting Exclusive games that were attached to SONY the last 10 years.(Don't worry Sony you did the same to Nintendo)

5.XBOX live(Streaming Video, User Interface, Matched Games,Keyboard for Easy Text, IPtv soon, need I say more)

For all the negative issue, they can only get better, such as the Hardware,(pricing sh!t so high) and a few minor things, most Companies go through. MS strengths is in the Software not Hardware, I'll admit, but you gotta start somewhere.(I just don't think gamers thats only played a Sony consoles, give MS some credit where it's due)

This is Generation console 2 from MS, while Every other Console Maker is on it's third or more.(Nintendo Makes great Hardware because of that, SONY had mad issues with the PS2 itself. Thanks to "TRUE GAMERS", that will purchase any console to play a AAA game regardless.

sajj316 deserves a bubble, comment#5

[Ru]

unfortunatly Controversy IS still news!
I cant Wait untill this war calms down.

[Ru]

I think the comment alowment should be limited to less characters! LoL
:)

[DJ]

But it's not the reason for the Xbox Brand's existence... I think the author forgot to compare sales by region rather than by timeframe. The original Xbox didn't have a worldwide launch, so it's important to take that into account. I think the 360 finally reached the same popularity as the Xbox in North America, is more popular than the Xbox in Japan, and less popular than its predecessor in Europe. Evens out I guess.

[Anerythristic26]

The sheer stupidy of people is literally amazing.

What is not to understand? Microsofts XBOX 360 is a success. It has went from an uppstart to solidly defeating Sony in at least North America in only it's second console offering. MS is doing well.
That to me as a gamer is so impressive , your first console is a joke and on your second try you dethroan the King in the largest market in the world. If they could make it a fight in Europe , just , WOW.

[Ru]

Was beetween Sony and Xbox
This time around it's between...
Sony and Microsoft

[sajj316]

"I believe the last war...
Was beetween Sony and Xbox
This time around it's between...
Sony and Microsoft"

As simple as your statement was, its so true.

[Anerythristic26]

The orginal Sony Playstation filled a void. It was popular because it was truly THE most Next Gen console ever , CD media , memory ccards , analog stick controller , 3d graphics ! The public was ready for this.

The public has already spoken in Japan (for the Wii and DS ) and North America (for thw Xbox 360 and Wii) The PS3 the technical powerhouse that it is, is too much too soon , I really think Sony thought it would be the next Playstation 1 , it hasn't been selling well , it's launched well but there is a BIG difference.

[Says you]

To actually release all its titles for there XBox 360 than Sony would trap them by doing because they would release there titles after Microsoft releases theres I think Sony had an advance strategy from the start by letting Microsoft have there glory but than release there titles.

[Ru]

Tis Possible.

[PS360PCROCKS]

No, how would that make any sense. "Ok let's let Microsoft release all it's big big games while everyone is still trying to decide what the best machine is and we'll sit back and after everything is said and done, than we'll put out some good games" Yeah nope, Sony wants their big titles done and out and wants them flowing through the pipeline regularly like with the PS2, not everyone is hardcore they don't want to buy something and wait for everything good, they want it now, people are impatient

[BIadestarX]

Are you saying that Sony want microsoft to have a huge market share before they can start competting? I believe that would be the case if it was just about the games and Sony does not care about money. If that's true they will be playing a very dangerous game. If the xbox 360 continue to gain marketshares the domino effect will happen. 3rd party developers will make games primarity for the 360, the 360 will have more games, and more people will buy the 360 to play those games.
Remember the lifespan for most console or generation last 5-6 years, the 360 will have 2 years in nov... that's like 40% of the gen... if Sony waits 1-2 years that means that it will only have 1-2 years more before the next console generation comes... And I know the PS3 is a very powerful console... but will it be able to compete with the XBox 720? Specially when by then PC directX 10 or 11 will make current gens games look like last gen?

If you ask me, Sony is not putting on hold their tripple A first party games (many are on the way)... 3rd party developers are.. games like final fantasy and Metal Gear are just waiting to have a bigger installbase before releasing the games.

[kewlkat007]

thing, if thats the game Sony is playing(which I don't think). It will be playing right into Microsoft's hands because, in reality they are still the under-dog, that just wants market-share.(Sony is trying to Keeps whatever it can).

We all the know the Percentage of Market-Share(huge share) SONY took from "Nintendo", and as well as the "exclusives", is not going to repeat itself because Microsoft is serious.(I don't think a lotof gamers take them to be, thats why all the bashing and null comments) This is not Panasonic 3DO.

To stabilize it's loosing market-share, Sony needs games, and needs the price of the PS3 to drop.
We need to see a commercial like this from them:
http://gameads.gamepressure...
Not rubber duckies, your the one and boiled eggs....(please)

I do not thinks thats Sony's strategy. I still think they messed up on the Hardware strategy tho. They wanted to destroy the competition and went too far as alienating their own gamers($600+ only SKU soon). Bit off more then they can chew.

The adoption rate of the PS2 to PS3 will be a slow process. This process is a dangerous one, if those gamers see what the Xbox 360 is doing, while coming out with great games(growing library), and a Cheaper Box.(yes Xmas time will only tell)

The repercussions are waiting to be seen, if and when MS drops the Bomb(with their 5-6 year plan), with a Xbox720, with Nvidia 13000GTX, directX13, 300gig drive, with whatever format wins, or the new one that was rumored.(1terabye Disk)

SONY you can't sit and wait for 10 years buddy(TECHNOLOGY CHANGES, MARKET-SHARE is won, EXCLUSIVES are lost, FANBOYS FAITHFULS will CRY), get on the ball.

[snoop_dizzle]

what would Sony do if the xbox 720 came out? The PS3 is a long term console but if Microsoft comes out with it in a few years, What will happen. All i hear sony fan boys talking about is graphics. If thats so, you should be drooling over the 720 in a few years. In reality you shouldn't, because graphics aren't everything, even though its nice to have great graphics. The PS2 wasn't the most powerful consloe, yet it had biggest amount of great games.

But anyways, i don't think Microsoft is doing good, and neither is Sony, and the future of the Wii is uncertain(possible game droughts etc). The PS3 will in no way sell like the PS2, neither will the Wii or the 360. The success of the PS2 is almost a cultural phenomenon.

Really i don't see any true success other than right now the Wii, even though that could die off soon. The 360 only has only 10mil out there(halo 3 will sell 360's though). Though a few 360 games have been quite successful. And well the PS3 mostly only has a hardcore fan(you sony fanboys here) base, and the PS2 is even smoking the PS3.

Sony might need to stop making great games for the PS2 like God of War 2 in order for the PS3 to truly succeed. Really, we wont even see the PS3, 360, and Wii at a good pace till the end of 07 and beginning of 08. I think all three can be successful, but as long as they all play their cards right they'll be successful.

[kewlkat007]

read sajj316's comment #5 and you see you can measure success in plenty of different ways.

As an underdog the MS has been successful.(It has nothing to loose but gain Market-Share) Now I'm not sure how you come to terms with the PS3, wii, and 360 not being successful, but ready my Post #8 and you see why I think MS and the 360 has been, and why SONY's success is declining.

Well the article is asking has MS's success been successful, of course it has. SONY still has the market so they are still on top. Whatever share MS takes away is a success.(it started with ZERO) Since they are continuing to take away share then, thats being successful.(If that is the Goal)

MS has been climbing that "Mountain" ever since the Xbox 1, Sony has "Plateaued". Were not sure if they are gonna start climbing again since they have been so comfortable sitting up there. Thats the real question. If you want to look at things in this fashion.

Personally I will always say, even though I've owned all consoles I do not like Sony's strategy this generation. I will end up buying the PS3 when I feel like it's worth the price. Who knows, a Final Fantasy VII: Remake might do it for me(wishing).

Just because I have the PS2 doesn't mean I will purchase PS3 just cause.(me NO corporate Fantard) Eventually I will wanna play old-school Ip's like the PS has so much of, where the 360 is lacking. Of course all of them were stolen from Nintendo way back but it's all good. Things are becoming more even on all fronts, well more so SONY and MS then Nintendo. (I do have the Wii)

Man the wii is in a world of it's own.

[snoop_dizzle]

however i also said that we wont see the PSWii60 at a great pace till late 07/early 08. So in some ways we agree

[power of Green]

.

[power of Green]

This could be a dug up story to counter the Halo 3/PS3 post. lol

[power of Green]

I'v heard this 2008 will be great for the PS3 talk, Microsoft has shown all their great games already for this year what do you think MS will showing off in these up coming Game shows?(MoRe GaMeS).

[skylar2000]

sad....

[ITR]

Nah, it still has games coming out.

Sony seems to be headed this way more so then MS.

If the PS3 has a price cut..like the PSP, then we know Sony is hurting.

[agent864]

What is the point of this article? I can't really tell the way it is written. Yes, the home and entertainment division is losing money. Yes there are million + selling titles. So how much are these sales offsetting losses? How realistic are MS projections of profitability? How is success defined / measured .... profitability, marketshare, brand goodwill? Cant really tell by reading this.

[slugg]

Just because they are still around in a very unforgiving market-- 3D0, Atari, Sega, Magnavox, Neo Geo-- there are more companies that have failed in the games industry than are still around. Look at a company like Apple- the iPod is huge, their new iPod phone and iTV services will almost certainly take off, but would they throw their hat in the vido game arena? I doubt it-- the risks vs. rewards are too great. Microsoft DOES NOT have to end up with the #1 console this time around to be successful, they just have to take some market share from Sony and actually make a little money this time. Also, despite what some people say, Microsoft has innovated and pushed the whole industry forward. Sony fans dig at Live and tout how their online service is free; but if it weren't for Microsoft and Live, online play on consoles would be nowhere near where it is today, and features we take for granted like voice chat, friends lists, etc. would probably not exist. (How long has online gaming been on the PC, and where are these features universally accepted there yet?) Early Live titles like Ghost Recon, Mechassault, and Crimson Skies were some of the BEST TIMES I've had playing games, ever. So at least Microsoft got that right, and EVERY gamer that has ever played a console game online can thank them. So with the 360, Microsoft looked at what was right with the Xbox, what was wrong, and what gamers wanted, and acted on the information, while realizing that to stay in the console games business, they also had to make money. It's not an accident that the 360 came out first, is the lead development platform for most multi-platform games, has easier development tools, more exclusive games, etc., and while some decry the 360 Elite as a betrayal, it is just part of Microsoft's evolving strategy of choice. Would I have wanted to pay more for my 360 Pro for a larger hard drive and a HDMI connection, neither of which I would ever use? Finally, to all of the people who say that while the 360 might have the best games lineup in 2007 but will probably lose out to the PS3 in 2008-- just wait and see. If Microsoft has learned anything (through Sony's mistakes of pre-rendered videos, or its own Too-Human fiasco)its that showing too much too early can lead to negative backlash just as easy as the unfounded hype games like Killzone 2 are enjoying right now. Microsoft has realized that "It's all about the games, stupid!" and will continue to reveal amazing games, exclusives, and franchises over the entire course of the 360's lifespan. I mean, come on-- is there any doubt there will be a Gears of War 2, Lost Planet 2, Dead Rising 2, etc. (and that's not to mention any new I.P.'s, after all, last years Game of the Year, Gears of War, was an exclusive new I.P., wasn't it?) But, best of all, Microsoft's success and this "competition" between MS and Sony, and the coming "awakening" of MS and Sony to the fact that Nintendo is a REAL threat, means more, better games for all gamers, period.

[snoop_dizzle]

Very insightful. And it is true online play wouldn't be as good without Microsoft.

But i do think that Microsoft and Nintendo can coexist( i think in many ways all 3 can) a lot pretty well since both consoles are going for different things. But in some ways though Nintendo is a threat like you said.

[calderra]

Simply put:
They've sold over 10million consoles, with great hits like Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, Forza 2, Fable 2, and Halo 3 on the horizon. New features like constant dashboard updates and IPTV are innovating the service.

Successful? Quite.
And we're all better because of it. Can anyone even pretend that we would still have online services on all 3 next-gen consoles without Xbox Live having kicked down the door first?

And for those who wonder: Yes, Microsoft's entertainment division has been losing some money. However, the corporation explicitly states that projects like 360 are an investment in the company's future, and other divisions (like PC hardware and software sales) are offsetting losses. In fact, the entertainment division is split from the rest of the company in a manner set up to make it easier for Microsoft to cover losses in this exact manner. The overall corporation is still as strong as ever, and no matter how much people are trying to malign it, Vista's launch has indeed been a pretty good cash cow.

[zonetrooper5]

Well Sega could of been in the console business had they did some things differently. That being, adverts, there was only a price drop in the USA when the PS2 launched and Europe did not get a price drop. Also, Sony's hype on the PS2 made more people buy the PS2 instead of the dreamcast, the dreamcast was more powerful than the PS2 i think but only by a bit. For all we know Apple could join the console race and then it will be 4 consoles next gen.

MS is doing great, mroe games, better online service and mroe games and other stuff to come by.

[FirstknighT]

Xbox 360 had one of the best game launches in history. 17 games have sold over a million. Games sell like crazy. Brand new franchises like Gears of War, Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Blue Dragon.etc... I call that more than a success. The 360 is destined to be one of the best consoles since the Nes. I think it's pretty amazing how the 360 has been a success without its main guns. The best graphics on any console for an affordable price.

[tomfoolery]

Sony fans are funny folk!
Seems they can't STAND the fact that they might not be #1
this gen! GROW UP!
Oh wait,that's what yer all doing,considering the majority of you
act like school children....AND ARE!
Makes me not want a PS3,but you can't hold Sony responsibe
for their attitudes!Or should we?

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

There still here.