Microsoft’s announced that its bought VOIP chat service Skype for $8.5 billion. The press release just released by MS says that the program will support Xbox and Kinect, as well as “connect” Skype users on Xbox Live.
MS just doesnt want me to turn off my 360. I already have a subscription with Skype that gives me an actual phone number, voicemail,re-route of incoming Skype calls to my cell phone and I forget what else. I wonder how my subscriptions for both services will be intertwined?
Great acquisition but they overpaid. Too many competing services on rival platforms with Apple and Android looking to implement proprietary video chat services.
I agree. Skype is crap too, it's bloated as hell. When people download software, they want the software for 1 reason. Skype is chat software and that is all, but it comes with all this crap people don't use and it just hogs ram and CPU power, it's bloated crap. Ventrillo on the other hand or Steam chat is simple and not bloated.
Knowing microsoft they will just make it worse. Look at MSN. It used to be simple, have you downloaded the latest one? It is horrible.
It may very well mean nothing. MS have to be more careful than most companies when it comes to anything resembling anti-competitive behaviour.
Besides, the value of skype is diminished if you reduce the number of people that can use it. And if not already then soon Skype may be deemed a telco in some countries meaning that in most places they need to provide non-discriminatory access to their service.
I know plenty of Ps3 owners who use it for Xgame chat already, I'm one of them. As long as you can use it from a laptop for free I say good for MS. I'll still use it till Sony gets it together in that area.
Not a huge fan of Skype, but given that Apple have FaceTime and it's compatible with their devices, it's only a smart move that Skype will be compatible with Xbox LIVE and Kinect. And hey, Windows Phone 7 is about to get another sale.
Can't wait to see how this gets implemented into Xbox LIVE.
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls and chats over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system. Skype has also become popular for its additional features which include instant messaging, file transfer, and video conferencing. Skype has 663 million registered users as of 2010.[1] The network is operated by Skype Limited, which has its headquarters in Luxembourg and is minority owned by eBay. Most of the development team and 44% of the overall employees of Skype are situated in Tallinn, Estonia.[2][3]
Unlike other VoIP services, Skype is a peer-to-peer system rather than a client–server system, and makes use of background processing on computers running Skype software; the original name proposed – Sky peer-to-peer – reflects this
663 million users that will now be exposed to the Xbox 360 and xbl. Still...8.5 BILLION is a huge sum of money. Microsoft must have been looking at this for a long while.
BTW...check this out, Ebay sold 70% of the company in Nov/2010 for a reported 2.75 billion. What a difference a few months and some desperation makes.
Ebay bought it for $2.6 (65%) and sold its share at a loss for $1.9 - Skype never generated any profit. From a pure investment standpoint, Skype was basically broke.
Most likely, but what if this could lead to a deal where they can add Skype onto the NGP in exchange for Blu-ray on the next Xbox console? It seems unlikely but who knows. I mean who knew that MS would buy Skype before today? :/
non-Microsoft platforms - that would be referring to devices that currently support Skype. I think it will remain on the PSP, but the NGP will have to look for something else.
Unless, Sony pays up, BIG time! And I really doubt it would happen. Don't see why Sony would want to advertise for the Xbox 360, and vice-versa of course.
Maybe it's time I stop giving M$ money when they make shitty products. They already owe me a OS that works properly, I'm not about to go and give them my money for its successor.
. ...at least that is what Microsft is saying. They released this statement about the matter...
" Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms "
The key words there being " Non-Microsoft " platforms. It would be in Microsoft's best interests to allow it to continue while adding upgrades. Microsoft also announced that they ( OS ) will be on Research In motions Blackberry line of phones and I would imagine their line of tablets as well. Microsoft will have a lot to talk about at E3 this year.
If you think about how much money Microsoft has poured into the internet over the last 15 years, for only middling success (in internet markets)... It is mind blowing.
I suspect this will be the end of Skype, just the same as it was the end of Hotmail way back in the day, and every other internet procurement since then.
This is why Yahoo also resisted being bought out by Microsoft...
@ Blaine: I never said Sony can't afford it but said "at this point can't afford to be throwing around £8 billion".
SOny have more important issues to deal with, diminishing sales and profits in TV, portable, Laptops and mobile phones. A video game sector that has seen its competitors beat it hands down in profitability and now the recent financial impact that the offline PSN is going to cost them. Every day PSN is not online is costing them millions and millions of dollars.
So tell me with all this things happening to them, so you think in their boardrooms they will be like hey, we got this few couple of billions sitting in the bank, why don't we use it to acquire a company who we are not sure will be of any value to us at this point in time. Lets just forget about our diminishing market value in other sectors.
Microsoft for the past few years has been damn profitable. So they can afford to throw money around. So until SOny finds itself in such a situation, then i stand by what i originally said.
Yeah...MS needs to turn the (Skype) ship around, though. Skype is basically broke (-$6.8M @ $800M revenue in 2010, $1B liabilities) and MS payed $8B for it. I guess nobody else would ever dream of spending that much money for a bankrupt company. Good for Skype, though. At least it diminished M$ cash reserves a little. I can guarantee, the service will not stay the same, though. MS is driven by ROI. More loss for Skype is sure not in its future.
i get a disagree for asking can we still us skype on our computer still since MS bought it.... damn!! u guys are lame. below GOD has many names for many races BUT one GOD example i call him JESUS others call him ALLAH,jehovah witness call him Jehovah, japanese call him buddah so on.
Religion has no place in games (although i would buy a game with jesus riding a dinosaur shooting laser beams at all the heathens. Now that's a religion i can get behind)
ha ha making myself laugh at the thought of jesus and dinosaurs in the same sentence.
Pretty much an expansion for Video Kinect. Skype could sell a few non gaming 360's if handled right. Some moms and old folks, who are scared of computer, may find the xbox and connect more appealing. Especially if all they need to do is turn it on and talk to it.
1) turn on 2) "Xbox" "Skype" 3) Husband is on friends list using laptop 4) "Xbox call husband" 5) Brings kids to the room. Kinect zooms to each person as they speak. Husband smiles.
I have never paid more then $30 a year for XBL and it's the best online setup around. I can get free television too, but I would much rather pay for satellite television.
The whole "Pay vs free" argument is really old at this point.
Technically I can get cheap internet as well, but I would rather pay for a superior connection. At the end of the day the coupld of cents a day are well worth it.
I can already watch ESPN, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Zune, XM satellite Radio, Avatar Kinect and a ton of other features. Who can complain about all of that? Now we get Skype as well.
No complaints from me, I mean I already have been a XBL user for around eight years, the more things they offer the better value it becomes.
The reason why Skype is so popular is, ta ta, because its FREE! There, look at this. Skype is free. And, I have a $30 subscription per year to any land/mobile in US/Canada for free. Again, mainly because, ta ta ta, it doesn't cost sh!t. If I'd want a better service which costs more I'd have bought one already. It is always about price per value. And less is more, simple. $8 netflix per month vs. $100 HD cable. Take a pick.
More than likely in the future
Not a huge fan of Skype, but given that Apple have FaceTime and it's compatible with their devices, it's only a smart move that Skype will be compatible with Xbox LIVE and Kinect. And hey, Windows Phone 7 is about to get another sale.
Can't wait to see how this gets implemented into Xbox LIVE.
Whoa! Can't wait to see where this will go.
*edit* Why all the disagrees?
So will they take the functionality off of the PSP? Or, more importantly, will they not bring Skype to the NGP??
Big move for MS.