Xbox 360's not going anywhere
There has been a lot of talk about the life cycle of consoles lately.
For the most part everyone looks at how well the PS2 is selling seven
years after it's launch. It has also been suggested that the PS3 might
have a 10 year life cycle because of all the technology pushed into the
box. Most people are also wondering how long the Wii will last without
HD graphics or a large hard drive. Nintendo has already hinted on
having a short life cycle but their next console may have more to do
with solving production issues than with actual improvements to the
console. Microsoft was the one that cut the Xbox's life short by
launching the Xbox 360 four years after the original Xbox's launch.
Some have wondered it their rush to get to market was a good thing.
It seems now Microsoft has reviewed their path into the console race and per an interview with the Microsoft's entertainment division's CFO, Mindy Mount, they seem to be interested in extending the Xbox 360's life cycle as long as possible. Over a console's life cycle the costs of components become cheaper and the profit margins increase. Sony's current game division is living off of the profits of PS2 while they eat the losses on the PS3.
Microsoft rushed into this generation of game consoles to get out of the horrible component deals they made on the first Xbox. It's fairly well know that nVidia made a hell of a deal on the Microsoft GPU in the original Xbox. Microsoft wanted to renegotiate the deal but nVidia refused and it sparked the end of the Xbox and pushed Microsoft to ATI for the 360's GPU. Microsoft was losing too much money on the GPU in the original Xbox so it would never make a profit on the box.
This time around Microsoft made better deals and has a plan to make xbox profitable as well as make the entertainment division profitable this fiscal year. Microsoft is all about making a profit out of the Xbox brand this generation. That means learning from your mistakes and not rushing into the next generation of game consoles. Developing and launching a new console is an expensive process that next time around hopefully Microsoft does a better job of quality control.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0640903820071106?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology
It seems now Microsoft has reviewed their path into the console race and per an interview with the Microsoft's entertainment division's CFO, Mindy Mount, they seem to be interested in extending the Xbox 360's life cycle as long as possible. Over a console's life cycle the costs of components become cheaper and the profit margins increase. Sony's current game division is living off of the profits of PS2 while they eat the losses on the PS3.
Microsoft rushed into this generation of game consoles to get out of the horrible component deals they made on the first Xbox. It's fairly well know that nVidia made a hell of a deal on the Microsoft GPU in the original Xbox. Microsoft wanted to renegotiate the deal but nVidia refused and it sparked the end of the Xbox and pushed Microsoft to ATI for the 360's GPU. Microsoft was losing too much money on the GPU in the original Xbox so it would never make a profit on the box.
This time around Microsoft made better deals and has a plan to make xbox profitable as well as make the entertainment division profitable this fiscal year. Microsoft is all about making a profit out of the Xbox brand this generation. That means learning from your mistakes and not rushing into the next generation of game consoles. Developing and launching a new console is an expensive process that next time around hopefully Microsoft does a better job of quality control.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article
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