Microsoft's Revenues Up Except for Games Division 68
Gamasutra reports on Microsoft's announcement that their revenues are up, but the games division has seen a sharp decrease in profitability. From the article: "Microsoft's Home and Entertainment division, which overall includes the Microsoft Xbox video game console system, PC games, the Home Products Division, and TV platform products for the interactive television industry, saw revenue of $1.56 billion in the 3 months to the end of December and a significant loss of $293 million, compared to $1.37 billion revenues and a small profit of $55 million in the same period last year."
XBOX 360 (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:XBOX 360 (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:XBOX 360 (Score:1, Funny)
Re:XBOX 360 (Score:1)
Re:XBOX 360 (Score:5, Insightful)
Revenue == total money in (money made from selling stuff)
Expenses == total money out (money spent building stuff)
Net income == revenue - expenses
Re:XBOX 360 (Score:1)
That's what you get... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:That's what you get... (Score:2)
Re:That's what you get... (Score:2)
Re:That's what you get... (Score:2)
I like xbox (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm now a happy apple user, I don't have to deal with windows anymore, but I still have to use the horrible MS Office for Mac so that my windows-based colleagues and I can exchange work.
Unline the other MS products I've used, i've always found the xbox experience to be easy and user-friendly.
Re:I like xbox (Score:2)
Try OpenOffice.org for Mac. Microsoft won't read its native file formats, but it can pretty handily read and export in Microsoft file formats.
- Greg
Re:I like xbox (Score:1)
Re:I like xbox (Score:2)
Misleading headline (Score:5, Informative)
FTA: Microsoft's Home and Entertainment division, which overall includes the Microsoft Xbox video game console system, PC games, the Home Products Division, and TV platform products for the interactive television industry, saw revenue of $1.56 billion in the 3 months to the end of December and a significant loss of $293 million, compared to $1.37 billion revenues and a small profit of $55 million in the same period last year.
Grrr, the headline made it sound like revenue for the game division was down, but it was up, too. Please keep the headlines accurate for those of us who don't want to read the synopsis, let alone the actual article!
Typical (Score:3, Funny)
Typical Slashdot.
Re:Misleading headline (Score:1)
Re:Misleading headline (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, the headline is inaccurate. The games division revenue IS up. And the amount of money 'lost' is irrelevant to revenue.
REAL journalists make these mistakes regularly - Slashdot makes these mistakes contantly as it is run by individuals who are ignorant of all matters not related to hentia and linux.
Re:Misleading headline (Score:2)
Re:Misleading headline (Score:2)
Re:Misleading headline (Score:1)
In other words, the XBox 360 plant was expensive. (Score:5, Insightful)
I would expect the 360 to be profitable for them in the long run, though.
Jon Acheson
Re:In other words, the XBox 360 plant was expensiv (Score:2)
Re:In other words, the XBox 360 plant was expensiv (Score:1)
You don't think they learned a thing or two from Xbox 1? For example, Microsoft didn't have the rights to fabricate the Xbox 1 CPU or GPU themselves (this also hurt them with backwards compatibility, because they couldn't build an Xbox-on-a-chip like Sony did with the PSOne and PSTwo (where the PSOne was the miniaturized PS1 and also embedded in the PS2 for BC, and the PSTwo is the miniaturized PS2 that will most likely be the source of BC in
Re:In other words, the XBox 360 plant was expensiv (Score:1)
Re:In other words, the XBox 360 plant was expensiv (Score:3, Insightful)
you're very optimistic.
even the MS Xbox team doesn't expect the 360 to be profitable, and they don't expect the Xbox line to become profitable overall for 5-10 years.
Re:In other words, the XBox 360 plant was expensiv (Score:1)
In other words.. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:In other words.. (Score:3, Informative)
You must be using the new math. Revenue has increased by about $190M, while profit is down around $230M. You can't subtract these numbers. Indeed, if you add them, you see that their expenses increased by $420M
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Eternally selling one product at a loss is a bad thing. Microsoft isn't selling one product.
Game consoles are generally sold using a razor-blade model. Sell the razor at a loss (console), sell the blade at a profit (games). Revenue trending up generally means that you're selling more stuff, which is a very good thing for the future (mo
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Losing money early on isn't a terribly big deal, as you expect to make it back over the life of the console when customers purchase new games or controllers/peripherals. Remember, early adopters will be "in" for much longer than people
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
What's important is that he tried, not that he got the correct answer.
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
--
ObsessiveMathsFreak
Oh, so you're one of those throwbacks that thinks that math is about accuracy, proof, and all that other old-school stuff?
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Re:In other words.. (Score:3, Informative)
I expect that a lot of that is the cost of launching a new console unsuccessfully.
The demand for the 360 seems tiny compared to the demand for the original xbox not to mention all the wasted money on the hype microsoft built up for the 360 which was completely destroyed by the fact that there wasn't enough of them to supply what little demand they did have.
The dreamcast had a more successful launch than the 360. I have a pretty good feeling
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Okay, I admit I'm a little biased (see my profile), but what are you smoking?
If there was "little demand", then there'd be no supply problems. There would be hundreds of 360s readily available. That's simply not the case (except in Jap
Re:In other words.. (Score:1, Informative)
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-250632.html [com.com]
"One of the basic premises of the Xbox is to put the power in the hands of the artist," Blackley said, which is why Xbox developers "are achieving a level of visual detail you really get in 'Toy Story.'"
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,40970, 00.html?tw=wn_story_related [wired.com]
"Gates said the 3-D chips in the Xbox would be three times faster than anything on the market and offer nearly unlimited graphical visuals. "We're approaching th
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
There's an even smaller supply, hence the shortages. Most large chain stores were only getting 10-20 units per shipment. They're going to sell out regardless of demand. The only true way to gauge demand at this point is to look at the number of people who want one from the people you know.
Most of my friends were in line to buy the original xbox the week it came out. They have little or no interest in the 360, and I would say that out of my friends,
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
I find it hard to believe there's LESS demand for the 360, now that Microsoft has proven themselves, in some degree. Certainly from reading all th
Re:In other words.. (Score:2)
Small? (Score:3, Funny)
"...a small profit of $55 million..."
Maybe I'll go work for the Microsoft Games Division and ask for a small salary :)
Re:Small? (Score:2)
Re:Small? (Score:1)
XBox 360 not selling at $299. Price cut needed. (Score:1, Insightful)
Microsoft will probably have to relaunch the product at a lower price point, and lose even more money per unit.
How much longer will Microsoft's stockholders put up with this money drain? Microsoft lost money on every original XBox, so, hoping to make so
Re:XBox 360 not selling at $299. Price cut needed. (Score:1)
I wonder how many of these just go back and forth between "speculators".
Microsoft will probably have to relaunch the product at a lower price point, and lose even more money per unit.
I'm waiting to see whether their better-laid plans work out this time around (better contracts with component makers, etc).
And in regards to the shareholders, I wonder if those who own MS stock have all been pacified by the big giant with promi
Re:XBox 360 not selling at $299. Price cut needed. (Score:2)
Are you kidding? (Or rather, are you trolling?)
The units are still hard to find at retail, no doubt. Yes, there are a lot of units on eBay, but just doing a search for "xbox 360" brings up several packages that are over well $400. A few weeks ago, they were selling for much higher even (over $600). Plus, a lot of shady folks were actually selling Xbox 360 empty boxes, which IMHO is pretty fradulent. There were definately a lot of speculators and in-store managers that hoarded
Hurry, before the price goes down (Score:3, Informative)
If you watch the XBox 360 core system auctions on eBay, anything priced over $350 just does not sell. The auctions with high reserves just scroll off, unsold. You can usually get $300, and you might be able to get $325. Above that, forget it. If you've got a garage full of the things, it's time to take what you can get.
Re:Hurry, before the price goes down (Score:2)
Also remember that eBay prices were huge right before Xmas, with parents desperate to fill their kids' wish lists. If you've got a garage full of Xbox 360s with the hope of selling them for mega profit
well duh.. core systems are 299 brand new.. (Score:2)
WalMart has been getting stocks fo Core systems, it's the premium that is hard to find and sought after but even then it's really a matter of just looking for it.
Ebay is hardly the value of the market
Home & Entertainment Division (Score:3, Informative)