http://www.avault.com/news/displaynews.asp?story=5132003-21054
Microsoft said its Home and Entertainment division lost 190 million dollars in its fiscal third quarter ended March 31. That’s compared with a loss of 97 million dollars a year earlier. The division’s quarterly revenue fell to 493 million dollars from 943 million dollars a year earlier.
What do you guys make of it?
:?
I saw this yesterday on the GA forums. It’s a big drop in revenue. Some folks were saying it’s because this is when the Euro launch was happening last year and that was the reason for higher revenues. That may be the case, but you’d think revenues should be increasing or remaining steady, not decreasing by half.
They lost money in a bunch of areas, but of course the Windows unit made like 2 billion in profit. So the point is moot. Unless the Government gets them in court again sometime down the road, their ability to print money with Windows/Office will allow them to fail again and again with games or whatever else they decide to do. Their only other potential pitfall is investors deciding they really don’t like Microsoft throwing money away on Xbox and other similar schemes.
–Dave
jesus…
Microsoft’s OS (XP, ME, etc…) made 2 billion in profit!! :shock:
But anyway…
I’ve noticed nothing but PC ports. They need to start producing their own games, so they can actually have a product that they can claim all their own. The Xbox does have a few but the really good titles are PC/Xbox.
For comparison, the MSN division lost $100 million.
Their Rare dev group is showing 3 high profile exclusives, which should help a lot.
But yes, after the Xbox has gone to the graveyard that awaits all consoles, you probably won’t need an emulator to relive the glory. Your PC will do just fine on its own.
"Their Rare dev group is showing 3 high profile exclusives, which should help a lot. "
Judging from what I saw of this year’s e3 presentation and prior knowledge, I would be surprised if any of those three Rare titles (Kameo, Conker, Grabbed by the Goolies) were a big hit on the Xbox. It’s the direct opposite target audience for Kameo and GbtG. Conker I’m a bit more hesitent to say but I still don’t think it will be big.
I still say for PC gamers if they want to pick up a console, the Gamecube is the way to go.
Xbox- way to many PCports.
PS2- some exclusives, but good games (GTA franchise, EA Sports) are mostly on PC.
you guys agree?
“you guys agree?”
Not quite. Although the GC has a lot of good to great nintendo games (and very few 3rd party exlusives), PS2 just has too much to ignore if you’re a fan of videogames. GT4, REOnline, Metal Gear Solid 3, Grand Theft Auto 4 and more down the line no doubt due to it’s undeniable market share.
Xbox also is quite interesting if you’re into the pick up and play online scene. XBL is looking better and better I must say with Halo2, Crimson Skies, Fable, Ninja Gaiden, PGR2, Perfect Dark, etc.
I’d say you can’t go wrong with any of them.
I wouldn’t make too much of it. Losing money hand over fist while breaking into this market is standard procedure and, without a breakdown, it’s hard to judge what the specifics mean.
Peter
I don’t think Sony threw away nearly as much money as Microsoft is now when they launched PSOne. The old razors/razorblades thing only works if you sell enough blades, and Microsoft clearly isn’t doing that. Meanwhile, Sony and Nintendo are now profiting from system sales and game sales.
–Dave
i also read from a local newspaper today that EA has signed an exclusive with Sony to produce online games for the Playstation… normal Xbox titles are not affected, though bye bye Xbox Live! with EA games…
The local paper’s got nothing on us…
http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3568
Of course, this was also announced awhile back. It’s only mainstream news for the paper now because E3 gets everyone’s attention. :)
–Dave
I don’t think Rare made a good move going to XBox. Their games don’t really fit that system as well as they do the GC, or even PS2. The target audience for the XBox has always been older gamers, and Rare doesn’t work there. Conker is ostensibly designed for such gamers, but it is still a platformer with a squirrel. It’s a great game, I should add, but it’s audience is too limited. I got Conker for free (after rebate) less than a year after its N64 release. They must have produced WAY more than they were able to sell. And it looks like the best of the 3 games mentioned, though I have no clue what the ghoulies game is about.
As for the best system argument, my vote goes to the PS2 for sheer variety. They also have some quality titles. If you like RPGs, it is the ONLY system. If you like platformers and action/adventure games the GC is a good system (my wife STILL plays Animal Crossing every day). The XBox is probably the best for online games, but that is still pretty niche, despite what most hardcore gamers think.
Personally, I’m massively disappointed in the game lineup for the Xbox. They’ve had a couple of dev cycles to come up with something decent, and yet when I go to the video store and look to rent a game I can walk up and down the Xbox isle all night and not see anything that really grabs my attention that isn’t in the 10 or so games I already own. PS2, however, has a ton of stuff that I’ve never seen. GC is catching up nicely - I’m debating how I’m going to fit Ikaruga into my budget this week.
Personally, I’m massively disappointed in the game lineup for the Xbox.
I agree whole heartedly. I recently sold my XBox and used the money to upgrade my processor on my PC (to an XP 2100). I was very impressed with the XBox when I purchased it this January, but the thrill ended very soon. It’s funny , that the best games for the XBox were games that I had on PC (Ghost Recon, UC , Morrowind), and they were better on PC. And Halo willl be out for PC later this year.
XBox Live was fun, but even at a cost of 5 bucks a month, I would not have paid to renew next year if I kept the XBox espcecially since multiplayer gaming on the PC is a lot better and free.
The lack of quality titles really was the killer for me though. Sure there’s Halo 2 but Microsoft has to stop concentrating on the “Killer App” and focus on a much higher volume of quality titles.
I just don’t understand how some of the dogshit games made it past Microsoft’s certification process. I mean, KABUKI WARRIORS! Yech.
Really, the only titles that have been good on Xbox that weren’t PC ports have been multi-platform ports… such as Godzilla that came out for GCN and then was made better on Xbox. If a game gets ported from another console, I’ll always get the Xbox version because 90% of the time it’s quite better. However, there’s no reason to own one as your ONLY console. I have all three, so I get the game where it’s best.
The Xbox exclusive stuff, with a few notable exceptions (DOA, Panzer Dragoon…) has been shoveled shit. But it’s a nice place to port to.
Certification for most companies does not have a thing to do with quality. It just means it passes bug tests and certification requirements. All platforms have dogs. As for your opinion about most Xbox games, that is your opinion and I don’t share it.
Well, it was MS’ move, not really Rare. The owners basically cashed out (I would have too, considering how badly MS was willing to overpay).
I think MS expected to lose up until the 4th year, I’m curious to see if this amount of loss matched up with their predictions though
The amount of loss leading years Microsoft claimed before launch increases the further we get from the launch date. They fully expected to be making money in the second year. They’re really not even close to doing that yet, and EB knocked $20 off the system yesterday which is only going to drive them deeper in the hole.
Sure, they can afford it, but how long are they willing to do that with games when their goal is something else?
–Dave