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Microsoft will be hoping to recoup losses by selling apps, services and advertising. If xbox live proves to be a big hit on Nokia devices the strategy could wo

by sambeau 16y ago

Microsoft will be hoping to recoup losses by selling apps, services and advertising. If xbox live proves to be a big hit on Nokia devices the strategy could work. Nokia will also need to sell hundreds of millions of devices and the Windows App Store will need to take off bigtime. But it is a gamble: xboxes and Bing are loss-making at present. Maybe they have something else up their sleeve?

dangrossman 16y ago
I thought the entertainment division (Xbox+) had been profitable for some years now.
- sambeau 16y ago
  Not according to a story that was on HN a few weeks back (unless I'm mis-remembering). I'll dig around and see if I can find it. They certainly lose money on each xbox but its possible that they make it back on the sale of games.
- sambeau 16y ago
  Looks like I mis-remembered: http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/Microsoft-Q1-2011-by-the-numbers-Beats-consensus-but-not-Apple/1288297586 http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/Microsoft-Q1-2011-... Q1 2011 Income by Division • Windows & Windows Live: $3.32 billion, up 124 percent from $1.5 billion a year earlier (20 percent growth when adding deferral). • Server & Tools: $1.63 billion, up 32 percent from $1.24 billion a year earlier. Business: $3.39 billion, up 20 percent from $2.83 billion a year earlier. • Online Services Business: Loss of $560 million, up 17 percent from $477 million loss a year earlier. • Entertainment & Devices: $382 million, up 47 percent from $260 million a year earlier. although, this comment by puts it in perspective: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1842290 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1842290 "In 2009 it finally posted it's first profit - $165 million, though it's probably worth noting that as a percentage of the $6 billion it had lost to that point this is basically nothing."

by sambeau 16y ago

dangrossman 16y ago

I thought the entertainment division (Xbox+) had been profitable for some years now.

sambeau 16y ago
Not according to a story that was on HN a few weeks back (unless I'm mis-remembering). I'll dig around and see if I can find it. They certainly lose money on each xbox but its possible that they make it back on the sale of games.
sambeau 16y ago
Looks like I mis-remembered: http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/Microsoft-Q1-2011-by-the-numbers-Beats-consensus-but-not-Apple/1288297586 http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/Microsoft-Q1-2011-... Q1 2011 Income by Division • Windows & Windows Live: $3.32 billion, up 124 percent from $1.5 billion a year earlier (20 percent growth when adding deferral). • Server & Tools: $1.63 billion, up 32 percent from $1.24 billion a year earlier. Business: $3.39 billion, up 20 percent from $2.83 billion a year earlier. • Online Services Business: Loss of $560 million, up 17 percent from $477 million loss a year earlier. • Entertainment & Devices: $382 million, up 47 percent from $260 million a year earlier. although, this comment by puts it in perspective: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1842290 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1842290 "In 2009 it finally posted it's first profit - $165 million, though it's probably worth noting that as a percentage of the $6 billion it had lost to that point this is basically nothing."