4 ms·

Google spent tens of millions of dollars bringing big games to their platform The gaming industry has >$100 billion of revenue per year. Surely these kinds of

Google spent tens of millions of dollars bringing big games to their platform The gaming industry has >$100 billion of revenue per year. Surely these kinds of costs are/were expected. Microsoft famously lost money on every Xbox sold for many years.

Fede_V 5y ago
Microsoft almost certainly still loses money on the Xbox itself.
- creshal 5y ago
  Every console loses money on the hardware, because you'll immediately make up for it with software sales. Stadia's still struggling with the latter part.
  - dbish 5y ago
    Yeah, generally gaming hardware is a loss leader
  - woutifier 5y ago
    Microsoft recently confirmed that they have always lost money on their consoles (during the Apple vs Epic proceedings). In contrast, Nintendo usually makes a profit on selling their hardware.
  - kevingadd 5y ago
    AFAIK Nintendo is not necessarily in the business of losing money on hardware, especially if you count accessories like their controllers. I'd need to see numbers to believe that they lose money on the Switch, I suspect that thing is profitable.
    - majewsky 5y ago
      > I suspect that thing is profitable. According to a Bloomberg article from January 2017 (just before the release of the Switch) concerning Nintendo's yearly earnings report, > While game consoles are usually sold at a loss early in their life cycles, the Switch will be profitable from the start, Nintendo said. Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170131084504/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-31/nintendo-beats-profit-lifts-forecast-on-pokemon-ahead-of-switch https://web.archive.org/web/20170131084504/https://www.bloom... (the URL also works without web.archive.org, but the current version contains a paywall)
  - alexpetralia 5y ago
    This is the "SaaS-in-a-box" business model.
unnouinceput 5y ago
"...has >$100 billion..." You are correct, the most technical correct. However a more closer to reality is > dozens of trillions USD. Remember, gaming industry is bigger than both movie AND music industry combined.
- Jabbles 5y ago
  Please cite your source. As of 2018, video games generated sales of US$134.9 billion annually worldwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_industry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_industry

Fede_V 5y ago

Microsoft almost certainly still loses money on the Xbox itself.

creshal 5y ago
Every console loses money on the hardware, because you'll immediately make up for it with software sales. Stadia's still struggling with the latter part.
- dbish 5y ago
  Yeah, generally gaming hardware is a loss leader
- woutifier 5y ago
  Microsoft recently confirmed that they have always lost money on their consoles (during the Apple vs Epic proceedings). In contrast, Nintendo usually makes a profit on selling their hardware.
- kevingadd 5y ago
  AFAIK Nintendo is not necessarily in the business of losing money on hardware, especially if you count accessories like their controllers. I'd need to see numbers to believe that they lose money on the Switch, I suspect that thing is profitable.
  - majewsky 5y ago
    > I suspect that thing is profitable. According to a Bloomberg article from January 2017 (just before the release of the Switch) concerning Nintendo's yearly earnings report, > While game consoles are usually sold at a loss early in their life cycles, the Switch will be profitable from the start, Nintendo said. Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170131084504/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-31/nintendo-beats-profit-lifts-forecast-on-pokemon-ahead-of-switch https://web.archive.org/web/20170131084504/https://www.bloom... (the URL also works without web.archive.org, but the current version contains a paywall)
- alexpetralia 5y ago
  This is the "SaaS-in-a-box" business model.

unnouinceput 5y ago

"...has >$100 billion..." You are correct, the most technical correct. However a more closer to reality is > dozens of trillions USD. Remember, gaming industry is bigger than both movie AND music industry combined.

Jabbles 5y ago
Please cite your source. As of 2018, video games generated sales of US$134.9 billion annually worldwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_industry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_industry