4 ms·

OK lets ask it this way. If you had enough money to buy Nintendo, with its innovation, massive profits, and cult following, or the xBox section from ms with its

by axod 18y ago

OK lets ask it this way. If you had enough money to buy Nintendo, with its innovation, massive profits, and cult following, or the xBox section from ms with its debt, which would you buy? Who knows, maybe in 5 or 6 years xBox will have paid back what it cost them to develop. Or maybe a new console will come out and no one will remember what the xBox was before they get a chance. The genius was that Nintendo decided to not compete with xbox and ps3, and instead create a new market which they completely dominate and profit heavily from. Personally I don't buy the 'control of the living room' strategy. From anyone. Apple TV? no thanks. Portable devices - Nintendo DS, iPhone/iPod are where it'll be IMHO

mattmaroon 18y ago
I don't know what debt you mean, the division is profitable. It took them some money to get there, but that's what happens when you battle competition that has been entrenched for decades. At the rate they're going, they'll soon be profitable on the EDD unit as a whole. So I'd take the Xbox unit, if we're talking strictly TV consoles. (Nintendo owns the handheld market, and is one of the biggest game makers too, so it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.) For one, they're the most likely to abandon optical media as a necessity for their next player. Nintendo is very backward-thinking when it comes to media formats, consistently choosing cartridges and proprietary discs. By your own logic, that's pretty bad. (The Wii proves users really don't give a damn yet, but they may.) They'll still offer discs, because a lot of people will still want to rent games, buy them as gifts from Best Buy, etc. But it won't be the only way to get any new game. You can already pay to just download tons of games from the library. For another, they're the most compelling VOD service on the market. They're going to achieve the dream of streaming movie rentals to people in large numbers. They're already doing it with Netlflix, but they're still improving. I already cancelled my cable and now watch whatever TV I do through PlayOn or streaming from a PC thanks to my Xbox. Despite rarely playing console games, my Xbox gets used daily. They're much more than a gaming device, and they're growing there all the time. The Wii is not, it plays casual games well, and that's about it. And that's great, don't get me wrong, but it isn't the only market segment. Also remember, Nintendo has been playing 2nd or 3rd fiddle for a couple generations before the Wii, after having dominated for 2 generations. There's no reason to believe they won't end up right back there. That industry is tumultuous to say the least. And even if you'd go with Nintendo, that doesn't make what Microsoft has done any less impressive. That industry is one of the most brutally competitive there is. So many people have come and go, big companies have tried and failed to get a toe hold. Microsoft hit the #2 spot 2 generations in a row, and built a genuinely cool product that is killing the non-casual segment right now. It's really impressive.
- axod 18y ago
  >> "I don't know what debt you mean, the division is profitable." I thought it was just profitable for 2008, but not profitable as a whole, when taken as a venture - 5 years of heavy losses, then 1 year of some profit? Other points taken, and guitar hero rocks, halo is cool. The xBox is the best part of ms. On the downside, my xbox often sounds like a washing machine and is hotter than the sun ;)
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    I don't think all 5 years were heavy losses, but yeah, they might well be in the red overall. They'll recoup it fast if their current trend continues though. Hardware-wise they made a lot of errors that cost them a lot of money and reputation. (I'm on my third unit, and everyone I know seems to be at least on #2.) On the other hand, people love it enough to deal with it, kinda like Macbooks in that regard. I'm starting to think that I've overrated the importance of build quality in things other than cars due to my experience with those. Perhaps since people aren't so reliant on non-automobiles it factors much less into their user satisfaction. (I've heard iPods too have high failure rates, though the couple I've owned never seemed to have any problem, but if that's true it clearly hasn't dented their uptake.) If you're lucky enough to have a newer one, they're a bit quieter, especially once you rip the game to the hard drive. You still have to put the disc in, but it doesn't spin and it makes it a lot quieter. Of course, the only game I play is Rock Band and I tend to crank that up :)

by axod 18y ago

mattmaroon 18y ago

I don't know what debt you mean, the division is profitable. It took them some money to get there, but that's what happens when you battle competition that has been entrenched for decades. At the rate they're going, they'll soon be profitable on the EDD unit as a whole. So I'd take the Xbox unit, if we're talking strictly TV consoles. (Nintendo owns the handheld market, and is one of the biggest game makers too, so it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.) For one, they're the most likely to abandon optical media as a necessity for their next player. Nintendo is very backward-thinking when it comes to media formats, consistently choosing cartridges and proprietary discs. By your own logic, that's pretty bad. (The Wii proves users really don't give a damn yet, but they may.) They'll still offer discs, because a lot of people will still want to rent games, buy them as gifts from Best Buy, etc. But it won't be the only way to get any new game. You can already pay to just download tons of games from the library. For another, they're the most compelling VOD service on the market. They're going to achieve the dream of streaming movie rentals to people in large numbers. They're already doing it with Netlflix, but they're still improving. I already cancelled my cable and now watch whatever TV I do through PlayOn or streaming from a PC thanks to my Xbox. Despite rarely playing console games, my Xbox gets used daily. They're much more than a gaming device, and they're growing there all the time. The Wii is not, it plays casual games well, and that's about it. And that's great, don't get me wrong, but it isn't the only market segment. Also remember, Nintendo has been playing 2nd or 3rd fiddle for a couple generations before the Wii, after having dominated for 2 generations. There's no reason to believe they won't end up right back there. That industry is tumultuous to say the least. And even if you'd go with Nintendo, that doesn't make what Microsoft has done any less impressive. That industry is one of the most brutally competitive there is. So many people have come and go, big companies have tried and failed to get a toe hold. Microsoft hit the #2 spot 2 generations in a row, and built a genuinely cool product that is killing the non-casual segment right now. It's really impressive.

axod 18y ago
>> "I don't know what debt you mean, the division is profitable." I thought it was just profitable for 2008, but not profitable as a whole, when taken as a venture - 5 years of heavy losses, then 1 year of some profit? Other points taken, and guitar hero rocks, halo is cool. The xBox is the best part of ms. On the downside, my xbox often sounds like a washing machine and is hotter than the sun ;)
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  I don't think all 5 years were heavy losses, but yeah, they might well be in the red overall. They'll recoup it fast if their current trend continues though. Hardware-wise they made a lot of errors that cost them a lot of money and reputation. (I'm on my third unit, and everyone I know seems to be at least on #2.) On the other hand, people love it enough to deal with it, kinda like Macbooks in that regard. I'm starting to think that I've overrated the importance of build quality in things other than cars due to my experience with those. Perhaps since people aren't so reliant on non-automobiles it factors much less into their user satisfaction. (I've heard iPods too have high failure rates, though the couple I've owned never seemed to have any problem, but if that's true it clearly hasn't dented their uptake.) If you're lucky enough to have a newer one, they're a bit quieter, especially once you rip the game to the hard drive. You still have to put the disc in, but it doesn't spin and it makes it a lot quieter. Of course, the only game I play is Rock Band and I tend to crank that up :)