4 ms·

Until Xbox One, at least.

dragontamer 13y ago
http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-has-lost-nearly-3-billion-in-10-years http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-h... Nope. The only reason XBox360 made any money was because of XBox Live subscriptions and Ad Revenue. Neither selling consoles, nor games have made any money for Microsoft.
- CaveTech 13y ago
  Wasn't referring to their earnings at all. XBox is one of the few MSOFT products that has a positive brand image overall.
  - taylorwc 13y ago
    That's exactly what I was thinking. Even if it was barely breakeven, I'd think that the value of having a consumer product with recurring revenue and [generally] positive customer experience is of greater value than its cash flows.
  - dragontamer 13y ago
    Its easy to have a positive brand image if you're bleeding money. See Youtube, before the advertizements. The real trick is capturing a positive brand image while still making the company money. The XBox One tried to refocus itself as a more profit-oriented machine. Why is it "always online" ??? Because XBox Live subscriptions and Ad-revenue were the #1 source of revenue for XBox. Why is the XBox One weaker than the PS4?? Because XBox never made money off of games. In fact, Microsoft lost money as far as games themselves are concerned. Microsoft made a decision: they decided to attempt to make the next generation XBox One profitable at all. Those decisions have cost the XBox One its reputation... but were probably necessary so that the XBox division actually could make money. When you have a part of your company that is continuously bleeding money, with an inability to actually monetize your brand... you need to spin it off. Its basic business strategy. The other possibility is if they could find a way for XBox One to make money while still keeping a positive brand image. At the end of the day, Microsoft needs to make money, but the XBox isn't doing that for them.

http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-has-lost-nearly-3-billion-in-10-years http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-h... Nope. The only reason XBox360 made any money was because of XBox Live subscriptions and Ad Revenue. Neither selling consoles, nor games have made any money for Microsoft.

CaveTech 13y ago
Wasn't referring to their earnings at all. XBox is one of the few MSOFT products that has a positive brand image overall.
- taylorwc 13y ago
  That's exactly what I was thinking. Even if it was barely breakeven, I'd think that the value of having a consumer product with recurring revenue and [generally] positive customer experience is of greater value than its cash flows.
- dragontamer 13y ago
  Its easy to have a positive brand image if you're bleeding money. See Youtube, before the advertizements. The real trick is capturing a positive brand image while still making the company money. The XBox One tried to refocus itself as a more profit-oriented machine. Why is it "always online" ??? Because XBox Live subscriptions and Ad-revenue were the #1 source of revenue for XBox. Why is the XBox One weaker than the PS4?? Because XBox never made money off of games. In fact, Microsoft lost money as far as games themselves are concerned. Microsoft made a decision: they decided to attempt to make the next generation XBox One profitable at all. Those decisions have cost the XBox One its reputation... but were probably necessary so that the XBox division actually could make money. When you have a part of your company that is continuously bleeding money, with an inability to actually monetize your brand... you need to spin it off. Its basic business strategy. The other possibility is if they could find a way for XBox One to make money while still keeping a positive brand image. At the end of the day, Microsoft needs to make money, but the XBox isn't doing that for them.