Japanese Failure Dooms Xbox 360

[thedoc46]

Am I the only one that finds it highly amusing that so many appear to think they know more about business and making money than the largest and probably most financially astute company in the world?

Hmmm Forbes does beg to differ.

I do hear what you are saying, but you have to remember, Microsoft did take a financial risk, as with every company who launches a product. So far it's not paid off. Has it gone as good for them as they would have liked? A definate no ..

Is is over for them? Thats a definate no either.. Sony needs to sell ps3's and sell 'em good. Once the hardcore punters have gone out and bought their shiny new ps3's its the rest of the market that needs to be pursuaded and so far this other segment of the market is leaning towards Nintendo.(who saw that coming?). Sony so far have taken as big of a risk as Microsoft did in the first place by loading the ps3 with all the bells and whistles.. Hopefully it will pay off for both as we as gamers want the competition.

One thing I will say however, about Microsoft and this is very typical of American corporates... is that they have their own heads up their arses when it comes to foreign markets.. What were they thinking when they originally released the original xbox? That original controller is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.. I live and work in corporate America, I know their culture compared to us Europeans, it's very short sighted, as they are with the japanese.. So no, they do not have all the answers and they can get it wrong and not only by a small amount but by a country mile...

Plus they've not done themselves any favors either by making the 360 a pile of poop blowing a trumbone in terms of reliabilty and noise.

However Microsoft are in the most trouble of the three. The jap market is lost and this is what Forbes is saying.. Microsoft now has a mountain to climb and it aint gonna be easy.

 

[Bigpig]

japan is major for any console. anyone who says diffrent is hiding their head in the sand. xbox would have failed a long time ago only for billgates and ms money behide it.

 

[[HB]Rugrat]

Interesting article... too many "if's" and "but's" to be taken seriously but interesting nonetheless.

Personally I want Sony, M$ and Nintendo to keep slugging it out and for no clear "winner" to emerge. I remember when MS adopted similar tactics in the office software market - pumped in billions at a loss until they hit the right formula and killed off the competition. Then the prices started to rise... and rise... and rise... How much does MS Office cost now? Are they renting it to us yet?

I remember Nintendo doing exactly the same thing in the late 80s / early 90s with stupidly priced cartridges, and I've no doubt that Sony had one eye on milking the playstation cash-cow when they assumed that this round of the console war would pick where the last one left off. If Sony had the market to themselves how much do you think the PS3 would cost? Would they really soak up a $200 loss on each unit unless there was strong competition?

The Xbox 360 will hopefully not "fail" anywhere, and neither will the others. As long as there's a scrap on, we can only win

 

[Abooie]

Interesting article... too many "if's" and "but's" to be taken seriously but interesting nonetheless.

Personally I want Sony, M$ and Nintendo to keep slugging it out and for no clear "winner" to emerge. I remember when MS adopted similar tactics in the office software market - pumped in billions at a loss until they hit the right formula and killed off the competition. Then the prices started to rise... and rise... and rise... How much does MS Office cost now? Are they renting it to us yet?

As they've now extended the 'student' license to home/family Office has never been this cheap. (£89).

 

[dirtydog]

As they've now extended the 'student' licence to home/family Office has never been this cheap. (£89).

So any home user can use that version and the license covers them? I didn't know that (just checked it out for myself to confirm as it seemed unbelievable, but I see that you are correct.)

 

[rayb74]

I could not really give a monkeys how many consoles are sold in Japan.

 

[Manlove is my forte]

Actually I think all this thread proves is that we do not want any of MS Sony or Nintendo to fail and fall out of the market. Because if they do, we will probably never see another company entering the market. Its just too expensive to do so and the corporations that do have the sorts of finance to do so are probably not interested in investing in this area.

 

[roboffer]

I think the biggest point, is just how stupid are the Japanese gaming community for ignoring such a console.

 

[Abooie]

I think the biggest point, is just how stupid are the Japanese gaming community for ignoring such a console.

Aye, I bet they'd even fall for a rebadged gamecube with a motion sensing waggle stick sold for twice as much that only plays PSP and PS2 ports at 480i.

Nah, no one would be that stoopid

 

[sc(+)pe]

I think the biggest point, is just how stupid are the Japanese gaming community for ignoring such a console.

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

 

[benjo plz.]

If that is true then it would simply be a profit on the cost of manufacture, rather than paying back the billions already spent on the Xbox project since its inception. You also have to judge any investment against the opportunity cost of that investment.

They make about $70 on each console.

 

[dirtydog]

They make about $70 on each console.

Okay well even if that is true, what I said still stands doesn't it Profit per console on manufacturing costs alone, versus profit from the overall Xbox project since its inception. Two entirely different things.

 

[V4NT0M]

japan is major for any console. anyone who says diffrent is hiding their head in the sand. xbox would have failed a long time ago only for billgates and ms money behide it.

But thats true of the PS/2/3 aswell...

 

[Needles]

They make about $70 on each console.

this fact has not been verified by anyone and is the assumption of those strange beings games industry business analysts

 

[Minority]

MS have done a remarkable job in expanding their poor market share (from Xbox1) to be at this moment neck and neck (if not ahead in terms of world wide sales) with the PS3

If you're talking about current worldwide sales figures the Xbox 360 is winning at roughly 9.7 million, the Wii is next with 6.6 million and the PS3 is last with 3.1 million.

 

[rp2000]

this fact has not been verified by anyone and is the assumption of those strange beings games industry business analysts

I always see this figure of 60$-$70 dollars per 360 sold, but never any links to anything that can be verified independently.

From what I recall quite a few months ago, some study group projected they made this much money on each console based on a certain amount of games being sold with each console. I think they still make a loss on the hardware, but just measure it "creatively".

I am inclined to believe this until I see a reliable source regarding this $60 profit per machine. As they were originally making a loss on each one of approximately $100 dollars it seems strange they have reduced manufacturing costs by $160 dollars in just over a year.


rp2000

 

[Needles]

but when you think of the headstart the 360 has had over the other 2 consoles ps3 has sold a third of the amount of the 360's install base in half the time and it is a lot more expensive and wii has sold two thirds in the same time, 360 is doing well which I am glad to see but run away success it is not

 

[Needles]

and almost two years into its lifespan it has almost sold half the amount the xbox1 did in its 4year lifespan which I have found sobering when thinking about 360 and it's success

 

[JUMPURS]

They make about $70 on each console.

iirc that figure is pre shipping to retailers too.
MS are pains in the **** with their figures, they never release normal figures like people would like to see and could make sense of

 

[Abooie]

If you're talking about current worldwide sales figures the Xbox 360 is winning at roughly 9.7 million, the Wii is next with 6.6 million and the PS3 is last with 3.1 million.

Or

360 > 10.5m
Wii > 6.6m
PS3 > 2.9m

depending on which tabloid source you're looking at.