Bill Gates would support Microsoft selling off its Xbox business

One of the major things that I think has killed the XBOX One is that it tried to be everything to everyone. Play movies, music, apps, surf the web, apps, play games. Note how I put “play games” last in the list, that wasn’t a mistake; it really was the last thing that Microsoft made the XBOX One capable of doing. The hardware inside the device is proof of that since the device can’t even play the games that are coming out decently. When you watch a high end game play at 1080p on the Playstation 4 yet the XBOX One’s rendition of the game only plays at 720p at half the frame rate, you have a big problem.

What Microsoft tried to do with the XBOX One was to make a set-top box, a living room entertainment machine if you will. Why? They wanted to go after the parts of the market that Google and Apple were going after. And just why did Microsoft want to do this? Well, we have only one person to blame for this… Steve “I want to f**king kill Google” Ballmer. If you want someone to blame for the XBOX One’s complete failure, you have no one else to look at but Steve Ballmer. He needs to be shown the door at Microsoft and told to go pound sand.
First of all both consoles are selling better than any consoles before the. Second the Xbox ONE is available in 13 countries vs 72 on PS4 yet has sales figures close to the PS4, Third the PS4 is not running all its games in 1080p and is even been found to be lieing about what games are in 1080p (Killzone ShadowFall runs only part of the game in 1080p).

Microsoft is not starving for money on the Xbox Division especially seeing as how its only 7 months after its release and neither is Bing.
 
Microsoft is not starving for money on the Xbox Division especially seeing as how its only 7 months after its release and neither is Bing.

True and false. While the Xbox One has helped boost revenue this year, the Xbox division is by far one of their lesser sources of revenue. Bing, however, is a billion dollar loser on their books.
 
I can't see them getting rid of Bing. Bing is cemented into the guts of Windows 8/8.1. Ripping it out of Windows 8/8.1 would be a pain. Selling it off only to have to license it from another company would be stupid.
 
Because it's probably not the big money spinner you think it is. It's also a distraction. It makes sense to me to dump it.
They're a software company and that's where they should focus all their attention.
Yeah you make some good points in that they are a software company and should just focus their efforts on Windows and Office. But, having xbox brings some nice variety to the table.
 
It's currently too early to tell if Xbox One failed. The 360 started the same way and ended up giving Microsoft a good profit.
Exactly! The price may just need to drop to like $400 so that it can better compete with the PS4.
 
To be honest, I think the only company that would be near buying it would be Google. They are trying to dip their hands into ever aspect in the market. If they take over the Xbox industry, they will truly need to do something extraordinary with the system for people feeling they need to buy it...like having the oculus rift as a primary way on gaming instead of the joysticks. Walmart wouldn't buy it and Apple wouldn't buy it.

And my only reason for not wanting a system is because I don't feel I have the control in the game like I do on a PC. Though I do prefer Xbox over PlayStation, I prefer PC over all lol. Its all about control. If I play CoD on xbox, I'm shooting every which way and I can't seem to keep control. If I play it on my PC I have much better control.

I've been playing FPS games on PC since Wolf3D. I used to prefer FPS games with K/M, but over the years I've actually liked kicking back with my feet up and a controller in hand. The ironic part is I've become better with a controller than K/M. I play Titanfall on PC and dominate K/M players with an X360 controller. I'm just saying regardless of your control preference if you use one enough you can become great with it. The only reason to actually buy a console is for exclusive games. Halo was good enough to buy an original Xbox, hopefully H5+ make the Xbox worth it. No PS exclusives interest me in the slightest.
 
Bing is not a colossal fail, it only costs Microsoft a billion dollars a year.
 
It's too hard for Microsoft to do something good nowdays.
Sell everything, that's the small thinking.
Windows 8.1 is the biggest s**t, I don't know why I'm using it anyway.
Update1 is even more buggy, they have hurried and got blasted with the smart people that have espected what they should have done many years ago.
Bill Gates has no problem at all, he's the richest man on the Earth and he builed an empire that worked very well until now. Why so much stress ? We have AIDS to cure. That's a long term thinking.
P.S. By the way, he's doing that now.
I don't see this world very brightly.
 
I've been playing FPS games on PC since Wolf3D. I used to prefer FPS games with K/M, but over the years I've actually liked kicking back with my feet up and a controller in hand. The ironic part is I've become better with a controller than K/M. I play Titanfall on PC and dominate K/M players with an X360 controller. I'm just saying regardless of your control preference if you use one enough you can become great with it. The only reason to actually buy a console is for exclusive games. Halo was good enough to buy an original Xbox, hopefully H5+ make the Xbox worth it. No PS exclusives interest me in the slightest.

Hmm..I've always wanted to get the 360. But I honestly don't have that much interest in buying the Xbox One. I'm sure if I've had enough practice with the controller I could master it. But I honestly don't have the time these days to sit down and game on the console for a long period of time. Maybe a couple hours a day while my son naps lol! Even then I am cleaning, doing homework, or something lol.
 
I've expanded that equation for you:

(100+ million units sold) + ("silly" amount of games sold) - (cost of producing each unit) - (royalties on each game sold) - (cost of strategic partnerships) - (cost of previous and on-going R&D) - (cost of Xbox LIVE infrastructure and staff) - (royalties on Xbox LIVE content) - (cost of marketing) - (cost of sales) - (taxes on gross income)

I still don't believe they lost money . Think how much money they made just from game sales , never mind xbox live subscriptions and peripherals etc.. no way did the xbox 360 lose money. That would mean every console in history past and present and future lost money. If you made a console that surpassed all expectations regarding sales many times over and it lost money you wouldn't have made a new one.
 
I still don't believe they lost money . Think how much money they made just from game sales , never mind xbox live subscriptions and peripherals etc.. no way did the xbox 360 lose money.

I don't have to "think" about how much money they've made on game sales, unit sales, Live subscriptions or peripherals. Their managers and investors don't either. It's all printed in black and white in their annual and quarterly financial statements. While the division has made money here and there, overall it is a net loss on their books. Simply put, their sales volume has not been high enough to cover all of the costs associated with delivering the product to customers.

That would mean every console in history past and present and future lost money. If you made a console that surpassed all expectations regarding sales many times over and it lost money you wouldn't have made a new one.

These two statements are logically incoherent. If the 360 was a net loser financially for M$, that means squat as far as other consoles are concerned. Second, few successful businesses or businessmen quit after an initial failure. You figure out what made the first iteration a loser and try and fix the problems in generation two. Anything less and you should be fired.
 
Microsoft is not starving for money on the Xbox Division especially seeing as how its only 7 months after its release and neither is Bing.

True and false. While the Xbox One has helped boost revenue this year, the Xbox division is by far one of their lesser sources of revenue. Bing, however, is a billion dollar loser on their books.

Strange how no one has mentioned the Surface. Clearly the Xbox One is selling in much greater quantities than the Surface and it has not had to be sold at discounted prices. Likewise I would expect that MS is making more out of software sales on the X Box than the Surface.
 
Strange how no one has mentioned the Surface. Clearly the Xbox One is selling in much greater quantities than the Surface and it has not had to be sold at discounted prices. Likewise I would expect that MS is making more out of software sales on the X Box than the Surface.

Surface isn't relevant to the conversation, hence its absence from the discussion until now. We've been discussing Xbox and Bing, not their entire EDD segment.
 
Strange how no one has mentioned the Surface. Clearly the Xbox One is selling in much greater quantities than the Surface and it has not had to be sold at discounted prices. Likewise I would expect that MS is making more out of software sales on the X Box than the Surface.

Surface isn't relevant to the conversation, hence its absence from the discussion until now. We've been discussing Xbox and Bing, not their entire EDD segment.
It is relevant because many of the arguments for dropping the Xbox could apply to the Surface which is why I am surprised it was not mentioned earlier. Thing is that MS are losing money on the Surface but are making money on the Xbox. If I was a MS shareholder I would need a pretty convincing argument for retaining the Surface but dropping the Xbox.
 
It is relevant because many of the arguments for dropping the Xbox could apply to the Surface which is why I am surprised it was not mentioned earlier. Thing is that MS are losing money on the Surface but are making money on the Xbox. If I was a MS shareholder I would need a pretty convincing argument for retaining the Surface but dropping the Xbox.

Risk, for starters. The Surface has been hammered as far as I know, but there is significant business opportunity in the long-run. Integration with Office 365 and contract deals with major companies are two options they are currently exercising. By contrast, the success of Xbox is inherently tied to game developers' ability to stay on top of consumer preferences, economic conditions that impact their purchasing decisions, and developers' ability to deliver what customers consider satisfying (an increasingly tall order). With ever-increasing development costs for gaming software and a nonexistent economic recovery, the long-term risk to MS of holding on to Xbox exceeds the risk presented by the Surface.

Likewise, the Surface has much better long-term prospects than does Xbox (and Playstation and Nintendo). Personally, I feel this will likely be the last generation of gaming consoles. Tablet computing, on the other hand, has a lot of room to grow in a number of industries. Once these opportunities are weighed against the risks, the Xbox isn't worth it.

If Microsoft is going to have a presence in the game industry it will need to be on the software side down the road. For hardware and related services, their resources should be dedicated to business.
 
Risk, for starters. The Surface has been hammered as far as I know, but there is significant business opportunity in the long-run. Integration with Office 365 and contract deals with major companies are two options they are currently exercising.
There may be business opportunities with the Surface Pro but I cannot see business adopting the RT version and you cite Office 365 which can be used on a large range of non MS devices including the Apple Mac.
Likewise, the Surface has much better long-term prospects than does Xbox (and Playstation and Nintendo). Personally, I feel this will likely be the last generation of gaming consoles. Tablet computing, on the other hand, has a lot of room to grow in a number of industries. Once these opportunities are weighed against the risks, the Xbox isn't worth it.
There is no way I would wish to swap my current work set up (Dell laptop and dual monitors) for the Surface. No way could I do any useful work on a Surface out in the wild as the screen is far too small. My feeling is that the Surface Pro is going to be the preserve of executives as a kind of status symbol. It is far too expensive for the common man. Unless there are some pretty substantial advances on the tablet computing front I cannot see that the current generation of gaming consoles will be the last.
If Microsoft is going to have a presence in the game industry it will need to be on the software side down the road. For hardware and related services, their resources should be dedicated to business.
Well it does appear that business had been forgotten by MS. The proof of that is the introduction of W8 which business has avoided like the plague. I suspect the main reason for MS wanting to sell the Xbox is that it is successful and they should get a decent price for it. I think they should consider dropping the the RT version of the Surface as it can only run cut down versions of Office and I gather it is not selling as well as the Pro version.

There is a downside in the longterm if they abandon the Xbox in that the demographics for the Xbox users tend to be younger persons. Many of them will be involved in future buying decisions. They would be less likely to buy MS products as a result.
 
There may be business opportunities with the Surface Pro but I cannot see business adopting the RT version and you cite Office 365 which can be used on a large range of non MS devices including the Apple Mac.

They are already doing this in portions of the retail industry and the airline industry. It's only a matter of time before it creeps into manufacturing as well (if it hasn't already). Office 365 can be used on non-MS devices, true. But they can bundle Office 365 and Surface contracts to incentivize businesses to choose their tablets over competitors.

There is no way I would wish to swap my current work set up (Dell laptop and dual monitors) for the Surface. No way could I do any useful work on a Surface out in the wild as the screen is far too small.

I wouldn't want to swap my setup (MBP and a HD monitor) either. A tablet simply cannot do what I need on a daily basis. However, you and I are not the market. What we prefer or think we could make use of is irrelevant; what matters is where the technology can be effectively deployed. In this respect, tablets have lots of room to grow, as evidenced by increasing adoption of mobile computing hardware by major companies outside of the boardroom. Nordstrom and Delta Airlines come immediately to mind.

Unless there are some pretty substantial advances on the tablet computing front I cannot see that the current generation of gaming consoles will be the last.

The end of the console era isn't going to be caused by tablets. It's going to be the costs associated with developing games making it cost and risk prohibitive for developers to make games across multiple platforms in the future. The switch by console manufacturers to less bespoke hardware will buy them some time, but the push by gamers for more complex games (better physics, better AI, better immersion, better graphics, more complex game universes, etc.) has been driving the cost of production higher and expected return lower. What's more, gamers have been increasingly dissatisfied with what's being published and are consequently becoming the equivalent of coupon clippers.

Traditional consoles will not be able to survive in this environment. In 7-10 years, developers and their publishers will be in the position of having to pick and choose winners (whose console they develop titles for) due to the increased cost of multi-platform development. This means less unit sales (due to smaller libraries) and more money being shelled out by console makers for contract deals with devs/publishers. Consequently, PC will become the default choice for developers who want to make a decent profit on their software.

I suspect the main reason for MS wanting to sell the Xbox is that it is successful and they should get a decent price for it.

This is why I would agree with a decision to sell it off now. In all likelihood, they are going to be able to command a much higher price now than they will in the future.

There is a downside in the longterm if they abandon the Xbox in that the demographics for the Xbox users tend to be younger persons. Many of them will be involved in future buying decisions. They would be less likely to buy MS products as a result.

The selling of Xbox is not going to turn future consumers away from MS products. You might be able to find a busload or two of die-hard Xbox fans who have developed an emotional relationship with Microsoft's brand logo, but rational individuals aren't going to choose an Office subscription or a Windows tablet/PC on the basis of the company's ownership of Xbox.
 
Well, with the "tepid" response that both Windows 8 and the "Surface" line of tablets have received, I think it's a huge mistake to sell off Xbox now.

I'm basing this purely on what I think might be public perception of the move. Whether or not M$ is in trouble doesn't matter. But, with their recent woes, I think the average Joe might smell, "blood in the water", if they suddenly decided to liquidate a major asset.
 
Well, with the "tepid" response that both Windows 8 and the "Surface" line of tablets have received, I think it's a huge mistake to sell off Xbox now.
I am a bit surprise it is as hot as that ;)
I'm basing this purely on what I think might be public perception of the move. Whether or not M$ is in trouble doesn't matter. But, with their recent woes, I think the average Joe might smell, "blood in the water", if they suddenly decided to liquidate a major asset.
Whereas abandoning the RT version of the Surface would seem a sensible move.
 
They are already doing this in portions of the retail industry and the airline industry. It's only a matter of time before it creeps into manufacturing as well (if it hasn't already). Office 365 can be used on non-MS devices, true. But they can bundle Office 365 and Surface contracts to incentivize businesses to choose their tablets over competitors.
So your argument for future success of the Surface is a bundled product? What is to stop HP or Dell selling a bundled product.
What we prefer or think we could make use of is irrelevant; what matters is where the technology can be effectively deployed. In this respect, tablets have lots of room to grow, as evidenced by increasing adoption of mobile computing hardware by major companies outside of the boardroom. Nordstrom and Delta Airlines come immediately to mind.
May be you can enlighten us to the Nordstrom deal? As to the Delta Airline deal that does seem a pretty good deal for MS but I wonder if the same could have been achieved with the iPad or an Android tablet?

Traditional consoles will not be able to survive in this environment. In 7-10 years, developers and their publishers will be in the position of having to pick and choose winners (whose console they develop titles for) due to the increased cost of multi-platform development. This means less unit sales (due to smaller libraries) and more money being shelled out by console makers for contract deals with devs/publishers. Consequently, PC will become the default choice for developers who want to make a decent profit on their software.
Both the Xbox and the SP4 are built on PC architecture so I don't see that your argument holds water. Clearly Nintendo have an issue. Also you are forgetting that consoles provide a different experience to the PC. How many people have a 40" wide screen PC monitors?
 
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