Yep. I was trying to stick to "PC computer" hardware, since that appeared to be Rachel's original comment.
> Even though they’ll spend $10 million to make a phone system, they give it away to someone else, because they know - in the long run - they’ll make back ten times that amount in licensing and further lock themselves in as the standard for the industry.
I would venture to add that they also know that the "Microsoft" brand logo is a mixed blessing for certain products. There are the Microsoft fanboys who will buy anything with an MS or Windows logo on it (no different in that regard from Apple fanboys), but I daresay there are even more people who look at a Microsoft "Anything-Other-Than-Software" and their reaction is, "What the hell is Microsoft doing in this business???"
I suspect that plays into why MSFT often stays in the background...
Yeah, PCs. Until Mac makes a gaming console. the Xbox war is one I am not fighting.
Now, that said, we can talk about X box. The hardware that they have NEVER made a profit on yet.
Now, before anyone goes off into left field, THINK about what I just said. NEVER. And PROFIT.
That is, I know they lost over 6 billion the first 4 years on it, and I know they actually DID earn more than they spent for the first time in 3rd Quarter 2008, and have from time to time posted quarterly gains in profit loss statements.
But that is NOT a profit. A profit is if you spend 100 total and make 101 or more back.
Spending 100 a quarter and having most quarters return 50 and a few return 101, does NOT make for ANY actual profit.
So, fine by me if anyone wants to play the Microsoft does make hardware look at Xbox HA HA HA.
Sure.... LUV to look at it. It’s the perfect example of my whole text book case for why they should NOT BOTHER.
I do not know why they got into the game wars... it has burnt capital and is a bigger albatross than their OS woes.
But, I do know this much.... Apple has 5 toes in the water with all the games on the App store and Sony and Nintendo and Microsoft TREMBLE and say their prayers every night before bed about the Apple boogyman. Because someday, it’s gonna come and everyone knows it. The profits on Xbox and Sony are only a short span away from being loss leaders to outright leaders, and they all fear the iPhoning of the console.
And they should. Apple isn’t a PC company anymore. They changed the name a few back and they meant it. Apple WILL do a gaming console, when they have it perfected. And it will change EVERYTHING, just the way the mouse did, the GUI did, the USB port did, the iPhone did, etc etc etc etc.
And I can hardly wait. Half the reason I have Windows on this is for my Fallout 3!