-tkf- said:
I think they can be compared. MS status as an OS/Software maker and having money was no guarantee of success. The GAMES are what make a console successful, not how many OS sales you have. MS did not go out and by EA, Ubi, Square-Enix, Activision, Capcom, Namco, etc... and leverage themselves that way. They instead bought smaller developers (and the AWOL Rare which Nintendo did not want anyhow) and built a solid peice of HW which through misfortunate events cost them more money than they anticipated.
Nintendo is a handheld monopoly with 90% of the market. Should we break them up so their handhelds cannot keep the console afloat? Apple is beginning to monopolize the MP3 market and is leveraging that success to get bigger marketshare with the mac mini.
You can make these types of arguements all day long. You can argue how it was unfair for Sony to move in on Nintendo and Sega. The fact is a lot of people hate success and the leveraging of that success.
As for the Xbox not being good, I disagree. Do you own one? The fact MS has now surpasses Nintendo in console sales has to do with the fact that more people want their product. Xbox is not a bad product for consumers at all. It is not a buggy OS release or a feature poor Office release. It is a top quality console. Its only sin had nothing to do with a bad product, but bad deals that prevented it to shrink down (one of the main reasons I expect the Xenon in 2005).
MS has lost a lot of money due to 3 issues: (1) A bad chip deal with nVidia (2) expensive off the shelf items like a PIII CPU and (3) an expensive HDD that could not be shrunk easily.
These mistakes happen (btw, Sony lost a lot of money with the PS and PS2 launches; not 3B, but a lot... but they also made a lot later... but note 1st Q of 2004 they lost ~25M in their games division). MS just happen to be a big one... but also a calculated one (it allowed them to bridge from the PC for developers... many of you hate this, 20M like it--to each their own). MS losing 3B is like Nintendo losing 500M.
Obviously people have different opinions on these issues. I personally think it is a joke that MS is being told they cannot include WMP in Windows yet how long has Apple had Quicktime? People always want to see the leader fall. Just like many here want to see Sony fail; and Sony advocates are raving mad at anyone who points out anything negative about Sony. But none of this relates to the consoles. If Xbox was not losing money due to expensive parts people would still be complaining.
Basically people want MS to give away all their IP, sit still and do nothing, not move into new markets, and give customers less for their money so we can call it "competition". Not going to happen and it should not happen. As for the consoles... the living room is the future. With the wall that Processor tech has hit (should we not be at 8GHz now? How long have 3GHz P4s been out now?) the market is moving toward more powerful all in one devices used for every day tasks. Sony and MS are both fighting for this and it is an expensive battle.
But neither can afford to lose it either. Sony has been living on the PS for a while. If they just stuck to the "console only" market they would lose a ton of marketshare to these convergance devices. MS cannot afford to lose out on the evolution of the PC, nor should they.
I will end my rambling. Everyone has a different perspective on this. I know a lot of you hate MS and everything they stand for (just as many hate Sony and everything they stand for)--I hate neither. But we probably should leave the OS/MS business practices for another time.
