RSSAnalysts Say MS Will Lose on X-Box
By Aaron Dobbins | Published March 8, 2001, 3:58 PM
Some analysts are predicting that it could take as long as five years for the X-Box to pay off for the Redmond Giant, as it is expected to take a whopping $2 billion loss on the system initially. Reuters reports the analysts are optimistic about the success of the system, but that it will not contribute to profits for Microsoft anytime soon.
MS will spend as much as $500 million marketing the console when it debuts later this year. It is expected around the same time that Nintendo's GameCube will launch.
Bloomberg reports that Microsoft may even delay the launch of the X-Box in Japan until early next year according to analysts. Delays could come from the lack of "home-grown" game creator support in Japan, although Konami is already on board.
Microsoft officials denied any claims of delay to News.com, saying that it was right on track to hit its original launch dates. To read the rest of the News.com article here. This delay could give Nintendo's GameCube time to plant itself in a hostile market where the PlayStation2 recently KO'ed Sega's Dreamcast.
damn its been almost 2 weeks and still no news!!! damn this web page went down the drain!
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|Yet another day witht he same exact headlines.
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|1. Microsoft will make plenty on the X-Box in the long run.
2. A year after the X-Box is released, this will still be the top story on BetaNews.
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|LOL at #2.
#1, yeah probably, that's what all the anylists are saying too.
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|The xbox is way too PC based. Emulation of a PC on a PC is just way too easy to do (look at VMWare). PSX emulation on a PC requires a hefty PC because of the huge CPU cycle translation for the main processor, sound, graphics, etc. But emulating x86 on an x86 in terms of CPU cycles is essentially 1:1. And as PCs get more powerful, emulation of video and sound (assuming you can't get the same video & sound boards installed on your PC--which are available) gets easier. They can't win...
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|No, it's going to be a lot harder than you might think. They use a different system architecture and whatnot to get more graphics performance.
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|Sony's PS2 did NOT "KO" the Dreamcast..... it helped, but the these factors weighed in considerably:
- Next-gen consoles other then PS2 (Xbox, GameCube)... Many gamers decided to wait and dish out their hard earned cash for newer hardware.... even still forsaking the PS2.
- Software piracy... This got HUGE when ppl realized it was possible... with Sega loosing money on the console (as all consoles do), the piracy of the software was nails in the coffin.
- And let's not forget the countless people that were bitter at Sega's Saturn. ;)
Nearly all of those who did buy Sega's console were very pleased and continue to enjoy it's top-quality software.
On a side note, it's "Xbox" not "X-Box"! ;D
I personally think PS2 is the next console to die. It's already looked down at by many a gamer.... it was a rushed, incomplete, entry into the console world.
Xbox and GameCube are the real contenders.
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|If analysts new what they were talking about amazon.com and yahoo.com stocks would be the ones to get lol.
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|okay wtf? i used to come here to get the latest beta news. Now i come here and i see the same damn articles for two weeks... this is the latest news you have?!?!? damn this web page has started to suck
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|Are yall EVER going to put up new news?
Ever since efront came along, Betanews.com has been going down the toilet.
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|I think they are going to be very wrong.
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|I don't think you understand it. They will be selling the hardware at a loss, and then making money on the games.
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|Indeed, Microsoft will lose money on the X-box at first, but they have all that other stuff to make up for it (ie: Windows, Office, etc.)Just like Sony is losing $200 for every PS2 because it takes them $500 to make it, but their making up for it with the TV's, Video Cameras ans so on. As like Sega also, they were losing money and they had nothing to make up for it but games. The games are good but they do not have the marketing power to sell their system, so the games didn't make up for. Thats why they decided to stop the production for Dreamcast. Nintendo has a good solid background to help them out and most people are Nintendo gurus anyways, but if they didn't Pokemon makes up for what they lose.
I think that Microsoft should keep where they belong, which is in the PC market. They have no business being in the video game console market. Yea, the graphics are nice and so forth but Sony is already working on its Playstation 3 and from the rumors I heard, don't know if their true or not but Sony, IBM, and Toshiba are working on it.
Most of the time developers have Sony as their number 1 target anyways. Maybe that will change maybe it won't.
Microsoft also have no support in Japan right now becuase they expected for Japanese developers to come to them, which is dumb. If you have no Japanese support, your system will not last.
I'm not biased against Microsoft, I just think that they don't know what they are getting into.
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|...i just visited the microsoft xbox page, and looked at the game section and the screen caps, and let me tell you. IT IS AMAZING!!!!
Halo looks so realistic, and fluid. I really think MS is gonna rule with this.
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|Yeah, those screenshots are pretty cool, Now think what they are going to look like with the new chipset they are going to install with the box, because what you saw is crap to what they are going to have support for.
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|Halo's graphics look crappy compared to the racing game, those are outragous.
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|apparently you do not know the full story, you are on a complete world. These graphics are and are going to be amazing. Other games such as the snowboarding look very promising.
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|Apparently, you don't know how to read.... I said compared with the racing game, Halo's graphics don't look as nice.
Snowboarding looks ok, but not my type of game.
One of those games, don't remember which one it was, just looked like total crap.
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|In my opinion, gaming consoles will not be dead. They will always been around as long as they are constantlly improved.
I prefer the PC myself, but there are drawbacks to PC's... Gaming consoles support 2 or more people MUCH better than PC's do (not counting muliplayer online). You also don't have compatibility problems with consoles like you do PC's because its all fixed hardware.
Gaming consoles are also easier to operate than a PC would be for most people. They also don't normally require a keyboard.
As for Microsoft losing money... I doubt it really matters much... of any company, Microsoft is the one that can afford it. Like others have said here, its the games they make the money off of... easily.
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|And in consoles, developers make a game to that specifc system, rather than having to make generalizations, and determining on how crappy of a machine you want the game to run.
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|all video game consoles lose money. it's not the consoles they make money on. it's the games.
video game consoles are gonna die?! wtf?! there's only so much you can do on them?! well look at the words... VIDEO GAME console. that's like saying refrigerators are gonna go extinct cuz there's only so much you can do with them. as kids become more high-tech, traditional toys like GI Joes will become less popular and video games will become more popular. you're not supposed to be able to type up a report on your video game console. it's supposed to be for games. people aren't gonna stop playing games.
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|...the same thing was said for sony, when they annouced they were creating a gaming console. So they can say all they want, we don't know until it comes out.
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|Gaming consoles (similar to other computing ''appliances'') are soon to be dead again. You can only do so much with them, and kids have even less attention spans these days. And nothing can be new or exciting anymore, having been desensitized by advances done already. Unless the virtual 3d junk takes off (ie, become cheap and practical), it's better to just go out wilding. lol
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|They know they are not going to make any money off of the consoles. Why do you think they have 150+ game develompment companies developing games for the xbox. It definately deosn't cost a lot to mass produce dvd's does it?
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|it's not like MS is aching for $$ .. next i wanna see the Microsoft Mouthwash. or maybe a MS brand of soap.
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|Heh.. just like windows.. Wash .. get out/get back in repeat..
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|Given that the lifespan for a given console is about 5 years, it would seem to be a losing proposition from the start? By the time Microsoft is in a money-making position the X-Box will be long obsolete (in fact it'll essentially be dated compared to a decent PC by it's release.)
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|AFAIK, most console makers don't make their money off of the actual consoles, but from licenses from developers.
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|They were never planning on turning profit with the XBox until 2005 anyway, so why all this sudden 'big deal' about it? This is very old news.
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|Playstation has been around forever, and they aren't dead. I don't see anyone planning to beat the X-Box for a very long time, even the PS2-PS3. (Hey sony is losing money on PS2 also, so don't just trash MS)
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|The way I see it is Microsoft is actually going to make this the start of something very large, and its actually quite the awesome idea. They start with the xbox, getting a console game system into the house, running every component of a actual computer, but with no bugs ( atleast we hope there isnt any bugs ) no blue screens, no boot time, etc. Designed to play games with remarkable graphics, and 150 + developers making games for the console.
Then they expand. Sticking in Tivo features? Acting as a router? Controlling your whole house? as Soon as they get it in the house, and they simply make it better every 5 years, the posibilities are pretty much endless.
Who cares if they loose money in the beginning. With this system they are getting a hardware product into the house.
They can also make the xbox act as the Digital Cable box if they wanted it to be, then they can start a XBox cable service that has internet access and 1000 channel digital cable for a monthly ammount.
like I said the xbox is only the beginning.
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|Excactly.
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