Xbox One Brings Microsoft Entertainment Biz Into Question

[Andy Chalk]

Xbox One Brings Microsoft Entertainment Biz Into Question

DFC Intelligence says the ugliness of the Xbox One performance at E3 has put a big question mark over the very future of Microsoft's entertainment business.

It's pretty well accepted that Microsoft's E3 press event did not go well. The focus was naturally on the Xbox One and its many connected "features" which appear to do things like limit how you can share or trade games, and most onerously mandates a daily check-in with a central server in order to maintain gaming functionality. It was a vision of the future of digital entertainment that did not go over particularly well with its audience.

That has led analysis firm DFC Intelligence to warn in its "Forecasts for the Videogames Market" report that "Microsoft's overall strategy for entertainment devices is deeply flawed." As a result, the agency said it will likely lower its Xbox One sales predictions in its August market update and increase its numbers for the PlayStation 4.

"So far this has not had a major negative impact on the Xbox business but that is likely to change with the Xbox One launch," David Cole of DFC added. "Right now the entire future of Microsoft's consumer entertainment business is in question and that is likely to have a major impact on the game industry."

"In question" can mean a lot of things but few of them are very good and while the Xbox One/PlayStation 4 dichotomy probably isn't quite as black-and-white as it's commonly perceived, Microsoft got killed at E3 and it's going to have to take some big, bold and consumer-friendly steps to bounce back.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/dfc-the-entire-future-of-the-xbox-business-is-in-question/0117250]


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[luvd1]

*a lone voice from the back of the theater* Drop the DRM!!!

 

[luvd1]

*Another voice from the back of the theatre chimes in* And stop sucking so bad!!!!

 

[omega 616]

The only shot MS has is the "1 billion in games" thing, if it can make a shed load of exclusives that make every gamer want to throw money at the xbone they might convince enough people to buy.

Failing that the xbone is doomed if it stays the course it has laid in.

 

[joeman098]

This is totally shocking.... lol not really I still cant believe the "oh we have a product for people that dont have an always connected internet its called the xbox 360."

 

[Saladfork]

I wonder if anyone else would step in to fill the void if Microsoft gave up on consoles. I doubt Apple would do terribly well, the steambox has presumably fallen into the same interdimensional void that half-life 3 is in andI very much doubt Dell or HP or the like would be very interested.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Microsoft bit off more than that can chew. They want to compete with everything instead of focusing their efforts on making a good gaming console. And they want to be like Apple so much, which only makes things worse. First they alienated customers with TV and sports, then they alienated more customers with DRM and the Kinect, then more with the fact that 2/3 of the world can't even use the fuckin' thing, then more with $100 higher price than the PS4. How can this thing succeed?

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Anybody who invests in Microsoft at this point is asking to lose money. Microsoft clearly thinks they can strong arm people into going along with whatever they want.

Touch screens are the future! Let's force everyone to adopt touch interfaces!
Cloud connectivity is the future! Let's force everyone to stay connected!

They're a company that doesn't want to create things people want. Their future isn't looking good

 

[Maurice Harding]

and yet when i go into game thay tell me "xbox one is the future of gaming" as thay stand next to the xbox one posters in a xbox one t-shet.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

snip

I was under the impression, when a company is as low as it can go, that's the best time to invest. The buy low, sell high deal. Even if the whole game division crash and burns, Microsoft as a company won't go under. Seems like a great time to buy Microsoft stock actually (or maybe wait until after launch if it goes badly), after all, once you hit rock bottom, the only direction to go is up. [sub]or six feet under, but Microsoft is to big for that.[/sub]

 

[Scribblesense]

If and when the Xbone bombs, I really hope the PS4 and Wii U can pick up the slack. With the overinflated budgets we're seeing for triple-A games, not having that additional platform could really hurt performance. Any company who bet hard on the Xbone (EA, a couple of indies, etc) should be panicking right now.

I doubt everybody will just switch to PS4, and if they did I doubt Sony will be able to meet demand with their current financial situation. And if both prove true, there's still the problem of every major release now competing for consumer interest on one platform. We could see another PS2 or another 1983.

In short, the Xbone is a potential black hole that could end up pulling the rest of the industry in.

Ugh. I could not slap Microsoft hard enough right now.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Anybody who invests in Microsoft at this point is asking to lose money. Microsoft clearly thinks they can strong arm people into going along with whatever they want.

Touch screens are the future! Let's force everyone to adopt touch interfaces!
Cloud connectivity is the future! Let's force everyone to stay connected!

They're a company that doesn't want to create things people want. Their future isn't looking good

Actually, this is around the time when you should be investing in MS stock. Well, to tell you the truth, I'd wait for it to drop a bit further.
You buy when its low.

And once again, I think gamers are the ones who made MS think they could strongarm people into going along with whatever. They sold enough 360s through the whole rrod ordeal then raised the price of online while cramming the service full of ads, everyone seemed okay with all that. It seems to me like the 360 fans stuck kick me signs to their own backs. In fact, I'm not all that convinced that the xbone Wont sell well. Even at this point. I'm sure they're going to lose some customers but probably customers that weren't making them that much money in the first place.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

snip

I was under the impression, when a company is as low as it can go, that's the best time to invest. The buy low, sell high deal. Even if the whole game division crash and burns, Microsoft as a company won't go under. Seems like a great time to buy Microsoft stock actually (or maybe wait until after launch if it goes badly), after all, once you hit rock bottom, the only direction to go is up. [sub]or six feet under, but Microsoft is to big for that.[/sub]

I read an article that said Microsoft was worth $500 billion in the 90's and now they're only worth about $240 billion. They've been losing money constantly. Apple made more money last year off of just the iphone than Microsoft did off of all its resources combined. They still have an insane $240 billion to throw around but it doesn't look like they're going to be turning any huge profits soon. I'd invest in Apple

 

[Slash2x]

Using a ship as an example. If the Xbone were the Titanic and the consumers are the passengers, the good people of Micro$oft have been bailing water INTO the ship as fast as they could.... The only step they will take it to put and small explosive charge at the bottom of all the lifeboats they can reach.... Because screw the passengers that is why.

I have said it repeatedly, this is their Dreamcast.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

You mean it WON'T sell one billion units?
*GASP*

Why, it's almost as if...

- Alienating the entire populations of all but 21 countries around the globe.

- Alienating anyone within those countries who doesn't have a consistently stable internet connection.

...and...

- Alienating anyone left who isn't so rich that a $100 difference in price means absolutely nothing.

... is going to make you lose business! :O

I know, I know, this changes everything. Up is down, black is white, Chris Brown is women's rights personified! What are we supposed to believe about the world anymore?!

 

[Nimzabaat]

So Microsoft wants to move people forward... and the PC Gaming Master Race are complaining? Since when did the PCGMR become Luddites?

Having your own personal "Jarvis" should be a cool idea. Yet the PCGMR hates it.
The Kinect can spy on you in your own home! You mean like your cell phone and webcam? Apparently that third thing in your home that can be used to spy on you is the straw that breaks the camels back.
Microsoft has DRM! Like Steam, Origin, and PS4? How dare they!
Microsoft may get cause Gamestop to go under! Like Blockbuster? (And, correct me if i'm wrong, isn't Gamestop the company that people hate because they only get $5 for a trading in a new game and Gamestop sells it for $5 off? Just saying, their days should be numbered. They deserve it).
You have to be connected to the interenet once every 24 hours! If you can post on an internet forum, that isn't a problem where you live.

Seriously, when did the PCGMR become the cranky old people shaking their fists at progress? Next thing we know the PCGMR will be flinging wooden shoes at Microsofts servers...

 

[kajinking]

Using a ship as an example. If the Xbone were the Titanic and the consumers are the passengers, the good people of Micro$oft have been bailing water INTO the ship as fast as they could.... The only step they will take it to put and small explosive charge at the bottom of all the lifeboats they can reach.... Because screw the passengers that is why.

I have said it repeatedly, this is their Dreamcast.

What exactly went wrong with the dreamcast anyway? I was just a kid so I didn't know much about gaming industry when I got one to play Sonic Adventure 2 (such a great game) but it appeared to be a solid syetem even if it's gimmiks like that weird memory card thing kinda fell flat.

Oh yeah and in other news the Xbone isn't going to do well...

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Anybody who invests in Microsoft at this point is asking to lose money.

I've looked into Microsoft's numbers on the NASDAQ stock exchange and their value has dropped by about 3% over the last few days, starting from June 10th.

Still, the Entertainment and Devices Division[footnote]Which includes the Xbox brand, as well as Mediaroom, Windows Phone and Skype[/footnote] is only a small part of Microsoft's business. The vast majority of the revenue comes from their office, server and operating system divisions, in that order. The XBone bombing wouldn't really cause Microsoft serious pain. At most they'd just sell off the brand.