How Much is Too Much?
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Microsoft says it will stick with Xbox. But with years of heavy losses behind it, the pressure’s on for the gaming division to make good
Earlier this week, an interview with Microsoft COO Kevin Turner affirmed that Microsoft is willing to stay the course with its videogame business, despite the fact that it hasn’t been profitable on an annual basis since the original Xbox launched in 2001. Advertisement
For some, the reaction to the interview was surely, “’Duh.’ Of course Microsoft plans to stick with the Xbox business.” That reaction stems from the fact that it’s easy to see Microsoft’s successes as the lone next generation console on the market. The games library is good, upcoming titles are looking great, Xbox Live is a robust service with many appealing features and Microsoft is insistent that it will move 10 million hardware units by the end of the year.
But all of these successes and admirable plans have come at great expense—greater than Microsoft had expected initially. For fiscal year 2005, Microsoft’s home and entertainment division posted a $485 million net loss.
