Microsoft biggest winner behind the scenes at CES?

[topcat2001]

It seems like with all the focus on Blu-ray vs HD DVD folks have missed Microsoft's foray.
Deal with Vonge to have more movies on Xbox live
Xbox IPTV box for carriers like ATT and Verizon
Xbox live and Vista PC gaming integration (If they can combine PC gaming with Xbox live then the PS3 is almost dead in the water)

I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a Xbox 360 in addition to my Wii. The Wii is nice for casual gamers like me but they can never pull off this integration with movies and live.

[james]

Originally Posted by topcat2001

It seems like with all the focus on Blu-ray vs HD DVD folks have missed Microsoft's foray.
Deal with Vonge to have more movies on Xbox live
Xbox IPTV box for carriers like ATT and Verizon
Xbox live and Vista PC gaming integration (If they can combine PC gaming with Xbox live then the PS3 is almost dead in the water)

I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a Xbox 360 in addition to my Wii. The Wii is nice for casual gamers like me but they can never pull off this integration with movies and live.

Don't forget the additional Lionsgate content.

[topcat2001]

It will be interesting to see if Apple's iTV can outshine the Xbox live but I think it may have a much harder time than with the iPod as MS controls their own hardware this time.

[OrangeCrush]

Dont forget VC-1 becoming more and more popular with HD releases on both sides. They can make an absolute boatload of cash with VC-1. Yes MS is without a dubt one of the big winners this year at CES. I agree 100%. A lot of people criticized MSwhen they entered the Videogame market and was taking heavly losses with each Xbox unit sold but they absolutly knew what they were doing. I read an article on Bill Gates a few years back in Time Magazine where he fleshed out his plan for the domination of the living room and looking at how things are right now I would say his plan is coming along very nicely.

Regardless of what Sony Supporters will admit, the 360 is a steallar gaming machine and Xbox live has been turned into the premier online gaming center. In all honesty it is amazing what they have done with Xbox live since Ihave been a member since day 1. They have continued to improve it time after time after time and its now an amazing service that I Have no problem paying a monthly fee for. The integration of PC gaming with Xbox live is a great step IMO that will only make Xbox live that much better of a service with even more people to game with not that 5 million isnt enough already.

MS is having great sucess right now on a lot of fronts and with Vista finally getting ready to hit the market (Even if it is a complete rip off of OSX), their success should only gain momentum over the next few years.

OC..

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by topcat2001

It will be interesting to see if Apple's iTV can outshine the Xbox live but I think it may have a much harder time than with the iPod as MS controls their own hardware this time.

I dont think it will have a hard time at all. People are actually all about Apple these days. If its anything like the rest of their products it shuld not only look great but be designed great and be very easy to use. I for one cant wait for it as I have been a Mac user for over 15 years and have never had a really good option for this kind of thing before. I have tons of downloaded content that I wold love to be able to stream to my HDTV with ease. The HD content alone that I have takes up hundreds of burnt discs. BBC's 11 part Planet Earth series in HD is simply stunning to name just one of them.

I expect it to do quite well.

OC...

[HarakoMeshi]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Dont forget VC-1 becoming more and more popular with HD releases on both sides. They can make an absolute boatload of cash with VC-1. Yes MS is without a dubt one of the big winners this year at CES. I agree 100%. A lot of people criticized MSwhen they entered the Videogame market and was taking heavly losses with each Xbox unit sold but they absolutly knew what they were doing. I read an article on Bill Gates a few years back in Time Magazine where he fleshed out his plan for the domination of the living room and looking at how things are right now I would say his plan is coming along very nicely.

The bolded bit, that's exactly what people will be saying about Sony and PS3 when Blu-ray wins the format war and helps push PS3 to be #1 console too.

[Wulf]

Give it up HarakoMeshi, Sony conceded PS3's biggest chance to catch #1 status the minute the took their focus off of the videogames dept. (Their key dept. I might add) Microsoft (and Nintendo) out bid them, out scooped them, got more exclusives and out right out classed Sony this gen. This gen is a fight between Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360 for first place. Sony gave up that chance when they hit the snooze button and went on cruise control. Sony can never catch the Wii or the 360 in price now or they'll bleed money until they become the next Sega trying. It would be better to man up and stop the bleeding now and just deal with the PS3 as a movie player now than to try and battle Nintendo and Microsoft with their price drops and their will be price drops. Nintendo and Microsoft can smell blood in the water now it's just a matter of time! The sharks are hungry for some meat they will attack!

Ohh and Microsoft is looking at the movies (HD-DVD and HD downloads giving choice again I might add.) but, they never stopped focusing on the games. Maybe Sony's not big enough company to focus on both because they let one devision slide while focusing on the other. How else can you explain (losing exclusives on Ridge Racer, GTA, Assassin's Creed, Resident Evil, Dragon Quest and now Virtua Fighter 5. You know they have Tekken, Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry and MGS4 left. Some of those are rumored to be going Multiplatform too now.) You gotta have exclusives if you don't your dead! Alot of those companies wanted to keep those games exclusive to Sony too that's bad when Sony was turning them away because we're PLAYSTATION. You right about one thing Sony will probably wake up after this gen to be number one again if their's anything left of the company after this gen is over. Sony has no room for bragging any more and they need to change focus quickly or risk death!

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Dont forget VC-1 becoming more and more popular with HD releases on both sides. They can make an absolute boatload of cash with VC-1.

Something I've been saying MS had planned to do all along by allowing HD DVD to get out of the gate.

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Regardless of what Sony Supporters will admit, the 360 is a stellar gaming machine

You won't hear any argument from me here. I can't stand it when people bash other consoles as I think all three of the new gen consoles have merits and are worth purchasing.

[Gnome]

Originally Posted by HarakoMeshi

The bolded bit, that's exactly what people will be saying about Sony and PS3 when Blu-ray wins the format war and helps push PS3 to be #1 console too.

Sony doesn't have the deep pockets MS has. They are betting their entire company's future on the success of the PS3 and BD.

They promised their investors (the only thing keep Sony afloat right now) they would dominate both the gaming market and easily win the format wars, they would see massive losses in the first quarter this year and then they would start raking in the cash. If Sony does not fullfill it's promise to its investors they may pull out and Sony would be in a world of hurt.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Gnome

Sony doesn't have the deep pockets MS has. They are betting their entire company's future on the success of the PS3 and BD.

They promised their investors (the only thing keep Sony afloat right now) they would dominate both the gaming market and easily win the format wars, they would see massive losses in the first quarter this year and then they would start raking in the cash. If Sony does not fullfill it's promise to its investors they may pull out and Sony would be in a world of hurt.

They might not have as deep, but their pockets are deep don't kid yourself.

Sony's gross from movies alone

2006 - $1,704,600,000 (1st)
2005 - $ 919,100,000 (5th)
2004 - $1,337,600,000 (1st)
2003 - $1,197,100,000 (2nd)
2002 - $1,575,100,000 (1st)

[Gnome]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

They might not have as deep, but their pockets are deep don't kid yourself.

Sony's gross from movies alone

2006 - $1,704,600,000 (1st)
2005 - $ 919,100,000 (5th)
2004 - $1,337,600,000 (1st)
2003 - $1,197,100,000 (2nd)
2002 - $1,575,100,000 (1st)

Their net earnings are considerably lower than that though. Gross income isn't as impressive when you factor in how much they spent to develop the Cell Processor, the BD technology, and the everything else that went into the PS3.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Gnome

Their net earnings are considerably lower than that though. Gross income isn't as impressive when you factor in how much they spent to develop the Cell Processor, the BD technology, and the everything else that went into the PS3.

It still refutes the foolish notion that Sony is doomed if the PS3 and Blu-ray are flops.

[Ramenator]

Originally Posted by HarakoMeshi

The bolded bit, that's exactly what people will be saying about Sony and PS3 when Blu-ray wins the format war and helps push PS3 to be #1 console too.

Originally Posted by dobyblue

They might not have as deep, but their pockets are deep don't kid yourself.

Originally Posted by dobyblue

It still refutes the foolish notion that Sony is doomed if the PS3 and Blu-ray are flops.

While it has seemed for a while now that Sony would no longer dominate the gaming market the way they had (they controlled over 2/3 over the previous generations console market share) I never thought about the PS3 actually being a "flop" until having just saw the CES keynote.

http://www.microsoft.com/ces/

While both systems offer games and HD movies (Though I prefer 360 lineup of games) there is a huge difference in the other capabilities (connectivity.) PS3 connects to the PSP. Yeah, great, connecting to a handheld game did a lot for the gamecube. The 360 interactivity with the PC looks to have some serious benefits. When I got my 360 I had no idea I could use it as a bridge to PC gaming, let alone HDTV and other resources. When linked to my computer the 360 could blow away the so-called comprehensive media device capabilities of PS3.

That said, even though this could hurt Sony (they projected to again dominate the game market again and anything short of that, let alone a loss will effect them) it can only change the dynamic of the company. While they may not be able to rely on the game division to carry the same kind of revenue, they have had other successes like a record year in the TV market. Sony's not going anywhere anytime soon.

[Gnome]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

It still refutes the foolish notion that Sony is doomed if the PS3 and Blu-ray are flops.

No it doesn't because Gross does not take into account money going out, it only counts money going in.

[Feyd]

IMO Sony's bread and butter has always been their TVs. While historically overpriced (not so much these days), they have generally built a reliable television. It's a shame the same can't be said about their other A/V components, but if I had to choose a product to buy from Sony, it would be a TV.

I think it's safe to say that the "Playstation" brand is no longer the king of console gaming. It's been usurped by the 360 and (to a lesser extent) the Wii.