Killing Off the Original Xbox: A Big Microsoft Mistake
,----[ Quote ]
| Now Microsoft (MSFT) introduced the Xbox in November 2001 and deliberately
| brought out their next machine, the 360, just four years later, in November
| 2005, so as to be first to market with the next generation. They kept the two
| models as a range for just one year, killing off the original Xbox in
| November 2006 when it was just five years old.
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http://seekingalpha.com/article/53614-killing-off-the-original-xbox-a-big-microsoft-mistake?source=yahoo
http://tinyurl.com/2nphou
Sony has meanwhile upgraded the PS2, which probably still outsells almost
everything.
Xbox 360 no longer grabs headlines. It has gotten another anti-feature (just
like Vista), which is a parental control that enables disablement. *LOL*
Related:
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against MS For Bricked 360s
,----[ Quote ]
| According to Gamespot, the suit seeks a minimum of $10 million in
| damages, depending on how MS decides to defend itself.
`----
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/law/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-ms-for-bricked-360s-220250.php
Loot: Redmond, We Have a Problem, Or, What's Wrong With the Xbox 360
,----[ Quote ]
| At this point, Former becomes impassioned. That's not fair, he says;
| we always saw this as a long-term venture. To which we reply that we
| were talking about the original Xbox, and while other divisions of
| the company throw off more profits in a single quarter than the
| entire $5 billion or so lost in the home and entertainment division
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| to date, the fact remains that, as we take-our-word-for-it predicted,
| the Xbox group has been spectacularly unprofitable for Microsoft.
| Hence, our heretofore unpublished Vietnam analogy. The rest of the
| night is a blur, but we digress.
|
| [...]
|
| The worst case scenario for Microsoft, then, is one in which the Xbox
| 360's bid for the mass market is blocked by the Wii for the next two to
| three years, at which point the aging and underpowered Wii gives way
| to a cheaper-than-it-is-now PS3 with a selection of AAA titles that's
| far wider than what the PS3 has at the moment; new installments of
| Playstation's own popular and casual-leaning games; and a slew of
| new franchises from Sony's much-larger studio operation.
`----
http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=533168
Why Microsoft Must Come Clean About Xbox 360 Flaws
,----[ Quote ]
| It is all about trust. But trust is something that is earned over time, and
| needs to be constantly re-earned through actions. Microsoft has breached the
| trust of its single most important constituency, its customers, the effects
| of which are only beginning to be felt. Come clean, Microsoft, because
| confession is good for business. And it is also the best way of protecting
| your brand and your customers.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070711/40669_id.html?.v=2
Microsoft Admits *ALL* Xbox360's Are Defective
,----[ Quote ]
| Though Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's Xbox360 Division refused to elaborate
| on the issue, the general consensus is that it's one of botched thermal
| design management and inadequate dissipation of heat leading to component
| failure.
`----
http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/microsoft-admits-all-xbox360s-are-defective.html?Itemid=60
Insider Trading Hasn't Affect Microsoft Stock - Yet
,----[ Quote ]
| MarketWatch.com reports that Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's
| Entertainment and Devices division, sold $6.2 million of Microsoft
| stock just prior to announcing that Microsoft was going to have to
| extend XBox 360 warranties to three years because of extensive
| failures. The filings note that this was not part of any
| scheduled diversification or selling program; this was a
| conscious, unscheduled sale by the guy in charge of releasing
| news that could affect the value of Microsoft stock.
|
| [...]
|
| Insider trading is a very serious violation of the law; just
| ask Martha Stewart, who served five months in prison for
| avoiding losses of $43,000 through trades that just had suspicious
| timing (no insider trading was actually proven). This is $6.3
| million that went straight into Robbie Bach's pocket.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070713/40947_id.html?.v=1
Microsoft's past stock options practice poses questions
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft in 1999 announced that it would end a policy of awarding
| options at monthly lows and said it would take a $217 million charge,
| though many details of that discontinued practice haven't been widely
| known, The Wall Street Journal said Friday.
|
| Those details raise questions about how Microsoft began the practice,
| what prompted the company to end it and whether the way the options
| were dated--at 30-day lows the month after they were
| granted--influenced other companies, it said.
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http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6084617.html
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