I just read an article with Steve Jobs (of Apple Corp fame) denouncing the Microsoft Zune and its great ability to pass a song over to someone and allow it to be played three times.
While I have commented on this, I have now started to realize that Microsoft may either be a secret (or inadvertent) genius.
Think about it…let’s take the Microsoft Xbox. EVERYONE and their dog knows that you can modify this by cracking it open, adding a chip and voila, done. But what do people need to do with it before all of that?
Purchase it. Purchase an honest to goodness Xbox. Not someone’s copy of an Xbox. You have to go out and buy one off the shelf and then lining Microsoft’s pockets with cash.
Granted, they lose money on their game sales, but heck, they’re still making money on the hardware sold.
Now, if we think about this Microsoft Zune player…how long can we anticipate that someone will hack into it so that we can share songs with EVERYONE, with no play limit at all? It will be genius! Everyone will want a hacked Zune player. People have already hacked their iPod but withiout WIFI, there isn’t much you can do in terms of sharing songs easily.
I tip my hat to you Msoft. Clearly, you are not the buffoon I thought you were. However, if you don’t know yourself, then I suppose you’re just the inadvertent genius.
8 replies on “Secret Genius?”
interesting theory.
I believe that Xbox never made $$$ on the Xbox… I know thay are losing more than a hundred on the 360 but I believe m$oft financial heads have stated that they were still losing $$$ for each console sold. Now I may be wrong… but did read this a while back.
Are they losing on the Zune as well? Who knows!
That is why they spun the games off to companies like EA that can make a game and make money!
I can’t believe that a company will take losses and still continue to make a product? They will either break even or make money!
I am fairly certain M$ft and $ony both lose money initially on console sales.
But as the parts get cheaper, and the development process more streamlined the price per console drops to something more reasonable and profitable.
when the cost or R&D is recovered then profit will flow. Look at the Airbus A380, they will have t sell 250 of them to break even. I wounder what the profi per unit will be after that?
The consoles can’t cover the cost of R&D at first because the cost to develop the hardware initially is more than what they sell it for.
you would be surprised at what part of the console is going to cover R&D
msoft loose money….now there is a contradiction in accounting terms. Do you honestly think that a firm would deliberately flood the market with a lost leader ( an accounting term from way back ) just to ensure years and years of sales of necessary products at inflated prices to make ( what term is bigger than ) kajillions of money. Nah not is our free democratic society.!!!