Xbox Not A 'Core' Part Of Microsoft's Business CEO Says

[Raven]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/07/15/xbox-not-a-core-part-of-microsofts-business-ceo-says/

Wow. That should be a little concerning to hear considering big incoming layoffs, low performance of the Xbox One so far this year, and ahead of the June NPD.

[7H3]

he did say in his open letter that Xbox was "integral" or something like that

[Raven]

he did say in his open letter that Xbox was "integral" or something like that

He's using careful language. He's saying what gamers want to hear to keep consumer faith to continue to sell systems but also saying what investors want to hear and that's the fact that the Xbox brand is not essential to Microsoft so any of its failings don't really affect the company's future. It can easily be dropped if it's not working out and the company won't really be affected. He's not going to come right out and say that because this generation is still going on for the next few years at least. It would be crazy to kill what consumer faith Xbox has and lose future sales because of it. I do believe there was also a report that Microsoft's job ad for a creator of a new console quietly disappeared. Though that could be taken different ways.

[DD_Bwest]

be prepared for xbox numbers that look rather.. red..  on the next set of financials.

[ethomaz]

I believe the Xbox One 2 Sony happened in the future... Thais is the lady atemp of MS in console business.

[BananaKing]

He's using careful language. He's saying what gamers want to hear to keep consumer faith to continue to sell systems but also saying what investors want to hear and that's the fact that the Xbox brand is not essential to Microsoft so any of its failings don't really affect the company's future. It can easily be dropped if it's not working out and the company won't really be affected. He's not going to come right out and say that because this generation is still going on for the next few years at least. It would be crazy to kill what consumer faith Xbox has and lose future sales because of it. I do believe there was also a report that Microsoft's job ad for a creator of a new console quietly disappeared. Though that could be taken different ways.

it most likely disappeared because it got people talking about a new xbox for no reason when this one just released. i doubt it had anything to do with this and more that people were taking it out of context.

as far as Xbox being a core of MS, i never thought it was in the first place. Windows, azure and office make microsofts its billions. xbox barely helps if it even helps at all.

[Raven]

it most likely disappeared because it got people talking about a new xbox for no reason when this one just released. i doubt it had anything to do with this and more that people were taking it out of context.

as far as Xbox being a core of MS, i never thought it was in the first place. Windows, azure and office make microsofts its billions. xbox barely helps if it even helps at all.

Yeah. I just wanted to point out that it was stealthily removed. Why it happened is anyone's guess.

A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that the Xbox brand is important to Microsoft. I would even bet some investors. Like I said, he's reassuring investors that the Xbox brand is not important to Microsoft and it won't impact the company's long-term success regardless of what happens to it so that gets them off his back yet at the same time he's trying to ease concerns from consumers that the Xbox brand might be in trouble. Nadella is doing a better job acting and speaking like a businessman than Balmer did.

[darkknightkryta]

The posting wasn't removed from what I understand.  The mention of next gen hardware disappeared from the posting.  Which questions what's going on at MS.  We'll see if MS shows up at next years E3.  But I wouldn't be surprised if MS finishes up whatever projects they're working on and then liquidate assets.  If a somewhat healthy 3DS couldn't stop the losses the Wii U was making, I can only imagine what losses the Xbox One is currently incurring.  I think they may keep the brand, but put it towards other products.  MS couldn't figure out how to make money in 13 years in gaming, I don't think they ever will.