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Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land While the U.S. economy currently resides in the toilet, Microsoft says consumer spending for its Xbox and Zune division is still going strong. According to Microsoft exec Robbie Bach:
We have not seen, on the consumer side of our business, a slowdown.
Guess that explains those studio closings, huh.
Microsoft Xbox unit sees no consumer slowdown-exec [Guardian via Xboxer]
Did you know that Microsoft’s president of entertainment and devices division Robbie Bach spoke at a press conference yesterday? No? You were busy following the Apple coverage, like we were? Well Bach isn’t going to let the focus on Apple get him down. The Xbox 360 continues to see success, and the Zune…well, they’re still making it, dammit. “Everyone thinks we are a software company”, said Bach. “That’s true. But, we have been in the hardware market for 26 years now. Games and phones, we have only been in these markets for a short time but we are seeing great success”.
Microsoft makes phones? Perhaps the great success lies in keeping me completely unaware of this! Bach spent some time during the conference talking up upcoming Zune features, such as the ability to play games, which I am almost positive will justify my Zune purchase whenever the choose to get around to adding that. Hey, did you hear the new models are hitting next week, allowing you to download songs directly from the Zune? Picking up the new iPod Touch instead? Just checking.
Game on, says computer giant [Alberni Valley Times]
Xbox 360 owners are gluttons for punishment. Many of us have suffered through multiple red rings of death, shipping off coffin after coffin, twiddling our thumbs between repairs and refurbishes. Why? We’re already invested in an extensive Xbox 360 games library and an Xbox Live subscription, something Robbie Bach says “speaks to the power of the product offering and service we provide”. That’s a positive way to look at it, I suppose.
We’ve been a little down on Robbie Bach lately. Mostly because he – like many other former walking quote machines (Looking at you, Reggie) hasn’t been talking nearly as much shit as we’re accustomed to, and damnit, that’s what we love to see in a corporate exec. But could he finally be inching his way out of his shell? Looks like it! Watch, as he unloads on the PSP in an interview with VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi:
“That’s the first time we’ve been able to say that”, Bach, chief of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, told the San Jose Mercury News”. That’s total Xbox business — service, software and hardware.”
Well, they’ve got a two-quarter head start toward that bold proclamation. It probably takes some sting out of the depressing sales numbers over in Europe, where an analyst warns that that weak sales there could see the 360 de-listed by retailers in some territory. Some more outtakes from a chat he had with the Merc are after the jump.
Microsoft revealed its own financial results for the previous quarter today, showing the the company’s Xbox division—better known as the Entertainment & Devices Division, which also includes the Zune and more—was profitable. Again! That makes two quarters in a row that the division succeeded in not losing money, something that should please Master Gates, J Allard and investors. The group pulled in $US 357 million in operating income for the final quarter of calendar year 2007, much better than the loss of $US 302 million in 2006.
That puts Microsoft’s E&DD team up over a half-billion for fiscal year 2008, which, if they continue to perform positively, will go a long to proving Robbie Bach right about profitability. Hey, they might not be Nintendo numbers, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Do I hear some of you chanting three-peat(TM)?
Microsoft Reports Record Second Quarter Results [Microsoft]
The Edmonton Journal caught up with Microsoft Entertainment and Devices president Robbie “Xbachs” Bach at CES this week to discuss the success of the Xbox 360. They revisit an interview from four years ago, when the original Xbox was trailing behind the PlayStation 2, where Bach promised that Microsoft would be ready for the next generation. “Well! There you go, prophetic,” Bach said enthusiastically. “In fact it has been a role reversal. We were on first this time like they were last time, we had a product that was more price-competitive this time, and we had a higher attach rate.”
Of course we know the battle has just begun, but let Bach have his past tense for now, and perhaps we’ll revisit this post four years down the line to poke fun at it.
The article goes into a great deal of specifics as far as the profitability of his division within Microsoft versus the much more profitable software division, citing that Halo releases have been the only time the E&D group have actually posted profits, but Bach is keeping his eyes firmly on the long term.
Bill Gates final CES keynote wasn’t the most action-packed, megaton-heavy affair, but there was one startling revelation. It wasn’t so much an announcement as it was an implication, but it would seem that Slash is ready to join another supergroup, one that’s unnamed, but we’re calling Merino Wool Revolver for now. The band looks to feature two toy guitarists—Bill and Robbie—and one real guitarist, a clear indicator into which of the three independently wealthy men will pull the most groupie arse. Hopefully, the three will feature as bosses in Guitar Hero Encore: Non-threatening Pastel Sweater Edition. Hey, it couldn’t be any worse than Rocks the 80s.
Previously, we reported that Microsoft’s Robbie Bach unloaded $US6.2 million in company stock between May 2 and May 30th (right before the July 5th announcement of Xbox 360′s warranty extension). That number was and is still completely accurate.
But it turns out that Bach had already unloaded an additional $US3 million in Microsoft stock on May 1st. (A late SEC filing caused many to overlook this number before.) So that brings the total to $US9.2 million shady stock practices by Robbie Bach. Ironically, the stock didn’t plummet and all is good in the world. Other than, you know, Bach being front page news on MarketWatch.
Microsoft’s Bach sold more stock before Xbox news [via maxconsole]
