MSFT Spending $1,000,000,000 on Kinect, WP7

[JMcEntegart]

We had heard something crazy about Microsoft being willing to spend billions on marketing Windows Phone 7 and apparently, WP7 isn't the only product Microsoft is willing to pour boatloads of cash into.

MSFT Spending $1,000,000,000 on Kinect, WP7 : Read more

 

[lauxenburg]

Give or take how much I keep in my back pocket.

 

[rpgplayer]

that's just a drop in the bucket for M$

 

[TheDuke]

Don't know how successful Kinect will be but i think WP7 will be popular

 

[buddhav1]

Not particularly, given that Kinect is years behind the Wii and months behind the PS3. WP7 may or may not be good, but with competiton from Apple and Google smartphones basically dividing it as much as it is, do they really expect a 3rd contender with a late entry to break into this market successfully?

 

[xantek24]

MS should take Kinect in one hand, a WP7 in the other hand and smash them together...which will result in a front facing camera with Kinect functions....that would be cool....imagine, a touchless touch screen...

 

[willgart]

finally Microsoft understand that the marketing do the job!
a good followup by the TV news, and they'll be on the right direction.

 

[bpislife]

Both will flop.

 

[domenic]

How do I get Oprah tickets? On first thought, Really? Oprah? But maybe marketing the brand to mothers before x-mass is a smart move.

 

[Guest]

If each Kinect device costs Microsoft $100 to make; then for that same $1B they could give 10 million 360 owners one of these for free.

 

[freename]

Is anyone at all surprised by this? Developing new hardware/software is expensive.

 

[thegreathuntingdolphin]

I think it might be good advertising spending. As much as Sony claims the Move is not the Wii...it is for all intensive purposes. In the eyes of most consumers (ie the casual gamer that is interested in the Wii) the Move is nothing new. Xbox has already posted three straight months of being the #1 console and it will continue throughout the holiday season. The difference between the Move and the Kinect is that the Move will mostly just be bought by current owners of the PS3; the Kinect will actually get new customers to buy an Xbox (especially the casual gamer since a Xbox 360 S 4 GB + Kinect is only $300). With Microsoft advertising the this heavily, I think Microsoft will be the clear winner this holiday season.

 

[hellwig]

Well, someone did the math, but this is 10million kinects at $100 a piece (assuming that's how much profit they could make). Considering they only sold some 30-million 360's, I'm not betting on Microsoft making any money on kinect. They're simply spending money right now to make sure people remember the XBox name when the next generation finally comes out. This is why the original XBox never made them any money, and apparently why they might lose any money they made off the 360 to date (remember, developing the kinect took them years and millions of dollars most likely).

This is Microsoft's strategy. Spend as much as necessary to corner the market. Problem is, they can't drive Nintendo out of business, and Sony has too much money themselves. I don't really see Microsoft's strategy paying off this time. They'll spend billions, then a couple years from now, they'll roll their Microsoft Live Blog over to competitor Wordpress, oh wait, I mean they'll just discontinue the Xbox product line.

 

[chickenhoagie]

I think most of their money will actually come from the Windows mobile 7 OS itself, not the actual hardware. They did great with windows 7, so my predictions tell me the mobile version shouldn't be too far apart.

 

[ScoobyJooby-Jew]

[citation][nom]hellwig[/nom]Well, someone did the math, but this is 10million kinects at $100 a piece (assuming that's how much profit they could make). Considering they only sold some 30-million 360's, I'm not betting on Microsoft making any money on kinect. They're simply spending money right now to make sure people remember the XBox name when the next generation finally comes out. This is why the original XBox never made them any money, and apparently why they might lose any money they made off the 360 to date (remember, developing the kinect took them years and millions of dollars most likely).This is Microsoft's strategy. Spend as much as necessary to corner the market. Problem is, they can't drive Nintendo out of business, and Sony has too much money themselves. I don't really see Microsoft's strategy paying off this time. They'll spend billions, then a couple years from now, they'll roll their Microsoft Live Blog over to competitor Wordpress, oh wait, I mean they'll just discontinue the Xbox product line.[/citation]
MSFT wants to get the hardware in the homes, and then crank out software.

 

[thegreathuntingdolphin]

Microsoft is making money. They make a ton off of Xbox Live and their games since Xbox 360 owners typically buy more games and accesories than the other two consoles. Also, Microsoft is doing pretty well so far. They have a lot more cash than Sony which has basically been losing money in every department for years. Sony has gone from 70% market share to 25%....

 

[taiso]

all i know is that lately at my store console sales have been as follows 360>PS3>DSi>Wii i think nintendo finally lost their lead based on the fact that consumers are a bit more knowledgeable from the time the wii launched. both sony and ms will now have motion sensing controls, the wii will never be HD, and quite frankly the wii has gone stale. now that ms ironed out most of their hw issues i think kinect will solidify the 360's current place in the market and with games like like black ops, and halo reach these holidays will see the 360 on top. and this comes from a potential ps3 buyer.

 

[belardo]

WP7 = Should gain market share, AS LONG as people like it... but I foresee about 30% market share, knocking RIM into 4th place is the goal. Android is still taking market share from iPhone & RIM.

Kinect = Should do better for parties, but so far - FPS type games tend to blow as using your HAND as a weapon is "childish" and limited. Like using various weapons modes, etc. The PS3's Move (in development since 2001) is supposed to be more accurate than Wii.

 

[dragon5677]

i can buy so many things in that much money!

 

[r3t4rd]

I hope MS does well. We need competition. Competition keeps prices low for consumers and inovation moving. (Note: Nothing aginst Apple)You also have to remember, Apple products aren't the best in the world but it is Apple's marketing that has established Apple's name. Apple probably spends 2x to 3x times more on marketing than MS does. Apple in a way is like Nintendo, Cheap hardware and bloated prices = huge profits. Marketing 101/Business 101!!