<< Has anyone seen a retailer advertising X-Boxes? I believe their is a limited supply in the channel and they are selling out every new shipment per store. >>
Correct, no need to advertise the Xbox console. They are selling them as fast as they can make them and that's in excess of 120 million per week.
There's plenty of room for 3 platforms now that the gaming business is growing so rapidly. The game cube is a lower end unit and targets younger users. It's really a match up of PSII and Xbox for the high end market.
The best projections I've seen suggest that MSFT loses about $100 per unit sold, but this is made up quickly in game sales. The losses are already built into forward projections, so it's upside surprises that I'd expect from this MSFT division, certainly not downside. The Xbox sells for $299 by itself, but you will notice that the typical package sells for $499. That's because you have to buy the games, accessories and additional controllers.
When I picked up my Xbox earlier this week (after getting a lucky tip about a shipment coming in to a small retailer) I walked out of the store at a total cost of around $800. I guarantee that MSFT made their money back on me! <g>
Once they get millions of consoles into homes around the world, the loss per console sale will become negligible and the game revenue and income will become quite impressive.
All of the best games that are on the market now are made by MSFT (HALO, Munch's Oddysee, NFL..., Nascar..., etc.). They sell for $50 and there's plenty of profit built into that price, no doubt about it. Especially when the total numbers start getting very large, which is obviously the results we are seeing.
Dave |
