Question: Was Microsoft's decision to enter the game console business a good decision? Based on: Microsoft Xbox Online. University of Michigan Business School Case Study. The XBOX is now a 6th generation video game console that is manufactured by Microsoft. The machine itself was released in November of 2001, just in time for the 2001 Holiday Season in the United States, then subsequently worldwide. The decision to manufacture and release the system was Microsoft's first plunge into the gaming console market and designed to compete with the Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCUbe, and Sega's Dreamcast. By November of 2002, Microsoft launched the Xbox Live service that allowed players to play interactive games online (Gamer's Catch, 2006). Looking at the evolution of the system, however, we now know that the Xbox began to be discontinued in late 2005 (in Japan) and then in early 2007 in North America. The last game was released in August 2007, and even support for out-of-warranty consoles was discontinued in 2009, with all new faulty consoles replaced with Xbox 360. Xbox Live support was discontinued in April 2010 (Whitten, 2010). The Video-Gaming industry, though, is both fickle and highly competitive. Each season the major manufacturers reinvent the system in some way; modernize it in pieces, likely even though they could actually go from version 2 to 6 in one year. Stretching it out, though, makes it more fiscally competitive in the long run. When faced with a
For the corporation that has acquired another company, merged with another company, or been acquired by another company, evaluate the strategy that led to the merger or acquisition to determine whether or not this merger or acquisition was a wise choice. Justify your opinion.
The topic for my essay is Xbox One is better than Playstation 4. The three reasons are the interface and software is better, exclusive games, and its versatility. These are the top three reasons I think Xbox one is better than the Playstation 4.
Through the years of all the generations consoles Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation both prove to be, arguably, number one. The flames of the console war since the release of the latest generation of consoles back in 2013 have been set ablaze by fans and gamers alike. Microsoft had a weak start with the Xbox One and with nonstop updates and quick releases they crushed their competition. What exactly makes Xbox better?
In July 1999, Microsoft legitimized its expansion beyond its core competencies, to invade the gaming hardware market with Xbox and made its impression on the thrill and action seeking needs of the sophisticated video gamers. It aimed at
Xbox has many more features than other consoles. In many different ways it can be cheaper than let's say the PS4. The Xbox is very easy to learn about how to use it. Many people use it to just watch movies or Netflix. Many apps are free on Xbox and if some cost money, then they will have a free trial! There are different platforms that you can play Xbox on. Xbox also has many more games you can play right now! Also more are being added every day. There are so many reasons why Xbox is clearly better.
Microsoft is trying to establish the Xbox One as the video game console leader in the Video Game Industry. The Xbox One is a third generation video game console for Microsoft. The video game industry continues to have steady growth. However,
Product positioning is the most difficult aspect of Microsoft’s marketing strategy for the Xbox. Consumers know that Microsoft is a great company and most computer owners have positive brand images of Microsoft. This really helps Microsoft get a jumpstart on their new product. But, the hard task comes when Microsoft
Another strength that the Xbox One has is that it is financially backed by Microsoft. This company is very successful and can continue to finance the Xbox One, even during times in which the brand is having any difficulty breaking even or making a profit. Microsoft is also one of the most prominent technology companies in world, which is due in part to its willingness to continue to innovate through research and development. Because of this, many of Microsoft’s technological achievements have been incorporated into the Xbox One. For example, the Microsoft Cloud, which improves the quality of Xbox Live for many gamers as it speeds up load times and causes no host advantage. Microsoft’s achievements
Nintendo take the actions it did? How did these affect the value created by the industry?
Microsoft Xbox is a company that makes games, gaming systems and accessories. The use of these systems has risen dramatically over the years and the people that use them are always looking for a new great game or accessory to go with it. Also, Microsoft Xbox has launched the new Xbox 360 Elite, the most elite gaming system available today. Back in November 2005, when Xbox 360 first hit the shelves, it was just the beginning. Although the console itself has not changed, the number of games available for it has risen exponentially. You can also play many regular Xbox games, designed for the first Xbox, that have backward compatibility with Xbox 360. More than 200 Xbox games work well on Xbox 360. That
In order for Microsoft to become the leader in the console industry, it is critical to know the kind of consumers that are going to be targeted. According to the Fundamental Marketing article by Isaiah King, the target market for Microsoft Xbox users focuses on three main components: demographic, psychographic, and behavioral (Fundamental Marketing 1). The demographic of Xbox users range from age, generation, and gender. The hardcore gamers age group range from 16 to 30 years old. However, generation plays a huge role in the demographics of the console. Students of 18 years and younger are aimed highly more than older people, as they are leaders of the digital innovation. This variable of the demographic is important, as this age group will be the future industry in new products.
Now Xbox has started competing with Sony’s PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii as the seventh generation of consoles. As of June 30th, 2013, 78.2 million consoles were sold, the console had sold out completely upon release in all the regions except Japan. When it comes to Xbox Live the 360 had expanded it. They had created a free tier of Xbox live called silver. Not just Xbox Live but Microsoft had also released a Kinect motion sensor for the console, which uses an advanced sensor system. At their E3 presentation on June 14, 2010, they had released a redesigned Xbox 360 that will be shipped on the same day. How they redesigned is that they made a slimmer model, 5 USB 2.0 ports, and a special port designed for the kinect peripheral. Since then the older models were discontinued. Also the first new console had a 250 GB hard drive, while the less expensive only had a 4GB hard drive. Also for games it was around 50% of the original Xbox library for backwards compatibility. If you didn’t know backwards compatibility is where you could play the games from an older generation console on the next generation.
* For the corporation that has acquired another company, merged with another company, or been acquired by another company, evaluate the strategy that led to the merger or acquisition to determine whether or not this merger or acquisition was a wise choice. Justify your opinion.
Microsoft started developing their console after the DirectX, which was a programming unit that was mostly used for creating videos and various types of graphics for computers. Microsoft modified their DirectX and made it into the Xbox. Since Microsoft built the Xbox from a computer it was extremely powerful compared to Sony’s Play Station 2, Nintendo’s Gamecube, and Sega 's Dreamcast ( ). Microsoft was concerned if they would get support from third party developers because it was the first video game console they produced.
With the advancement of new technologies such as high definition(HD) and motion sensors it was only natural that consoles would evolve to incorporate these new breakthroughs. The first seventh generation console to be released was Microsoft’s Xbox 360 on