Metro lists and explains “10 Reasons Why the Microsoft Portable Music Player Will Fail” for Metroxing:
10. A look at the rumored features of WiFi, community, and trading your AAC tracks for WMA tracks
9. MS has failed in every consumer venture since 1998: “Xbox/360? When you spend $400 to sell every unit, how many more ‘successes’ can you afford?”
8. Information is already leaking like a sieve
7. It will antagonize MS’ many partners – they will fight tooth and nail to hold MS at bay
6. MS’ “marketing prowess” is a myth
5. MS’ real reputation: MS is the kludgy company with the not-quite working things with unattractive-looking products
4. They don’t really understand consumers
3. Clueless arrogance + bureaucratic culture ≠ success
2. MS’ bad design
1. MS has already failed
Full article, with explanations of each point on the list above, here.
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Last I heard, Xbox 360 was still being outsold by PS2.
What about the Nintendo Wii? That’s going to beat both Sony and Microsoft in the gaming console market.
I’m surprised that the Xbox isn’t more popular than the PS2. I know many more people with an Xbox than PS2, and a lot of people who want an Xbox. However, the only game they really like to play on it is Halo. Unless Microsoft can make a profit on Xbox+Halo, they’re screwed.
Microsoft will never match Apple’s “cool” factor. How many high school/college students would be caught dead with a Microsoft MP3 player while everyone still has iPods? Unless Microsoft somehow finds a Halo equivalent in the MP3 player world to buy, they are, once more, screwed.
of course xbox ( and 360 ) are sold at a loss.
that’s basic business. get people to buy a 360 even at a loss, and they are locked into buy 360 games.
games make money. not xboxes.
look at printers. it’s the saem thing. I have an $90 epson printer. they sold it at a loss, so I would buy ink every two months. Epson is an ink company not a printer company ( incidentially, they sold commercial inks before they were in the printing business )
games are the same way.
XMS
printers are sold at a loss – they make it up in ink cartridges.
razors are sold at a loss – they make it up in razor blades.
Not to go too far off- topic, but I don’t understand it when people say that a certain console will win out overall. I believe that if you have an extensive game library for a certain console in your possession (or even a not- so- extensive one), chances are unlikely that you’ll be moving to a different console at the drop of a hat.
I think that the Playstation people will stick with Playstation, and the Xbox people will stick with Xbox, and it goes the same for the Nintendo crowd. I do however, think that Nintendo ahs a really nice offering with the ability to download classic games, and therefore I believe that many PlayStation and Xbox users will also buy a Wii in addition to the PS3/360.
On the other hand, the scenario is completely different for computers and operating systems, so anyone who was about to try and adapt this to that, don’t waste your time.
The ONLY chance Microsoft has at catching up to Apple in the online music business is to sell music that is DRM free. And that would take an act of god to get the RIAA to go along with that. Even if it makes sense. If the RIAA stops forcing DRM into online music sales, then all of a sudden, the iPod has real competition from other players and iTunes has real competition from other online stores. Why? Because now an iPod owner can choose from any online store and a rival player could play music from iTunes provided Apple would drop the DRM themselves. Which I’m not so sure they would.
” Apple should not be resting on its laurels.”
What makes you think they are? My guess is the shredders and prototype incinerators at One Infinite Loop are churning out more rejects than ever, and even these rejects are better than what MS will come up with.
The thing is, even if MS hires an outside design firm to do the creative elements of this project, in an attempt to keep negative influence from killing it before it gets going, by the time any good idea runs the gauntlet of the managers at MS, it will be so convoluted with MBA middle manager ego-driven modifications that it will certainly suck.
Apple’s dictatorship works. Steve has the final say and Steve is a genius when it comes to knowing what’s good and what isn’t.
Apple and Microsoft race to launch wireless iPOD
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=395159&in_page_id=1770
macromancer “Steve is a genius when it comes to knowing what’s good and what isn’t.”
That is if you only want to have 2-3% of the computer market….
Here’s a interesting quote from Why 9 R’s article link.
“Apple is also said to be planning a new version of the video iPod, as well as closing in on a new product launch in collaboration with Research in Motion, the maker of the Blackberry.”
Huh, I wonder what that could be???
M$ is fighting a losing battle. Instead of trying to come up with a “ipod killer” they need to be worried about the 3 million a day EU fines, that and closing their doors.
Apple has won, Monkey Boy needs to throw in his sweaty towel.
Get real,
Apple would have to retrain every IT weenie in the world to de-Microsoft-Certify them in order to gain Corporate market share.
Then they would have to get into the cash register and ATM business to go after Microsoft’s real core numbers.
Apple is going after the market they want.
In case anyone did not mention already, you’ll need virus protection.
MW “every” as in you’ll need it everyday.
Hmm… wasn’t the Xbox a pretty major success?
“Yes, we lose money on every Xbox sold, but we make it up in volume.”
The IRS considers any business venture that doesn’t show a profit at least three years out of five as being a hobby. So who’s hobby is the Xbox, Gates’ or Ballmer’s?