File this under news that you just can’t keep a great console down. In a recent interview with eWeek.com,Robbie Bach was quoted assayingthat things are on the up and up for the Xbox 360. In fact, he fully expects to see everybody’s favorite box of joy — with thehighest attach rateof games in console history — to net Microsoft a nice profit starting in 2008. Don’t believe us? Read on:
So, it’s a business that will be profitable next year—we’ll make money next year and that will be the first time, which is pretty exciting. And then the next two or three years are the place where you need to make tracks, and the next two or three years are where you have to make money.
As everybody knows, getting beyond the magical break even point off the hardware itself is difficult, at best. Maybe Microsoft and Sony should take a page from Nintendo’s book, since they obviously know how tosqueeze out some cashfrom near about everything they make.
In other news, Nintendo figured out how to bring consoles out of the gate thatprint money. Never mind, if the name is somehow synonymous with underpowered hardware that still manages to mop up the competition with its simplicity, awesome controller, and oh so attractivepricepoint.
Regardless, my bet is still on Microsoft taking home the crown, when history revisits this race. When you have an unmatched online component, a steady stream of quality games, and enough horesepower under the hood to make it purr like a kitten (all the while not costing an amount requring a credit check), things are bound to go your way sooner or later.
