Xbox 360 to Live Long and Prosper

So sayeth the suits at Microsoft, who think the Xbox 360 has legs to carry it past the typical five-year lifespan of the average game console. Well...what else are they going to say?

Sony and Microsoft have turned "losing money to make money" into a convoluted cash-splash process worthy of an equally convoluted motivational seminar. Microsoft's Xbox gaming division, over six years old, is supposed to finally be profitable in 2008. But that's effectively seven years of net losses, and more if you count research and development time. Seven years, which is fast approaching a full decade.

To paraphrase Gordon Gekko, risk is good, risk works, risk clarifies. Mm-hmm. But what's the ceiling on a money pit? At what point do you pull a Sega and cash out? And if you ever "arrive" -- unless you can somehow mimic the Windows model, where consumers and businesses are essentially "indentured users" -- what's the guarantee you'll be able to hold on for more than a month or a year or a single product cycle? Sony had and arguably still has the market by the teeth with the PlayStation 2. Now look at the PlayStation 3. A year on, hemorrhaging component costs, and Sony rumored to be pleading with developers to stay the course.

The guys with perpetual game-driven money in the bank, making a profit out of the gate? Who else?

So when we eventually hear how Microsoft's gaming division is finally in the black, or witness the point at which the PS3 turns the curve (and I think a recognizable turnaround's coming) instead of clapping or cheering, all I'll be wondering is: "At what cost?"

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