Hasta La Gadget!

The news wasn’t so good for Nokia this morning, but its new bedmate is in much, much better shape. Microsoft’s Q4 earnings for the 2011 fiscal year have been posted, showing revenue of $17.37 billion — up eight percent over the same period last year, and besting the $16.43 billion record Q3. That drove $5.87 billion in net income, which is a whopping 30 percent climb over the year previous. Looking back over the full year, revenue broke another record, clocking in at $69.94 billion, 12 percent higher than the year before.

Why all the good news? Well, the Entertainment & Devices Division saw a 30 percent revenue jump in the quarter, 45 percent over the year, as the Xbox 360 and Kinect continue to sell like gangbusters. Bing and Online Services also had good news, 17 percent revenue growth in the quarter thanks to the plucky search engine gaining ever more ground against the competition. But, not everything is rosy, with the Windows-related revenue staying flat — down one percent this quarter, two percent over the year. Windows 8 will surely turn things around on that front, though, right?

Microsoft Q4 FY11: revenue, earnings, and profits all up, beating expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fanboy. There’s perhaps no franchise more immediately connected with our mental conception of a fanboy than Star Wars. Then there’s Xbox. A whole ‘nother world of chest-thumping, battle cries, and utter devotion. Those two worlds just smashed into each other at lightspeed. Meet the Star Wars Xbox 360. More »

Steve Ballmer revealed a new service yesterday that should be, ahem, music to your ears when it starts spinning this fall. During Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles, the Windows chief mentioned Xbox Music — a MS-branded music streaming service, with over 11 million songs and Kinect compatibility. That last feature will let you shout your music selections across the room, and could result in some pretty gnarly sibling battles whenever music tastes don’t match. Unlike the console’s current last.fm offering, we can only hope that Music will support multitasking, allowing you to settle those musical differences in the virtual boxing ring as the beat goes on, rather than on the living room floor.

Update: The Business Insider editor who reported the quote tweeted a correction and updated the article, explaining “No new Xbox Music service coming this fall. Just voice command to existing service. ‘Xbox. Music.’ Correction posted.”

Ballmer: Microsoft will launch Xbox Music this fall (update: not true) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on January 19, 2007 by CyberNet.

Going along with our recent poll, here’s another question for you.  How many of you that own an Xbox 360, also own or owned at one point the original Xbox?  According to Chris Satchell of Microsoft, he’s saying that so far, 10.4 million Xbox 360 units have been sold.  But, even more interesting is that he says over half of those have come from people that never owned the original Xbox. Are any of you Xbox 360 owners previous Playstation owners? Satchell says, “There’s lots of new people coming in, which kind of surprises you.  What we’re actually finding is that our customer set is broadening, which we think is important.”

If that’s true, and half of those 10.4 million units were sold to those who weren’t original Xbox users, that says something. Dead Takahashi of San Jose Mercury News interviewed Gates and asked how his plan for 360 was working. Gates says, “It’s working perfectly.  We wanted to be the guy with the small box that costs less.  We wanted to have the most games.  We wanted to play to our software strength, and tools and online.  We wanted to swap positions with Sony.  We wanted to not be a year late, not be a bix box, not be a more expensive box. How are we doing on that?”

Well, let’s see. They wanted to be the guy with the small box that costs less. Check. Most games? Well, considering the 360 has been out for over a year now, of course there are more games than those made specifically for Playstation 3. Are they playing to their software strength, tools, and online? Absolutely. Xbox Live has 5 million users and it’s growing! At CES, Gates and Robbie Bach announced the move of Xbox Live to Vista this year, and an IPTV service for US Xbox 360 owners.

In the same interview with Takahashi, Gates admits that Microsoft did fail in terms of lack of software, price, and size with the original Xbox. It was bigger, cost more, and when it came to software, the Playstation 2 blew it out of the water. When Gates says, “We want to swap positions with Sony” I think just maybe, they could be well on their way with that.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Games for Windows Marketplace will no longer have to drift through life alone. Microsoft announced this week that the Steam competitor will be absorbed by Xbox.com — a seemingly logical merger, given the site’s association with Xbox Live. The move comes in spite of an attempt on Microsoft’s part to completely revamp the service late last year. The Marketplace is set to move into its new digs on July 11th, so here’s hoping it takes advantage of its last few days of freedom in style — by sitting around in its underwear playing video games, naturally.

Games for Windows Marketplace, Xbox.com becoming one big, game-obsessed family originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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