OSNews

Japanese market is very different.

1.- Japan is VERY nationalist and loyal to local products, not to mention placing tariffs on foreign goods (so much for free trade huh?) and 2.- The Japanese have VERY different taste in games that frankly western devs have no interest in making. How many western dating simulators have you seen?

The simple fact is the Blu Ray was a BAD idea and has cost Sony billions over the life of the system due to the high cost of the units without being able to make it up with sales of games and BD movies. Last numbers I saw had MSFT at an 8 game sell through rate, while Nintendo had 2 and Sony 3, big difference there.

As for the Apple verdict helping MSFT? Well we do know that MSFT and Apple have cross licensing agreements so its not like they are gonna go after each other like they did in the 80s, but whether or not MSFT gets a foot in the door with tablets frankly will come down to how much money Ballmer is willing to flush. If they price the surface at $499-$599? DOA, no prayer, toast. If they put out a pad with $499 Apple specs but a Kindle price? Then they can probably buy their way in, even if they are flushing money down the toilet.

Don't forget that is the same route MSFT took with the XBox, selling at a loss to get their butts in the door. Unlike many of the Android vendors they can afford to drop a half a billion or more right off the bat by selling them dirt cheap and then hoping to make it up on the appstore.

In any case I think we are gonna see MSFT throw money around like never before because they know that X86 is mature and if they want serious growth like they had in the 90s then the only way they are gonna get that is by getting into mobile, no matter the cost.

All consoles except for nintendo's have always been sold at a loss.