Robbie Bach talks Microsoft, Zune, Apple, Sony, XBL, and everything |
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So does anybody want to tackle the mother of all interviews over at the Mercury News website? Robbie Bach (Robert J. Bach, 44 year old male, married with 3 children, President of Entertainment and Devices Division of Microsoft Corporation - that's Games for Windows, Zune, and Xbox 360) said a lot during the looooooong one-hour interview and there's some interesting stuff.We'll summarize each main point. If you don't like what you read or you disagree, don't blame us - we're just paraphrasing the guy...
So here's the world according to Robbie Bach:
PSP/DS killer, Zune, overstretching, and Sony. Microsoft always prioritizes its resources. Instead of going for a GameBoy or PSP killer, they went for an iPod killer because the iPod market is a "significant marketplace". Besides, their gaming people should focus on the Xbox 360 instead of a handheld gaming device. Sony is "spread really thin" - PSP vs. DS, PS3 vs. Wii and 360. Microsoft didn't want that kind of strain.
Windows vs. Macintosh. Was the Zune made because Microsoft was afraid that the iPod was making people love the Mac? No. Apple competes with Windows, and the iPod brings a lot of cash and income to the competitor. But Microsoft "pays attention to" this - it's "not at the core" of how they think about the Zune.
Bottom line: Zune is like Xbox. Millions of dollars invested. Lots of people. But is every expense really a cost? Some developments benefit other projects, for example. It's all an accounting question. Right now it's hard to track.
IPTV + Xbox + Zune... and Vista too? Over time, there will be ways for those things to connect even better. The first goal is making each a successful business first. Interconnectivity will just fall logically into place. Vista is part of this "ecosystem" with Xbox.com, Live Anywhere, the Zune client, and so on. As for games on Zune, right now they're focused on music.
Gaming: content. Microsoft has "a great line-up of games." Viva Piñata, Gears of War, Need for Speed: Carbon, the Tom Clancy titles, Call of Duty 3, and lots more coming down the tubes.
Gaming: value and availability. Console is at $ 299 and $399 (US dollars). Consumers looking for a game console will go logical: what is affordable and what is available.
What they mean by "shipped". When Microsoft says "shipped" that means it's left the Memphis distribution warehouse and is headed to a retailer. When Sony says "shipped" that means it's left the factory. That's a six-week to eight-week lag between what the two companies call "shipped". Microsoft has close to 10 million shipped.
Microsoft FTW. "Where's the best content? Is it cross-platform? Where was it first developed?" and "You have to ask the question, over the life cycle, who has the cost advantage? Who can price most effectively? Who can reach the price points quicker?" Don't forget Xbox Live. And most game publishers do their initial development work on the Xbox 360.
Xbox 720 in the future - Xbox 360 now. "The engineering team is always thinking about the future. Right now we are thinking about how to cost reduce the Xbox 360. That seems to be the first order of business." One way is for Microsoft to do things themselves (intellectual property, using internal people and resources, etc.).
When does the money come in? The Entertainment and Devices Division won't make money until 2008 - it's complex because they're doing a lot: home and entertainment, mobile, Media Center, Games for Windows, Zune... not just Xbox. "We feel we are on track." Lots more development (IPTV, Zune). And scaling up successful businesses (Xbox 360).
Why does Microsoft wait until 3.0 to get things right? Why not get it right in the first version for the market? "You don't know exactly what the right thing to do" for the market.
Halo movie. Microsoft is not a movie business. It just happened that they have intellectual property that'd be a good movie. Doesn't matter who makes it - as long as there's a guarantee that it'll be good. Universal and Fox wanted to redo some things in the contract.
Halo franchise in general. Microsoft won't exploit the franchise too much - there's a balance between taking advantage of the intellectual property and "wearing out the franchise." That's why other franchises (Gears of War, etc.) are important.
What about the joke that "the Entertainment and Devices Division spends the money other divisions make." This is not a good joke to make. Yes, the division spends a lot of money, but there's a long-term plan there. They could have used that money to buy Nintendo, but things would have turned out differently - not necessarily for the better. Besides, the division will be profitable by next year or 2008. Stocks are selling well. Vista and Office will do well. Many things like the Zune and the Xbox are multi-year investments.
Whew.
34 Jumps PSP homebrew - MHUSPEED v3
25 Jumps Sony helping fix Bayonetta for PS3?
21 Jumps PSP homebrew - MacroFire v3.0.12
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