Console Post Of The Week: Two Items
My wrist is hurting and I'm tired, so this is abbreviated. Two things of note, however:1) a reasonable explanation for PS3 supply shortages
This was suggested by one of you guys, actually, and I'm sorry I can't locate the e-mail to give the author credit. What he suggested was that the reported shortages in PS3 supply was related to the introduction of the new unit with the 40nm RSX graphics chip. Toshiba manufactures that chip for Sony, I believe, and the 40nm manufacturing proces has generally had lower yields than the 65nm process (which is normal until the process matures). A combination of model replacement and lower yields than with the 65nm manufacturing process seems like a far more likely explanation for the curren PS3 inventory issues than Sony's official explanation (drive shortages).
2) Microsoft made lots of money last quarter
Included in the "lots" was $165 million made by the Entertainment and Devices Division, which includes the 360.The profit was made in spite of this:
Microsoft sold 1.5 million Xboxes, the company said, a 12 percent dip.
So hardware sales were down, but other revenue associated with the platform (Xbox Live, for example, according to the conference call) were up.
Yes, the "Entertainment And Devices Division" includes non-gaming segments like Windows Phone and Zune, so exact numbers for the 360 group aren't possible, but that's still a very strong result.
I'm mentioning this because I said recently that only Nintendo was making money this generation. Certainly, in this fiscal year (which, for Microsoft, still has one quarter remaining), Microsoft has been significantly profitable as well.
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