For Nintendo, gaming is the only thing they do. For Sony, gaming is one of the many things they do, but it is definitely their most profitable venture. For Microsoft, gaming is one of many things they do, and a drop in the bucket as far as finances go. That is why many people expect gaming to be a side hobby for the company, and one that could be dropped by it at any point, especially if the going were to get unnecessarily tough for them in that field- which it has been over the last few years.
However, speaking at Microsoft’s Financial Analyst Briefing 2017, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood reiterated that gaming is absolutely critical to Microsoft’s business and the future it envisions for itself. Not only that, but it is a profitable venture for Microsoft, too, thanks to revenues from subscriptions to Xbox Live, and the like.
This at least explains Microsoft’s move towards games as a service model- and while gaming remains important to the company, the question of whether or not dedicated consoles are in Xbox’s future beyond the Scorpio is something that remains to be answered. Microsoft will remain engaged in gaming in the long term, there is little to no doubt of that, now- but will it remain invested in the dedicated consoles business? Or will it transition entirely to games as a service? That remains to be seen.
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