Epic is the publisher behind the smash hit Gears of War franchise. Analyst Michael Pachter has said that he believes Epic is regretting its decision to tie up exclusively with Microsoft. Pachter told GameTrailers, “I think the Epic guys can’t wait until they can start doing multi-platform games.”
His opinion is based on profits. Sure there are a lot of Xbox consoles on the market but Pachter figures that if the Gears of War games had been offered on the PS3 it would have sold an additional 3 to 4 million copies.
Asked if he think Gears will go multiplatform, Pachter clarified. “I don’t, I think Microsoft has a contract to make sure they get that sequel,” he said. “But I think Epic regrets signing that contract. You’re up to 11 million PS3s in the U.S. and probably similar number in Europe, you got a 20 million addressable market with a game like Gears of War. I mean, that thing would easily sell 3 or 4 million on the PS3, that’s a lot of profit. No way is it worth it.”
So, there are likely to be regrets about the partnership — even a regret which Epic is trying to deny. All those companies that lost their way after Microsoft deals are probably in denial. People love to convince themselves that they rarely made mistakes; it makes life much easier to get on with. As a side note, exclusivity deals should be considered illegal as they harm the market as a whole; they leave out externalities altogether.
As some readers may recall, Epic was turning bitter about GNU/Linux [1, 2] after those affairs with Microsoft, so this is quite relevant to us. Microsoft partnerships are consistently harmful as the corporate hijack of Yahoo! recently taught us (the European Commission can still rescue Yahoo! from Microsoft). Yahoo! had a very tough year despite or because of the Microsoft intervention. Yahoo Shopping is reportedly going into the dustbin or being outsourced. That’s just the latest among other victims that include Geocities (I had a Web site there since I was 15).
Relatively quietly Yahoo has decided to outsource most of Yahoo Shopping to PriceGrabber. This is analogous to what Yahoo is doing with Microsoft-Bing in search — just not with Microsoft. Merchant listings will now come from PriceGrabber and e-commerce sellers will only be able to get into Yahoo Shopping via PriceGrabber or Yahoo Search (Bing).
To name other victims, there is of course Zimbra, which was put in the hands of former Microsoft employees whose actions speak for themselves. Whether they can put up a fight against their former employer (let alone want to) is somewhat questionable because of employee ties not just at VMware but EMC too (it virtually owns VMware). We wrote about this before [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Also see:
Microsoft Nick chooses to believe (and he is not alone [1, 2]) that former Microsoft managers will fight against a Microsoft cash cow, but we are skeptical. VMware gives APIs and SDKs [1, 2], but this is not the same as source code with the rights granted by the GPL. VMware recently removed the GPL from a SpringSource product. EMC will probably be pleased. █
Summary: The familiar pattern of FUD which Microsoft has been using against Google and against GNU/Linux is once again being used, this time against Sony and Nintendo
NPD and those who are using NPD numbers (Microsoft and its boosters for the large part [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]) capitalise on many loopholes and the localisation of samples (biased populations) in order to make utterly false statements and by sheer repetition make them be perceived as true.
We have given several examples before, so we won’t repeat these examples again. But watch what lip serviceXbox 360 is once again receiving from NPD (which spreads the illusion that the United States is a surrogate for the international market, to which it cannot be extrapolated):
Microsoft clarifies NPD claims
10m sales figure referred to global numbers, not the US, platform holder explains
Platform holder Microsoft has clarified a statement that it released earlier today that appeared to claim that Xbox 360 sold 10m units in the US in 2009 – a number that didn’t correspond with official NPD figures.
This clarification came after complaints. They try to get away with a whole load of lies. A notable example where GNU/Linux suffers from these lies is sub-notebooks [1, 2, 3], where GNU/Linux is already killing Microsoft, at least financially. Search is another example because Microsoft and its boosters only ever speak about the US market, where Microsoft’s share is estimated to be about triple of what it is has in the world at large.
Going back to Xbox, what is the reality of it all? Well, Microsoft is just copying Nintendo several years late and Microsoft itself is rather hopeless based on this new report:
Spencer: Project Natal launch ‘fraught with risk’ for Microsoft
Speaking to Eurogamer, Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer responded to criticism that Microsoft takes fewer risks than Sony in first-party development by referencing Project Natal — “if there isn’t risk in Natal then I don’t know what’s keeping me up at night.”
Sony isn’t lagging, either. “Wireless controller for the PlayStation coming in fall,” says this report. That’s even sooner than Microsoft’s, which it says will be ready only around Christmas.
Japan’s Sony has announced it will postpone for the fall 2010 launch of its wireless controller with motion sensor for PlayStation 3, which is the second delay of a major product launch in a short time after ‘Gran Turismo’. In any case, reach before ‘Project Natal’ for Xbox 360.
The winner is still Nintendo, which actually makes a profit, leads this race, and has a big gap behind it.
Sony says PS3 sold 3 million units in UK
[...]
The Wii is leading the market easily worldwide with 56 million units sold globally.
The Independent (UK) has gone as far as putting together silly headlines like this one. Nintendo is untouchable and Sony — unlike Microsoft — does not need to lie about it. Microsoft has always been a factory of lies and it was even sued for it. █
A Philadelphia-area attorney has filed a class action suit against Microsoft, claiming the software maker ripped him off after he bought points that were supposed to allow him to make purchases over the online Xbox Live Marketplace.
Samuel Lassoff, of Horsham, PA, said an invoice he received earlier this month from Microsoft included charges for purchases he couldn’t complete due to a balky download system—and he claimed it wasn’t an accident.
Here comes the Microsoft “damage control” [1, 2, 3] where Microsoft plays innocent.
Microsoft, Stop Charging For Other Companies’ Content On Xbox
[...]
If your subscription is paid, you can watch Netflix for free on your computer, your Blu-ray player, your PS3, and soon, your Wii – but not on the Xbox 360. Microsoft, it’s time to kill the Xbox internet tax
A man suing British Airways over an alleged aircraft accident at London City Airport on February 13 2009 is claiming that because of it he lost his job at Microsoft.
Raymond Hamblin worked for the Global Practices Group of Microsoft and wants damages from BA for both lost income and future earnings.
Tough times for Microsoft. If not their crimes, then their technical incapabilities and dishonesty land them in the courtroom. █
Summary: Windows Mobile continues dropping into oblivion, Microsoft kills Mobile2Market, and CES reveals an empty future for the most part
THE harsh reality of Windows Mobile is one that Microsoft is unable to deny. Nowadays, Microsoft groks only vapourware, which it hopes will keep partners waiting. Some are losing their patience and sure it seems like a lost battle for Microsoft (probably because of Linux for the most part, especially in recent months). As the Korea Times puts it:
Unlike Windows Mobile, the platform developed by a massive cross-industry alliance led by Internet giant Google, is based on open source Linux software and enables greater flexibility for programmers building applications and features tailored to handsets.
Precious little is known about Windows Mobile 7. Last November, Phil Moore, Microsoft’s head of mobility in the U.K., let slip that Windows Mobile 7 had been delayed until late 2010 and would include features that appeal both to enterprises and consumers. Earlier this week, The Bright Side Of News, quoting unnamed sources from a number of chipmakers and handset manufacturers, said that Windows Mobile 7 has been “definitely delayed” until 2011.
According to IDG, “another account reports that Korea’s LG Electronics let slip at CES that Windows Mobile 7 will be released in 2010, probably in the Fall.” Microsoft sympathisers are notsure if this is true and some are even giving tips for a multiple-times convicted monopolist to save Windows Mobile. But as one pundit puts it:
Windows Mobile 7: Should Microsoft even bother?
[...]
When looking at all the competitors for smartphone supremacy, you might say the Windows Mobile is DLF in the rankings (although a recent report places it at third place). Some would even contend that Microsoft would have been better off never entering this race if it weren’t going to put up a good fight. That may shock the 7.2 million users of the Microsoft smartphone OS, especially those in the enterprise who don’t see the iPhone as a serious contender at all (due in part to Apple’s history of ignoring the needs of the enterprise in favor of the individual user).
Danger/SideKick did not save Microsoft’s mobile business [1, 2, 3]; It just got Microsoft sued (class action). Microsoft is said to be considering just buying some market share (maybe RIM).
In general, Microsoft had nothing substantial to show at CES. We wrote a lot more about this several times before. Many attendants felt that way too, including:
Hopes were high that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote address at the 6 January opening of the Consumer Electronics Show would bring renewed excitement about multiple Microsoft products, such as Windows 7, Windows Mobile 7, Bing and Project Natal. But in the end, the keynote was very much a disappointment. Here is why the usually dynamic Ballmer’s lacklustre keynote likely let down many listeners.
But once again, most attention turned instead to the latest gadgets from Apple and Google Inc, which weren’t even exhibitors at the world’s largest tech show.
It’s a familiar story for Microsoft, which has struggled to translate its dominance in the business and home personal computer software market into leadership of hot new consumer sectors, or to capture the buzz that some rivals generate.
It is worth adding that Microsoft has already buried the name “Vista”. We have found 0 headlines about “Vista” in the past two weeks, as opposed to 18 clusters of headlines about “Windows 7″. █
Posted in Patents, Videos at 8:24 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: “Ballad of the Patent Troll” – video criticising the likes of Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's patent troll
“THE fear of the Patent Troll, video made by “General Patent Corp”, an IP-licensing and enforcement organization,” is how Benjamin Henrion deescribed the following video (original source). It does make some reasonable points about the practice of patent-trolling, however it dos not offer a strong criticism of other tactical elements that are very questionable. █
Summary: Some of Microsoft’s latest moves against Google, including Google’s endeavours that promote GNU/Linux
AS the battle between Google and Microsoft turns into a battle of office suites/collaboration and operating systems (GNU/Linux versus Windows), Microsoft grows more wary and nervous. It’s not just search that’s at stake anymore, as it’s Microsoft’s jewels (and cash cows) that are finally at risk. Windows revenue was down 40% in the last quarter and Office revenue was also down sharply. Paul Rubens writes about the subject and it is definitely worth pointing out that Microsoft is openly mocking Android/Linux [1, 2] — a mockery that’s indicative of Microsoft’s fear of Google. Microsoft is now publicly mocking another product from Google:
Microsoft Teases Google Over New Storage Service
[...]
Microsoft didn’t miss the opportunity to ‘poke fun’ at the puny online storage capacity offered by the search engine giant and said in a statement that “Just a friendly reminder that Windows Live has been offering its more than 450 million customers 25GB of cloud-based storage space for free through Windows Live SkyDrive since 2008.”
Eleven-year-old Ciao was in 2005 bought by online market research surveys firm Greenfield, which was in 2008 acquired by Microsoft, which itself is trying to build a web ads operation to rival Google’s.
Facebook stopped using Microsoft this month to sell graphical banner ads in some international markets. It may also drop those ads in the U.S., Robin Domeniconi, vice president of U.S. ad sales at Microsoft, said yesterday in an interview.
But when it comes to tech executives from the private sector, Google and Microsoft have both done well at getting into the White House. Former Microsoft boss Bill Gates even snared an intimate audience with President Obama back in March 2009 when only three other people were present. Steve Ballmer made three visits over two days to members of the Obama technology team. And Microsoft exec Craig Mundie put in an appearance.
The above article also speaks about Google visits to the White House, which are nonetheless fewer. Microsoft still uses publicity stunts to pressure and daemonise Google, even using Yahoo as a pawn [1, 2] to force Google to change its algorithm’s retention.
MICROSOFT: Oil and Gas Pros Rapidly Embracing Social Media and Collaboration Tools, Yet Corporate Policy Lags, According to New
Nearly 75 percent of oil and gas professionals see value in using social media and collaboration tools at work an 83 percent jump from responses in last year’s similar poll but corporatewide endorsement of these tools continues to lag behind, according to a Microsoft Corp. and Accenture (NYSE: ACN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) survey released today at Microsoft’s Global Energy Forum in Houston.
The Microsoft and Accenture Oil & Gas Collaboration Survey 2010, which surveyed 275 professionals within international, national and independent oil and gas and related companies, found that social media and collaboration technology adoption is primarily a grassroots phenomenon within firms. At the same time, half of those surveyed said their companies prohibit or restrict the use of many of these publicly available tools, such as photo-sharing and social networking sites.
Microsoft is probably trying to sell something or to pass new laws. We will probably see the outcome/s in the coming weeks because there is usually this type of delay. They usually do this sort of stuff for PR and/or lobbying (very recent examples can be found in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]). █
Croatian Association of Linux users has launched a campaign of introducing basic computer software (Linux) in public administration, and thus to avoid paying licensing and maintenance of Windows
“Basically it’s about HULK (that’s like a LUG but on a national level) launching campai[g]n to use Free Software in public administration,” our reader remarks. █
What we gather from the press release is that Microsoft is buying more influence in NGOs, which is typical. Moreover, Microsoft may not pay anything for it. The Associated Press indicates that Microsoft just bribes them with ‘funny money’ (the perception that one can put an imaginary price tag on something that costs nothing to produce or at least to duplicate).
Microsoft Corp. and HCA Inc. are donating $1.25 million, primarily in software, to Middle Tennessee nonprofits to improve their technological capabilities.
Then it’s just an illusion of donation, Microsoft is not really “donating”; Microsoft is giving them handcuffs (proprietary software) when it fact they could use Free software and have no lock-in, let alone acquisition costs. We have already seen examples in recent years where Microsoft ceased the “giving” or elevated the prices in such a way that left charities broke and/or stranded. Some of the best examples came from the UK and Australia where charities were furious. It was reported in the mainstream press.
Software is not a donation, no more than one can “donate” a prayer or “donate” a song. Just because it might be shrink-wrapped doesn’t mean it’s truly scarce. █
