Summary: Sales of Xbox 360 take a dive as new roadblocks appear and Microsoft's losses will likely continue to increase

IT WOULD only be natural to ask, why bother keeping track of Xbox 360? How does that affect Free software and GNU/Linux? Well, the answer ought to be intuitive. No company comes anywhere near to Microsoft when it comes to bullying its "most potent competitor", namely GNU/Linux. Xbox has made vanish billions of dollars from Microsoft's coffers, so the longer it goes on for, the less capable Microsoft will be in its eternal fight to suppress Free software adoption. Lack of resources and financial stress lead to cancellation of products, as we last saw yesterday.

So, what are these latest developments? Nintendo has lowered the price of the Wii by 20% and Sony reports gains after making strategic moves.

* PS3 sales up 300 percent weeks after price cut

* Solid PS3 sales could lead to PS3 shortages

* Sony on track to meet goal of 13 mln units sold in FY

Xbox 360 is said to have fallen to fifth (yes, 5^th) position in Japan. That's pretty bad.

Sales for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 ranked below rivals in Japan in the latest retail data.

Media Create Co. on Fri. reported that the Xbox 360 sold 4,965 units between Sept. 14 to Sept. 20 to rank No. 5 in overall hardware sales.

Even at MSN (Microsoft's own Web site) there is admission of demise:

Microsoft rev ests lowered at Caris on weaker XBOX sales .

A very familiar Microsoft shill called Eric Savitz is already busy with the lies. He tries spinning this terrible news as good news. It looks utterly ridiculous.

Sometimes the good news is the bad news. Or vice versa.

Given the phenomenal error rate of Xbox 360, issues Microsoft is having should not be surprising. Not much has changed and even the Halo franchise continues being somewhat of a disaster.

Betheseda Thinks Microsoft Screwed Up With Halo 3: ODST Marketing Strategy

It's been awhile since I wrote about some industry drama, a developer popping off at the mouth, personal drama (like my logic board needing to be replaced), or anything of that sort, so here goes! Ashley Cheng has written on his blog that he feels that Microsoft and Bungie really missed the mark with their advertising and promotion of Halo 3: ODST. He cites the fact that a lot of "reviewers" are complaining that the game may not be worth $60, for what was advertised as "a standalone expansion pack".

"A standalone expansion pack" is also a good description for Vista 7.

According to Business Week, Microsoft may already be neglecting particular areas.

Web content on Xbox Live not a Microsoft priority

[...]

Speaking to Business Week, Microsoft's general manager of global content acquisition and strategy, Ross Honey, painted a somewhat bleak picture for web content on Xbox Live.

More here in the Seattle-based Examiner:

The 250GB Xbox 360 is a mistake, and it's one that the PS3 should avoid making

[...]

The Xbox 360 Arcade has been a joke since day one. It is the cheap model, and it allows Microsoft to say that they have the cheapest console, but it sacrifices nearly everything that modern console gaming is about in the process.

How much longer can Xbox find a foot to stand on? It still operates at a loss. Xbox is like a burden Microsoft cannot afford to unload. The same goes for the embattled Zune and Windows Mobile, for example. ⬆