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A US business analyst has claimed that Microsoft’s inability to adapt to market changes means that its failure is already inevitable”.
And chief amongst the victims of this downfall will be its entertainment division, which is of course home to Xbox.
The entertainment division will be spun off, sold to someone like Sony or possibly Barnes & Noble, or dramatically reduced in size,” Forbes contributor Adam Hartung stated. Unable to make a profit it will increasingly be seen as a distraction to the battle for saving Windows – and Microsoft leadership has long shown they have no idea how to profitably grow this business unit.”
Hartung went on to predict enormous layoffs over the next three years”, with as many as half of its employees being shed. He also expects a closure of its online division as Microsoft continues to plough resources into battling iOS – a battle that Hartung unsurprisingly thinks it cannot win.
Microsoft makes more than 75 per cent of its profits from Windows and Office,” he added. Less than 25 per cent comes from its vaunted servers and tools. And Microsoft makes nothing from its Xbox/Kinect entertainment division, while losing vast sums in its on-line division.
No matter how much anyone likes the non-Windows Microsoft products, without the historical Windows/Office sales and profits Microsoft is not sustainable.
Failure is already inevitable. At this stage, not even a new CEO can save Microsoft. Game over. Ballmer loses. And if you keep your money invested in Microsoft it will disappear along with the company.”
