I know they have dreams of taking a slice of the digital distribution of entertainment in the livingroom pie but sometimes I wish they would just focus on videogames for the the 360 and let other companies take care of the rest on the system (if it's worthwhile for those companies to do so). 

For example Microsoft has just made a deal with Safran Digital Group (read: paid out) to have exclusive original content created (shows) for Xbox Live Video Marketplace.  Now this money is likely coming from the money generated by licensing fees of games on the Xbox 360 so why can't they just put that money back into either internal game development, external game development, or buying exclusives for the system?  If they did that it would give gamers more reasons to buy the system and grow the installed base even more.  Then other media companies (tv, movies, etc) seeing the popularity of the system would come to Microsoft rather than Microsoft having to go after them.

Anyways it's just too bad that they don't have real gamers running things with the Xbox line rather than having so many business suits, some of which really are clueless about gaming.

(Note: I'm not saying everyone involved with the Xbox line is clueless about gaming, they have some people that are really passionate about it.  It's just that there seems to be a lot of higher ups there that aren't.)

^ The Zune will be a complete failure compared to Apple's Ipod. MS better abandon the Zune quick its a lost cause.

I don't agree, for one main reason. The 360 wouldn't exist if it weren't for the peripheral businesses your talking about. Neither would the first Xbox. It was always Microsoft's aim to get part of the digital downloads/media center market, and their entrance into the console arena has created MASSIVE competition.

Sony on the other hand, had success and pissed it away on near vapour-ware like Home and a slow to release video on demand service. Microsoft is doing downloads because they want too, Sony is doing them because they feel they have to follow MS.

@ starcraft
i disagree, mainly because home has been in development since ps2 days, and sony are clearly trying to push blu-ray, rather than digital distribution, if they wanted to push digital distribution, their future plans would involve it, which it doesn't. so i fail to see what sony are doing to "follow" ms.

MS is making good investments in content they know their userbase is going to buy, and this gives them a good returns while giving them an advantatge over Sony.

Usually the deals are revenue sharing, or deals which include advertisment, where the developer can reduce their risk and/ or make more money. MS isnt simply buying out exclusives.

Digital wont work for a while. Also people are kinestetic they like to hold things and see them. Digital could cause more problems with piracy, hackin, loss of data. its always good to have a hard copy and an instuction manual. Digitals still fine in my opinion for streaming video and small demo like games. I wanted to buy the halo 3 zune and synch it to my 360 but i bought my bro a video ipod befor halo 3 came out.

Microsoft don't make the games, their bought development studios do.

MS gaming division is getting screwed from the $42 billion offer for Yahoo.

If the deal fall through, expect MS to purchase Take Two or even EA

Lmao.

If Microsoft bought EA out..........

Wow.........That'd be monumental.

But it would be very neat to see Microsoft throw $10B into the video game industry.

I also wish MS and Sony and Nintendo would just do games. It annoys me. I remember the days when you played games on your consoles and that was that.