Microsoft’s Changing of the Guard & Their Video Game Console Success
Reported problem data from Fixya’s Microsoft Fixboard
Microsoft’s announcement that current CEO Steve Ballmer will step down within the next twelve months completes a re-organization that began in July when the company went through some significant changes to department heads and set path on a new direction. With a greater focus now being placed on their mobile and entertainment divisions, Microsoft hopes to change the downward trend of a company that has struggled competing in a world with less personal computers and more smartphones and gadgets.
As TechCrunch notes, Microsoft’s direction over the last few years due to a decline in PC sales:
But the company has been struggling to shift with the sea change that is the end of the PC era and the shift to mobile. PC shipments were down 14 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2013 — their worst decline ever — and they were down by 11 percent the next. Meanwhile, tablets may begin to outsell PCs by Q2 2014. But Microsoft’s own entrant into this space, the Microsoft Surface, hasn’t been selling. The company even had to take a giant $900 million writedown last quarter because of unsold Surface RTs, the ARM-based version of the Microsoft Surface tablet computer.
Focusing less on the personal computer will obviously be an important strategy for Microsoft moving forward, and one that the new CEO will undoubtedly be tasked with.
One area where Microsoft has really flourished in the last few years has been the gaming market. The XBox 360 has been a massive success since being launched in November of 2005, selling over 78 million units worldwide.
Going to our brand-new Fixboard to get further insight and competitive analysis on Microsoft, we can see that the company has had great success in relation to their main gaming console competitors in Sony and Nintendo.
As the chart shows, Microsoft has had far less user issues than both Sony (who clocks in at 45.3% of reported video game console problems on Fixya) and Nintendo (29%). This is good news for the company’s console team and proof that Fixya users as a whole have had less problems getting their XBox 360 to work in comparison to their counterparts.
Further good news for Microsoft? Gamestop’s president Tony Bartel is expecting the holiday season console wars launch to be the largest in history, surpassing 2005’s battle between Sony and Microsoft. The XBox One hasn’t been without controversy however, as DRM-based measures that included restricting used games and required internet verification (both of which have been removed) plagued the console’s release at E3 earlier this year.
The big question is whether or not Microsoft can progress into new sectors that they haven’t been leaders in during the recent past, while remaining relevant and successful in ones where they have succeeded. The launch of the XBox One is going to be a big key for a company that is trying to regain their feet. As our Fixboard data shows, Microsoft’s success with the XBox 360 indicates positive things for users.
What’s your take on Microsoft? Do you think they have what it takes to make a successful transition post-Ballmer?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
For more insights, competitive analysis and actionable intelligence on Microsoft and your other favorite brands, visit our Fixboard today.