Console Manufacturers Want the Impossible?
Phopojijo writes "Consoles have not really been able to profitably scale over the last decade or so. Capital is sacrificed to gain control over their marketshare and, even with the excessive lifespan of this recent generation, cannot generate enough revenue with that control to be worth it. Have we surpassed the point where closed platforms can be profitable and will we need to settle on an industry body, such as W3C or Khronos, to fix a standard for companies to manage slices of and compete within?"
You can't prove something is profitable by making a statement about its revenues. If you look at the divisional earnings over the last 5 years it hovers around the $0 mark - profits in some quarters, losses in others - and the console segment is the least reliable earner in that division.
Article summary should be re-written;
Console market isn't profitable because there are few games being made gamers want.
Fixed that. Seriously, Xbox one is being marketed not as a gaming console but a dvr.
Except that its:
a) Not being marketed at all yet
b) Explicitly described as not having DVR capabilities
So you're wrong on both counts. Guess you've got a case of the Tuesdays.