I'm saying they're still losing money. The "lose money on units, make some back on software" model doesn't make economic sense anymore.
The second link has recent numbers.
The second link has recent numbers.
In what world? The Xbox has been turning a profit for most of its life. AFAIK it lost money its first couple of years (primarily due to the fact it was rushed to market), and since then it has been largely propping up Microsoft's entertainment division, which otherwise would be bleeding like mad. (The division lost money last year not because the Xbox was unprofitable, but because it wasn't profitable enough to cover Windows Phone's tab as well as its own.)
That, and the fact that nobody in Japan wanted to buy one.
You hear people say this a lot, but based on my experience, it's basically bullshit.
Japanese people love non-Japanese stuff, and indeed, being foreign gives a product cachet.
However, they're also fairly different than American consumers. In particular, they're (1) super picky (in a way that Americans really aren't), about quality, but also style, reputation, etc, (2) not so price-conscious, and (3) maybe a bit more reluctant to take a risk on something unknown.
In the case of the PS2/3 vs. the xbox/360, the PS series had a huge name-recognition / familiarity advantage, and better support by Japanese game makers offering popular series. MS tried to prime the pump by pushing some "Japanese style" games heavily (and paid through the nose for prime placement in shops), but if you're a Japanese gamer who experienced the sheer massive volume of domestic content for the PS series, sticking with it seems pretty sure bet. Moreover, the high price of the PS3 was a bit less of an issue than with very price-conscious Americans.
Look up the "chicken tax" sometime.
Ecomonomics?
> The Xbox has been profitable for most of its life
No.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmSmlk-Wo4uhdEh...
"it lost money its first couple of years … and since then it has been largely propping up Microsoft's entertainment division, which otherwise would be bleeding like mad."
That is exactly what that chart shows. The Xbox has been turning a yearly profit since 2008, which means it's been turning a profit for most of its life.