Microsoft's Next Xbox Console - Analyst Blog
09 4월 2013 - 8:50PM
Zacks
Microsoft Corp.
(MSFT) plans to reveal details about its new Xbox video game
console in May, which will be powered by an Advanced Micro
Devices Inc. (AMD) processor according to a report from
Bloomberg. Following the news, AMD shares rose 13.10% as providing
chips for game consoles will lessen the company’s dependence on the
declining personal computer market.
The Xbox will use an AMD
system-on-a-chip that will combine its Jaguar central processing
unit with graphics chips. Microsoft will integrate the Xbox console
with computers, its Surface tablet and its Windows Phone OS by
combining aspects of the Windows 8 platform into all of its
devices.
The gaming hardware market is
currently reeling under competitive pressure from emerging social
network sites and competing hardware platforms such as smartphones
and tablets. Video game publishers are now inclined to make games
that are compatible with these devices. Gamers are switching to
these platforms or devices as they also provide free games.
Microsoft’s closest competitor in
the game console business, Sony Corp. (SNE) has
already announced its plans to release PlayStation 4 in time for
the Christmas holidays. This makes sense as the holiday season is
usually the time when demand goes up. Another competitor
Nintendo’s (NTDOY) new game system, Wii U, was
released last November, but the sales figures have been below
management expectations so far.
Looking at the broader landscape,
the next Xbox is expected to boost the lackluster hardware sales
performance of the gaming industry. In the last NPD video game
sales report for the month of Feb 2013, hardware sales fell 36.0%
year over year to $244.2 million. This is not a one-off incident as
video game hardware sales have been trending down over the past
year.
However, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was
again the top-selling console with 302,000 units sold in February,
much better than 281,000 units sold in January. The Xbox 360 is
still the top-selling gaming console, showing its dominance over
competitors like Nintendo's Wii console and Sony's PlayStation
line-up.
A study conducted by DFC
Intelligence suggests that the global gaming market is expected to
increase from $67.0 billion in 2012 to $82.0 billion in 2017.
Further, IDC expects that there will be 257 million active consoles
worldwide by 2015. These estimates suggest that there are
opportunities for gaming companies to increase their stakes.
The overall video game market
remains highly fragmented with a large number of companies
increasing competitive pressure and leading to stiff price
competition. Despite competition and ongoing macroeconomic
concerns, we believe that companies with a greater focus on the
digital business will do relatively better even in this sluggish
market.
ADV MICRO DEV (AMD): Free Stock Analysis Report
MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
NINTENDO LTD (NTDOY): Get Free Report
SONY CORP ADR (SNE): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Nintendo (PK) (USOTC:NTDOY)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 6월(6) 2024 으로 7월(7) 2024
Nintendo (PK) (USOTC:NTDOY)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 7월(7) 2023 으로 7월(7) 2024