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[Az987]

With the 360 launch right around the corner im contemplating wether or not to invest 11,000$ into MS stock and make a few quick grand if it rises a few points. Polls show a rise in Japanese interest in the system and almost all stores taking preorders in NA are sold out. If all things go well and the 360 is the hot item for this Christmas it could cause a rise in MS stock, am I right ??

Back when PS2 launched and it was sold out everywhere in NA did Sony's stock rise at all ?

Also, is anyone thinking about going to Walmart on launch day and buying a few systems to ebay ?

 

[Phoenix]

No. Microsoft game division is such a small part of their profitability (and has in fact lost the company money over the years) that you'd have to be a fanboy to buy Microsoft stock based on the X360.

 

[Space Age Playboy]

Sony's stock from PS2 hype to release.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/investo...4=1&D5=0&D7=&D6=&D3=0&ShowChtBt=Refresh+Chart

 

[Space Age Playboy]

Hype is where you made your money off the PS2. I don't see the same kind of gravy train with this generation of consoles.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

I have stock in MS. I actually just voted for the board of directors meeting...Steve and Bill got my "no" votes. :lol

yeah like my 1 vote is going to change the world. I was just having a bit of fun.

 

[malek4980]

I have some magical beans you might be interested in. You don't even have to sell me your cow.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

shoulda bought AMD stock back when it was 16 bucks man earlier this year, now i think its around 25 with a target of like 28. I wouldnt do it now though seems like brokerage firms hyped them up for a while so they could dump the stock and cash in recently.

 

[Uncle]

Maybe they will launch something else that might actually affect the stocks... Like Vista?

 

[maharg]

Polls show a rise in Japanese interest in the system and almost all stores taking preorders in NA are sold out.

:lol

I wouldn't bet $11000 on Japanese video game polls. If you listened to them, Nintendo would probably have been #1 on entering this generation.

 

[Lhadatt]

Az987:

Uh, no. Invest your money elsewhere. MS is not what you want to be buying right now, especially if you're only looking at the games business.

There is quite a bit of uncertainty about MS right now. They're reorganizing into three distinct business units, and I can possibly see them splitting into three companies along those lines if things go sour with X360 and Vista.

MS won't have a chance at being #1 in games and will take a hefty beating in the market as a result of their behavior (early releases, hardware that doesn't seem to match the PS3, etc.). On top of that, Vista isn't looking too hot, and may bomb when it comes out. Yeah, people will upgrade, but also consider a couple other factors: Linux/Unix desktops (if not important in time for Vista, will probably be in a few years, if the open source monkeys get their act togther on unifying the GUIs and other systems) and Mactel PCs.

Call me crazy, but I see Apple on the cusp of being huge again. If they get their Mactels down to reasonable prices, people will probably pay to get away from MS. The platform is interoperable, it can play nice with Windows networks, and it can output Windows formats. Under an Intel architecture, with in-development projects like DarWINE (Windows API re-implementation) and Transgaming's tech (allows Windows games on Linux - I don't doubt this will see a Mac port at some point), I believe we'll eventually see complete MS compatibility on the Mac.

I would say just buy Apple outright, but I'm not so sure how much it might rise - it's already around 54.

 

[Hitokage]

I have stock in MS. I actually just voted for the board of directors meeting...Steve and Bill got my "no" votes. :lol

yeah like my 1 vote is going to change the world. I was just having a bit of fun.

In the land of corporate voting: one dollar, one vote.

I believe we'll eventually see complete MS compatibility on the Mac.

There's commerical software too, you know.

Anyway, looking at long-term prospects instead of a gambler's stock game... MS isn't as certain as it could be. They aren't going to go bankrupt anytime soon, but it's not going to be getting much better. Their two sources of profit, Windows and Office, are both undergoing erosion and their gaming division still hasn't cashed in on the investment from the first xbox although things might be better later on the 360 road.

 

[thorns]

You'll be much better of buying electronic arts, take two or activision..

 

[Lhadatt]

There's commerical software too, you know.

Of course, and it's all quite good. Some programs are many times better than their Windows counterparts.

Think about this, though:

What happens if something like DarWINE becomes a typical easily-installable Mac freebie? What happens if the open source monkeys actually do manage to unify Linux and produce a stable, solid, easy to use GUI, coupled with standardized package management and no need to get into the command line? If WINE on Linux is mass-market-easy to install at that point, you have two competing platforms running on Intel-based hardware that can run Windows software with no difficulty to speak of. We've never had this before, but now we're on the verge of seeing it happen.

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple embraced a DarWINE-like project and included it in future MacOS releases. WINE will most likely be bundled on all Linux distributions, if it isn't already.

If MS isn't scared by this, I have to wonder what the moneyhats in Redmond are really thinking.

I imagine MS will be relegated to a software vendor, and Windows will take a relaxed role in the market. Software will still be produced for Windows market-wide since it would act as a common base for software providers to work from, but Windows itself will see lower marketshare in the OS realm. Declining Windows profits will most likely lead to a breakup of the company, which would allow each unit to be more flexible. We might see native versions of MS stuff for Linux and other platforms. If they're smart, they might embrace the WINE-like projects, extend them, and resell as "Windows for Linux" or some such, if they can get around the legal stuff on the licenses.

Anyway, back on topic: Don't buy MS, there's a rocky future in store for them.

 

[maharg]

Or buy into retailers (EB/GS, Best Buy, etc) since, in theory, no matter who does what in marketshare (software or hardware), the retailers win.