Money and games

Over at Slashdot Games they have an item on how much Microsoft's games division is losing. The original is on Gamasutra:

Microsoft has released its third quarter results, showing the company's Xbox-encompassing Entertainment and Devices division posting a $315 million loss and sales slipping 21 percent to $929 million, as the overall company saw $4.93 billion in profits and $14.40 billion in sales.

Compare that to Nintendo's latest financials:

Nintendo Co., Ltd., today reported final consolidated fiscal year revenues of 966.5 billion yen and operating profits of 226.0 billion yen for the year ending March 31, 2007, an increase of 90 percent and 150 percent, respectively, over the same period one year ago. Both numbers are record highs for the company.

Imagine what would happen if Microsoft couldn't leverage its monopoly on desktop operating systems to finance its gaming and entertainment forays. There's a place in the home for the 360 and the Wii -- and a place in many homes for both -- but remember that Nintendo gets there on their own and Microsoft gets there because they can afford to lose billions of dollars.