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A monopoly is an organization, which has power of control, which is not shared, by other people or groups. Just so every one knows.
All markets have different characteristics. And one of the main ways in which they differ is in the number of competing firms. The number of firms has a major impact on the level of competition in a market. Microsoft owns 95% or more of the world market for PC operating systems. The other 5% or so is made up of companies, which make operating systems that are made spastically for the buyer (only big business need this kind of operating system). As Microsoft owns this much of the market share this means they are a ‘virtual monopoly’, so they can control the 2 main of business strategy, which are:
Pricing decisions
Promotion decisions
So this means that Microsoft can charge nearly any price they want for their operating systems. They don’t have to advertise their operating systems, as we have no other alternates to buy. So Microsoft don’t have spend money on advertising, and they can charge high prices for their operating systems, so that Microsoft can make big money on operating systems.
Now for the main point. I think that Bill Gates is trying to expand his multibillion-dollar monopoly into other electronic departments. I also think that he wants Microsoft to own 95% of the worlds total market share. His first move was to enter the console market, a market that is hard to become the big cheese in. He also entered the telephone market; buy realising his own Microsoft branded telephone. To make it big in the games market he decided to realise the most powerful console to see if the main determents of buying a console is power. So he sent the most powerful console on to the market against Sony and Nintendo to see is he could beat the longest surviving games console producer and last years console winner.
His first strategic move is making all game producers make x-box only games, leaving its competitors with only the games that they produce. They started with Rare, which is making a direct assault on Nintendo by taking away one of its main game producers. This shows that Bill Gates wants to take Nintendo out of the gaming market, as getting rid of the oldest game producers which are starting to get boring, you can only have a certain amount of the same type of game.
So far Microsoft’s x-box is keeping up with Nintendo’s lower priced but less powerful machine. Obviously Microsoft wants to boost the sales of the x-box over Christmas by dropping the price of the console. They are doing this by putting out many TV advertisements; they are using adverts everywhere, in cinemas, in football stadiums, at buts stops, anywhere there target audience is they will advertise. The only way they can fund such a wide spread operation, is the money they are getting from there operating systems monopoly, without that money they would have to use the profits from the x-box’s sales, witch would of been spent on the rare buy, or on advertising. Even if they did use every bit of profit they have got from the x-box they still wouldn’t be able to pay for such a big operation.
Will Microsoft be able to turn the console market into a monopoly like it has done to the operating systems market? Will Microsoft be able to become the most popular console in the UK? They will have to focus on becoming the best console next time they make one, but will that beat Sony the double console war winner? (it looks like will win again at this point in time)
Sorry if I seem offensive to Microsoft, Bill Gates or the x-box, but I could not word it any other way as it would be to hard to make the point seem clear.
Thanks for reading (if you did)
Morbo
All markets have different characteristics. And one of the main ways in which they differ is in the number of competing firms. The number of firms has a major impact on the level of competition in a market. Microsoft owns 95% or more of the world market for PC operating systems. The other 5% or so is made up of companies, which make operating systems that are made spastically for the buyer (only big business need this kind of operating system). As Microsoft owns this much of the market share this means they are a ‘virtual monopoly’, so they can control the 2 main of business strategy, which are:
Pricing decisions
Promotion decisions
So this means that Microsoft can charge nearly any price they want for their operating systems. They don’t have to advertise their operating systems, as we have no other alternates to buy. So Microsoft don’t have spend money on advertising, and they can charge high prices for their operating systems, so that Microsoft can make big money on operating systems.
Now for the main point. I think that Bill Gates is trying to expand his multibillion-dollar monopoly into other electronic departments. I also think that he wants Microsoft to own 95% of the worlds total market share. His first move was to enter the console market, a market that is hard to become the big cheese in. He also entered the telephone market; buy realising his own Microsoft branded telephone. To make it big in the games market he decided to realise the most powerful console to see if the main determents of buying a console is power. So he sent the most powerful console on to the market against Sony and Nintendo to see is he could beat the longest surviving games console producer and last years console winner.
His first strategic move is making all game producers make x-box only games, leaving its competitors with only the games that they produce. They started with Rare, which is making a direct assault on Nintendo by taking away one of its main game producers. This shows that Bill Gates wants to take Nintendo out of the gaming market, as getting rid of the oldest game producers which are starting to get boring, you can only have a certain amount of the same type of game.
So far Microsoft’s x-box is keeping up with Nintendo’s lower priced but less powerful machine. Obviously Microsoft wants to boost the sales of the x-box over Christmas by dropping the price of the console. They are doing this by putting out many TV advertisements; they are using adverts everywhere, in cinemas, in football stadiums, at buts stops, anywhere there target audience is they will advertise. The only way they can fund such a wide spread operation, is the money they are getting from there operating systems monopoly, without that money they would have to use the profits from the x-box’s sales, witch would of been spent on the rare buy, or on advertising. Even if they did use every bit of profit they have got from the x-box they still wouldn’t be able to pay for such a big operation.
Will Microsoft be able to turn the console market into a monopoly like it has done to the operating systems market? Will Microsoft be able to become the most popular console in the UK? They will have to focus on becoming the best console next time they make one, but will that beat Sony the double console war winner? (it looks like will win again at this point in time)
Sorry if I seem offensive to Microsoft, Bill Gates or the x-box, but I could not word it any other way as it would be to hard to make the point seem clear.
Thanks for reading (if you did)
Morbo
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Hmmm.... Interesting.... So you are saying that if a huge company that creates the same things that Microsoft makes (exept Consoles) but way better MS will be only living off their Xbox sales (which isn't doing that well in Japan).
I have found with your help Morbo my m8 MS's one true weakness.
Now if only I could find someone who's that smart enough to make stuff way better than MS can...
Stephen H can I talk to for a sec....
I have found with your help Morbo my m8 MS's one true weakness.
Now if only I could find someone who's that smart enough to make stuff way better than MS can...
Stephen H can I talk to for a sec....
I've a better Idea for a topic
MICROSOFT: The company of complete B^stards
MICROSOFT: The company of complete B^stards
Boss_Pac_Man2 wrote:
> I've a better Idea for a topic
>
> MICROSOFT: The company of complete B^stards
Now come on just because we hate Microsoft doesn't give us any right to misuse words like that... there is nothing wrong with being a b^stard as you say... I am one myself actually.
> I've a better Idea for a topic
>
> MICROSOFT: The company of complete B^stards
Now come on just because we hate Microsoft doesn't give us any right to misuse words like that... there is nothing wrong with being a b^stard as you say... I am one myself actually.
Microsoft's influence on the console market can be nothing but good. You claim that having MS rule the PC market is aweful because they can control pricing, despite products not being up to scratch? Sounds like sony with the PS2.
Friendly competition is good. And this is what MS are doing. Despite all your talk of MS buying everyone out, all they have done is bought Rare, a tiny tiny developer in the Midlands area, and Bungie, a company so small they moved everyone in the company hundreds of miles (to Seatle?).
And then you look at the actual figures. In Japan most stores don't sell Xboxs! Sales were beaten by the Dreamcast a few months ago despite the Dreamcast not being in production. In the West MS is only keeping paces with ninty - not doing sufficiently better.
But MS's biggest contribution to the market is ITS MONEY! They pumped enough money into Bungie to produce a gem of a game in Halo, and are trying to repeat this with many other companies (maybe Rare will be back on top thanks to MS's input?). At the same time, they are putting so much in advertising that Sony may have serious competition in the next "console war".
If you think MS ruling the PC world is bad, what about Sony ruling the gaming world?
Sonic
Friendly competition is good. And this is what MS are doing. Despite all your talk of MS buying everyone out, all they have done is bought Rare, a tiny tiny developer in the Midlands area, and Bungie, a company so small they moved everyone in the company hundreds of miles (to Seatle?).
And then you look at the actual figures. In Japan most stores don't sell Xboxs! Sales were beaten by the Dreamcast a few months ago despite the Dreamcast not being in production. In the West MS is only keeping paces with ninty - not doing sufficiently better.
But MS's biggest contribution to the market is ITS MONEY! They pumped enough money into Bungie to produce a gem of a game in Halo, and are trying to repeat this with many other companies (maybe Rare will be back on top thanks to MS's input?). At the same time, they are putting so much in advertising that Sony may have serious competition in the next "console war".
If you think MS ruling the PC world is bad, what about Sony ruling the gaming world?
Sonic
BEARDS. wrote:
> There are plenty of people who dont use Microsoft Operating systems.
>
>
> Firstly, Macs.
All well and good, but when you consider that Microsoft are the majority shareholder in Apple, most of the money made on the Mac's does go to Microsoft.
> There are plenty of people who dont use Microsoft Operating systems.
>
>
> Firstly, Macs.
All well and good, but when you consider that Microsoft are the majority shareholder in Apple, most of the money made on the Mac's does go to Microsoft.
Oh, I forgot to say, Good post Morbo.
The Xbox is Microsoft dipping it's toes in the home entertainment market which it so desperately wants to control. It cares not about the losses, as it's OS division easily recuperates them. Microsoft will continue to pour money into the Xbox until the words 'Microsoft' and 'entertainment' no longer sound stupid together.
I think the Xbox is slowly dragging the Microsofts profits down and they are making there last grab for survival, this is shown by a sudden drop in prices after about a couple of weeks and also them giving everyone who bought one 2 free games and a controller, also back in octeber microsoft tried to buy some of Nintendo's best game makers and succeded in buying Rare Ware, all this is showing that Xbox is trying to make some desent games to get sales up, also there now giving 2 free games with every Xbox bourght this christmas. Also Bill Gates gave Sega a little bit of money to get them started a bit better, and there share prices shot up 17%, you obviously see that they are trying to get sega to willingly work for them without being bourght, showing that microsoft may not have the money to risk it.
I leave you to put this all together.
Adam: The King
I leave you to put this all together.
Adam: The King
Microsoft will never be able to totally monopolise the gaming industry - its too entrenched in its current market structure i.e. oligopoly.
*goes back to reading economic textbook*
*goes back to reading economic textbook*
Adamario wrote:
> I think the Xbox is slowly dragging the Microsofts profits down and
> they are making there last grab for survival, this is shown by a
> sudden drop in prices after about a couple of weeks and also them
> giving everyone who bought one 2 free games and a controller, also
> back in octeber microsoft tried to buy some of Nintendo's best game
> makers and succeded in buying Rare Ware, all this is showing that Xbox
> is trying to make some desent games to get sales up, also there now
> giving 2 free games with every Xbox bourght this christmas. Also Bill
> Gates gave Sega a little bit of money to get them started a bit
> better, and there share prices shot up 17%, you obviously see that
> they are trying to get sega to willingly work for them without being
> bourght, showing that microsoft may not have the money to risk it.
> I leave you to put this all together.
>
>
>
>
> Adam: The King
Microsoft make 7 billion dollars a year profit. Their Xbox strategy may be crucial in leveraging the vast home entertainment market into their pocket. They are quite willing to stomach the losses of the Xbox.
> I think the Xbox is slowly dragging the Microsofts profits down and
> they are making there last grab for survival, this is shown by a
> sudden drop in prices after about a couple of weeks and also them
> giving everyone who bought one 2 free games and a controller, also
> back in octeber microsoft tried to buy some of Nintendo's best game
> makers and succeded in buying Rare Ware, all this is showing that Xbox
> is trying to make some desent games to get sales up, also there now
> giving 2 free games with every Xbox bourght this christmas. Also Bill
> Gates gave Sega a little bit of money to get them started a bit
> better, and there share prices shot up 17%, you obviously see that
> they are trying to get sega to willingly work for them without being
> bourght, showing that microsoft may not have the money to risk it.
> I leave you to put this all together.
>
>
>
>
> Adam: The King
Microsoft make 7 billion dollars a year profit. Their Xbox strategy may be crucial in leveraging the vast home entertainment market into their pocket. They are quite willing to stomach the losses of the Xbox.
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