New Xbox will be more than video game for Microsoft

Company seeks a larger share in the gaming industry, which involves 65 billion dollars a year
The company seeks a larger share in the gaming industry, which involves 65 billion dollars a year, but the device will face strong competition from the PlayStation 4, Sony, and Nintendo's Wii U, in a market that is in transformation.
Seattle-Microsoft prepares for impacting this week with the release of the long awaited new generation video game console Xbox, eight years after the arrival of the latest version of the device.
The company seeks a larger share in the gaming industry, which involves 65 billion dollars a year, but the device will face strong competition from the PlayStation 4, Sony, and Nintendo's Wii U, in a market that is in transformation.
The fans are turning to online games, which has suggested that the glory days of games on consoles are to end, while Microsoft wants his new toy and finally occupy the center of family entertainment.
"The players are very eager for a new machine, but the difference between 2005 and now is that the risks are much higher," said the executive editor of the entertainment website IGN.com, Ryan McCaffrey, commenting on the release of the latest version of the Xbox.
"The entire Microsoft Xbox experience was to be the centerpiece of the living room." In view of this goal, industry observers are expecting a lot of improvements in the new Xbox, when Microsoft released the product at its headquarters, in Redmond, Washington, on Tuesday.
It is expected that the unit will bring greater integration with the TV and connections to mobile devices, even unique.
Video Game Consoles still earn the lion's share of the growing market for games--about 42 percent of the 65 billion dollars, according to Microsoft. But gain ground quickly the games on smartphones and tablets, a breakdown of social networks.
Console sales went into decline during the last four years, primarily because of the aging of the equipment and the first machine of the new generation of consoles does not reaqueceu the industry. The Nintendo Wii U, released in November, has sold only 3.45 million units by the end of March, well below the company's initial forecast of 5.5 million. Meanwhile, expectations of sales of Sony PS4 are low.
Lewis Ward, an analyst with market research firm International Data Corp. technology, estimates that about 250 million Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii were sold between 2005 and 2012.
"I think the Islands as a category of product may have reached the peak and the next generation of devices will not come to these totals (of sale)", commented.
The Xbox itself is not a key financial item to the Microsoft. The entertainment devices must achieve 10 billion dollars in sales for the first time this year, but that's half the sales area responsible for Windows, and much less profitable, averaging less than 15 percent profit margin, compared with 60 percent or more for Windows or Office.
However, the Xbox is still an important weapon in the strategy of Microsoft against Google, Apple, Amazon.com and other large companies that try to become centerpiece in the lives of consumers.
"This new Xbox has a huge importance to Microsoft. Is part of a larger war that it is waging. They want to be fully integrated to the consumer, is in the living room, either through mobile devices, "said P.J. McNealy, President of Digital World Research.
Meanwhile, McCaffrey, IGN.com, said: "they will try to capture the casual audience with entertainment while on the other hand try to keep players interested." "They want the console stay connected all the time, whether a mother watching a video, gaming and son the father watching the baseball game, this is the goal of them."