Dear Microsoft: Giving the next Xbox an always-online requirement might be suicidal

The stunning decline in PC shipments reported by IDC this week shows that Microsoft (MSFT) is really on the ropes in the consumer electronics market. What makes IDC’s report particularly cringe-worthy for Microsoft is that it pins some of the blame for poor PC sales on the drastic changes that Microsoft made to its Windows operating system with Windows 8. While Windows 8 may not be as universally hated as Vista was, it has still proven polarizing at a time when Microsoft faces stiff competition from mobile devices based on the hugely popular iOS and Android operating systems. However, there is still one area where Microsoft reigns supreme over its competitors: Gaming. Both Windows-based PCs and the Xbox console remain



via Gaming News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/dear-microsoft-giving-next-xbox-always-online-requirement-162006268.html