this is all conjecture, but every rumour we had tended towards modesty. a profitable fortification of their post kinect console position and a valuable appendage of the W8 ecosystem.
given a combination of factors, i feel like MS is once again willing to take a bath on the hardware for the first couple of years at least:
- low power set top boxes from established names and smart TVs would have eaten the lunch of a more modest convergence device.
- W8 does not have a killer app. it, or some derivative will be absolutely central to the device. it's gone from being an appendage to likely be positioned as the W8/Blue/9 vanguard. it's all about the proprietary infrastructure.
- new consoles receiving tepid responses, accompanied by a lot of developer noise regarding the requirement of a significant leap.
- emerging technologies like the oculus rift and whatever hair brained kinect schemes are being cooked up will require significantly more grunt than media centre parts.
- ads are proving far more profitable than initially predicted, making hardware losses even better value as an opportunity cost