Update: Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has responded to this rumor. We'll just share the whole thing here:
@ManfrediMiconi @XboxP3 Ridiculous, cannot believe people would even believe something like this.
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) February 15, 2014
Original Story Below:
A new rumor has propped up that Amazon is negotiating with Microsoft for the purchase of Xbox. The rumor comes from insider Famous Mortimer, aka Pete Dodd.
Two things. Titanfall launch show with @geoffkeighley. Have you announced that yet? Also, xbox bought by Amazon? Bookmark this.
— atFamousmortimer (@atPeteDodd) February 15, 2014
@muleyman79 @geoffkeighley The show that is. Microsoft is looking to dump xbox. Amazon is looking for gaming assets. Talks have started.
— atFamousmortimer (@atPeteDodd) February 15, 2014
The most amazing thing about this is that Pete brought it up out of nowhere on Twitter, in the process of striking a conversation with Geoff Keighley about his upcoming Titanfall coverage. Pete is basically tweeting like it’s nothing, basically showing off he’s 100 % sure talks are ongoing.
There are two elements to this rumor that makes it worth your time: one, that there is pressure within Microsoft to sell Xbox, and two, that Amazon is looking to invest into gaming more heavily.
We have already covered this talk about Microsoft spinning off or selling Xbox before. To cut a long story short, the pressure comes from investors like ValueAct, who have become impatient with MS’s consistent underperformance. They argue that Microsoft should focus on their strengths, and Xbox (among their other devices, like Surface) simply do not play to their strengths.
Regarding Amazon, there have been several indication that they are interested in entering the gaming market in a big way. The talk of a new Android- based microconsole was already squashed. However, they did recently purchase Double Helix Games. There is also another rumor that continues to enjoy credibility, that Amazon is readying a competitor to Roku and Apple TV. Speculation is that this set-top TV could be expanded to an Xbox One type device.
Would Microsoft sell Xbox? Under an entirely new management structure, and the pressure to perform, this would be a minor decision for the company to make. Would Amazon buy Xbox? They went to Oracle and Lab126 for development of Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD, respectively, and Lab126 is also reportedly working on that set-top box.
However, their purchase of Double Helix means Amazon is not shy about throwing their money around for their gaming ambitions, and buying Xbox, with its R&D division, means they won’t have to invest into building one from scratch.
One final thing; in spite of the Kindle, Amazon still sells iPads and other tablets, and they still sell retail music discs even though they sell DRM-free mp3s. So if Amazon entering consoles ever did come to pass, it would not be the end of their business with Playstation and Nintendo.
