Microsofts big gaming gamble is finally paying off

Despite their commercial appeal, gaming consoles have not historically been big moneymakers for the tech industrys biggest firms. Sonys PlayStation business was famously unprofitable for years, as was Microsofts entertainment and devices division anchored by the Xbox. But if the past several months is any lasting indication, the gaming markets tide may finally have turned for good.

Microsoft reported Thursday that its entertainment and devices division (EDD) revenue grew 45 percent during fiscal 2011, with profits from the division surging 114 percent. And the growth is apparently speeding up: During the companys fourth quarter which ended June 30, EDD revenues were 30 percent higher than they had been during the same quarter last year.

Microsofts EDD division covers the Xbox 360 entertainment platform (which includes Kinect for xBox 360), Internet protocol television software Mediaroom, and the Windows Phone. In the recent quarter, the EDDs revenue increase was mostly attributable to sales growth in the xBox 360 platform business, the company said.

The Xbox division was cited as a significant contributing factor to Microsofts overall growth over the past year, the company said in a press release accompanying its earnings announcement. That in itself signifies quite a turnaround from the gaming consoles notoriously loss-making history.

Microsoft is not the only tech giant to see its gaming console division come out of the red recently. In May, Sony announced that it had finally started! making money from its PlayStation business after years of financial losses. If the latest performance numbers can last for the longer term, gaming consoles may actually prove that the old axiom patience is a virtue can even be applied to todays fast-paced tech world.

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