James Delahunty
20 Feb 2007 15:47
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has suggested that the reason for "slower than expected" initial sales of the Windows Vista operating system is piracy. In late 2006, analysts had predicted that Vista sales could reach 90 million units in 2007, compared to 67 million XP units sold in its first year on the market. Now Microsoft has said analysts were "overly agressive" with their projections.
PC Advisor is reporting that Vista sales are off by about 60% compared to the 2001 launch of Windows XP, and revenue is also down 23% since Vista launch. In response, Ballmer has repeatedly suggested piracy is the problem, and said Microsoft needs to step up its anti-piracy efforts, which if history repeats itself, could mean more problems for many legitimate users caught in the crossfire.
"Piracy reduction can be a source of Windows revenue growth, and I think we'll make some piracy improvements this year," Ballmer said. "We will have strong growth in the Windows business in emerging markets: China, India, Brazil, Russia and many others. Those markets are very high in piracy."
Source:
DailyTech