> Microsoft took seven straight year-over-year billion dollar losses until the Microsoft gaming division finally posted a profit in 2008.

This page suggest XBox still has accumulated losses of 3 billion:

http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-h...

But I agree with you. Because these are strategic decision with long term agendas, to know if they succeed or fail will take many years if not decades.