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Blockbuster Set Top Boxes and Microsoft Retail Stores?

The Microsoft store would be more of a KIOSK to familiarize people to their brand more than it is to sell a few more Xbox units or copies of Office. I like tech stores so I'm all for them.

Can't wait to see what Blockbuster has in store for the STB idea. I wouldn't mind it terribly to see competition and force Apple to get a little more imaginative with their AppleTV because as it it's pretty sucky.
 
SandynJosh said:
Circuit City's sales tanked a couple years ago when they sacked all their top performers and kept the drones, so I don't know what the Blockbuster Nazis think they are buying.
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They're buying real estate. Blockbuster typically has a strip-mall location, with some freestanding ones in those centers, while Circuit Citys are located closer to office supplies and electronics stroes.
 
Apple is supposedly still a niche. Yet it is the niche all the big names want to be b/c even with its limited success so far, the Apple TV with rental schema is a hands downs winner in the consumer eyes, and it simply just hasn't seen enough consumer eyes yet.
 
Microsoft already tried the retail store thing here in San Francisco with microsoftSF...it was a complete flop and closed in 2001 after two years. Of course, being located in the Metreon didn't help.
 
More victims of the copycat trap...

Sure, the Apple Store is a retail miracle, but has Microsoft noticed how quiet most Sony Style stores are?
 
I could see it working as a hub to bring in your melted "360" and get a new one instead of having to wait 3 to 4 months for Microsoft to send you another refurbished 360.

To put it lightly if the store runs anything like Vista or their Red Ring of Death -360 they will quickly go the way of HD-DVD. :D
 
I give them two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake
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Ha, that's a classic line. It reminds me of my favourite Macrumors post from October 2001 about the iPod:

All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.
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There should be a special Macrumors historical section on posts and commentaries that are so wrong.
 
I really REALLY hope Microsoft decides to have physical stores so people can then walk nextdoor and see how much better the Apple one's are. I'm all for Microsoft losing boat loads of money.
 
Good

I think that Microsoft trying to compete with Apple is a good thing. Rival companies means savings for us although I don't know how well Microsoft will do competing with Apple, but no one thought Apple would be #1 online retailer 6 years ago either. Microsoft is really going to have to bring it
 
Hardly surprising re: Blockbuster - they have to do something. Retail movie rental stores are on their way out and for good reason.
 
well now Microsoft gets to try and copy everything apple has done
i see smart bars and smart people in the future
its gonna be another gadget widget thing
 
applekid said:
Microsoft doesn't really have anything "cool" to show off with a retail store. You're going to sell MS Office and Vista?

The Zune is kind of going up in popularity, of course there is the Xbox 360, and some of their peripherals are nice, but I don't quite think you need a store to showcase and sell any of those things. Maybe you can buy a nice Surface coffee table from them?

Microsoft isn't THAT crazy.
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markfc said:
Ooooh a Microsoft store, boxes and boxes of Microsoft Office and unsold brown Zunes, I can barely contain the excitement...
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One word: Surface
 
Zeke said:
I really REALLY hope Microsoft decides to have physical stores so people can then walk nextdoor and see how much better the Apple one's are. I'm all for Microsoft losing boat loads of money.
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It would be great to put the Apple store next to the Microsoft store. Then watch how many people walk out of the Microsoft store and into the Apple store and out with a Mac.

Free advertising for Apple, it would drag all the MS users right to the Apple store.

It would be a great sighting, all the MS users with there PC's waiting in line for the MS store to open for a genius. Then at the Apple Store, they can offer a $50 rebate to trade the POS for a Mac.
 
I Can just see the Neon sign for their new store showing some crazy dude prancing around and jumping up and down on the blue screen of death yelling Developers! Developers! Developers!

Occasionally this guys lizard like tongue lashes out beckoning for all to enter at their own risk!

Meanwhile an atrocious amount of what appears to be sweat drips down on all customers exiting the store!

Lastly, upon exiting the store a loud speaker announces " Don't forgot to reboot hourly!" :)
 
The thing that makes the Apple retail stores work is how nice they can display their elegant computers and toys, not the ugly MS crap.

There is no way Microsoft could support this environment. Also, the Apple employees set a great mood at my local store (lets see how nice the PC store employees would be).
 
Blockbuster + Circuit City = Chapter 11 real soon..

Wow what idiotic management and shareholders at blockbuster. This will go down in flames.
 
microsoft store will only produce lots of free advertising for the apple store... comparisons, interest in the media, etc...

i think ms will have to offer shelf space to some pc's... but which? or will they just demo "technology" - like Surface! offered by these great folks at .....

same with their mobile o/s...

i guess you'll see a lot of mice, keybds, xbox's, developer guides, office versions, videos of linux and OSX crashing and koolaid to wash it down
 
supercooled said:
The Microsoft store would be more of a KIOSK to familiarize people to their brand more than it is to sell a few more Xbox units or copies of Office.
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Like the hugely popular Dell kiosks, then? Nothing like a store you can't buy much at.

supercooled said:
I wouldn't mind it terribly to see competition and force Apple to get a little more imaginative with their AppleTV because as it it's pretty sucky.
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I don't see AppleTV's flaws as failures of imagination in any way. It has minor technical problems (which will require greater attention from the developers) and lots of business-deal problems (content, content, content). Imagination won't solve those.
 
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