Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company based in One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and services.

Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The company's 1986 initial public offering (IPO), and subsequent rise in its share price, created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions, their largest being the acquisition of mh:crappygames:Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in January 2022.

Its best-known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. In 2020, Microsoft is the 3rd largest company in the world (after Amazon Co. and Apple Inc.) and 6th largest game company in the world.

Consoles

 * 1) Xbox (2001-2009)
 * 2) Xbox 360 (2005-2016)
 * 3) Xbox One (2013-present)
 * 4) Xbox Series X and Series S (2020-present)

Good Qualities

 * 1) Many people say that this company is the best when it comes to their hardware and software, which have revolutionized the personal computer market countless times. Most importantly, they gave us the Windows series, operating systems with very simple graphical user interfaces, the most notable systems being Windows 95, Windows 98/SE, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 10. Most versions of Windows are highly regarded as the greatest operating systems of all time.
 * 2) In 2015, they released Windows 10, an operating system that brought back much of the desktop mode from Windows 7 (although that was brought back first in Windows 8.1 with the start button and 8.1 Update 1 later added titlebars to Metro (pre-UWP) apps); and you can switch back to Windows 8's Metro Interface by choice. It was also the most popular OS among Steam users until the popularity of mh:crappygames:PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and later Among Us in China where Windows 10 was being overtaken by Windows 7 due to the OS being popular in China.
 * 3) Apple wouldn't be in the position it is currently in if Microsoft didn't exist, since Apple once used Microsoft's software. In addition, Microsoft is Apple's longtime rival.
 * 4) Visual Studio, an integrated computer software development environment developed by Microsoft, is not only very important for making video game engines and any kinds of software but also developer-friendly.
 * 5) They also created the Xbox series of consoles, which are good to distribute and play on thanks to Xbox Live, the best service for Xbox that gave birth to online multiplayer as we know it. Microsoft always strives to push for the best console hardware as well, and for the most part, they do deliver.
 * 6) They published or developed several good/great/awesome games, like the Halo series of first-person shooters and Hover!, and they continue to do so nowadays with Gears 5, the Forza Horizon series, and Halo: MCC.
 * 7) They brought back Minecraft to its popularity after releasing the 1.14 and 1.12.0 updates of both Java and Bedrock Editions and made a massive improvement over the old versions by fixing a lot of bugs and glitches, adding new features and new mobs.
 * 8) In 2017, Microsoft introduced the Xbox Game Pass, which gives you full access to hundreds of games by just paying a monthly subscription ($9.99 for consoles, or $14.99 for Ultimate). You get to even download 360 and even original Xbox titles.
 * 9) Unlike most AAA companies, they do not charge for next gen upgrades. Instead, they launched Smart Delivery, a feature for the Xbox Series X/S where players can transfer their Xbox One games to said console for free.
 * 10) They also have a service called Games For Gold, where those with an Xbox Live Gold subscription can download up to 4 full games for free, all with their different times that you can play them until they expire. And all Xbox One, 360 and original Xbox Games are going to be available for free if chosen!
 * 11) Following the backlash of trying to increase Xbox Live Gold to $120 a year, Microsoft eventually reversed their decision, but also plans to finally lift the requirement for free online games to need Xbox Live Gold.
 * 12) Phil Spencer (the current head of Xbox Game Studios) does show good faith towards his competitors by congratulating them and their developers on successful game launches (though this could trigger some Xbox fans due to how he's not supporting the console).
 * 13) It is pretty nice to see their first-party exclusive games come out on PC, so more people can have an opportunity to play them.
 * 14) *However, it also can be ruined by fact that they can be bought only from the Microsoft Store (and later the Xbox app).
 * 15) They are willing to support Japanese games on their Xbox brand, given the presence of many Japanese games they showed at E3 2018, which should kill the Xbox One fanboy narrative of "Japanese games suck!"
 * 16) *However, most of those are third-party titles because Xbox does not own any Japanese developers.
 * 17) They published or developed several awesome games, like the Halo series (Bungie era, i.e. from Halo Combat Evolved to Halo: Reach), and Gears of War. Their racing franchise, Forza, was the only one that gave Sony's own Gran Turismo series any kind of competition. The OG Xbox and the 360 had games that made the consoles worth buying.
 * 18) They opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act, a censorship tool that attempted to take away online freedom in 2012.
 * 19) The departure of Don Mattrick and the the mess he left behind with the Xbox One was a wake-up call for them: the company revamped leadership thoughout, with Satya Nadella taking over as Microsoft's CEO and Phil Spencer taking on as the head of Xbox soon after.
 * 20) Since 2020 Microsoft has begun to license its games to Sony and Nintendo, such as Minecraft and Psychonauts.
 * 21) *Banjo Kazooie and Steve from MineCraft were even guest fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
 * 22) Following their purchase of Activision, there is hope that Microsoft may improve the company's working conditions.
 * 23) *Microsoft may fire some of Activision's executives if the company's work culture does not improve.
 * 24) *Call of Duty may no longer release a new game every year, allowing Activision's studios to explore other projects.
 * 25) *Bobby Kotick and Phil Spencer have talked about reviving Activision's IP's.
 * 26) *Microsoft will support Raven Software's labor union.
 * 27) Their video game division is against the infamous non-fungible tokens (NFT's) when it's come to gaming (such as Xbox Games Studios and Mojang ), unlike the Microsoft Azure blockchain..

Bad Qualities
While Microsoft has made some truly great games over the years, they have made many poor decisions since the late 1990's. Here is Microsoft's article on the Crappy Games Wiki.

Videos
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Trivia

 * Microsoft had considered acquiring Blizzard Entertainment and Westwood Studios, before both studios were respectively acquired by Cendant and Electronic Arts. However, Microsoft would finally acquire Blizzard in 2022.