Is it true Microsoft did lost billions of $ with the original Xbox?

I have been reading on the internet that Microsoft lost billions and billions of dollars on the Xbox.These same articles say that the Xbox was never profitable for Microsoft.Here is a link:
http://www.joystiq.com/2005/09/26/forbes-xbox-lost-microsoft-4-billion-and-counting/

Is this true?Or are these articles inaccurrate?

That might have been true in 2005 (when the article was written), but the XBox division has been in the black for quite some time now.

Its true for the original but not the 360.Microsoft knew they would lose money on the original but it was the cost of entering the industry.

I think it's pretty standard to lose money at first with consoles, but you hope that licensing fees, online subscriptions, dlc and such will bring profit eventually.

i thought all they did was take old pc parts and put them together and resell them:?

The majority of game console makers lose money or break-even on the console itself. Where they make all the real money is on 1st party software and licensing to 3rd parties. At least that's how I understand it. Now, over time, the parts that make up the console guts either get cheaper to acquire, OR the company finds alternative compatible yet cheaper parts to create new systems with. At the same time they might pass those savings onto the consumer in the form of a price drop.

I think Nintendo might be the only company to actually make money on their consoles from the beginning.

So I just read this article from the mid 1400s talking about how the Earth is flat. Is that true?

-Byshop

MS was awash in red ink with the first XBOX. IIRC it wasn't until its fourth year out that it turned a profit. That was the cost for MS to join the home console market.