Why Is Microsoft Not Selling The Xbox To The Military?

Soldiers from A Company, 63rd ESB stationed in Tikrit try out Halo3 out of the box.
Photo from Adopt A Soldier Platoon.

Why The Army Doesn’t Train On Xboxes -- The Danger Room

Right now, every military command post and every training center is packed with PCs. In the future, many of those machines might be replaced with game consoles — if the armed forces can ever work out their disagreements with the console-makers.

Why consoles? For starters, it’s a tool that young recruits are very familiar with. The military — especially the Army and Marines — has turned to videogames because live training is often complicated and expensive. Surveys show that young people now spend more time gaming on consoles than on PCs. It’s the older (well, at least over 30) crowd who prefer to play games on computers, and that crowd is likely to shrink over time. If the Pentagon is going to rely on games, then it makes sense to use a platform designed for games, as well as one that’s familiar to your audience.

Read more ....

Update #1: Microsoft restricting Xbox 360 units from Army because the sale wouldn’t give them enough money? -- Gadget Steria
Update #2: Microsoft Refused To Sell Xbox 360s To The Military For Training -- Gizmodo Australia

My Comment: If I was Bill Gates .... and considering the sacrifice that these soldiers do all the time .... I would give the Xbox for free.

But that is just me.