released the Celeron processor, which was widely accepted as a poor alternative to AMDs K6. However, customer familiarity with the Microsoft brand name, allowed for Microsoft to recoup some of its losses in the field, but with AMDs following rising, the K7 (Athlon) processor, took a firm hold in the field against the Pentium III. Furthermore, the Athlon Thunderbird (the successor to the K7) has now taken a majority control of the market, by outperforming the Pentium IV in most performance tests. By observing the percent gain indicated in the chart, it is observed there is a steady increase as AMDs new Athlon Firebird board strikes the market. The brief drop can be attributed to the initially high cost of the board, where individuals will hold off on purchasing the board in hope of a lower price or a sale. Furthermore, if someone was not to watch carefully, an individual might not realize the new technology is available, because AMD does utilize many advertising techniques, unlike Microsoft.EA, Electronic Arts, a long time developer in the videogame industry, has only recently exploded to new levels in the field. Videogames provide a strong example of a decreasing-cost industry model. By purchasing small companies and partnering up with other major companies (such as Squaresoft), EA has managed to reach all classes of the videogame industry, where before, it only had a minor field of influence. Furthermore, EA has achieved a startlingly high level of quality in all their products, gaining an unsurpassed level of credibility in multiple domains. Gaining such a foothold in the videogame industry guarantees profits for a companys future. A strong footing in the gaming market, gains an initial interest by the consumer cliental in any future products, resulting in positive press and a general wave of interest in the companies activities. An initial negativity in the percent gain is noted, because EA decided on a very close release...
