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Microsoft Store to Open Alongside Win 7 Launch

Microsoft is entering into malls with its own retail stores, not at all unlike what Apple has done with its own Apple Stores. Creating a retail presence could be just what the software giant needs to reach back out to consumers, and the first Microsoft store could be opening soon.

According to one of the Wall Street Journal's sources, the first Microsoft Store could be opening as soon as next week. Naturally, it'd be ideal for the first Microsoft Store to open day and date with the launch of Windows 7 on October 22.

Microsoft has yet to reveal an exact grand opening day, but the WSJ report says that the store, located at Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona should be open on or within days of Windows 7's release.

A second store is also set to open in the next few weeks in Mission Viejo, California. Should the initial stores prove to be a success (and don't forget, Microsoft products don't always have to be profitable to be successful), then expect more to be popping up.

  • JohnnyLucky
    I live in Scottsdale, AZ. I do not plan on going to the MS store unless they are giving away free software, food, and drinks. :)
  • the_one111
    Old news is old.
  • Jerky_san
    Doesn't seem like a good idea for Microsoft to do brick and mortar. They've never tried this before and it seems like they keep trying to jump into things without thinking it through as much as they should..
  • jellico
    From a strictly marketing standpoint, I'm not really sure what they are trying to achieve with Microsoft stores. They already have significant market penetration (to put it mildly), and their brand name is practically a household word. I can't really see what would compell someone to got to a Microsoft store as opposed to just going to Walmart or Best Buy, Newegg (for online shoppers).
  • ssalim
    Why? Can't they save money (lol, like they need to) by selling online?
  • dtemple
    I wonder if people can take their broken Xbox 360 with the red ring of death to a MS retail store and get it exchanged on the spot. Now THAT would make sense.
  • ohim
    ssalimWhy? Can't they save money (lol, like they need to) by selling online?I think the ideea behind a real store is to reach out for the consumer, for the casual buyer to pass by the store in a mall and have "microsoft" pop into their face to be even more popular (if you can get any more that this)
  • SneakySnake
    I hope they have some nice gaming rigs setup in the store to show people PC Gaming. That might actually do something to help PC gaming.

    COD6 on a 5870 vs COD6 on the 360 - hmm, which would I rather play
  • godwhomismike
    Hopefully, they will have a bunch of Core i7 laptops on hand with Windows 7 running on them.

    I been drooling over the Dell Studio 15 laptop with the Core i7 Mobile CPU, which is $999. Also been liking what I see with the new HP Envy 15, but at $1799, it's sadly out of my price range.
  • fatkid35
    i think it's great. the normal guy or girl on the street doesn't go to toms hardware for information and reviews on pc stuff, or build their own pc. they buy whats in a box on a shelf in a big retail store that looks good. this is that opportunity. win7 in a big cool white box. when joe schmoo walks into best buy he sees two things, apple stuff and every other goddamned pc maker on the planet with m$. their is no brand loyalty, just servitude beacuse thats what a pc comes with. like it or not. this will help give people brand loyalty to m$. that sense of being in the club, like apple people have had for so long. a pc is a pc, generic.a box with some wires seems special beacuse of whats inside, the OS.the stores don't have shit to do with the actual product. it's the image that it represents. now i wanna see some goddamned white 7 stickers on the back of vw jettas dammit!