Fujitsu Not Pleased With Windows 8 Demand, Either
Add Fujitsu to the list of Microsoft partners bemoaning soft interest in Windows 8. — Speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Friday, Fujitsu President Masami Yamamoto said initial consumer demand for Windows 8 has been “weak,” …
Context & Ripple Effects
Windows 8's late-October launch was meant to be the moment OEMs had been positioning for since Dell's 2011 pledge to build a Windows 8 lineup as its Android efforts disappointed. Instead, the early read has been rough: USA Today reported U.S. consumers hesitant to switch just two weeks after launch, and TIME's caution that it was too early to judge sales is now being tested by the people selling the machines.
Fujitsu President Masami Yamamoto's 'weak' demand comment, made to reporters in Tokyo on Friday, turns that caution into a direct partner complaint — and the story traveled fast, picked up by Bloomberg, CNET, The Verge, Business Insider and others within a day. HP had already signaled doubt before launch by shunning ARM at Windows 8's debut, so Fujitsu's remarks extend a pattern of OEM unease rather than opening one.
First-order effects
- Fujitsu's PC business faces soft sell-through on its new Windows 8 machines during the holiday quarter, forcing heavier promotion or inventory buildup on hardware it committed to before demand signals were clear.
- Microsoft now has multiple named OEMs publicly describing weak consumer interest, straining the partner relationships its tablet-and-PC push depends on — especially with Surface competing on the same shelf.
Second-order effects
- Rival PC makers watching Fujitsu's admission have cover to discount aggressively or delay follow-on Windows 8 designs, shifting pricing power toward consumers and squeezing margins across the Windows ecosystem.
- Weak uptake strengthens the case for OEMs to hedge with Android and Chrome devices, the same diversification Dell cited when it leaned toward Windows 8 after Android disappointment.
Third-order effects
- If partner complaints keep mounting, Microsoft faces structural pressure to reconcile its Surface-first ambitions with an OEM base it needs for distribution — a channel conflict that could reshape how Windows hardware gets built and priced.
- The episode feeds a longer erosion of the traditional Wintel alliance's grip on consumer computing, with tablets and alternative OSes absorbing the growth Windows upgrades once captured.
The trend: PC makers are moving from quiet skepticism to public criticism of Windows 8 demand, turning Microsoft's flagship redesign into a test of whether the OEM alliance holds through a touch-first transition.