Microsoft's XBox 3 Could Give It Market Supremacy

The following is just speculative fun. But it is based firmly in reality.

The Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 is very, very well designed. Part of this design genius is ease of manufacture and potential for cost reduction. So I see this console as having a ten year life. This should easily see it up to 2015.

This year Microsoft will use their manufacturing cost advantage to use the price mechanism to build market share in the face of Sony (SNE)’s AAA game releases. This will leave headroom in the market for them to introduce a new premium console giving them a two model range, just as Sony have had for a few years now. It will also make the 360 a cheap mass market machine which will have the effect of growing Xbox Live enormously. And this is the most important thing for Microsoft. It is the online platform which, ultimately, will be the main event.

The new premium console (Xbox 3) will feature a gesture interface and probably integration with a new handheld game console. Microsoft have a great incentive to go for this two model (plus handheld) strategy sooner rather than later because Sony are currently too weak to respond. So it would be a knockout blow that could give them market supremacy.

The new Microsoft handheld will be son of Zune, with iPhone and Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) DS features. This device looks pretty inevitable and will give access to Xbox Live anywhere and everywhere and with its integration to Xbox 3 it will bring a whole raft of new capabilities to the consumer.

Another factor to remember is that Nintendo will have to do something about the Wii. This machine is really Gamecube 1.5 with a gesture interface. Its old technology will find it out. So Wii2 cannot be too far away, and it is something that Microsoft must have an answer for.

So when will we see Xbox 3? The normal console cycle is for new models every 5 years. Which would put availabilty at the end of 2010. I can see Microsoft bringing this forward a year to 2009. The current year year is too soon as they still have to build the market position of the 360. So next year it is then! And rememeber that for just about every new product area that Microsoft has entered, it is their third generation of that product that gives them world domination.

GOLDEN EYE ON XBLA LATER THIS YEAR

Rareware Is Revisiting 007

Xbox Evolved has many sources indicating that the classic N64 Rareware title “Goldeneye 007” will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade later this year, as well as many others.
Talking with very reliable sources, and seeing evidence ourselves, Xbox Evolved believes that Microsoft, Rareware, MGM Studios (studio that makes the James Bond 007 movies) and Activision (holds the license for James Bond 007 titles right now) have come to an agreement to bring the Rareware developed Goldeneye 007 out to Xbox Live Arcade shortly before the new game developed by Activision is released.

The title will feature updated graphics, and of course an all-new Xbox Live multiplayer. Not only that, but we have found evidence that Rareware is planning on releasing even more of their back catalog onto Xbox Live Arcade, specifically, Perfect Dark and the original Banjo-Kazooie. Expect more on at least Goldeneye 007 later this year.
by: John Olin

Breaking: Warner Goes Blu-ray Exclusive

http://www.highdefdigest.com/

2008 Xbox 360 releases!

We take a look at what games are expected to come out this year for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console

February

NFL Tour (1st)
Devil May Cry 4 (8th)
Turok (8th)
Frontlines: Fuel Of War (15th)
Lost Planet Colonies (22nd)
A-Train HX (22nd)
Army of Two (29th)
Bully: Scholarship Edition (29th)
Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway (TBC)
Lost Odyssey (TBC)
Battlefield: Bad Company (TBC)
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (TBC)
Hei$t (TBC)
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (TBC)
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (TBC)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (TBC)


March

Dynasty Warriors 6 (7th)
Alan Wake (21st)
FIFA Street 3 (28th)
Midnight Club: Los Angeles (28th)
Viking: Battle for Asgard (28th)
Race Driver One (28th)
Conflict: Denied Ops (TBC)
Universe at War: Earth Assault (TBC)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (TBC)
Unreal Tournament 3 (TBC)
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (TBC)
The Club (TBC)
Alone in the Dark 5 (TBC)
World In Conflict (TBC)
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (TBC)
Mirror's Edge (TBC)
Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends (TBC)
Warhammer: Battle March (TBC)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (TBC)


Q1 2008 (Jan, Feb, Mar)

The Siege of Khe Sanh (TBC)
Lost: The Video Game (TBC)
Rock Band (TBC)
Too Human (TBC)
Dark Sector (TBC)
Left 4 Dead (TBC)
Hellboy: The Science of Evil (TBC)
Condemned 2: Bloodshot (TBC)
Tom Clancy's EndWar (TBC)
SEGA Superstar Tennis (TBC)

Q2 2008 (Apr, May, Jun)

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (TBC)
Grand Theft Auto IV (TBC)
Huxley (TBC)
Fable 2 (TBC)
Destroy All Humans: Path Of The Furon (TBC)


2008

Mobile Ops: The One Year War (TBC)
Mafia II (TBC)
Cipher Complex (TBC)
Indiana Jones (TBC)
Theseis (TBC)
Elveon (TBC)
The Lord Of The Rings: The White Council (TBC)
Just Cause 2 (TBC)
Fracture (TBC)
Saints Row 2 (TBC)
Warhound (TBC)
Resident Evil 5 (TBC)
Shootout: Normandy (TBC)
Sacred 2 Fallen Angel (TBC)
Halo Wars (TBC)
Ghostbusters (TBC)
MX vs ATV: Untamed (TBC)
Prototype (TBC)
The Wheelman (TBC)
WET (TBC)
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy (TBC)
Dead Space (TBC)

Note: these dates are subject to change and may not be final release dates!

Lost Planet - Xbox 360 vs. PS3

http://www.videogamer.com/features/article/08-01-2008-245.html

Microsoft to give away free Arcade game

By Neil Vaughan -

Microsoft are to offer a free Xbox Live Arcade game for download to all Xbox Live members after the recent problems with the Xbox Live service.

The Xbox Live GM, Mark Whitten posted the following message about the Live outage over the Christmas period.


Dear Xbox LIVE Members:

During this past holiday season you helped us break a number of Xbox LIVE records. This included our largest sign-up of new members to Xbox LIVE in our 5 year history and just yesterday you broke the record for the single biggest day of concurrent members ever on the service.

As a result of this massive increase in usage we know that some of you experienced intermittent Xbox LIVE issues over the holiday break. While the service was not completely offline at any given time, we are disappointed in our performance. I would like to take this moment to thank you each and every one of you for your patience and understanding as our team has worked around the clock to return the service to a stable state.

At the same time we would like to offer a token of our appreciation to all of you in celebration of record success for the service. And as a thank you for your loyalty during this holiday period, we will be offering all of our Xbox LIVE members around the world access to a full Xbox LIVE Arcade game that will be available to download free of charge. In the coming weeks we will be sharing the specific details of this offer with you.

Thank you again for helping make Xbox LIVE everything that it is today!

Sincerely,
Marc Whitten
General Manager, Xbox LIVE

Microsoft delighted with Christmas sales

Microsoft have today posted their sales facts for the Christmas period for 2007.

Here are some breaking sales figures:


Microsoft has sold more than 17.7 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide

Microsoft has sold more than 8.1 million copies of “Halo 3” since its launch on September 26 2007

“Mass Effect” reached 1.6 million units sold, in just six weeks since it went on sale on November 20 2007

Consumers spend more on Xbox software and accessories, with a record-high software attach rate of 6.9, according to NPD

Xbox Memo Reveals Several Exclusives

Written by Ice Ac

Dean Takahashi, God love him, seems to be the go to guy for MS when they want to “leak” something. The latest proof of this is a memo sent to Dean from the head of Xbox, Don Mattrick. The memo implies that Xbox has a few tricks up it’s sleeve. Memo and more after the jump:

Below is a memo from Don Mattrick that was originally intended for internal distribution within the Xbox branch of Microsoft. Somehow the memo ended up on ‘ol Takahashi’s desk. While the memo’s details don’t go far beyond what we already knew in terms of exclusive titles, the memo does state that the 360 has “several” unannounced exclusives. I think our readers and forum members know what some of those exclusives are. Check out the memo for yourself and tell us what you think.

Team,

These are truly exciting times for us in the Interactive Entertainment Business.

Tonight Bill Gates and Robbie Bach will take the stage in Las Vegas to kick off the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where it will be announced that according to US NPD data through November, Xbox 360 is on track to register the biggest year in video game history.

While final sales numbers are still being collected, consumers in North America have spent over $3.5 billion dollars on Xbox 360 hardware, software and accessories. That’s $1 billion more than consumers spent on the Wii, and $2 billion more than the PS3. When December data is added, we expect Xbox 360 in 2007 to have generated more calendar year revenue than any other gaming platform ever, including PS2 at its peak.

Thank you all for your hard work. It’s because of your efforts this holiday and throughout the previous year that we’ve been able to drive this historic growth and sell over 17.7 million consoles worldwide. Our growth also continues online, where I’m proud to announce we have surpassed the 10 million member mark on Xbox LIVE, over six months ahead of schedule.

This growth, however, is not limited to just Microsoft and Xbox 360. The work that you do is also driving growth throughout our industry’s entire ecosystem. History has shown that the eventual winner of each console generation was the console that generated the most 3rd party revenue, and according to the most recent NPD data, Xbox 360 generated more 3rd party revenue in 2007 than Nintendo and Sony combined.

In 2007 the best games in our industry were on our platform, driving better-than-expected sales results for both first and third party games:

· “Halo 3” sold 8.1 million units worldwide and logged over 1.5 billion multiplayer matches since launch – that’s an average of 14 million matches a day

· “Mass Effect” sold 1.6 million units worldwide, after just five weeks on the market

· We expect at least seven different franchise titles to have sold in excess of one million units on Xbox 360, including “Halo 3,” “Mass Effect,” “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,” “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,” “BioShock,” “Assassin’s Creed” and “Madden NFL 08”

· “Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action” has already achieved its total FY08 revenue budget in just two months, helping establish a new franchise for the Xbox 360 that reaches out to a broad audience of social gamers

· Xbox 360 titles have received the highest average review scores this generation according to Metacritic, with the majority of cross-platform titles posting higher review scores on Xbox 360 than PS3

At CES Robbie will announce new content and partnerships that cement our position as the clear leader in delivering digital entertainment to the living room. Right now Xbox LIVE Marketplace features over 3,500 total hours of downloadable content and has hosted more than 380 million downloads, along with the largest library of on-demand, high definition content in the US. Now, Xbox LIVE Marketplace will add TV and movie content from the Disney-ABC Television Group and MGM Studios, bringing hits to our platform including TV shows Lost and Grey’s Anatomy and movies including Legally Blonde, Silence of the Lambs and Barbershop.

Robbie will also announce an exciting new partnership with BT to offer a first-of-its kind complete entertainment experience to all BT broadband customers by making Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) available through Xbox 360 through BT’s service BT Vision. This groundbreaking partnership will bring BT’s extensive library of on-demand content to the Xbox 360 and give consumers yet another option to get high definition content on our platform.

This year’s CES also proves to be exciting for Microsoft as a whole, with Bill Gates introducing a new wave of software-based services for TV, online, mobile phones and automobiles.

Moving Forward

Looking ahead, I believe we will close 2008 with Xbox 360 being the leader of this generation of consoles.

We’ve led our industry in developing and publishing great games on a platform that is equal parts hardware, software and services. We’ve led in driving growth for our partners at record rates. Now, it is our mission to fully deliver on our promise for Xbox 360 to be the console of choice for everyone in the family.

This year will be judged by which console will best capture core gamers and captivate the masses with both exciting new gaming content and access to great movie and TV content online. By this measurement, I feel confident that we are best positioned for success.

Games

We have the big blockbuster hits that everyone wanted to play. Of the top 20 best-selling titles in 2007 this generation, 13 were on Xbox 360, compared to seven on the Wii and zero on the PS3 according to NPD.

Games sell better on Xbox 360 because they play better on Xbox 360. From “Halo 3” to “Mass Effect” to “Bioshock,” Xbox 360 has the highest-rated and hottest games. In fact, Xbox 360 has 6 of the top 10 highest-ranked games this generation according to Metacritic, the world-wide authority in entertainment reviews.

When you look at the best-reviewed games, consumers will find that Xbox 360 has more than double the number of titles (81) with a Metacritic score of 80 or higher than PS3 (40), and six times more than the Wii (13).

In 2008 the hits will continue to come with exclusives including “Halo Wars,” “Too Human,” “Fable 2,” Alan Wake,” “Splinter Cell: Conviction,” and several exciting yet-to-be-announced titles. Xbox 360 will be home to the next versions of great franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil, and we will continue to be the leading choice for sports fans, with the next editions of Madden and FIFA looking and playing better on our platform.

Ubisoft Announces Far Cry 2 for Xbox 360

Following today's announcement of the delay of three games, one of which is Far Cry 2, Ubisoft announced that the game is also being developed for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

More than just a visual and technological achievement, Far Cry 2 immerses players in an entirely new kind of gaming experience, featuring a custom-made video game engine built from the ground up. Players will discover a true open world gameplay set in one of the most beautiful environments in the world, Africa, brought to life by high-definition next-gen technology.

Far Cry 2 is scheduled to ship fiscal 2008–2009.

GDC: Are Microsoft, Epic Getting Their Gears Turning?

A quick look at the floorplans of the 2008 Game Developer Conference reveals that Microsoft and Epic have secured the two biggest floor spaces.

With the largest exhibit at the event, taking up 4,800 square ft of space, Microsoft will certainly have a bigger presence than in previous years, when Sony and Nintendo got the biggest areas to utilize this professionals-only game industry conference as a pre-E3 event.

Only second in size to Microsoft’s space, Epic Games’ presence at the event isn’t surprising at all, since the developer always uses GDC to show the latest Unreal Engine technology.

Furthermore, both companies’ spaces are in front of each other in the first level of the Moscone West Hall. This last detail wouldn’t matter if wasn’t for the fact that the two companies worked closely on Gears of War.

After the listing of Gears of War 2 on Amazon.com and today’s unveiling of "Gears of War: The Pendulum Wars", we are starting to believe that the size and location of Microsoft and Epic Games’ areas at GDC are not just a mere coincidence.

We contacted Epic Games to ask about the recent Gears of War fuss, as well as its area size and proximity to Microsoft in the Moscone Center. Mark Rein limited his response to the company’s presence at the event to support Epic’s engine business.

Gears of War Novel Update. Movie Script Confirmed

Back in June, we brought you the first details of a Gears of War novelization and comic book. Today, thanks to Amazon, we have learned the full title of the book and, as a result, the timeline in which the book is set.

As the title implies, "Gears of War: The Pendulum Wars" takes place during the seventy-nine year war that humanity fought on Sera before Emergence Day. Furthermore, while that’s the title that appears on the book’s cover, which you can see below, Amazon lists the 352-page book with a longer title: Gears of War Pendulum Wars The Battle of Aspho Fields.

Gears of War fans know this is the last battle of the Pendulum Wars, mentioned at the beginning of the second level of the game, when Carmine asks “Are you the Marcus Fenix, the one who fought at Aspho Fields?”

Last year, LatinoReview got access to a 22-page draft of the Gears of War movie script penned by Stuart Beattie. The online publication claimed the movie kicks off during the last battle of the Pendulum Wars, and now, the title of the novel and its record on Amazon confirm the leaked movie plot was indeed the real thing.

BIG IN 2008 – Xbox Ultimate ?

already had the Xbox 360 Premium and Elite. Both are, of course, fine gaming machines with the best games catalogue in the next-gen field. But come autumn 2008, we reckon both will be rendered obsolete by the Ultimate.

This PS3-killer will benefit from almost three years of Xbox development, featuring 1080p HDMI output, built-in Wi-Fi, hi-def audio output, cooler 65nm hardware architecture and a near-silent fan.

It’ll also have the ability to make the most of the by-then established Xbox IPTV service, which will mean recording TV shows to its vast 320GB hard disk and watching live TV shows via your broadband provider.

But the piece de resistance? It’ll have a built-in HD DVD drive. Let Round 12 with the PS3 commence...

Starcraft 2 coming for Xbox 360?

Here at Altgn, we received an interesting piece of information from a regular poster on our boards. He was taking quizzes through the Microsoft Retail Zone, which is a website interface used to further educate employees of electronic retail stores. While taking the quiz for “Universe at War”, he stumbled upon a cool little gem that might come to pass.

6. Which of the following are defining features of Universe at War?

1. The first ever Xbox 360/PC cross-platform RTS
2. Tactical dynamics create the best RTS until Starcraft 2.
3. Truly unique factions and customization
4. Free one-month Games for Windows LIVE Gold subscription
5. All of the above
6. None of the above

Could this be an unintentional sign given by Microsoft that the long awaited Starcraft 2 will be coming to Xbox 360? As some might remember, Blizzard allowed ports of Starcraft to both the Nintendo 64 and the Playstation. Ports of recent PC RTCs have come to 360 such as Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2, and Command and Conquer 3. Both have been received well by console gamers because of their impressive control schemes, previously a massive hurdle to jump for previous RTS console ports. Whether this is simply a misunderstanding or not, this is an exciting rumor nonetheless.

CES 2008: Bill Gates to Make a Big Xbox Announcement?

Seattle Times staff columnist Brier Dudley published an editorial earlier this week in which he speculates the announcements Bill Gates could make in his last CES keynote as chairman of Microsoft. Dudley said the following regarding the Xbox:

Saving the best for last, Gates could end his CES run with a bang by making a blockbuster Xbox announcement.

I've speculated on my blog that Microsoft may be preparing to license the Xbox gaming platform to consumer-electronics companies.

In particular, Microsoft could work with Toshiba to develop a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities. They're already allied against Sony and other backers of the Blu-ray DVD format, and Toshiba could help Xbox finally penetrate the Japanese market.

Microsoft could also make a splash by announcing plans to give the Xbox 360 an internal HD-DVD drive, putting it on par with Sony's PlayStation 3 that has a built-in Blu-ray drive.

But then again, Gates may want to keep everyone in suspense about the next Xbox, in case he decides to return to CES after all.

By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"

360’s UT3 Closer To Completion Than Originally Thought?

One of the most entertaining topics we have covered over the past few months- in my opinion- was Epic Games’ Mark Rein’s statement that they had not even started development on the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3- and wouldn’t until TBD 2008. Mark originally stated that Microsoft not allowing the “mod” aspect of the title on Live was the main source of the huge delay and lack of production so far, only to come back correct his mis-statement with “What I probably should have said was we’ll start working on it again.”

Now, a German gaming magazine claims that they can “confirm” - a big claim- that Unreal Tournament on the 360 is roughly 90% finished, and nearly ready to go, for a Spring (April) 2008 launch date. Recalling Sony’s ‘epic claim‘ that UT3 was exclusive for 2007, that would mean this “confirmed” date would be trailing on the 6 month exclusivity window commonly used. Good news for UT fans I presume, but judging on folk’s reaction to the game so far on consoles, I don’t see the title doing exceptionally well, but it should definitely fair better in Live’s community, that’s for damn sure, if we can dodge any further blackouts. It sure would be a good way for gamers that are sick of “the Haloz” to start 2008, though.~

GameTrailers Game of the Year Awards 2007 best first person shooter

GameTrailers Game of the Year Awards 2007 best story

GameTrailers Game of the Year Awards 2007 best roleplaying game

GameTrailers Game of the Year Awards 2007 best racing game

GameTrailers Game of the Year Awards 2007 best sofware line up