Microsoft opens up E3 with loud, energetic press conference

LOS ANGELES--Once again it's that time: big hype for giant press conferences by the video game industry's biggest names.
In this case, we're talking Microsoft, and its annual Xbox 360 bacchanalia.
Here at E3, which kicks off unofficially Monday morning, it's craziness, excitement and anticipation rolled into one, even though this event is scaled down considerably from the last time it was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center two years ago.
The doors opened at 9:30 a.m., but because everyone coming into the press conference had to have a special "passport" with a bar code, the line to get in snaked oddly back from the doors to the exhibit hall, somewhat akin to the queues at Disneyland. It felt inefficient and unnecessary. But I suppose Microsoft wants to be sure that no one who's not supposed to be in the hall gets in. The upshot is that the scanning of the bar codes on people's passports was very slow.
And while this is the new-style E3, which is no longer the huge, massive, chaotic free-for-all it was through 2006, there are still some elements of the old event.
For example, while E3 in 2006 officially banned "booth babes," the scantily clad women who stand around looking pretty and attracting all the male gamers, Microsoft had greeters throughout the hall who were clearly meant to play something of that same role. To be sure, they weren't dressed in skin-tight, skimpy outfits, but they were universally thin and pretty and it was hard to see that they were there for any other reason than eye-candy to keep the geeks in line happy while they waited for seemingly ever to get in.

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Article courtesy news.cnet.com

Microsoft cuts Xbox price by $50

The software maker said it also plans 60GB model!

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. is trimming the price of its Xbox 360 video game console to make way for a new model with a bigger hard drive.
Starting Sunday, Microsoft's mid-range Xbox 360 console with a 20-gigabyte hard drive will cost $299 in the U.S., down from $350. Blogs have carried rumors of the decision since June, when photos depicting the $299 price tag were posted to the Internet.
An updated Xbox 360 is set to arrive in stores in early August. The $350 replacement will sport a 60GB hard drive, significantly more space for storing the games, TV shows and movies Microsoft sells on its Xbox Live Marketplace Web site.
Microsoft also is expected to give the Xbox a little extra appeal by streaming movies and TV episodes through a high-speed Internet service offering by Netflix Inc. The long-rumored deal could be announced as early as Monday at a video game conference in Los Angeles.
Microsoft did not adjust prices for its more basic Xbox 360 Arcade version, which has just 256 megabytes of storage and costs $280, or for the Xbox 360 Elite, a $450 model with a 120GB hard drive.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company released its next-generation game console in 2005, a year ahead of competing machines from Nintendo Co. and Sony Corp.
As of the end of May, Microsoft had sold 10.3 million Xboxes in the U.S., according to data from market researchers NPD Group. By comparison, Nintendo had sold 10.2 million Wii consoles, and Sony had sold 4.5 million PlayStation 3 machines.
Nintendo has kept the Wii's price at $250 since its U.S. launch in November 2006, while Microsoft and Sony have made several cuts to console prices in different regions. Currently, PS3 models cost $400 to $500 in the U.S.

Article courtesy the Associated Press

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy, will give players the experience of becoming a 30 million dollar elite agent, fusing an experience that delves deep into Jason Bourne’s character with gameplay and game presentation inspired by the aggressive filmmaking and frenetic action found in the films. Only by playing Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy will players discover Bourne’s true identity and experience the very moment he became a malfunctioning weapon, first hunting targets around the world as a deadly government assassin then marking himself as his agency’s most wanted.

Available now

Article courtesy teamxbox.com

Xbox 360 First Gaming System to Reach 10 Million in U.S. Console Sales

Microsoft recently announced that the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system has sold over 10 million units in the U.S., making it the first current-generation gaming console to break the 10 million mark in the U.S. The U.S. install base contributes to global sales of over 19 million, more than any other current-generation console.
"This year will be the largest in the history of the video game industry, with Xbox 360 leading the charge in the U.S. and abroad," said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry."
This announcement comes on the heels of one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, "Grand Theft Auto IV," on April 29, 2008. Gamers eager to experience "Grand Theft Auto IV" online helped boost Xbox LIVE global membership to over 12 million this month. Fueled by an unparalleled combination of access to friends and family, the best online gaming features, and the best entertainment content, the Xbox LIVE service has doubled in membership in only one year's time.

Article courtesy eastsidebusinessjournal.com
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XBTR founder falls victim to the elusive Nintendo Wii

So the wife is having one of those "Pampered Chef" parties at our home this weekend, (for those of you who don't know, Pampered Chef is like Tupperware, only its the stuff you actually eat, not the containers you put the food in) and I decide that rather than staying in a house full of "ready to spend" women, I'll take my 11 year old son to see "Ironman" at the Regal Cinema in Irondequoit. I didn't check the movie times prior to my arrival, and the next showing was at 1230, which was about an hour and a half from the current time at that time. So we grabbed a bite to eat, then decided to kill some time at the GameStop location next to the theatre. I went in to see if they had a used copy of "Command & Conquer III" which they did, so I grabbed the empty game box off the shelf and walked up to the register to cash out. As I approached the counter, I saw a small stack of Nintendo Wii boxes (empty of course) set up in display fashion, which spurred me to ask the question, "do you guys have any Wii's in stock?". Waiting for the cries of laughter from behind the counter, I was surprised to hear the clerk say, "yes, I have one left, actually two, a used one, and a new one.". Wow, wasn't ready for that. So I called the boss at home and posed the question, as the wife and I had been looking for one of these for a while, and conveniently enough, our "Economic Stimulus Payment" arrived the day before from the government, so the timing was perfect. Sooooo, I walked out of the store almost $400.00 later with a new Wii, extra remote and nunchuk, along with the "Wii play" game, and headed home after the movie with our new game system. After a relatively pain free setup process, I was Wii gaming with my wife and kids, and having a great time. The Wii experience is much different from that of its XBOX360 and PSIII counterparts in that it truly is a physical process. I found the Wii remotes to be very responsive and accurate, and had a great time playing Wii Golf, while my kids enjoyed the bowling and boxing, and my wife loved the cow racing game on the "Wii Play" disc. I'll be picking up some new titles soon, as I am anxious to see what this machine really can do. If anyone has any suggestions of titles that are a must have, please drop me a line and let me know.

While I have enjoyed the Wii thus far, I don't see it taking the place of my 360 anytime soon. I'll keep you posted if I change my mind.... :-)

Iceman

Why a Hard Drive Costs More for 360 Than PS3

All hard drives are not created equal, at least when it comes to adding one to your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The reason a 120GB hard drive for the 360 costs $180 compared to just $45 for one you could put in your PS3 is that the 360's drive has been tweaked to specifically suit the Microsoft console, reports MTV.
The drive comes pre-loaded with Xbox Arcade trials as well as "specific Gaming Instructions and some levels of the OS," says Krishna Chander of iSuppli. The 360 drives have also been color tuned and packaged for the addition to your console, as opposed to a generic hard drive that you could add to your PS3.
iSuppli guesses that the prepped 360 drives are then sent along to a Value Added Retailer, which applies casing and packaging before tacking it its own fee and sending the drives along to Microsoft. Estimating the markup, iSuppli figures that Microsoft might be paying as much as $100 for a 360 hard drive.
Microsoft then suggests a price for retail, which in this case is $180. Is that a fair price for the ability to simply plug it in and have it work?

Article/Image courtesy blog.wired.com

I am a WoW addict...

Hello XBOX Team Rochester,
I write to you from sunny downtown Phoenix, AZ. As many of you have been spending quality time with your XBOX 360 in a little title called Grand Theft Auto IV I have found myself sucked into the world of Azeroth playing World of Warcraft. I know many of you who know me are puzzling over why I would leave my beloved 360 for a PC game? Well the simple truth is that Blizzard has created something really fantastic and it is so much fun to play. First of all it shares something with XBOX Live and that is a robust community.
I play on a server called Daggerspine and from my first day of play up until the present I have met so many great players. These are people who want to share in a fun experience in a shared game space. The server I play on is a PvP (Player vs Player) but all that means is that when you venture into areas of the world that are not owned by one of the two factions you risk attack. You can also venture into the opposing faction's area but you risk certain attack on yourself. Most of the time however when playing in territory controlled by the faction to which you are a member, you are safe to quest and dungeon crawl.
Also like XBOX Live, there is a fee to play this game. Unlike XBOX Live, the fee is not a nominal $50/yr. but rather it runs about $16.00/mos. Many gamers cannot stomach the monthly fee but once you spend some time in the world of Azeroth you quickly see the quality and depth of the game and the fact that developers work feverishly to continuously improve and add content. The membership fee is easy to justify once you start playing. This is a great game!
Another aspect of the game that is often criticized is its art style. The style is bright, colorful and somewhat cartoony. Compared to many games in the XBOX world, WoW looks a bit more like Viva Piñata than a gritty RPG. The style of graphics is steeped in the long heritage of Warcraft. This game is part of a long series of games that have shared this art style. Not only does WoW share in the art style but it also shares a rich story history in the game that dates back to the original Warcraft. Developers are so very attentive to detail and it is obvious as the story unveils before your eyes through the various quests and adventures in the game.
XBOX games might last 10 or more hours to play and that is good for some people but after a while they either end or get boring. WoW is not this way. Besides the fact that it takes months to get to the highest level, once a player achieves the heroic stages Blizzard adds more content in the form of patches and special events.
Well anyway, I am not writing this to disparage the XBOX 360; I am writing this to point out that I think there is a dry spell going on with regard to XBOX 360 software. I am not a fan of the GTA series so even though that game is on par to break sales records I must say that all else doesn't impress me. As we make the long roll into summer and towards fall there are a number of titles on the horizon that I am excited about. Halo Wars, Gears of War II, and Age of Conan for the 360 are a few. Until that time my wife will continue her quest to get the all-time best score in Viva Piñata (she made a Dragon a few days ago) and I will continue as Jaredoln the Orc of the Horde in the land of Azeroth.
If you are interested in playing with me and my Guild (Khaos) please let me know via a comment and I will share info with you directly.

DaddyBurrito