Microsoft Says No To Xbox 360 Core Discontinuation Rumors

In the wake of credible rumors of a $50 price drop for the $400 Xbox 360 Premium package, there are some slightly sketchier rumblings about the $300 Core system. Namely, that it has been discontinued in the US.
An anonymous tipster wrote to Wired News this morning saying that he had photos from Best Buy's inventory system showing that the Core had been discontinued. Attempts to contact him failed, but Joystiq has what are apparently the pics in question.
Microsoft's response was succinct: "No. Xbox 360 Core remains an important member of the Xbox 360 family." Maybe it's just Best Buy that's giving up? Maybe it's fake.

Courtesy blog.wired.com

HD DVD for Xbox 360 On the Cheap

From $200 to $180, now those of you sitting impatiently on underutilized high definition TVs can slap an HD DVD player on an Xbox 360 for $20 less. Stepping in at Comic-Con 2007, Microsoft announced the price trim to its already price-stealy Xbox 360 HD DVD effective August 1, 2007.
That's $500 for a Playstation 3 with Blu-ray (while supplies of the 60 GB model last) versus $400 + $179 ($579) or if we take into account the theoretically imminent $50 price drop on the 360, $350 + $179 ($529) making the 360 a still slightly pricier game/movie solution than the PS3. Almost apples to apples, which would have to include the Xbox 360 wireless adapter ($100), the 360 bumps to $629, making it considerably more expensive. If you want to get really technical, the PS3 comes with HDMI and a 60 GB hard drive, whereas you'd need the Xbox 360 Elite (120 GB, HDMI) at $479 to achieve near-parity. Add $100 (802.11b/g) + $179 (HD DVD) and you're up to $758.
$758 (Microsoft) vs. $500 (Sony)? Given Microsoft's decent (if not stellar) sales numbers, it says a lot about un-bundling discrete media technology when consumer demand for HD DVD and Blu-ray is currently just so-so.
But back to Microsoft's HD DVD price drop. If you're waffling, here's something that just might tip you over: Buy an Xbox 360 HD DVD player between August 1 and September 30 and courtesy Toshiba's "Perfect Offer" program for Toshiba-branded HD DVD players, you can get five free HD DVD movies by mail-in from a catalog of 15 pre-selected films (links to PDF). But...hmm...Constantine? Dukes of Hazzard? Tomb Raider? Sky Captain? Okay, I'll take Apollo 13, Blazing Saddles, and Casablanca anyway.

Courtesy pcworld.com

Microsoft to cut price of the XBOX 360 by $50.00 in August

Reduction in price to be timed to release of major titles

In an effort to regain momentum in the video game console market, Microsoft Corp. will cut the price of the Xbox 360 by $50 early next month, sources said.The reduction will be made Aug. 8, according to one source in the retail world, noting that the cut will come during what traditionally has been one of the slower times of the year for game hardware sales.Asked to comment, a Microsoft spokesman said: "We have no announcements to make on pricing at this time. While price matters, content is king. And no other system is offering all the games people want to play this holiday at a better price than Xbox 360."Still unclear is whether the cut will be made to all three versions of the Xbox 360 on the market. The Core model, which accounts for about 20% of Xbox 360 sales, retails for $299; the best-selling Pro model sells for $399, and the Elite model is about $479.Although an Xbox price drop has been widely anticipated in the industry, just how much and when has been the subject of debate. One leading industry analyst, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, had forecast a similar reduction, which Microsoft denied. As for the Aug. 8 date, there is significance to the timing. Not only will Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL 08" be reaching stores shelves just a few days after the drop, but Microsoft also has several other highly touted games, including "BioShock" by publisher Irrational Games and "John Woo Presents Stranglehold" from Tiger Hill Entertainment, coming for the Xbox 360 in August.Speculation about an Xbox price cut grew after Sony Computer Entertainment America announced several weeks ago that it was dropping the price of its 60GB PlayStation 3 from $599 to $499. SCEA said this week that sales have been up 135% at its top five retail accounts since the move.Those claims have yet to be reflected in the latest sales figures. According to the NPD Group, the Xbox 360 and PS3 continue to trail Nintendo's Wii in terms of U.S. sales. In June, Wii outsold the Xbox 360 by nearly 2-to-1, 381,800 units to 198,400 units. But with the PS3 selling only 98,500 units in June, the good news for Microsoft is that it seems to be winning the battle for the hard-core gamer.Michael Goodman, director of digital entertainment at Yankee Group, suggested that a $50 drop would boost Xbox 360 sales but not dent the market leader. "I think the price points are still high enough that they won't stop Nintendo from maintaining their momentum," he said.Microsoft should get a huge boost in September with the launch of the exclusive "Halo 3." At the E3 Media & Business Summit this month, Microsoft announced a special limited-edition "Halo" version of the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite Model that will go on sale shortly before "Halo" launches. Although it won't come bundled with the game, the "Halo" Xbox 360 will have special game-related content preloaded into the hard drive.Microsoft also has an advantage in that, unlike rivals Sony and Nintendo, the Xbox 360 has been out for more than 18 months and production is running strong, meaning that there is little danger of hardware shortages on store shelves come the holidays. Nintendo, on the other hand, recently said that it will be scrambling to meet demand all the way through year's end. Somewhat lost amid the battle for market share among the three hardware makers is the fact that the video game industry seems to be heading for a record year in the U.S. Combined hardware and software sales in June for consoles and hand-held systems reached $1.1 billion, up 31% year-over-year, while year-to-date total sales for first-half 2007 are at $6.1 billion, up 42% year-over-year.

Article courtesy HollywoodReporter.com

NCAA Football '08

NCAA Football 07 was a great game but it suffered from many of the same problems that other series experienced in their transition from one generation of consoles to the next, most notably a lack of game modes and features. That's not a problem in NCAA Football 08. Even if the presentation is largely unchanged, there's no shortage of ways to stay occupied. The new campus legend mode and super sim are also nice additions to an already great-playing game.

Last year's relatively light list of game modes is a thing of the past. You can play a quick game, hop online for an unranked or ranked game, play a few minigames, take over a college program in dynasty mode, or try to become an all-time great player in campus legend mode. NCAA 08's minigames are the same as 07's minigames. Tug-of-war, bowling, and option dash are a lot of fun if you didn't play them to death last year, but it would have been nice to have something new.

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Article courtesy gamespot.com

Xbox chief defects to Electronic Arts

Peter Moore will oversee the software company's lucrative sports division

The executive who had been overseeing the Xbox video game division for Microsoft Corp. is defecting to Electronic Arts Inc., where he will oversee EA’s lucrative sports division.

Peter Moore, 52, had been vice president of interactive entertainment for Microsoft, responsible for Xbox and the software company’s Games for Windows businesses. Moore will switch to EA in September and report to EA CEO John Riccitiello.

“He’s the exact right guy to do the job,” Riccitiello said in a phone interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. Riccitiello, formerly an executive at Wilson Sporting Goods Co. who knew Moore when he was at Reebok International Ltd., said he’s wanted to recruit Moore for a decade.
“He was the toughest competitor we’ve ever seen,” Riccitiello said.
Another gaming executive is going in the other direction: Microsoft said Tuesday it hired EA veteran Don Mattrick to replace Moore. Mattrick will start at the end of July. Mattrick left his role as president of EA’s studios last year, after 15 years with the company.
Mattrick has worked as an adviser to Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft’s entertainment division, for the last several months. He’s helped Microsoft refine its strategy to connect music, video, video games and communications, Bach said.
EA’s newest hire comes as Riccitiello orchestrates a sweeping reorganization of the No. 1 video game publisher, which has struggled in recent quarters to deal with the industrywide disruptions caused by new gaming consoles. EA’s losses widened last quarter by 56 percent to $25 million, and revenue slid 4 percent to $613 million.
In February, CEO Larry Probst resigned and was replaced by Riccitiello, who first joined Redwood City-based EA in 1997, then rose to president and chief operating officer before leaving in 2004 to co-found a venture capital fund.
Riccitiello is rebuilding EA around four distinct business units, including sports, which will be headed by Moore. About one-third of EA revenue comes from sports titles; the company owns such lucrative franchises such as “Madden NFL,” “NBA Live,” “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” and “FIFA Soccer.”

While at Microsoft for the past four years, Moore helped launch the next-generation Xbox 360 console and sell 11.6 million units. He also helped develop Xbox Live, which connects 7 million gamers over the Internet. In an interview Tuesday, Bach called Moore the “marketing brains” behind the launch of the wildly popular “Halo 2” game.
EA’s stock rose $1.38, or 3 percent, to close at $49.47. Microsoft shares gained 75 cents to close at $30.78.

AP