NewsWii Wrests US Crown from Xbox 360
Posted 07/19/08 at 02:09:13 AM by Pulkit Chandna
It was more a question of when than if: Wii sales leaping past Xbox 360’s in the U.S. The Wii has formally breached Xbox 360’s bastion by going past its US sales tally, according to the latest data from NPD. Wii is now the best-selling console in the U.S also. The month of June proved to be quite fecund for the Wii, as the headcount of US Wii owners rose by 666,000 in this month. Nintendo has sold 10.9 million units of its popular 7th generation console in the States. The month of June was great for the US videogame industry as a whole. The PS3 saw a massive increase of 94% in sales compared to the preceding month and also trounced the Xbox 360 to finish second.
NewsE3 2008: Microsoft Expects Xbox 360 to Remain Ahead of PS3 
Posted 07/14/08 at 08:32:37 PM by Pulkit Chandna
After Microsoft had tantalized attendees with a few breathtaking glimpses of Gears of War 2 gameplay at its E3 2008 press conference, Microsoft devices division VP Don Mattrick took to the stage for the mandatory chest-thumping talk. He pompously announced that he expects Xbox 360 to trounce PS3 over the entire course of the current console cycle.
Then he triumphantly stated that Xbox Live had generated more than $1 billion in sales and dispersed 500 million pieces of content. Microsoft also announced that it has partnered with NBC and Universal who will now make their content available through the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Interestingly, Microsoft never made any statements regarding how it plans to wrest the no.1 spot from Nintendo. Has it relinquished all such hopes and desires? Have your say.
NewsMicrosoft Announces 3D Dashboard Interface for Xbox 360, Coming This Fall
Posted 07/14/08 at 05:46:35 PM by Paul Lilly
It looks like a partnership with Netflix isn't the only thing Microsoft has planned for its Xbox 360 console. Coming this fall, the Redmond company announced it will be giving the console a complete software face-lift.
"When people turn on their Xbox 360s this fall, they'll get an entirely new interface and Dashboard, an entirely new Xbox through the magic of software," said John Schappert, head of LIVE services.
And new it is. The updated Dashboard will sport 3D interface, including 3D avatars that will look familiar to anyone who's ever used a Nintendo Wii, and will be integrated into your GamerCard. New emphasis will be placed on the community with IM, video chat, photo sharing, and a nifty-looking 3D slide interface for the main Dashboard screen, along with an 8-people party system.
NewsSony to Steer Clear of PS3 Price Cuts, Aims for Profitability
Posted 07/11/08 at 06:16:14 PM by Pulkit Chandna
The last time Sony slashed PS3’s price, it immediately translated into much improved sales. However, Sony isn’t too keen on cutting prices at this time, according to its CFO Nobuyuki Oneda. This denial comes amidst rumors that suggest the Xbox 360 Pro console – one with the 20gigs drive – will soon receive a $50 price cut.
Even though the PS3 has climbed back to a position of moderate strength after the abyss it plunged into almost immediately after launch, it still is making huge losses. But Oneda told a forum in Singapore that he expects the gaming division to churn profits this fiscal year. Sony can do a world of good to PS3’s prospects by expanding the console’s small games library than lowering prices.
NewsMicrosoft to Cut Xbox 360 Pro Price By $50
Posted 07/11/08 at 08:58:58 AM by Chris Moody
The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft will lower the price of its 20GB Pro Xbox 360 from $349 to $299 as early as July 13th. It might be announced as part of Microsoft's presentation at the E3 on July 14th.
Microsoft has lost ground to the Playstation 3 in the past year, possible because of the defeat of Microsoft backed HD-DVD which the Xbox came with versus Sony’s Blu-Ray and the 40Gigs of space versus the Xbox 360’s 20Gigs at a roughly $50 price difference. Best guess is that this might lead to Sony cutting prices on the Playstation 3 as well.
So if you absolutely must get a console, hold off for the coming price adjustment. We’ll miss you in Team Fortress 2.
NewsMicrosoft Eventually Readies Xbox Live Arcade DRM Fix
Posted 06/27/08 at 07:15:48 PM by Pulkit Chandna
Microsoft has once again furnished proof of the abysmal levels of concern it has for Xbox 360 owners and their plethora of console related woes. It took MS a whole year to come up with a fix for the flawed Xbox Live Arcade DRM.
Gamers who upgraded their console or replaced it – for obvious reasons – could not play the arcade titles, they had previously bought, while offline. They had to be online to play the games. But MS has eventually made amends and fixed the flawed DRM in form of an online tool. Is Xbox 360 the most flawed gadget of the last gazillion years? A ‘yes’ would not be taken as an exaggeration if you have endured a “Red Ring of Death.”
NewsNot Just Another Big Network Drive: Maxtor Prepares to Put 1TB of Media-Savvy Storage on Your Home Network
Posted 06/27/08 at 04:35:09 PM by Mark Edward Soper
Maxtor, Seagate's home storage brand, is set to centralize home network storage with its new Central Axis network drive. In a world of other network attached storage devices, what makes it different than the competition?
Read on to discover how Central Axis is designed to "play nice" with today's diverse network configurations, and how much it will cost to add it to your home network.
NewsDreamBuildPlay, Ready to Get Your Design On?
Posted 06/20/08 at 09:46:31 AM by Chris Moody
Microsoft has issued a challenge for developers and newbie developers worldwide to use Microsoft's XNA Game Studio 2.0 to build their game for the Xbox 360. This year they are accepting teams from 1 to 7 people to compete. First prize is $40,000, second is $20,000, third $10,000, and fourth is $5,000.
The deadline is September 23, 2008, after which the judges will be choosing the best entries on 3 main criteria: Fun Factor (40%), Innovation (30%), and Production Quality (30%).
Ready to get your Design On? Head over to dreambuildplay.com and sign up!
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