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Microsoft what’s the date for New Xbox Experience Games Store?

Welcome to the upcoming New Xbox Experience, Microsoft is being quite about the date which really annoys the masses, guess we will all have to wait and see what the date will be.

There are a few details on the New Xbox Experience, like images and the new games store. Seems all nice and hopefully will run smoothly.

Basically in a nutshell, this new setup will allow you too look at every game and every pertinent downloadable content in one place, this is cool because it means you can stay in one place instead of going from one place to another.

Microsoft, please give us a date. Thanks.

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Microsoft Xbox 360 outselling PS3, see price-cuts work

Software and console giants Microsoft are ahead in their game of console sales, it looks like that its price cuts on the Xbox 360 has worked wonders. The Xbox 360 is outselling the Sony PS3 by two to one.

The sales of the Xbox 360 has increased by 214 percent following the Xbox 360 price cuts, these sales are supported by sales figures from Chart-Track over the last two weeks, Chris Lewis, Xbox 360 Euro boss “Our commitment to continuously improving and innovating new content, our new high-profile marketing campaign and the fact that we’re now the best-value next-gen console on the market with an entry-level ERP of GBP 129.99 combine to make Xbox 360 the right blend of gaming and wider experiences at the right price to offer unparalleled entertainment for everyone. And these figures prove it,”

Even though the Xbox 360 is doing well, it seems that they still need to learn something from Nintendo, the Wii is always the top of the board, how long the Wii stays at number one in sales is anyones guess.

As of September 2008 the PlayStation 3 sold 1.4 million units in the UK, Xbox 360 has sold 2.3 million and the giant boy the Nintendo Wii sold 3.6 million units.

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Finally Nintendo Wii overtakes Microsoft Xbox 360 install base

We all know that the Nintendo Wii is creating a massive Buzz in the gaming world and seems unstoppable in ruling the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3, while I game more on the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii is both amazing and gets its share of gaming time. Today we are hearing that the Nintendo Wii has finally overtaken the Microsoft Xbox 360 install base in the United States.

According to VGChartz, the lifetime sales of the Wii have passed the lifetime sales of the 360 and this is an amazing achievement considering the 360 has been around so long. With the Sony PS3 also catching the 360, it does look like the next generation Xbox is going to come third in this battle of the three next-gen games consoles.

VGChartz said the “Wii has officially passed 360 in the Americas in lifetime sales as of the week ending May 24th, 2008”, when you think it is a whole year extra the 360 had in the market place, it gives you an idea of how fast the Nintendo Wii has grown. In the Wii’s 79th week available it has reached 11.7M sales in the U.S., compared to the 360’s 11.5M in 131st week.

Can the Sony PS3 overtake the Xbox 360 in lifetime sales, considering it’s at 4.9M after it’s 80th week in the U.S.?

The Playstation 3 has had a much stronger uptake in Europe, but has grown much slower in the United States. With many more exclusives coming to the PS3 and with its upcoming Home platform, it will be interesting to see the results in another 12 months and we will be hear to share them with you.

Source: Read

Microsoft Xbox 360 7 Year Shelf-Life: how long is the Sony PS3’s?

The last generation of games consoles was very different to what we have today and that’s not only in hardware, the latest games systems are apparently going to have a longer shelf life. The Microsoft Xbox 360 is being reported to have a 7 Year Shelf Life that will take it up to 2012. This 7 year life span was quoted from Shane Kim, the boss of Microsoft Game Studios and he said “we’re pretty confident the 360 will have a long tail” and went on to say “people will start saying that Microsoft missed a trick with not using Blu-ray. I just don’t believe that”.

The fact is Microsoft did make the wrong decision with HD-DVD, as it lost to Blu-ray but as Microsoft did not include this drive as a built-in option, can you really class it as part of the Xbox 360 plan? Many gamers have already said that the 360 has always been a gaming device first and foremost. Was HD DVD really part of Microsoft’s plan or are they going the IPTV and high definition video on demand route, as this could be a better choice than normal disc media with broadband speeds get better every year.

Microsoft have said they are not seeing any technical limitations with the Xbox 360, and I would have to agree it can easily last the full seven years, but surely the Sony Playstation 3 with its Blu-ray drive and Cell processor, will have a much better shelf life than the 360. What’s your view?

Is there such a thing as a casual gamer! You either play or you don’t

Do you play on the Xbox 360, PS3, DS, Wii or just about any gaming device? Many people I have spoke to have answered my question which was “What sort of gamer are you? And to my shock many of them said they were “Casual Gamers”, I just cannot believe that for one minute.

I believe you are a gamer or you are not it is as simple as that, have you ever played a game thinking you was on there for say a couple of hours then looked at the clock and realised you was on there for say like 10 hours because I know I have. I have never known anyone in my time to go on a gaming console and spend just 20 minutes on it, no chance that just don’t happen. Even people like my father who hates games and says it is all childish went on the Nintendo Wii for the first time and was on it for a couple of hours, to me that makes him a gamer.

For some reason the word casual means easy but if you play well surely that does not mean casual but a good gamer, I am just trying to get to the bottom of “The Casual Gamer”. You can call yourself a good gamer, a brilliant gamer, a poor gamer, and expert gamer but come on casual gamer where does that come from.

So please tell me “Is there such thing as a casual gamer?

Microsoft Xbox 360 slim also know as Xbox 540 coming in 2009: 65 nm GPUs coming August

It is said that the first batch of 65 nm GPUs for the popular Microsoft Xbox 360 are rolling of the production line and that the Xbox 360 consoles using the 65 nm technology is expected to start shipping this August, but what is more important are the rumors of a new refreshed Xbox 360 which is expected to hit in the fall of 2009.

The Xbox 540 will be using the Valhalla processor chip and is believed to be of a system on a chip design which will allow the gaming console to fit into a very slim case. This Xbox 360 is expected to ship with 65 nm package known as the Jasper platform this August and you the consumer will not notice the refresh, well that is unless MS decide to put a what is much needed a Blu-ray drive into the Xbox 360.

There is no obvious confirmation on this but are Asustek subsidiary Pegatron going to manufacture the normal and regular Xbox 360 or units with an integrated Blu-ray drive, this is something to ponder the mind. We do know that Celestica, Pegatron and Wistron will be pretty busy bunnies trying to push out millions of refreshed Xbox 360 consoles.

TSMC are planning on producing the Valhalla chip which will be a dramatic change and of course a visible one at that in where it will be the foundation of the mid-cycle refresh of the Xbox 360 and of course why it is called the Xbox 2.5 or the Xbox 540’ (360+180) in the fall of 2009. We think that TSMC will opt to use a 45 nm process for this Multi-Chip-Module package (CPU+GPU+eDRAM).

Sorry if I am confusing you, to tell you the truth I am confusing myself with all of this and personally I prefer playing games rather than banging on what might be. Another good point to put across whilst I am at it is the fact that Microsoft are shopping around for a more efficient cooling solution which come on is very much needed.

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Truth Blurry: Sony PS3 or Microsoft Xbox 360 winning Europe?

With many tracking services around keeping an eye on games console sales, you would think the truth would not be blurry on who is the winner in Europe, but it is. The Sony PS3 was said to be winning Europe and we reported a couple of days ago that Sony’s David Reeves confirmed over five million Playstation 3’s have been sold across Europe, he also said the PS3 has outsold the Xbox 360 for 6 months (since October 2007). Now we have heard Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg deny these figures, they have said that the “Xbox 360 has an undeniable strength in North America” and that it had “over a 1-million-unit lead across Europe”, he based these figures on the sell-through from Chart Track and GfK.

Its strange how the two brands are coming up with different figures, although Sony did not deny Microsoft’s lead in the United States, in fact Sony did say they could take North America given more time. What we got to think about here are not how many units is sold from each games console, but more on what they are used for. I know a few people that have bought the Sony PS3 as a cheap Blu-ray player, while those that buy the Xbox 360, really only use it for games.

So the figures we would want to see here are how many games are owned per user on the Xbox 360 and the Sony PS3 as an average. This will give us an idea of who is really winning, which games console gets more games bought for it and played more. We can look at the unofficial numbers for VGChartz, if we are talking just units then they have the Playstation 3 at 5.4 million unit sales outside of North America and Japan, while the Xbox 360 is said to be 6.4 million. This is still confusing as we could see other countries like Australia mixed into them figures.

Source: Read

65nm Jasper chipset for Xbox 360: end of RROD

If you combine the stories you hear about the Xbox 360 RROD and also my own personal experience of the so called “red ring of death”, the Xbox 360 was for me so loud you had to turn up your television sound to hear it and it would even heat up the room. We have heard for a long time that the better 65nm chips were coming out, it has been very confusing for many console owners, some even thought the new Elite Xbox 360’s had this better chip, but then after hearing Elites getting the RROD…that cannot be the case.

Today we are hearing that this August should see the release of the new 65nm Jasper chipset for Xbox 360 and if that’s the case, we could see the end of RROD once and for all. Most people will agree the 360’s drive noise, excessive heat and impression of eating games is all to real.

This is what we know so far:
Its being reported that Taiwanese companies are taking contracts for the new 65nm chips; these new chips should pump out less heat, use less wattage and be out by August 2008. The fun does not stop there, we are also hearing that Fall 2009 could see the rumored Valhalla chipset and that version is meant to combine the GPU and CPU into a new super-efficient chip.

Source: Read

Sony PS3 outsells Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in Europe for 6 months

Today we are hearing the results of 6 months of games console sales and its being reported by the BBC that the Sony PS3 has outsold Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in Europe for 6 months, that’s right back since October 2007. Sony said they would make the games console and Blu-ray player massive in 2008; it looks like they have done just that. The price cut in the summer of 2007 and the RROD problems have made the Sony Playstation 3 the preferred console for buyers.

In my personal group of friends and family, my Xbox 360 was given away because of over heating and RROD; my brothers got the red rings and my brother-in-law. All these people have since moved on to the Sony PS3 and they all say it was the best choice they made. In fairness, the Xbox 360 has great games, Xbox Live is amazing but its hardware has become a public joke and RROD a household name.

Sony’s David Reeves confirmed that over five million Playstation 3’s have been sold across Europe, this is an amazing achievement if you consider the Xbox 360 was released 16 months before the PS3. The Playstation brand has established itself as the major player in gaming with also having 48 million PS2’s and 12 million Sony PSP’s sold in Europe.

There are many reasons people have been buying the PS3 over the 360, and price is not one of them as the 360’s are selling at £159 and the PS3 at £299. The Blu-ray player is one major selling point that adds value to the PS3, also more status thanks to Blu-ray beating HD-DVD (the format the Xbox 360 backed).

What games console do you own and do you think the PS3 can overtake the 360 in North America?

Source: Read

Microsoft Xbox 360 teams up with BGCA for inaugural National Family Fitness Day

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 is teaming up with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to celebrate the inaugural National Family Fitness Day on May 12. National Family Fitness Day is a free, fun-filled event designed to promote healthy and active lifestyles for children and families. The key fitness activity will be playing “DanceDanceRevolution UNIVERSE 2” on Xbox 360. To help encourage families to get involved, supermodel, health guru and mother of three Christie Brinkley and health expert and physician Dr. Carlon Colker will commence the activities at the Children’s Aid Society’s Dunlevy Milbank Center Boys & Girls Club in New York.

On National Family Fitness Day, select Boys & Girls Clubs will participate in this after-school event by playing “DanceDanceRevolution UNIVERSE 2” on Xbox 360. This activity, coupled with healthy tips provided by Dr. Colker, will showcase how families can connect with each other and exercise in a way that is fun. Also on this day will be a fun, collaborative competition among participating Boys & Girls Clubs aiming to reach the goal of 500 participants and 18,000 calories burned while playing “DanceDanceRevolution” on Xbox 360. Boys & Girls Clubs in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Seattle will all join in to start a new revolution.

“We are proud to partner with Xbox 360 for National Family Fitness Day, which showcases the fact that getting fit can also mean having fun,” said Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO of BGCA. “Playing active games like ‘DanceDanceRevolution’ on Xbox 360 not only encourages kids to get in shape, but also helps bring families together and enhances Triple Play, our existing health and wellness program.”

“National Family Fitness Day is all about keeping kids and their parents active and healthy,” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Playing ‘DanceDanceRevolution’ on Xbox 360 is one of many ways families can get up off the couch and have fun together.”

“Making sure that my children stay active and healthy is my top priority,” Brinkley said. “My children and I love to find new and exciting ways to get up and get moving, and playing games like ‘DanceDanceRevolution’ on Xbox 360 lets my kids have fun and get fit at the same time. And I have to admit, I have a blast playing it too.”

Colker, who has trained top-tier professional athletes, recognizes the health benefits that “DanceDanceRevolution” on Xbox 360 can provide, and in addition, he offers the following health tips for families:

• Shop healthy and cook at home. Buy fresh, perishable and unpackaged foods whenever possible. If ingredient contents sound too complicated, it is probably not a healthy choice. Get the whole family involved in meal preparation. It can be fun time spent together, and it is certainly healthier than fast-food alternatives.

• Check out your local community center. Places such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America offer great physical activities for children, including soccer, baseball, swimming and physical video gaming such as “DanceDanceRevolution” on Xbox 360. The supervision is top-notch and the cost is reasonable.

• Keep tabs on your physical activities. Whether it is having a family activity list on the refrigerator, or even setting the Family Timer on your Xbox 360 so that you know when you have hit your activity goal, keep track of your activities and reward progress.

• Keep a structured bedtime. You cannot expect your kids to have an active lifestyle if they are tired all the time.

More about National Family Fitness Day, the great health benefits of playing “DanceDanceRevolution” on Xbox 360, additional healthy family tips from Dr. Colker, and information on the Xbox 360 Family Timer and parental controls can be found at Xbox.com/familyfitness.

Microsoft orders Xbox 360 with internal Blu-ray drive from Asustek subsidiary

We heard on March 6th 2008 that Sony was in talks with Microsoft about an Xbox 360 with a Blu-ray drive, then we heard on March 14th that Xbox 360 said no to Blu-ray as they wanted to focus on digital downloads. Just a couple of weeks after that we heard that Lite-On were going to develop a built-in Blu-ray Disc drive for a new model of Xbox 360, this is after Microsoft crushed the previous rumors.

Today its being reported from a Chinese newspaper called “Economic Daily News”, that Microsoft has ordered an Xbox 360 with internal Blu-ray drive from an Asustek subsidiary. The subsidiary is called “Pegatron Technology”, and they say the order has come direct from Microsoft.

When you hear many rumors like this from many sources, it tends to leave you thinking, “Something Blue is going to happen”. Microsoft did not deny the Lite-On Blu-ray rumor and they have not said no to this latest news. To add to the excitement, it’s also being said that the new Xbox 360’s with built-in Blu-ray drives could be shipping between July and September this year.

Since HD-DVD lost to Sony Blu-ray, it’s obvious that the 360 could do with some sort of Blu-ray option, internal or external. Now would 360 owners dump their current console for a new one with Blu-ray or are they happy with high definition downloads?

Source: Read

Sales of Microsoft Xbox 360 have doubled in Europe

Not so long ago it looked as if the Xbox 360 hand lost its crown as the best games console on the market as the Sony PS3 started to close the gap. Sales of the Xbox 360 were affected; ok not only from the onslaught from Sony’s PlayStation 3 but also as a shot in the foot from Microsoft themselves with the RROD issue.

Well thanks to some huge prices cuts of the Xbox 360 in Europe it seems as if the next-generation console sales have started to increase, well by double in fact. It seems that being able to purchase an entry level Xbox 360 for just £160 was an attractive offer for consumers.

It was thought that with the recent demise of the HD DVD, it would affect sales of the Xbox 360, but it looks as though people are just interested in the gaming side of things, and the Xbox certainly does that part well.

Not only has sales of Microsoft’s games console increased but it looks as though the Xbox 360 sells 7 times more games than that of the Sony PS3, however you have to remember that the Xbox 360 has been out a lot longer and also the console has many more games as well.

Source - Pocket Lint

Will Blu-ray sales surge now HD DVD is dead?

Yesterday we reported that Toshiba have finally pulled the plug on their HD DVD format, this sadly was a huge blow to the consumer electronics giant. So now that there is only one High Definition format left, and that is Blu-ray, one would presume that Read more