Microsoft playing Nintendo’s game?

Posted by signup

With Microsoft’s announcement of the Xbox 360 Arcade, the anticipated device looks to be changing how the Xbox targets consumers.

According to a Microsoft representative, the company feels that “the timing is right to really focus and turn the spotlight on our family content and, yeah, we feel great.”

Believe it or not, Microsoft has inked a deal with Warner Bros. to bring HD Looney Tunes to the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and more games designed with children in mind will be coming down the pike with the help of this new console.

Xbox 360 Arcade

(Credit: Microsoft)

While I applaud Microsoft for making the jump to children’s games and attempting to attract the all-too-evasive “nontraditional gamer,” isn’t it playing a game that Nintendo already knows the secret to? And if so, is Microsoft barking up the wrong tree?

It may surprise you, but the answer is simply no. Microsoft is onto something with this new focus and whether or not you are a Nintendo zealot to the end, you need to realize that Microsoft may start attracting the younger crowd more effectively than you think.

Historically speaking, there is no denying the fact that Nintendo has controlled the family gaming market. With such classics as Mario and Donkey Kong (among many others), the company has single-handedly taken control of the casual gamer. And with the release of the Wii, it has enjoyed some success in attracting those “nontraditional gamers” by doing something other companies haven’t been able to do: creating a unique gaming experience.

Regardless of your opinion of Microsoft, it is not a dumb company when it needs to make solid gaming decisions. Realizing it cannot compete with the Wii on purely unique gameplay, the company has found a new way–enlist the help of popular child franchises and offer games that will appeal to the family. And while I’m not a firm believer in this idea of bringing an entire family into the gaming mix, I do believe it can attract at least one or two people in any given family, and effectively take a bite out of Nintendo’s stranglehold on the market.

In essence, Microsoft and Nintendo are trying to appeal to the same market in two distinctly different ways. Microsoft wants to attract consumers by offering well-known franchises and providing the new gaming crowd with a host of fun and entertaining games. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s main selling point this time around is its hardware. If the Wii was just another gaming console with old-style controls, we’d be calling it a Gamecube. And if memory serves me correctly, the Gamecube was quite a flop.

Unfortunately for Nintendo, I simply don’t believe hardware will take the day in the bitter battle for the family. Sure, it has been successful in bringing a unique experience to homes. But as I’ve mentioned before, it simply doesn’t have the software behind it to overcome the rest of the industry.

Microsoft is in an enviable position. With a strong library of games that appeal to mature gamers, it can now focus on the relatively untapped family market. And while I think it’ll be a tough nut to crack, look for Microsoft to make some headway this holiday season and capture market share from Nintendo going forward.

The change will not come overnight. But rest assured, if Microsoft can follow through on its promises and Nintendo remains complacent, look for Microsoft to become the “nontraditional” charmer.

Originally posted at The Digital Home.

NY’s ‘Halo 3′ launch was no riot, but it was close

Posted by signup

A block away at the Best Buy store on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street, those waiting for the launch of Microsoft’s Halo 3 video game couldn’t have cared less.

They had their own epilepsy-inducing lights, after all. New York’s Halo 3 debut stopped short of pyrotechnics, but it was over the top in just about every other way.

“George Clooney who?” one person near the head of the line joked when he heard the gossip. Like most of the queuers who’d shown up at the Best Buy store for the official launch celebration of the final installment of the Xbox 360 game trilogy, he was young, male and sporting a Halo 3 T-shirt that had been given away as part of the festivities.

“We’re more famous than him tonight,” a nearby line-waiter added, gesturing at one of the many flat-panel TV screens that had been set up in the windows of the Best Buy store, projecting previews of the title, interspersed with live footage of numerous NFL players from the New York Giants and New York Jets inside the store, squaring off against one another on Halo 3. For this crowd, Clooney couldn’t hold a candle to Master Chief, the iconic Halo protagonist who’s been blasting away at bad guys on TV screens since the original title launched in 2001.

An enormous spotlight beamed up over Fifth Avenue, and full-out lighting and sound equipment–along with plenty of enormous TV screens–dominated the ground scene. A team of Mountain Dew minions were walking around with trays of plastic shot glasses containing a seemingly endless supply of samples of its Halo 3-branded energy drink, “Game Fuel.” There was a guy in a Master Chief outfit, of course. Best Buy and Microsoft representatives were giving away T-shirts and other prizes to the fans who were willing to scream the loudest or wave their homemade signs (best one: “MASTER CHIEF IS MY FATHER”). And in addition to the handful of local NFL players, rappers Ludacris and Chingy and R&B singer Bobby Valentino were also on-site to try out the game for the cameras.
Click here to Play

And there were a whole lot of cameras. Microsoft dominated the myriad big-screen TVs with its in-house coverage of the launch, but video and photo crews were around from every local television network, as well as cable channels like Spike TV and G4 that target the Halo demographic. There were also more than a few video bloggers and even Justin.tv lifecaster Sarah Meyers.

At first, it seemed as though the marketing and press were going to overshadow the actual pack of fans. There simply weren’t that many of them in line earlier Monday; with fewer than 12 hours left, the line still stood at about 15 people despite the fact that 28-year-old Uche Nwachukwu, the first person to show up, had been there since 6 p.m. Sunday. Things didn’t really pick up until schools and offices had cleared out for the day, and by about 7 p.m., the line was pretty respectable. By about 10:30 p.m., it stood at several hundred.

‘Mixed reactions, mixed feelings’
All in all, the crowds and the audio-visuals made for a sight that certainly turned heads. “Some people just pass by and say ‘Oh, you’re crazy. What are you in line for?’” said 22-year-old Alex Escobar, who was near the front of the line. “Mixed reactions, mixed feelings, I don’t care. I love my Halo.”

But no one, really, was prepared for the spectacle that the Halo 3 event would turn into with about an hour to go. Best Buy and Microsoft staffers kept their swag giveaways going, insisting that the rambunctious crowds cheer at the top of their lungs in order to get a free T-shirt or bouncy ball thrown at them. The bouncy balls were a bad idea, as the line-waiters proceeded to simply hurl them at one other, but thankfully no legitimate fights ensued. (It made you wonder exactly what was in that “Mountain Dew Game Fuel.”)

Then the Mongooses arrived. With only 20 minutes left before midnight, three camo-clad bikers atop all-terrain vehicles decorated to look like the Halo 3 pimped rides showed up and incited the crowds to cheering as they performed noisy “wheelies” along the block of Fifth Avenue that had, by that time, been completely blocked off from normal traffic. They were followed by a Hummer H2 decorated in Halo 3 logos, from which an armored Master Chief ceremoniously pulled several copies of the game and took them inside for the first few buyers.
Now on News.com
Shining a light on solar power Caltech robot van ready to rumble Photos: ‘Halo 3′ fans initiate play Extra: The Facebook commandments

With the combination of massive, energy-hogging audio-visuals, a Hummer, discarded plastic shot glasses and several all-terrain vehicles, it should be noted that this was embarrassingly far from being a “green” event. But that apparently wasn’t the point.

At its climax, the New York Halo 3 launch resembled some combination of a red-carpet premiere, a wild sporting event and an apocalyptic action movie. The security presence was considerable, considering the energy of the crowd. But when midnight rolled around, it was unclear whether the eager, heavily sugared and caffeinated gamers or the camera-wielding press would be the ones to start some kind of riot. Luckily, no one did.

The Halo fans, after all, had only one thing on their minds: go home, log on to their Xbox 360s and load up that new game.

“I feel awesome,” said Chris Camisa, who had been fifth in line, as he traded Xbox Live usernames with some other young gamers whom he’d met while waiting so that they could eventually meet again and blow each other’s Halo 3 incarnations to bits. “I skipped one class today, and it was well worth it,” he said.

Next to him, one of the other early line-waiters held up the limited-edition Halo 3 game that was sold to early adopters, packaged with a Master Chief helmet.

“All right!” he exclaimed, waving the box above his head. “Now I’m going to go play–all night.”

Source

Halo 3: Finish the fight

Posted by multippt

Overhyped? Yes. Worth it? Definately. Halo 3 has been launched near simultaneously across the world. During these events, special edition (legendary/unlimited) versions of the Halo 3 game would be sold. Of course, it expect to find a whole crowd at the event if you are participating it, and there is no guarantee that you’ll get the game. Halo 3 is anticipated to soar even higher than it’s predecessors, well, it may very well overtake mega blockbusters like SpiderMan 3.

More »

Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 price in Europe

Posted by signup

Microsoft has cut the price of the Xbox 360 in Europe to coincide with the release of the new Xbox 360 Elite.

The Core Xbox 360 will retail for £179.99 from 24 August, and the Premium edition, which includes a 20GB hard drive, wireless controller, headset and HD cables, will sell for £249.99.

The price cut follows a similar reduction earlier this month across the US and Canada.

“We are pleased to offer Xbox 360 at a new, lower estimated retail price,” said Stephen McGill, head of gaming at Xbox UK.

The jet black Xbox 360 Elite, which will retail for £299.99, packs a 120GB hard drive and HDMI support.

Source

33 Percent of Xbox 360s Failing?

Posted by signup

According to anecdotal evidence provided by retailers. But is anecdotal evidence enough? Daily Tech conducted a non-scientific “poll” by calling several North American retail outlets and inquiring about Xbox 360 failure rates. The response? A resounding “least reliable gaming console in recent history.” Ouch, and scary-bold words, but what do they mean?

Maybe nothing, but probably something. Did you read about the guy who returned his Xbox 360 twelve times? How about an alleged Australian failure rate “as high as 30%”? Maybe you caught this gem about Microsoft deleting over 900 replies from the Forza 2 forums claiming the game was crashing Xbox 360s?

I’ve mentioned it before, but I had a 360 meltdown a while back myself. It happened to correspond with a rampant Internet rumor that the game Dead Rising was killing systems (one of my favorite games on the platform). I sent my system into Microsoft, got it (or a refurbished unit) back, no harm no foul, and it’s been chomping data and spitting heat in an enclosed cabinet for the last six months problem-free. My personal experience = excellent.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say again that I’d really like to see Microsoft release internal tracking numbers. Give us date ranges with reasons for failure, or just debate Daily Tech’s numbers, though in the end, I certainly can’t argue with Microsoft VP Peter Moore when he tells 1UP “What [the] consumer should worry about is the way that we’ve treated him…Y’know, things break, and if we’ve treated him well and fixed his problem, that’s something that we’re focused on right now.”

Source

Halo 3 - New set of Screenies!

Posted by multippt

Wow, Bungie must have gone one mile further in their Halo 3 beta, in terms of graphics from it’s predecessor, Halo 2.

The images showed that Bungie managed to come up with images almost comparable to the quality of that nice Halo 3 trailer. The quality is also comparable to that of Gears of War.

Screenshots via: WorthPlaying

Halo 3 Beta Map Walkthrough

Posted by multippt

Wow, just after weeks of the Halo 3 beta release, there are already a few walkthroughs regarding Halo 3. Of course, these walkthroughs get better and better.

*Spoiler warning!: These walkthroughs might destroy your suspense :P, but hey! At least you can get to know what the Halo 3 beta looks like without a XBOX 360.

This is by far one of the better video walkthroughs. Enjoy!
*The content requires you to state your age before watching it, as it is rated at “Mature” [of course, who said you can't lie...]

Via GameTrailers