Microsoft is beating the drums over hitting the 10 million units sold mark Xbox has had an extra year over Wii and thats not a good sign. Nintendo is going to hit the same mark much faster and Microsoft has certainly laid out a lout more in order to get the as well. It’s costing them big bucks to get to these benchmarks so I guiess they need to toot them up as often as possible.

I love Xbox Live but it’s going to be awhile if ever before Microsoft can claim dominance by any real measure. The Playstation and Wii will both be around for quite some time to come. I think Microsoft should start looking at how to broaden their fan base with more add ons and games for other demographics not including the hardcore gamers. The success of the Wii is certainly not just because every top gamer went out and bought one. The Wii is becoming the family unit and thats whats most dangerous to Microsoft. the true success in the Xbox package is Halo and that may be their biggest problem. Microsoft needs to offer more for the other household members if they want their console to truly dominate.

Xbox 360 sales surpass Wii, PS3 | Reuters

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its Xbox 360 game machine beat Nintendo Co Ltd’s (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) Wii and Sony Corp’s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 to reach 10 million units in U.S. sales.

“History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle,” Don Mattrick, a Microsoft senior vice president who heads the company’s Xbox business, said in a statement.

The Xbox 360 was the first of this latest generation of game machines to launch in the United States when it was released in November 2005. The PS3 and Wii were launched in the United States a year later.

The Wii is closing in on the Xbox 360, with 8.8 million units sold as of the end of March, while Sony has totaled 4.1 million PS3 units sold, according to market research firm NPD.

Microsoft also said global membership of its Xbox Live online service reached 12 million members.

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Here is a first look at Games for Zune on video. The Zune makes a great game playuer and moving around even on my old school Zune 30 is pretty smooth. I understand games are much better on the squircle for the Zune 80 and with that much space you can really stuff some musioc and new games on Zune.

Video: XNA Game Running on a Zune

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I’m considering the XNA pacakge so I can install games on my Xbox. I looked into how hard it is and then I realized it’s a pay only feature. It’s $100 for homebrew games on my Xbox and thats a bit much this week. I gotta find out how many games there are and how easy it is to install them. Wheres the best Xbox XNA games place?

Connecting to Your Xbox 360 Console with XNA Game Studio 2.0

This guide assumes you have already installed a supported version of Visual Studio tools and XNA Game Studio. These products must be installed before connecting to an Xbox 360 console. For information about installing these products, see Setup and System Requirements.

* Step 1: Sign In to Xbox LIVE
* Step 2: Download XNA Game Studio Connect
* Step 3: Connect Your Xbox 360 Console and Windows-Based Computer
* Step 4: Create and Deploy an Xbox 360 Project
* What’s Next?

Step 1: Sign In to Xbox LIVE

Turn on your Xbox 360 console and sign in to Xbox LIVE. You will need at least a Silver Xbox LIVE membership, an XNA Creators Club membership, and a hard drive for your Xbox 360 console to be able to develop games for Xbox 360 using XNA Game Studio. While you are in XNA Game Studio Connect or playing an XNA Game Studio game, you must remain connected to Xbox LIVE.
Step 2: Download XNA Game Studio Connect

XNA Game Studio Connect must be downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and installed on the Xbox 360 console. XNA Game Studio Connect is listed on Xbox LIVE Marketplace next to the XNA Creators Club Subscription, which may be found by selecting Game Store, More…, Genres, and then Other.
Step 3: Connect Your Xbox 360 Console and Windows-Based Computer

When you develop games for Xbox 360, you develop them on your Windows-based computer, then transfer them over your local network to your Xbox 360 console. This requires that your Windows-based computer and Xbox 360 console share the same subnet. Most home networking layouts support this configuration. If your console and computer share a router or hub, it is likely that they share the same subnet.

With your computer and console on the same subnet, follow these steps to set up a connection between your computer and your console.

Technorati Tags: zune, xna, zune xna, zune games

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Microsoft denies putting ‘copyright cop’ in Zune | Beyond Binary - A blog by Ina Fried - CNET News.com

The New York Times suggested Wednesday that future versions of the Zune might come with a tiny cop capable of catching digital lawbreakers.

And no, I’m not talking about some sort of bundled action flick.

In a blog, the Times’ Saul Hansell said that, as part of Microsoft’s deal to get NBC TV shows, it had agreed to look into the possibility of adding technology into the MP3 player that would scan a user’s collection for unauthorized content.

The blog cites Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn as saying that the software maker is exploring antipiracy measures with NBC. Microsoft issued a statement on Wednesday denying that there was any agreement to filter content.

“Microsoft has no plans or commitments to implement content filtering features in the Zune family of devices as part of our content distribution deal with NBC,” the software maker said in a statement.

Sohn echoed the sentiment. “We’ve agreed to work with these guys on a number of issues, but we have no plans or commitment to put filtering technology as part of this arrangement with NBC,” he told CNET News.com.

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Small victory for Microsoft’s Zune over iPod - International Herald Tribune

Microsoft will sell television shows on the Zune Marketplace, bringing its selection of content for the digital media player a step closer to what the iTunes site from Apple offers for the iPod.

Microsoft also said Tuesday that it planned to provide software updates that add new features to Zune devices and to the PC software used to buy and manage digital content.

Microsoft ventured into downloadable video sales for the Zune in October when it released its second-generation players and software, but the content was limited to music videos.

As of Tuesday, Microsoft was selling episodes of TV shows, including Comedy Central’s “South Park” and Sci-Fi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica,” for $1.99 each.

In a small victory over Apple, Microsoft said the Zune Marketplace would carry shows from the NBC network like “The Office” and “Heroes.”

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I realized that I never posted a link to the announcement last month about XNA development on Zune. It’s been a long time coming but we’ll have games for Zune that are designed and developed by members of the Zune community. If anyone is as hyped about developing a game as I am then please contact me so we can get to work on building some games for Zune game players.
XNA Team Blog : Announcing: XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Zune

Announcing: XNA Game Studio 3.0 and ZuneDavid “LetsKillDave” Weller

XNA Evangelist

We could have rested on our laurels by just announcing the new Xbox LIVE community games and XNA Creators Club Online features, but we’re a driven bunch of people here, and we’re passionate about gaming, so let’s lob another amazing treat out there.

The XNA Community Games Platform team is delighted to offer you a sneak peek at our first major feature for XNA Game Studio 3.0: The ability to build games for the Zune platform! This will let you write one game and deploy it to all three platforms that XNA Game Studio 3.0 will support: the Xbox 360, Windows, and now the Zune. While the Zune lacks the 3D graphics horsepower to drive high-end games like you can on the Xbox 360, we’ve taken extreme steps in making sure that you will have the broadest access to the XNA Framework APIs possible, allowing you to create fun Zune games while still letting you integrate carefully with the overall Zune media experience. That means that XNA Game Studio 3.0 integration includes discoverability/access to the user’s music – allowing the user to customize background soundtracks or create real-time visualizations at their discretion. In addition, the XNA Community Games Platform team has announced the ability to have multiple Zunes wirelessly engage in an ad-hoc gaming experience (think of the possibilities!).

Our current planning is to offer a preview release of XNA Game Studio 3.0 in the Spring 2008 timeframe, with a final release scheduled for the holiday 2008 season. We look forward to your feedback and seeing what kind of amazing games you can create for the Zune!

Read more about this at http://creators.xna.com/whatsnew.aspx

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Here is a very interesting article written by Patrick Klepek over at the Multi Player Blog at MTV.com that asks if the Microsoft Live Anywhere Initiative is dead? For those of you who do not know what the Live Anywhere Initiative is take a look back at the Wikipedia page for more details. In a nutshell Live Anywhere is Microsofts global plan for dominance of our digital lifestyle where they want us to be able to access their services from anywhere at anytime through Windows, Xbox and now Zune.

Patrick asks if the Live Anywhere Initiative is dead and I don’t understand how he came to this conclusion really. I think that Zune is actually the most important component to the Live Initiative. I think Zune will cover most if not all of the mobile components and is not limited to just music and phones. I realize that everyone has been waiting for a mobile Xbox platform to arrive but I think its already here in the form of Zune. I think that Xbox will be reserved as the home entertainment console with a focus on HD movies and IPTV which I think will make an obvious partner with Xbox as the preferred content delivery method of the future. There will not be a mobile Xbox game player or platform, its going to be Zune Game Players. I believe that Zune is the mobile platform and the “Anywhere” aspect of the Live Anywhere Initiative that is still very much alive. It’s progressing just fine but what our friend Patrick has missed is that it will not be developed under the Xbox brand as so many expected it would be it will be under the new brand of Zune.

My money lies on a portable game player from Zune and not Xbox. What better way to insure the success of the Zune brand then to build the mobile game player on that platform? It won’t matter what they call it they mobile game player from Microsoft is a sure success and by building it on the Zune platform they guarantee the success of their new mobile entertainment and communications platform. Once they integrate more Windows Mobile and Live features into the Zune game and music players the convergence of Live Anywhere exists. The Live Platform is all of the Microsoft services including Windows, Windows Mobile, Xbox and now Zune. It began as Xbox Live with the games because that was the easiest to generate a community with and they will slowly make it a Microsoft portal with access to everything Live. This should make it easier to understand why Microsoft has been dumping billions into Xbox when you see that it was about much more than just games and why they will dump billions into Zune which is about much more than just music.
MTV Multiplayer » We Asked Microsoft: Is That ‘Live Anywhere’ Initiative Dead?

At the Microsoft’s press briefing at E3 2006, Bill Gates came on stage to introduce Live Anywhere, an ambitious company initiative to integrate the Xbox 360 experience into everyday life via mobile phones.Nearly two years later, Live Anywhere has yet to materialize.

Is Live Anywhere dead? Here’s what Xbox Live exec. John Schappert (who took the stage for Microsoft’s keynote at GDC this year) told Multiplayer in an e-mailed statement:

Technorati Tags: zune, xbox, live, microsoft, live anywhere, xbox live, zune live, zune games

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I guess we all understand why the HD drives in the Xbox 360 are external components don’t we? Lots of people faulted Microsoft for making the HD drive an external attachment but it was obviously a smarter move than making the same drive an internal component wasn’t it? No one could know who would win the format war and Microsoft hedged their bets by choosing the HDDVD drive in partnership with Toshiba by making it an add on component that can easily be changed over for another drive in the future.

Making the 360 a modular system was smarter in many ways. It helps keep the cost of the base unit lower and gets more users on your consoles. This is a safer bet then the move Sony made by including the Blu Ray player in the Playstation 3 whereby they have priced themselves above many entrants to the market and made themselves a high end system trying to compete with more affordable consoles like the 360 or Wii. Sony is sitting pretty now that the format war is over but they took one hell of a risk by integrating the Blu Ray and had this format war gone the other way this discussion would more likely be about the death of Sony and the Playstation than it is about a potential partnership between 2 of the top 3 console makers in the industry.

Microsoft has no problem in shifting sides, gears or partnerships and they will gladly open up to a partnership with Sony and include a Blu Ray device for the Xbox 360 in the near future I am certain. Why else would they have built the 360 with an external drive connection? What other choice does Microsoft have even? They are not going to develop some other format are they? No. They have no other choice but to concede a portion of future HD drive sales to Sony for every 360 sold if they want their player to be compatible with the only HD format available any longer. Don’t they?

And what about Sony? Do you think they will keep the Blu Ray a proprietary system and force Microsoft to develop an alternative or do you think they will settle for a slice of all HD drive sales on future Xbox units by establishing the Blu Ray as the HD standard for all game platforms? Do you think they want to risk the victory they have just claimed as the only HD format available? No. Sony will gladly take a piece of HD drive sales on Xbox because they know that at some point in the future all HD players will be Blu Ray and Sony will make money on every game console their competitors sell.
Sony Reportedly Discussing Blu-ray Xbox With Microsoft

Sony turned to Microsoft for a possible Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360, a senior executive told the Financial Times yesterday. On one hand, Microsoft has always supported the HD DVD format, which is now dead and buried, while Sony said they wanted to adjust to the consumers’ needs. After all, if we think of it, as there is no more HD DVD, what can the two companies do but talk?Everyone is curious to know how this collaboration would materialize in terms of prices, as Sony has kept a pretty high price tag on its Blu-ray so far. The question is: is Sony ready to give up the advantage the PS3 has now over Microsoft’s Xbox 360? As it appears, they’re nor afraid of a little competition, and that’s not all, as Sony will also get some great revenue from a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.

Technorati Tags: microsoft, sony, xbox 360, playstation, blu ray

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