Science and technology news blog

Thanks to Halo 3, Microsft’s Xbox 360 finally beat the Wii in console sales in the US. However, the disappointing figures in Japan have made Microsoft announce a 13 percent cut in the console’s price. Sony’s PS3 also got a 10 percent price cut in Japan. On the other hand, Nintendo’s Wii is steal beating industry expectations as the units are still hard to find even after 9 whole months of its launch.

Microsoft may also announce a further price cut globally, come holiday season, to be more competitive against the PS3 and also against the Wii. Its been almost 2 years since the Xbox 360 was launched and, despite the hardware problems, the console has enjoyed superlative success thanks to games like Gears of War and Halo 3, with more to come. PS3 on the other hand, seems to be going the Betamax way. It may be well ahead in technology, but even that could not prevent Sony from selling its Cell processor-making unit to be sold.

Microsoft announced today that come christmas, the Xbox 360 will be bundled with two games – Forza Motorsport 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. This will further tighten the noose over Sony’s beleaguered Playstation 3. Despite price cuts, the Sony console still lags way behind the 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. Sony may have a futuristic system in its hand, but lack of quality, and more importantly, exclusive titles has hampered sales.

Microsoft’s announcement should further spark sales of the 360 after Halo 3 initiated a second coming of the Xbox’s latest iteration. With latest news on Bungie splitting from Microsoft, the monolith wants to cash in on all the hype surrounding the console at the moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the new consoles came with the 65nm processor. Sony desperately needs  some much needed system-seller games if it doesn’t want to go the Betamax way with its heavily priced console.

Some interesting Halo Facts:

• Halo and Halo 2 have sold more than 14.8 million copies worldwide (Xbox and PC versions). By the end of the year, more than £500 million would have been spent on the franchise.


• American gamers have already reserved more than one million copies of Halo 3.


• In May, Microsoft gave gamers a sneak peek at Halo 3 with a multiplayer beta test included with its Crackdown title. It attracted more than 820,000 people to participate from 25 different countries, who spent a whopping 12 million hours playing it online. That is the equivalent of 1,400 years of continuous play by a single person.


• Xbox Live has seven million members, 80 per cent of whom have played Halo 2 online. In fact, 300,000 gamers still log on to play each day.


• Master Chief is the first gaming character to be enshrined in wax by Madame Tussauds and will be seen at the London attraction. The 7ft 2in figure weighs 275lbs and was created using 1,000lbs of clay. It took 10 studio artists 892 man-hours to complete, including 687 hours for sculpting, 168 hours for moulding and 37 hours for painting.

In a recent interview between Gamespot.com and Xbox regional director for Australia and New Zealand David McLean, there were a couple of important questions and answers regarding the release of Xbox Elite:

GS AU: Can you tell us when the Xbox 360 Elite console will make it to Australia?

DM: For Australia, we will be coming out with some announcements around Elite. It certainly is coming to our market—we’re just currently trying to define our pricing and volume strategy on it. And obviously, with our decision to make the pricing announcements on Core and Pro now, we need to consider the knock-on effect for Elite. You’re not going to be asked to wait very much longer. I think within the next week or so, we can give you details on what we’re planning to do with Elite.

And on the HDMI ports on US Xbox consoles:

GS AU: Finally, US consumers are starting to see HDMI ports on Pro consoles. Will Australian 360s be soon fitted out with those as well?

DM: Yes, we will—we’ll start to see the same thing in Australia. We’re just reviewing our inventory position and when that will start to flow into the market. No specific details to give you on it, but what’s happening in other regions in the world will certainly happen in Australia.

To get the full article, click here.

Hot on the heels of a $50 price drop on all Xbox 360 versions, Microsoft has also announced that the new Xbox 360 premium versions will have built-in HDMI output. This has been a much-wanted feature and with rising competition from the PS3 (which had its own price drop recently), Microsoft has done well to include it before the release of Halo 3. On the subject of cooling noise, Microsoft has not yet said anything. But this could also be due to the fact that they do not want to admit in the open that Xbox 360 has a design flaw.

The price cut and the new HDMI version are for US only at the moment. So for all the rest of the world we will have to wait and watch. Precisely what I have been doing since the launch of Xbox 360.

Update

Microsoft has also announced that Halo 3 pre-orders have surpassed 1 million leaving many gasping for breath. Halo 3 could well be the biggest selling game on the platform, no surprises here.

Sony has officially made the following couple of announcements:

• The 60GB model will now be priced at $499


• There will be a new 80GB model for $599

These are quite to the contrary to what Sony President Ryoji Chubachi told Reuters in an interview that Sony had no plans at present to cut the price of the console. These announcements, however, are for the North American public only. Sony has no plans at present to announce price cuts anywhere else. Which is a surprise, as consumers in Australia already pay a lot more after factoring in currency conversion.

Well Microsoft will not be idling away, they would be announcing some kind of price cuts pretty soon.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the first to be launched in the next-gen console wars. However, despite being released for over a year, the three rings of death still dog the console. And Microsoft has no answer to fix it. With the recent announcement of a 3 year retrospective warranty they have atleast healed a few wounds. Although this is not going to last in the long run. What will happen once the warranty period is over? If consumers still experience the same problem, is Microsoft going to fix it free of charge. This really is a design issue rather than anecdotal.

Xbox chief Peter Moore talked to NEWSWEEK’s N’gai Croal explaining the how, the why and the what.

Here is a small excerpt from this interview: (more…)

First Microsoft released an SDK (Software Development Kit) called XNA Game Studio Express for individuals and hobbyists to program games for the Xbox 360. And now Nintendo seems to be following the same path with the release of WiiWare. According to Nintendo, the tool will allow game developers to release smaller and more interesting titles which gamers can purchase and download from the console’s Wii Shop channel.

Well, to me, this is just the next inevitable phase for the console makers as this would enable fans who also have programming skills to create games that they would like to play themselves and in turn earn money as well. It also enables to console to have a more broader appeal. Say for example, my friend would like to play a game that has not yet been released or may never be released. He can then go ahead and create his own game and with the number of consoles that Nintendo has sold, this will give him an opportunity to market this game and earn money from something he enjoys.

Sony, you better be watching as this is another tight slap on their face, not that they need anymore after dismal performance of their next-gen console, PS3.

Sony execs plan to have over 300 games available for the PS3 by March 2008, effectively doubling the number of titles currently available for the beleaguered console. What I want to know is if just the number of titles available is going to be enough for the console to get out of the mess its in right now. A price cut is whats necessary for the PS3 and the sooner Sony does it the better its going to be for them. However, do not expect Microsoft or Nintendo to stand and just watch. As soon as there is going to be a price cut on the PS3, I am expecting that XBox 360 is going to have one as well. Don’t know if the Wii may get a price cut as its still selling out all over the world.

No matter how hard Sony tries to explain the recent layoffs, it is quite clear that the real reason is due to the below average sales of its PS3 gaming system. With about a 100 people losing jobs in the US in its PS3 division, it is now official that the PS3 has been one of Sony’s biggest flops in recent times.

Sony’s explanation for the recent round of layoffs is that they are restructuring taking place in the company. With about $1.9 billion operating loss last year, this is a move that was anticipated as the PS3 contributed a big margin towards the loss. Unlike Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Nintendo’s Wii, the PS3 has seen slow sales on top of which Sony actually makes a loss on each PS3 unit it sells.

A lot of feedback for Sony is to reduce the price of the PS3 to compete more evenly with the Xbox 360. With more units in people’s homes, Sony can then make a profit on games and media sales through its online service which it provides for free. Sony also needs to accept that they made a major mistake by packing the PS3 with technology so advanced that the general public just isn’t ready for, yet.

So Microsoft is marching Xbox 360 v.2 into stores in less then a month. Dubbed the Xbox 360 Elite, it boasts a beefed up hard drive and a high-def output, in addition to a new black finish.

But do you really need to go out and spend $479.00 on this new system? Can current 360 owners upgrade their existing Premium or Core systems without spending the big bucks? And if you’ve been thinking of buying your first 360, which system – Core, Premium, or Elite – is the best for you.

We’ll go into all the details here and hopefully help you decide which system, or upgrade, is best for you.

To begin with, the Elite contains the same guts – same parts, processors and chips –as the Core and Premium and has identical dimensions. The main difference is 2 inclusions – an HDMI port and a 120GB hard drive.

The Elite also comes with the same wireless controller and headset as the Premium, but in matching Elite black. The Elite also ships with an Ethernet cable, a composite cable and a HDMI cable. Of note, Sony’s PS3 has the same HDMI port on both its 30GB and 60GB models but does not come with a HDMI cable packed with it. A good HDMI cable can range from $25-65, so the fact that the Elite comes packed with one is nice.

So essentially, you’re paying $80 more for the 120GB HDD and HDMI port and cable with the Elite ($479.99) than the Premium ($399.99).

Click here for full article

Sony will not be able to match the success of PlayStation 2 with its new gaming console, the PlayStation 3, according to outgoing Electronic Arts CEO Larry Probst. He feels that Sony’s days of dominance of the console market may very well be over.

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s’ Wii games consoles have made rapid strides even as Sony is struggling to deal with production issues that have beset the PlayStation 3. The console was also released one year after the Xbox 360 and appears to have let go of its advantage.

“We expect that there will be a more level playing field this time around than last time,” said Probst. His comments were delivered at an investor conference by Morgan Stanley. Probst added that the main issue with the PS 3 was its cost.

Last year Sony had announced that a high-end model of the console would cost $600 as compared to the $400 price tag on Xbox 360. Nintendo’s Wii is the cheapest of the lot. Probst said that Wii was off to a great start, but it would not be wise to write off Sony.

“No one should count Sony out at this point in the game. This is going to be a long race,” Probst added.

Sony has sold over 115 million PS2 consoles, but is finding it tough to get the PS 3 onto the markets. The latter is set for a European release on March 23.

Emotiv Systems has announced a brain to computer interface system that includes a helmet and software applications to facilitate the control. This was announced at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Fransisco Wednesday.

Known as the Project Epoc system, it can move objects based only on the gamer’s thoughts. It can further reflect facial expressions and respond to the excitement or the calm of the gamer’s mental situation. Sensors in the helmet pick up electronic signals from the brain, then the system software analyzes the signals and wirelessly relays those signals to the receiver which is connected to the PC by USB.

Just like with voice and handwriting recognition, there is a learning curve as the machine learns to better understand how the gamer thinks. There is also a skill involved by the gamer as they learn better visualization. The creators believe that the system will work better with children and those open to believing in their capability. In most cases, it’s the person who can easily visualize and imagine the outcome that is the better user of this new technology. The technology is still evolving as it takes a lot of practice for adults especially to master up to three simultaneous actions.

Along with the debut of Project Epoc, the company launched a kit for game developers Wednesday. Emotiv also announced that it is developing its technology for use in other industries, including medicine, security, market research and interactive television.

Sony, struggling to deal with fierce competition from Nintendo and Microsoft, has announced a customizable, networked community service for the console, in which users will be able to navigate in 3D while being represented by avatars.

It is the first practical step of a new gaming concept Sony calls Game 3.0, together with LittleBigPlanet, a community-based game where users play, create and share what they build.

Sony’s ‘Home’ for PS3 users appears to be a mix of SecondLife and Nintendo’s Mii. However, the avatars don’t look like cartoon figures. They are very customizable and designed to look like real life humans. Fortunately, you get some free clothes when you start out, so your avatar doesn’t have to run around naked. If you want to be more chic, just buy a few clothes online.

Players can communicate via voice, text chat (supported by a USB keyboard or a virtual keyboard) and through canned speech and gesture. The environment looks like a luxury resort.

Click here for full article

Nintendo’s Wii console is benefiting from the large price gap between it and the PlayStation 3 (PS3) console, outselling the PS3 at a ratio up to 4 to 1. Between January 22nd and 28th, The PS3 sold about 20,000 units in Japan. In the same time frame, the Wii had moved another 80,000 units. The PS2 also beat the PS3 with 21,000 units sold in the same time.

PS3 wasn’t the worst performing console during that time frame though, Microsoft only managed to sell 7,000 Xbox 360 consoles as it struggles to grow in the Japanese market. The PS3 launched in Japan on November 11th and has since sold 614,000 units. The Wii launched on December 2nd and has sold more than 1.4 million units since then.

This is a clear sign that Sony needs to drop the price of the PS3, according to Enterbrain’s Hirokazu Hamamura. “There could be a price cut for PS3 by the end of the year, and more software titles will hit the market,” he said. He said the PS3 will pick up after a while but that the Wii will continue to stay ahead for some time.