Science and technology news blog

To celebrate the Halo series 5-Year Anniversary, XCN interviewed Frank O’Connor (Frankie), Content Manager, Bungie Studios.

The interview let us know something interesting on the Halo series in general, but it also give us some pretty new info on Halo 3.

If you are a Halo fan, you must read this interview!

XCN: Back in the infancy of the original Halo, what were your hopes for the series?

Frank O’Connor: Halo actually started its life as a real-time strategy game for the Macintosh, but the guys here at Bungie had so many story ideas that eventually it grew out of that genre and into a first-person shooter. It also grew out of the Macintosh and into the PC, then initially it was an Xbox-exclusive title. It went through a lot of evolution and it sounds quite drastic, but actually it was a very smooth process. As it became more fun to use the vehicles and the physics that the guys had created it became obvious it should be an action game rather than an RTS. Luckily it ended up being the game we all know and love today!

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Gamers are invited to join the fight when the beta goes live this spring with Xbox Live and “Crackdown” providing the final two paths.

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios are ringing in the year with a proverbial bang, as they announced today two new ways for gamers to receive an invitation to participate in the “Halo® 3” multiplayer beta program coming this spring through Xbox Live® Marketplace.

Specifically, gamers will be able to receive an invitation by doing one of the following:

· Qualifying over Xbox Live and then being one of the first 13,333 “Halo 2” gamers to register for the “Rule of Three” program at http://www.halo3.com in early February

· Purchasing the upcoming game “Crackdown™,” which hits store shelves in the U.S. on Feb. 20

The “Halo 3” multiplayer beta, which is a pre-release version of the multiplayer experience of “Halo 3,” is scheduled for availability in spring 2007 exclusively on Xbox 360™. The beta also represents an opportunity for gamers to participate in the testing and refinement of the multiplayer gameplay of “Halo 3,” the most anticipated game of 2007. Through the resulting feedback, Bungie Studios will be able to further hone the end result of “Halo 3.”

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, at 12:01 a.m. EST, all gamers need to do is participate in at least three hours of “Halo 2” multiplayer sessions, via Xbox Live, before Feb. 3, 2007, at 11:59 p.m. EST and then be among the first 13,333 to register at http://www.halo3.com. The “Rule of Three” program is currently planned for gamers in the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) age 17 years and older who have access to an Xbox 360 Pro console or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive, a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription and the “Halo 2” game. Gamers around the world are encouraged to visit http://www.halo3.com in the coming weeks for more information on the “Rule of Three” program in their region.

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It would make sense for Microsoft to be on the defensive. The Xbox 360 is about a year old, so the company isn’t going into the holiday season with the buzz that Sony and Nintendo are enjoying. But having that long of a head start also carries with it some advantages: hardware will be plentiful on store shelves, and Microsoft had all that time to hone the online and UI experiences with the 360. At this stage, the console is a mature product just hitting its stride, a nice position to be in given what both the Wii and the PS3 are going through.

Microsoft is confident enough in their position that they invited me to New York to see how the Xbox 360 stacks up against the PS3 when both are hooked into the same 1080p display and using the highest-quality connection possible. For the 360 that means the VGA cable, which is currently the only way the system can output 1080p; the PS3 is hooked up via HDMI. When I walk into the room, I’m amused at their choice of display: a Sony Bravia XBR2 1080p LCD. It’s a gorgeous display, and I remark on it.

I’m there with Aaron Greenburg, the Group Marketing Manager for Xbox Live, and Scott Henson, product unit manager for Microsoft’s game technology group. They’re open and surprisingly unguarded. In addition to the nice display are a 360 with an HD DVD drive and the 60GB PS3. Both are also online, and there are a stack of games between them. “We’re selling Bravias on the side,” they joke, and I’m invited to take a look around the setup, with the air of a magician telling me there’s nothing up his sleeve. They want to be sure I’m happy with how each system is hooked up and that I don’t think one system has the advantage in cabling or anything else. “We want to compare apples to apples,” they tell me.

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Although Nintendo claimed a big victory in the opening battle of the next-generation console wars, selling more than 600,000 of its Wii systems in North America shortly after its launch date, new sales data indicates that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 actually won the holiday wars.

According to research firm NPD, Microsoft sold two million Xbox 360 consoles in the United States from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve. Over the same period, Nintendo sold 1.8 million Wii consoles, while Sony  moved some 750,000 PlayStation 3 units.

However, the numbers might be a little misleading in terms of the overall struggle for control of the multibillion dollar gaming market, according to Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director at Jupiter Research.

One reason for the Microsoft victory has to do with the fact that both Nintendo and Sony ran into supply problems in the days leading up to the big holiday push, according to Gartenberg.

“It is not a surprise Microsoft sold more consoles,” he said. “They had more readily available. The real test will come when everyone is on equal footing with regards to available units.”

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Gamers are in for a lot of new videogames in 2007. Those looking forward to “Halo 3” on Xbox 360 can now see new footage of the game courtest of developer Bungie. Although no release date has been announced, you can bet the game will be out by Thanksgiving of 07.

Sega is bringing its “Virtual Fighter 5” to PlayStation 3 on February 20. But the game is also now heading to Xbox 360 this summer, so both next gen systems will get the newest take on the classic brawler.

Ubisoft is bringing its best-selling “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent” to PlayStation 3 in 07. The game’s already been released on every other platform. Ubisoft previously announced that the next “Splinter Cell” game will be an Xbox 360 exclusive.

Now that all three major game console vendors have launched their next-generation gaming machines and the portable entertainment market is also healthy as ever, the race for consumer spending is on, analyst firm Ovum said in a recent report.

The competition will be especially intense this holiday season, one which will likely serve as a barometer for their performance in the coming new year, according to Ovum’s research executive Carl Gressum.

Microsoft, noted Ovum, had a full year to fine-tune its machinery, and with Sony’s recent difficulties getting the PS3 to market, it has a golden opportunity to solidify its position in the market.

Microsoft has also brought out more popular games titles, such as Gears of War, which should boost sales in the US and Europe. However, Japan will remain a tough sell with the launch of Nintendo’s Wii, it added.

By the end of Q3, the Xbox 360 had to-date sales of 6 million units, compared to the projected 4 million Wii shipments in December 2006 alone.

Although Microsoft has also added video download services to the Xbox 360 platform, the report said this is unlikely to have a significant impact on consumer demand during the holidays, adding that its 20GB hard disk is hardly sufficient for video downloads.

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The combination of Xbox 360 with a Nintendo Wii can become a gaming Nirvana for some, has the Sony crown been dislodged?

With new value packs and the addition of the HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, coupled with the sheer enjoyment of the Wii experience, it may be that the PlayStation 3 will find it difficult to settle into a market niche.

Sure there is the loyal PlayStation fan base, and those that see the PS3 for its obvious advantage bullet points over the other machines.

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Just in time for last-minute holiday shoppers, Microsoft has extended the Xbox 360’s warranty from 90 days to one year, bringing it in line with the warranty lengths of rival game consoles from Sony and Nintendo.

The extension is retroactive, meaning that someone who bought an Xbox 360 in the United States or Canada and paid for repairs within the last year is eligible for reimbursement. In many other countries, a one-year warranty already is standard.

“Customer satisfaction is a central focus and priority for the Xbox 360 system,” Jeff Bell, a marketing vice president at Microsoft, said in a statement Friday.

Microsoft also said reimbursement checks for repairs done in the last 12 months will be sent out automatically in about 10 weeks. Contact information for warranty questions is available on the Xbox support site.

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As the Wii’s list of impressive global launch numbers continue to trickle in, figures just in from the Australian launch are equally impressive. According to data trackers GfK Australia, Nintendo’s new console has become the fastest-selling piece of game hardware in the nation’s history.

GfK stats show that Nintendo sold 32,901 Wiis in the first four days since its launch on December 7—a new record for both console and portable game units. The Wii takes the title of fastest-seller from the Xbox 360, which sold 30,421 units sold in its first four days of availability. Before the 360, Sony’s PSP was king with 27,055 units sold in the first four days. Such was the Wii’s dominance in its launch week that it accounted for 43 percent of all game hardware sales in Australia.

GfK senior account manager Daniel Morse said the Wii had an attach rate of 1.5—attach rates describe the average number of games purchased per console. “New consoles generally get an attach rate of 1.5 to 2, but you have to take into account that the Wii was bundled with a game,” Morse says. The Wii’s bundled game—Wii Sports—was not included in the attach rate figures.

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Dont you miss the old days when all you had to do was walk into an electronics store, find that one good game and go home happy? With so many consoles on the market, and even more games to choose from, choosing the right console and right games can become a difficult task. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 give you cutting edge high definition graphics, the Nintendo Wii gives you innovative gameplay and the PlayStation 2 is still alive and kicking with the biggest library of games anywhere. If youre having a tough decision deciding which console you want to purchase, our guide may make life a little bit easier for you, and your wallet.

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It seems the battle of the next gen consoles has ended a lot early at least as far as America and Canada are concerned, as MSN is reporting that sales of the Xbox 360 have exceeded that of the PlayStation 3 and the Wii in both places. Now one of the main reasons for this is probably Gears of War, Epic’s third person tactical shooter that seems to have taken the world by storm. In addition to this, Microsoft has also dropped the price of several Xbox 360 titles and accessories to get that added advantage over rivals.

To make matters worse for Sony, the PlayStation 3 had one of the most pathetic launch line-ups in the history of line-ups and the Wii, well only had Zelda, as all the other titles have got pretty lukewarm reviews.

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One year after its rushed launch—replete with scratched discs, broken systems, and a dearth of consoles in the heart of the holiday—Microsoft has overcome technical and production issues and is hitting full stride. One year after Perfect Dark, Kameo, and Project Gotham Racing 3, we actually have Gears of War, Viva Pinata and 158 other games in our hands. One year after Microsoft debuted Xbox Live Arcade, Marketplace and its new Xbox Live subscription service for Xbox 360, we can see just how forward thinking its online service is. We’re seeing Microsoft hit a 10 million worldwide subscriber base. We’re watching Sony stumble through its own launch, backing into the holiday season with an expensive console and patchy ports. Three-hundred and sixty-five days after its own sketchy North American launch, how has Microsoft fared? We dare say the Xbox 360 is a success.

It’s easy to think that Microsoft is doing well now. The birthing pains are long gone. But if you were part of last year’s launch like we were, you saw first-hand problems galore. Even the biggest optimist wouldn’t believe that today we’d be sitting here drinking beer and chainsawing our friends into sausage in Gears of War. Through shrewd planning and an unflinching will based on the desire to beat Sony and its PlayStation brand, Microsoft, one year later, looks to have taken its competitors by surprise and, at least for now, grabbed a significant slice of the console market.

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With a robust library of 160 high-definition games expected by holiday, Xbox 360, the video game and entertainment system from Microsoft Corp., will get even better today. On its one-year anniversary, Xbox 360 will digitally deliver an initial lineup of TV shows and movies to gamers in the U.S. via Xbox Live, the online games and entertainment network from Microsoft.

As announced earlier this month, Xbox Live Marketplace will now provide gamers with easy access to hundreds of full-length TV shows for download to own and movies for download to rent from CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment with more content rolled out through Xbox Live Marketplace every week. Xbox 360 is the first gaming console to offer standard and high-definition TV shows and movies via digital distribution.

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Sony PS3 has the technology, Microsoft Xbox 360 has online experience and a year under its belt and the Nintendo Wii has true innovation in game-play. But who can deliver the gaming experience that will loosen our wallets and garner our praise? Here we will focus on the Wii and its surprising competitor in the new battle for the living room.

Officially well in half of the northern hemisphere at lest it is Game on. All three consoles released to the public. All three offering slightly different takes on what Joe Public is after in electronic entertainment.. At this weekends eGame Expo in Melbourne, the Wii booth was a hub of activity, as gamers of all breed lined up to get their hands on the unique Wiimote and the new opportunities for gaming that are introduced by it.

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In a perfect world, determining which new game console to purchase would be out of your hands. Instead the matter would be handled Thunderdome style: Two beefy consoles enter the arena, they battle, and one console is left standing. But since such combat would inevitably lead to the enslavement of mankind by a superrace of cyborg overlords, it’s probably best to figure it out for yourself. Here is some information on the major contenders to help you decide.

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