Microsoft to show off IPTV on Xbox 360

by Darrin Olson

 

In a speech by Bill Gates at CES earlier this year, Gates talked about upgrades to the Xbox 360 including live IPTV service. Microsoft is now planning on showing off this service integrated with the Xbox 360 and the Connected Home show in London the week of March 5th.

IPTV in the game console will be demo’d by Ed Graczyk, Worldwide Director of Marketing and Communications for Microsoft TV, during his keynote speech at the event. “Separately the Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition deliver unique and exciting entertainment experiences, but IPTV on Xbox 360 delivers a real value proposition for consumers, service providers and content and game developers alike. By integrating these industry-leading solutions, we continue to drive innovation and enable new connected entertainment experiences for consumers.”, said Graczyk. This will be the first time consumers will get a chance to actually see what Microsoft has planned for the integration.

This new feature incorporated into the Xbox 360 game console will bring it additional value as more of an integrated fixture in a home entertainment package allowing users to browse, record and watch television shows through the console, along with other features such as chatting over Xbox Live while watching television. “This will be a unique opportunity to witness first hand the possibilities which IPTV offers to service providers and to the online gaming market and we are delighted that Microsoft has chosen the IPTV World Forum event to showcase this demonstration.”, said Ian Johnson, director of the Junction Group who organized the IPTV world forum.

(c) www.slipperybrick.com

Sony's PS3 Launch Titles will be £10 less than Xbox 360's

It has been revealed that Sony's PS3 launch titles will be £10 less than the Xbox 360 title's were. This means Brits can pick up the likes of Resistance for just £39.99.

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SCEE’s five disc-based first-party releases – Resistance: Fall Of Man, Motorstorm, Formula One Championship Edition, Ridge Racer 7 and Genji, Days Of The Blade – have been given an Official price point of just £39.99 (E59.99). The suggested retail price of Xbox 360 titles is usually £49.99.
In addition to the disc-based games SCEE has also announced that titles downloadable via its PlayStation Network, such as BlastFactor, flOw and Super Rub a Dub and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, will be available for an introductory period at prices from E2.99 to E9.99 (around £2 to £6.70).
Additional content, such as video content and game items, will be priced on sliding scale from E0.99 (around 66p).

(c) www.maxconsole.net

Nintendo Wii Outsells PS3, Xbox 360 During January

by Marcus Yam

The Wii off to a great start for 2007

Nintendo’s Wii continues to sell at a torrid place, outselling the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during January. Market research firm NPD Group reports that consumers bought 436,000 Wii, while Xbox 360 sold 294,000 units, followed by PlayStation 3 with 244,000.

Nintendo is crediting much of its success to the broad appeal of Wii compared to machines from Microsoft and Sony. “I do think that we're selling to additional and different customers,” said Perrin Kaplan, VP marketing for Nintendo. “We've had an incredibly healthy start and we think there's going to be a pretty long tail on this product.”

Each console experienced a drop in sales when compared with figures from December 2006. The Wii saw the least decline when compared to its previous month at 604,200, while Xbox 360 saw the biggest decline from its 1.1 million units sold. PlayStation 3 also fell from its 490,700 sold during December.

The PlayStation 2 continues to be a strong seller, likely because of its price point, with 299,000 units—but down from the amazing 1.4 million during the holiday month. The Nintendo DS also loosened its grip, selling 239,000 during January—a steep drop from the 1.6 million during the gift-giving season. PSP also fell to 211,000 from 953,200.

(c) www.dailytech.com