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Posts with tag xbox-360

Wii closing in on the 360's U.S. lead

Posted May 16th 2008 7:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News

After Microsoft's brag-fest on Wednesday, during which Don Mattrick essentially declared the Xbox 360 as this generation's console winner, Nintendo made sure to strike back with a press release of their own.

Mattrick's exact words were, "History has shown us that the first company to reach ten million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry."

Nintendo's response: "Oh no he didn't," followed by some snapping and a "talk to the hand" gesture.

In all seriousness, Nintendo replied to the comment in a more subtle manner. The company just released a press release to gloat over its success in April's NPD, casually stating in the process that over 9.5 million Wiis have sold in the U.S. In case you haven't noticed, 9.5 and 10 million aren't all that far apart, so Nintendo is trying to stop Microsoft from marking its proverbial territory just yet. Since the Wii outsold Microsoft's system 4:1 last month, many analysts are even predicting that the little white console will overtake the 360 some time soon.

So, which PR tactic do you enjoy more? The in-your-face, Mattrick approach, or the sublte "by the way, we're right behind you" statement from Nintendo?

[Via press release]

Iwata on Microsoft's rumored Wiimote rival: 'Pft.'

Posted May 2nd 2008 2:15PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News

Speculation that Microsoft may be about to launch a rival to the Wii Remote started early last month, yet Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's thoughts on the matter have only publicly emerged now. His verdict? A resounding, distinctly unimpressed "Meh."

Well, we're paraphrasing a bit there, but it's more or less what he meant. "We are not concerned about what other companies may do," Iwata told an audience of investors. "[We're] rather more concerned with presenting [...] new ideas to our customers based on the prospect that our existing customers will surely get tired of [gameplay] enabled by the Wii Remote if we do not try to improve the experience."

Rather than fret over what Microsoft and Sony get up to, Iwata says he'd prefer that Nintendo concentrated on producing more "new surprises" for consumers. Or, to put it another way, keep one step ahead of the competition, and they'll never catch you.

[Via Develop]

Rumor: Microsoft working on Wiimote-style device

Posted Apr 8th 2008 12:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Rumors, Peripherals, Controller

On the face of it, the latest rumor that Microsoft is planning a Wiimote-esque peripheral (purportedly developed by Rare) for the Xbox 360 carries all the hallmarks of a wind-up. There's the obligatory "anonymous source," the hastily drawn MS Paint sketch you see to the right, and plenty of disclaimers -- "if it is indeed released," "if the project comes to fruition" -- in the MTV Multiplayer blog post that broke the rumor.

Look closer, however, and the speculation seems to gain credibility. As our sister site Xbox 360 Fanboy notes, Rare also happens to be developing The Fast and the Furriest for Xbox Live Arcade, which features "a wand type input device for gesture recognition." And it's no secret that Microsoft has spent the last few months jealously eyeing Nintendo's hold over the "casual" crowd -- but would the company be quite so brazen in ripping off Nintendo's gaming wand?

[Via Joystiq]

Microsoft Europe's Chris Lewis sees Wii as the once-in-a-while console

Posted Mar 20th 2008 6:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

Head honcho of Microsoft Europe was quick to put down the Wii in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz recently. He is of the mind that success in the mass market is determined less by gameplay and more by other factors. The way we've always seen it, games define the system.

Now that the Xbox 360 apparently got a price cut over there, it's being offered to consumers for less money than the Wii. Lewis thinks that the price of the 360, along with its games and digital entertainment distribution capabilities will ultimately help it win the console war. He thinks these factors will lead the 360 being seen as a console with more rich content, whereas the Wii is kind of like the 'party appeal' system.

"I think you've got to be prepared to be appealing in lots of different areas and make sure you don't become something that only gets yanked out of a cupboard at Christmas and particularly holiday peaks and doesn't really get used the rest of the time," Lewis comments. "I think you've got to be careful with that. I think our depth and breadth of experience will ensure that we never get in any way put into the cupboard in that way."

Either way you slice it, playing has been believing and we're not sure Lewis' approach is going to help the 360 dethrone Wii in the territory.

Reggie on catching Xbox 360, Balance Board support

Posted Feb 21st 2008 6:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Interviews, Sales

If serial name-taker and ass-kicker Reggie Fils-Aime has his way, the future is already looking decidedly grim for Nintendo's opposition.

In interviews with Bloomberg and IGN respectively, the Nintendo bigwig has discussed how he hopes to see the Wii overtake the Xbox 360 in North America by June (currently, Nintendo's console is outselling Microsoft's by a reasonably slim margin each month), and has promised that "over ten games are in development that take advantage of the Balance Board."

We already know that Family Ski will be making use of Nintendo's wobbly slab (in conjunction with the Wiimote and nunchuk, which quite brilliantly double as ski poles), but that means there are still nine Balance Board-compatible games out there, waiting to be revealed. If you're listening, 1080° Snowboarding, now is the time for a comeback!

Read - Reggie on overtaking Xbox 360 by June [Via NeoGAF]
Read - Reggie: Ten games in development for Balance Board [Via Joystiq]

No More Heroes initially planned as a 360 game

Posted Feb 1st 2008 6:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

Speaking to MCV, No More Heroes director Suda 51 said that in the earliest stages of planning, his game was going to be made for the Xbox 360. It was his producer at Marvelous Interactive, Yasuhiro Wada, who suggested the Wii instead.

"Originally, I'd wanted to make this game for Xbox 360, actually. Wada-san had information about the new Wii and how the new controller would work before it came out, so that's why he thought I should produce the game on that format."

It's important to remember that back then Suda wouldn't have known about the controller, or really much of anything about the Wii, while the 360 was a known quantity. A very small quantity in Japan, but still something that could be developed for. Of course, once Suda found out about the Wiimote (and, though he doesn't say it, the smaller cost of game development on the Wii) he was on board. Really, though, if No More Heroes tanked in Japan on the Wii, a system that people have, imagine the 360 sales.

Experimenting with power

Posted Jan 31st 2008 8:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Peripherals


Christmas 2006 will always be remembered at Casa de Greenhough for this blogger's second Wiimote running out of juice just ten minutes into the family's first (and last) Wii Tennis session of the day, and for the tears that followed from younger relatives (okay, and me).

That minor black mark aside, the battery life of the trusty Wii Remote has always seemed quite respectable, but GamePro decided to get its science on and test exactly how quickly each home console sucks the life from batteries.

The results proved surprising, with the Wiimote (36 hours and 43 minutes from each set of batteries) almost bang in the middle of the PlayStation 3's Sixaxis (a piffling 18 hours and 41 minutes) and the Xbox 360 controller (56 hours and 56 minutes). As GamePro notes, the presence of so many extras (speakers, gyroscopes, etc.) make the Wiimote's performance all the more impressive.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Wii60 and more: $50,000

Posted Jan 7th 2008 6:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Mods



SE2 Labs isn't afraid to toot its own horn with the ITC One, introducing this monster of a home entertainment system on its site with, "ITC One. Hello, awesomeness." The AV company has no problem attaching a luxury price to the all-in-one theatre box, either, suggesting a $50,000 tag for a full-featured model.

In addition to the Wii and Xbox 360 packed right next to each other (that can't be great for heat management), the ITC One has an iPod with a universal dock, a 4.3" touch screen, Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, an ICEpower D-Class amp, a DirecTV HD DVR, a Brystron DSP, and enough inputs and outputs in the back to plug in every single device in your home. With all that and more, it's easy to see why SE2 Labs feels it can confidently claim that they've jammed in "every high-end component you need."

Interestingly, the current design doesn't allow users to access the Wii's GameCube ports, so you can cross GameCube compatibility from the ITC One's long list of features. Siliconera had a chance to speak with SE2 at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show, and asked CEO Michael Pyle why the low-end Wii was included with the high-end system. Pyle responded, "It fit in there, so we figured, why not?"

SE2 Labs plans to offer a base model of the ITC One without the Wii and other components for the low price of $19,900. Sounds like a steal to us! Bring your moneybags past the break for a couple more photos of the ITC One.

Continue reading Wii60 and more: $50,000

Wii surpasses Xbox 360 in UK

Posted Dec 18th 2007 5:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News

According to the sales data from Chart-Track (your friendly neighborhood UK chart compiler), the Wii's total hardware sales surpassed those of the Xbox 360 in the land of Great Britain. Wait, the Xbox 360 was on the market for an entire year before the Wii, you say? It ain't no thang. Nothing can keep that little white console down.

Chart-Track declined to release the total sales numbers of each console, due to corporate policy. The charts did reveal, however, that 100,000 Wii units were sold in the UK last week. That may not be enough to meet demand, but still shows that Nintendo is supplying a good amount of consoles to the region.

[Via Gamasutra]

That fence comfy, Konami?

Posted Nov 13th 2007 8:30PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News

We only ask because the company has revealed its thoughts on the current hardware cycle, and come to the overly diplomatic conclusion that ... they're all winners! Every one of them! Hurray!

"Previously, a single home gaming platform [PS2] was the market leader worldwide, but that pattern has changed," the company said in a statement. "Whichever platform best caters to users' preferences in a particular country or region, in terms of the games available to be played on it, is now the one that will dominate the local market."

Being the well-informed readers that you are, you'll be well aware that the Wii snagged first place from the Xbox 360 back in September, and apparently continues to be hugely desirable to consumers. And although Konami is correct to point out that the race is more finely balanced than in the last generation, there's still a distance to go yet. If anything, we'd bank on Nintendo to stretch its lead.

Get Mario on your 360

Posted Oct 25th 2007 10:30AM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Fan stuff



Last week, you may recall our sister site DS Fanboy frothing over a Zelda-themed Xbox 360 faceplate, a fine, one-of-a-kind piece of fanwork that eventually sold on eBay for the criminally low price of $31.

At the bottom of said auction, creator 'worldwidewebbs' (who has a bit of a knack for these, it would seem) promised us a Mario version within the week, and has duly delivered. Impressively, this fantastic Super Mario World faceplate (which, as we type, is still only at $21.50) boasts moving parts (the Piranha Plant emerges from its pipe at the touch of a spring-loaded button) and even a sound chip that plays the jaunty Mario theme.

Sir, we applaud your talents! While simmering beneath the surface with envy.

Pachter: Xbox 360 September victory won't last

Posted Oct 19th 2007 10:30PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News

Michael Pachter? Dude knows his stuff. Totally called Halo 3's the Xbox 360's September sales victory. But dab those tears away, because even though corks might be a-popping now at Microsoft Towers, the Wedbush Morgan man expects the victory to be a fleeting one at best.

"Although sales of Halo 3 accounted for all (and then some) of the growth during the month, the game clearly drove hardware sales that will position the industry for even greater sales in November and December, when many Halo players will be ready for a new challenge," Pachter told Gamasutra.

Loose translation: the Wii will soon have clambered back on its throne, bloodied yet still so very far from beaten. Now, do we all agree?

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