The release of what Microsoft referred to as a global entertainment phenomenon has managed to explode sales of its Xbox 360 consoles. The combined market performances of Halo 3 and Nintendo’s Wii console have contributed to a 75% jump in sales of video gaming hardware and software in the U.S. According to market research firm NPD, gaming related sales passed the $1.3 billion milestone in September, increasing from $779 million the previous month. NPD indicated that Microsoft’s claims revealing Halo 3’s impact as a new standard of interactive entertainment were justified, as the title pushed in excess of 3.3 million copies in its first month. In this context, the following nine games combined, in the top 10 selling titles, account for a little over half of Halo 3’s sales. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t panic… or panic, if you’ve been saving enough cash to buy the ordinary Xbox 360 Core package. Gamespot and Kotaku have caught wind of the newest rule that applies to game stores: “Don’t say a word about the Core pack”. It seems that the stock is gone, although I’ve just seen one of these consoles in a store this weekend.
This also might be a sign that Microsoft’s preparing for the launch of new version of the Core system, which includes wireless controllers and that useful 256MB memory card. I hope that the price will match our expectations, or even surpass them, making the new Core be available at a lower price than the original one. The advantages of an Xbox 360 Core? First of all, it’s cheaper and second, most of the average gamers are not in dire need of a hard drive to save their Xbox Live demos on. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s been online for a few days now, but I just spotted (via PaidContent) Fortune’s article entitled The iFlop (sub-head: “Steve Jobs tried to design–and dictate–the future of television. Here’s how he failed.”) Author Scott Woolley calls the Apple TV “a flat-out” failure, claiming that it’s sold less than 250,000 units in six months. Among the supposed sins of the product: the lack of a built-in DVR and a “parochial and proprietary approach” to online video content. Read the rest of this entry »
