Although the PS3 had a bit of a rocky start, 2009 was a big year for the console with the release of the Slim model. SCEA senior VP of publisher relations Rob Dyer believes the PS3 is "better for publishers than 360," and the price cut had a "huge impact" on Sony's sales. With that, Dyer took some shots at Microsoft and its Xbox 360.

"They had a year's head start against us, so we've been playing catch-up ball," he explained. "Before the price cut, they had a two-to-one advantage; if you were a third-party publisher looking at the index, you should have been selling twice the number of units on the 360 as you would on the PS3."

Dyer also criticized Microsoft's first-party labels, saying they don't have enough strong labels or an internal development studio.

"They have very few first-party studios at Microsoft. Bungie's next Halo is the last one, Rare rarely puts out anything, you've got Peter Molyneux with his Fable stuff...but they don't have first-party development studios inside at Redmond or anywhere for that matter," he added.

"We do," he countered. "So rather than putting their money behind that, they've been going to Epic or Valve or BioWare to do what they did with Mass Effect, and that's where they throw their dollars.

He concluded by saying, "Candidly, we're not going to compete with Microsoft on that front, but what we have is a global business here. Our global business is bigger than 360's and will continue to get bigger than 360, and people are seeing that. We passed them in Europe and they don't even exist in Japan, and we're going to catch them and pass them here in the U.S. as well."

[via Industry Gamers]

In a recent job posting noticed by CVG, it was revealed that Microsoft is currently working on bringing a "large franchise" to Project Natal.

"MGS is looking for a talented, motivated and experienced Sr. Level Designer who can create innovative game-play solutions for a large franchise," the listing reads. "The Sr. Level Designer is expected to implement major gameplay features to high quality, focusing on creating and implementing level designs. Qualified individuals are expected to be organized, with excellent communication skills, both verbally and written, and have a proven track record in AAA game design."

Any ideas on what it might be?

Microsoft announced its Windows Phone 7 Series today, which ties together Xbox Live games and Zune media onto a mobile device. Manufacturers are already building phones according to the software company, and the first line will be available this holiday.

"This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer's avatar, Achievements and gamer profile," the company said. "With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series."

We've heard it before, and now we've heard it again. At X10 yesterday, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg reiterated to Kotaku that 2010 will be "the biggest year in the history of Xbox," and indeed, the lineup of games shown off at the event was impressive. Crackdown 2, Halo: Reach, Alan Wake, Fable III, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Dead Rising 2 and Lost Planet 2 were all in attendance.

"To be this early in the year and able to have an E3-quality line-up with triple-A blockbuster titles, that really speaks to how big a year this will be for us," Greenberg said excitedly. "This is just a glimpse of the quality of products we're going to bring throughout the full year.

'If you're a core gamer we've never ever had a lineup like this all in one year, plus Natal, plus everything we're doing around Xbox Live innovation. Last year, we saved a lot of our big news for E3. This year, we absolutely have a lot of big news for E3, but we have so much that we are starting early.

"It's going to be a big year...it's going to be the biggest year in the history of Xbox," he concluded.

In 2006, the US Army approached Microsoft with an offer to buy a massive amount of Xbox 360s to train soldiers. Microsoft declined the lucrative deal citing some pretty ridiculous reasons. The report comes from a recent Wired article in which Roger Smith, the man responsible for the Army's training equipment, explains why Microsoft made the decision. According to Smith, it came down to three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn’t make much money off of the games.

• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.

• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?"

How could these three reasons be valid enough to force Microsoft to turn down a boatload of upfront cash (after all, this was a contract deal)? Does this make any sense at all? To me, it seems like Microsoft made a huge mistake here.

Speaking with NowGamer, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter gave his thoughts on the console war, specifically with regards to Sony and Microsoft's motion-control devices. According to him, there's a few factors that will determine the "winner."

"The key to success with a retrofitted motion controller is penetration," said Pachter. "If price points are high, it is unlikely that Natal or Sony's motion controller will sell many units; if they are very low, they will sell a lot more. Without a meaningful installed base of consoles with the new motion controllers, developers will not be able to cost justify development of games that require motion control.  Therefore, it’s a chicken and egg problem."

Pachter expects Microsoft's Natal to outsell Arc because it will likely have a lower price tag, meaning greater accessibility to a wider audience.

"My uninformed opinion is that Microsoft will price relatively low (around $50), and Sony will price higher (around $100), and that suggests that Microsoft will have greater success," he added.

Microsoft announced yesterday that it would be flipping the proverbial switch off for the original Xbox Live service, effectively boning any gamers out there still playing Halo 2 and the likes on their big black box. Bungie has responded to this move, saying that it's "saddened" to see the era come to an end.

"Halo 2 fans take note – you have ten weeks left to play multiplayer games over Xbox Live before the service will be discontinued," they wrote in a statement.

"We're all saddened at the realization that an era is coming to an end but looking back, we're incredibly fortunate to have had such a great run and such strong support from our fans," continues Bungie. "Halo 2 has been at or near the top of the Xbox Live charts for original games since it launched over five years ago.

"That said, mark your calendars now - on April 14th let's all rally to go online for one last hoorah. One final farewell and one final opportunity for all of you to kick our asses at Halo 2."

Original Xbox users, your time has come. Microsoft will no longer be providing support for the original Xbox Live, but this isn't just affecting Xbox owners, it also affects those with the Xbox 360 because this move also drops support for forwards compatible Xbox games on the Xbox 360.

"On April 15 we will discontinue the Xbox Live service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox v1 games playable on Xbox 360 and Xbox Originals," wrote Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten. "I want to start by saying this isn't a decision we made lightly, but after careful consideration, it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live community."

(more...)

A few days ago, Microsoft announced its plan to release a 250GB standalone Xbox 360 hard drive in Japan. The company has also confirmed that it's cutting the price on its 120GB hard drive in Europe from £99.99 to £79.99. The 250GB hard drive is only releasing in Japan for now, but the price cut on the 120GB hard drive, taking place "while supplies last," suggests that it will be releasing outside of Japan.

"Microsoft is now offering a standalone 250GB hard drive in Japan to provide consumers in Japan more storage options for their games and entertainment,"  Microsoft told Eurogamer. "We work closely with retailers to determine the best approach for our products on a region-by-region basis.

"In Europe, the 120GB hard drive is available for an ERP of €129.99 / £79.99 while supplies last. We also offer other storage options for consumers to choose from such as the Xbox Live 60GB Starter Pack that includes a 60GB hard drive, three-month subscription to Xbox LIVE, ethernet cable and wired headset for an ERP of €79.99 / £59.99."

Sony expects to surpass Microsoft in sales very soon, and "it's  not going to take long." Peter Dille, Sony's VP of marketing and head of the PlayStation Network, made the statements, even going so far as to say the Xbox 360 won't be around in 10 years.

"I don't think they'll be around in 10 years, so I'm very confident we'll pass them within that time frame," he told IGN. "I mean, we've got 31 million [units sold] worldwide right now -- they've got 39 million [units sold]. I don't even need to go out 10 years. I'm not going to make any predictions for your interview today other than we'll pass them, but you look at where we are today and where they are today, and they had an opportunity to sprint as far ahead of us as possible when they had the head start. Well, we're breathing down their necks and they can see us in the rearview mirror and it's not going to take too long to pass them."

Those are some pretty ballsy words. Can the PS3 pass up the Xbox 360, or has it been too costly (particularly around its launch) to catch up?