This Week in the Mercury
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Geek / Games / Tech Xbox 360 News From An Event I Did Not Attend
Posted by Earnest "Nex" Cavalli on Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 10:26 AM
Hey Internet! Thanks for all the info from last night's big Xbox 360 presentation at CES 2010! You totally saved me the trouble of actually going to Vegas on my employer's dime and enjoying this stupid job!
- Microsoft
- Project Natal
Enough of my petulant bitching. You came here to hear all about how Microsoft's console is going to change the world in the near future. Here's a poorly formatted list courtesy head Xbox 360 cheerleader Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb:
We now have over 39 million Xbox 360’s around the world. Since launch, over 500 million games have been sold generating 20-Billion dollars in sales.Between Christmas and New Years, Xbox LIVE experienced it’s busiest weeks ever, welcoming a new member every second and recording over 2.2. million concurrent members online.
This Spring, the first Modern Warfare 2 content packs will be available exclusively first on Xbox LIVE.
Later this Spring, ‘Game Room’ will come to Xbox LIVE. This is a destination for the classic arcade games. You can buy once and play on both your Xbox 360 and Windows PC. A new game will be released every week. You’ll be able to invite friends through Xbox LIVE and share your custom arcade and show off your personal collection.
Project Natal is coming this Holiday 2010
Hit the jump for a more in-depth look at some of the more important points from the keynote.
It's apparent from the keynote that Project Natal is Microsoft's next Windows Vista/Zune/Bing, both in the amount of hype (and promotional cash) the company is putting behind it, and the arguable success I predict it will see based on three decades of gaming companies attempting to foist bullshit gimmicks on an indifferent public.
Demonstrating my point was Microsoft's willingness to attach a somewhat near term release date to the new technology (which, in case you're oblivious to it, is summed up here), without having any actual games to demonstrate. That's not hyperbole either, the keynote essentially said "Natal is awesome" and then, just when you'd expect them to demonstrate why, they asked attendees to imagine the possibilities.
I only wish I was kidding.
On the other hand, Microsoft is also pretty big on this "Game Room" thing. Essentially it functions as an old-school arcade facilitated by the magic of broadband Internet. You assemble a collection of arcade games, and then these games form a "place" where you can hang out with friends, play games and chat. It isn't much more than a chat room with classic game functionality, but anything that gets people playing more King of Fighters '98 or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game is good by me.
Otherwise it seems like Microsoft is comfortable in its role as the dominant "hardcore" console of this generation. They have the lead, know it, and are willing to run out the clock while developing the Xbox 720 and its no doubt mind blowing holographic dog walking technology. Exciting, no?
(Post Script: If you find yourself riveted by all this news and wish there was some kind of audio recording of the event available, good news! Hryb also offers links to downloadable audio recordings of the show. Why there's no video available is a baffling mystery.)
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