Windows Phone games unveiled!

Microsoft has announced the first wave of games that would be available on the Windows Phone 7 platform. Working in unison with a gamer's Xbox Live account, the Windows Phone 7 allows players to keep track of leaderboards and achievements on the go, as well as play a range of Live games.

Microsoft financials stutter, but look in good shape

Microsoft’s entertainment business has reported an operating loss increase of 22 per cent year-over-year to $US172 million for the quarter.

How do the research budgets of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo stack up?

There is a vast disparity between the research and development budgets for the three major console players.

Microsoft enters the handheld market

Microsoft will be attacking the console handheld market, leveraging off its Xbox Live service and Windows 7 Phone hardware.

Will the Xbox evolve into a cloud gaming platform?

A comment from Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, raises some interesting questions about the future of the Xbox gaming platform.

Xbox 360 on the comeback in Japan?

The Xbox 360, a console that has traditionally struggled in the Japanese market, has had a massive boost in popularity.

Is the Xbox 360 on its last legs?

There’s an interesting conflict in opinions going on, in regards to how the Xbox 360 will fare in the market.

Square Enix dismisses Nintendo's future?

It was already obvious, but Square Enix has formally announced it will throw its considerable weight behind online gaming experiences.

Microsoft aims to make Live family-friendly

Microsoft has made a bid for entire families to join Xbox Live with a new package offer in the UK.

Opinion: Why Nintendo failed at E3

Let’s get the disclaimer out of the way from the start: Nintendo’s presentation blew me away. The 3DS announcement has me more excited about a console than I’ve been for a long time, and the list of games that Nintendo rolled out will keep me occupied for a long, long time.

Microsoft expands online activity into emerging territories

Microsoft will expanded its Xbox Live service into nine new territories this year as it seeks to capitalise on emerging markets.

The service will roll out in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Russia and South Africa this year.

It's no surprise to see Microsoft looking to expand further into some markets. Latin America has become a hot topic for discussion as a future market to tap for the games industry. Three of the nine nations listed above are Latin American.

In other news, more locally, video-on-demand programming from satellite and cable TV provider Foxtel will be made available this year in Australia. The service will not require a set-top box, and will likely be similar to the Sky service offered in the UK.

Source: gamesindustry.biz

The price of Natal (sorry, Kinect)

There's been a number of reports that Microsoft's motion-sensing device, Kinect (previously named Natal) will cost as high as $US200.

According to a number of reports (including Kotaku), Swedish retailers are listing a price of 1,499 SEK, roughly $US200 on exchange.

Given the low apparent interest in Kinect, I would expect such a price to be prohibitive, and dampen interest further.

Call of Duty deal keeps the add-ons flowing for Microsoft

Microsoft has signed a deal with Activision to ensure that the Xbox 360 will receive Call of Duty add-ons first for the next three years.

It's not the first time the vendor has signed this kind of agreement. Microsoft previously signed a rumoured $50 million deal that saw Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content released exclusively to the Xbox in 2008.

Financials were not announced when Microsoft revealed the deal at its E3 press briefing, however the deal starts with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Source: gamesindustry.biz

E3: Mini Xbox 360 to hit the market

The Xbox 360 Slim has been announced as part of Mircosoft's E3 reveal.

The new Xbox 360 will ship with a 250GB hard drive and includes wireless N built-in. The console should be released to the Australian market at roughly the same time as the UK and Europe editions - July 16 or thereabouts. There has been no official confirmation of release dates, however.

Source: gamesindustry.biz

Move and Natal interest remains low

Sony’s PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Project Natal might not gain the traction both vendors were hoping for, according to a report by OTX.

Just eight per cent of Xbox 360 owners plan on buying Natal, while six per cent of PlayStation 3 owners plan on investing in Move, according to the research.

It will be interesting to see if either vendor is able to get that number up, because at six or eight percent of the install base, not many developers will create games that require the use of either technology – it simply wouldn’t be worth their while, especially when compared to the Nintendo Wii whose owners are 100 per cent guaranteed to be own a Wiimote controller.

An interesting possible point of comparison could be the Wii MotionPlus add-on. Outside of a few high-profile games, there are very few games that effectively use the add-on, and even fewer that demand the player have one. I don't imagine Sony and Microsoft would be looking for such a niche user-base with their own releases.

Source: IGN

Microsoft: Halo 3 has outsold everything PS3

Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, via Twitter, has made a big claim: Bungie's Halo 3 has outsold the entire catalogue of current PS3 exclusive games.

In the Tweet, Greenberg claimed the combined weight of Resistance 1 and 2, Uncharted 1 and 2, Killzone 2 and God of War 3 was not able to account for the sales of Halo 3.

It's an impressive stat, to be sure - though it does only apply to the North American market.