Tech Wizard

Even though GTA IV was launched the past month, it did not help either Play station 3 or Xbox360 to overtake Wii in terms of sales. Wii sold 714,000 units in April while Nintendo DS sold 414,000 units. Xbox360 was just slightly ahead of Play station 3 selling 188,000 units while Play station 3 sold 187,100 units. Both the consoles sales were down by a huge margin compared to the sales in March where Xbox360 sold 262,000 and Play station 3 sold 257,000 units.

Sony was quite happy with the sales figure and Jack Tretton, CEO of SCEA said “Clearly, the tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, combined with the blockbuster launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue packed a one-two punch with consumers at retail this month. The proof is in the numbers and, in April, PlayStation 3 hardware sales experienced a 127% increase over April of last year”. Play station 2 was also alive selling 124,000 units.

GTA IV was the top selling game for the month (no surprises) and Mario Kart Wii took the 2^nd place.

The Nintendo gaming console Wii has now caught up to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in the total market share. This is despite the fact that the Xbox 360 had about 1 year of head start. Even so the Xbox 360 still maintains a very sizable lead over the Playstation 3 from Sony which is considered to be its more direct competitor.

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On Nov. 15, Microsoft will celebrate the fifth anniversary of Xbox LIVE. In addition, the company notes that the latest membership figures show more than 8 million members are now actively engaged in the largest social entertainment network on TV. Xbox LIVE has grown from a small community of gamers in two countries, playing a handful of games online with their friends, to a worldwide social entertainment network offering online access to gaming, music, movies and TV shows.

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Well according to EA sports, Madden NFL 2008 will just render 30 FPS in the PlayStation 3 version while it will be around 60 FPS in the XBox 360 version which is double the amount. Well this doesn’t mean that the PlayStation 3 version of Madden NFL 08 isn’t unplayable due to its lower frame rate, it’s just that the XBox 360 version is preferred for its smoother animations and good frame rates.

This difference is due to vast hardware differences between the two consoles and it’s difficult for the game manufacturers to create a game for both the new consoles with new technology.

After cutting out Xbox 360 price , Microsoft has now announced the limited edition of the Halo 3-themed Xbox 360 console.

This special edition will be launched in spartan green color and will include 20GB hard disk. The console will also include a HDMI input but no HDMI cable is provided with it.

The Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Console comprises of :
# Halo 3 Special Edition Console
# Halo 3 Special Edition Wireless Controller
# Halo 3 Special Edition 20GB Hard Drive
# Halo 3 Special Edition Wired Headset
# Halo 3 Special Edition Gamer Pics and Theme (Exclusive download via Xbox LIVE)
# Component HD AV Cable, Ethernet Cable, HDMI Port, Play and Charge Kit
# Xbox LIVE Silver Membership and One-month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership

The Halo-3 themed Xbox 360 will be shipped by September in the US market and it will be available at the price of $399.99.

Most of the new buyers might be a bit confused on choosing between the best suitable version of the XBox 360. Currently there are three versions of the XBox 360; Core, Premium and the Elite. Well let’s start with the Elite version

The Elite Version:

The Elite version is equipped with a premium black finish and three powerful core processors capable of producing the best in HD entertainment up to 1080p. It’s not just the console that’s in black but all its accessories as well as its components, well… its box as well. The Elite version comes with a 120GB detachable hard disk. This hard if brought separately will cost you $180. Well regarding other things there seem to be same components as that of Xbox360 premium version; Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 headset, Xbox 360 HDMI Cable, Xbox LIVE Silver Membership and One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold. The Elite is currently priced at $479.

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My dear Canadian brother’s cheer up. Microsoft announced that the Canadians can now grab the Premium package for just $399.99 CDN, the Core version at just $299.99 CDN and the Elite for $499.99 CDN beginning Aug. 8 on all nationwide retail outlets. By the way if you are those Halo fanboys you could grab the Halo3- themed 360’s that lands next month for $449.99 CDN. Being allies always help be it war or consoles.

“The fact that we have been able to keep our launch price longer than any other console while retaining our leadership position demonstrates that consumers believe in the value of Xbox 360,” said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president, Global Retail Sales and Marketing Group, Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “On the eve of the best holiday games lineup ever and the launch of ‘Madden NFL 08,’ there has never been a better time to jump into Xbox 360.”

According to latest internal Best Buy reports reveal that the Xbox 360 core system will be removed from the stock. But don’t you worry people this is not a sign of discontinuing the Xbox360 core system by Microsoft. The Xbox 360 Core remains an important member of the Xbox 360 family and hence it won’t be discontinued.

The XBox 360 core system price will be reduced by 20$, hope it comes down to 200$ very soon as Microsoft feels that 200$ is a sweet spot for the core version.

Today, Microsoft announced extending it’s global Xbox 360 warranty coverage to three years, effective immediately.

The company said that any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure indicated by ‘three flashing red lights‘ will now be covered by a three-year warranty from the date of purchase.

A press release issued by Microsoft said that it has conducted extensive investigations into the problem. That the company stands behind its products, and takes responsibility to repair or replace any Xbox 360 console experiencing the ‘three flashing red lights’ error message within three years from the time of purchase free-of-charge, which includes shipping costs.

The change in warranty applies both to existing and new customers of Xbox 360. And, Microsoft will retroactively pay-back the out-of-warranty repair costs paid by customers who’ve experienced such problems with their consoles.

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