Conclusion

Microsoft said a few weeks ago in its latest financial release that they have sold six million Xbox 360 console worldwide so far and even though there is less than two months to go before the end of 2006 Henson told us they are confident that the total worldwide sales of the console will top 10 million before the end of the year. Currently over 4 million people have signed onto Microsoft’s online Xbox Live service. Microsoft has never officially announced how many people have signed onto their paid subscription Xbox Live Gold service for the console but Henson did reveal to us that a majority of Xbox Live users have indeed paid for the Gold service. Do a little math and that means that at least 2 million people are paying for full-featured Xbox Live.

Henson also talked to us about their Xbox Live Arcade, which has already seen a lot of success. Henson told us that the next Xbox Live Arcade game will be released this Wednesday and will be a port of the classic shooter Contra. Other games like Defender, Assault Heroes and Novadrome are scheduled to be released on Xbox Live Arcade before the end of the year. Henson told us that for 2007 there will be a more even mix of updated retro games (but with improved graphics, leader boards, achievements and more) and all new original titles for Xbox Live Arcade. And then there’s Microsoft’s push for the XNA Studio Express game development tool, which will see a final version in December and will allow people who sign onto Microsoft’s subscriber program to use it to not only create simple games for the PC, but also for Xbox 360.

We also asked Henson about the comparisons that are already being made between the Xbox 360 and the upcoming PS3 and Wii. Microsoft’s Xbox Live service offers a free Silver membership and a $49.99 a year Gold membership that among other things allows players access to multiplayer features in Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade games. However, both Sony and Nintendo have already said they will offer free multiplayer features for their respective next-gen consoles. So will Microsoft break down and offer the Gold features for free at some point? Henson flat out said that he doesn’t see Microsoft turning away from their current plan mainly because Microsoft sees Xbox Live as having several features that neither competing console is currently slated to have. Henson made a point about how people playing online games on Sony’s PS3 network will have to have a separate friends list for each game along with their basic Sony Network ID, rather than the unified Gamertag that Microsoft offers for Xbox Live members.

What about other extra features for Xbox Live members? For example, both Sony and Nintendo will have Internet web browsers for the PS3 and Wii when they launch. We asked Henson if a future update for the Xbox 360 will include a similar feature. Henson said that the capacity to add such a browser would not be difficult but indicated to us that based on their focus groups and surveys of Xbox 360 members adding such a feature to the console would not be desirable.

With the introduction of high definition movie and TV episode downloads for the Xbox 360 it’s clear that while still concentrating on the video game features Microsoft sees the console as more than just a game machine. Will they be able to get a leg up on Sony who has a ready made list of movies, TV shows and even music to choose from if they decide to offer a similar download service? Will people get annoyed that the movie and TV downloads will be restricted only to the console and cannot be transferred to any other device? Will Microsoft’s line-up of games for this fall and for 2007 be enough to fight off the heavy hitters from Sony (Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII) and Nintendo (Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Galaxy)? Only one thing is for sure in this next-gen console war. Right now it’s truly anyone’s battle to win and even with Microsoft’s one year head start its clear the company isn’t taking their lead for granted.