XBox 360 Rally

Whether you bought a Wii, Xbox 360 or even a PlayStation 3, you can’t argue that this was an amazing year for console gamers. The industry certainly can’t argue this fact either, as gaming as a whole made over $40 billion in 2007, with much of the success coming between August and November. Microsoft in particular did well for themselves over the year, or so they tell you.

According to Microsoft, thanks to a strong holiday showing which included hits like Mass Effect and Halo 3, the Xbox 360 surpassed the 17.5 million unit mark. In fact, Halo 3 alone has topped 8 million units, with Mass Effect selling another 1.6 million units in just six weeks.

“Microsoft is proud of the contributions Xbox 360 is making to the gaming industry, and looks forward to an even more successful 2008,” Microsoft said.

I would be kind of interested to see if we could find out how many of those 17.7 million consoles Microsoft brags about selling were purchased by people who just didn’t feel like sending their Ringed One in for repair.

[GameDaily BIZ]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Halo 3, Mass Effect

I own it. You own it. Odds are your friends own it. There is simply no denying that Halo 3 is an absolute beast of a game. In its first day in the US, Halo 3 made nearly $200 million, and helped Microsoft by being a definite system seller, pushing 527K consoles out the door in September. But just how impressive are the numbers?

Well, according to the NPD numbers through November, 4.1 million copies of Halo 3 have been purchased in the US. Meanwhile, there have been 7.9 million Xbox 360 consoles sold in the US since its launch just over two years ago. Doing the math, a whopping 52% of all Xbox 360 owners own Halo 3.

That’s more than half, people. And with Christmas looming but a week away, you can expect both Halo 3 and the Xbox 360’s numbers to increase.

[GameDaily]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3

Hi, boys and girls. It’s just me, your friendly neighborhood JW, here to remind you all that we’re currently looking for people to replace us here at Xbox 360 Rally. All you have to do is go HERE, fill out the form, and wait to hear back. It’s really not that hard.

So, get to it already — so Paco and I can get to the NEW site!

Enterbrain, a research company from Japan, has reported on this beautiful Friday morning that Halo 3, which was released in Japan yesterday, sold 45,000 copies.

When you consider that Blue Dragon, the highest selling Xbox 360 title in the land of the rising sun, sold 83,000 it’s first week, I’d say Halo 3 may become a moderate success over there.

In an effort to differentiate my two articles, here’s a little added something: I never could understand why the Japanese hate the Xbox so much. I know that our vastly differing cultures make it difficult to sell one product in the other’s home territory, but come on. Japan is the only market where the PS3 is beating the 360, and that just tells me something is wrong here… or there. Whichever.

[Xbox360Only.nl]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3, Japan

We knew it was going to happen, and true to the hype, Halo 3 has indeed set a single-day entertainment record, gmabbing itself a cool $170 Million in the US alone!

Inside the first 20 hours, over a million users signed onto Xbox LIVE to play Halo 3, which makes September 25th the most active single day ever.

Now, it’s going to take a little bit to find out what Halo 3 made worldwide, but if the US sales chart is any indication… everyone who even touched Halo 3 during production is rolling in money.

(more…)

Ok, people, here’s the deal — Paco and I are on our way out. We’re taking over at 1PStart.com in an effort to restore it to it’s former glory. …that, and I just plain want to write about another game every once in a while, is that so wrong?!

Anyways, here is what we’re looking for: A competent, capable writer with a love for all things Xbox. Now, by competent writer, we mean someone who spells “you” correctly, and knows when to capitalize. If you can do that, you’re a shoe-in. So, CLICK THIS DAMN LINK, do the required stuff, then get paid to play video games and write about stuff.

…hell, Mike and I did the hard stuff already, and YES, the GTA4 Banner contest will continue, and I will still give you a copy of GTA IV… or something. So, hop to it.

Xbox 360 Rally, JW, Stuff, Job Openings

Michael Pachter, or who I consider the Mel Kiper of the gaming industry, has come out and stated that he expects to see Halo 3 sell [three] MILLION copies in the first twelve days. Pachter also says that we can expect to see Halo 3 drive console sales, possibly pushing as many as 400,000 Xbox 360s out the door, in what would (obviously?) be the highest figures of any non-holiday month since it’s launch in November, 2005.

Now, it goes without saying that Halo 3 is going to be a system seller. Halo 3 was the quickest to one million pre-orders, and the hype machine surrounding the game’s launch is on par with most presidential campaigns. Everyone knows it’s coming, most if not all Xbox 360 owners are psyched for it, and when that fateful Monday night gets here, sidewalks will be crowded with dozens of Halo 3 fanatics.

Which reminds me — I’ll be doing Halo 3 launch coverage. It’s going to be awesome.

[Gamasutra]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3, Michael Pachter

The newest NPD numbers are out, and it’s lookin’ good for the Xbox 360. In the month of August, the 360 sold 276,700 units, coming in second out of the three consoles (and third overall, DS being #2) behind the Wii.

Also, two Xbox 360 titles were in the Top 20 SKUs for August: Madden NFL 08 at 896,600 units, and BioShock at 490,900 units. Two Workds, Guitar Hero II and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 for the Xbox 360 were also in the top 20, as well as Madden NFL 08 for the Xbox.

You can see a full list of consoles AND games after the break.

(more…)

Variety is reporting (Variety? We’ve resorted to VARIETY?!) that Microsoft is shooting for Spider-Man 3’s opening weekend record of $151 Million.

Chris Di Cesare told Variety “We did $125 million last time… We’re confident we can do better.”

You’re confident? Give me a break, you have three different versions of the game! Even if you sold the same number of games for Halo 3 as you did Halo 2, you’ll surpass the previous high of $125 Million simply based on the $10 price jump. When you throw in the $69.99 Limited Edition, plus the $129.99 Legendary Edition of Halo 3 with that awesome helmet, and it almost seems certain that Halo 3 will surpass it’s predessor.

…freaking Variety…

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3, Variety

Who says no one likes the Core? Circuit City’s online distributor (also known as “CircuitCity.com“) sold out of the newly discounted Xbox 360 Core. While it’s far too early to tell if this will be a trend, the price drop of the Xbox 360 Core puts it in the same general price range as the Nintendo Wii, giving consumers who may not have much pocket change a choice.

I ask you, the reader: Does this price drop finally give the Wii a true contender in it’s price bracket, or is this sell out a temporary anomaly?

[Circuit City]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Core, Circuit City

I hear this Halo 3 thing may be pretty popular with the cool kids. Between three separate versions of the game to choose from, to the Xbox 360 with the Halo 3 theme, to it’s own damn soft drink, it seems like you can’t escape Master Chief’s watchful (and judgmental) eye.

Well, it turns out that I’m not the only one who pre-ordered Halo 3… not by a long shot. Microsoft announced via Press Release today that Halo 3 has officially become the fastest game to ever sell 1 million pre-orders.

The scary thing? Halo 3 isn’t due out for another month. Read the press release after the break:

(more…)

The servers are melting. Paco spilled his cola on the keyboard. JW’s out back trying to wrangle the horses. In short, we’re all kinds of FUBAR, so we may not be able to update as much as we’d like today.

Sorry, peeps. We’ll be back soon.

There has been a lot of controversy regarding a recently posted rumor regarding SEGA’s possible Tokyo Game Show line-up. Now, I was originally very defensive of this piece because of who sent it in. He, a long-time go-to guy named Rob, has sent me exclusive tips for four years, and until this most recent one, they were ALL accurate.

Regardless, after the link had been posted by reader “Cedge”, I immediately contacted Rob via GoogleIM.

(more…)

According to online superseller Amazon.com, the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on to the Xbox 360 has experienced a 1,000% sales increase. This, of course, is due in very large part to the price drop of the peripheral that took effect last week.

Another reason why the HD-DVD player is doing so well could be the fact that there are finally good movies coming out for the format. *cough300cough*

[MaxConsole]

UPDATO MAGNIFICO:
Here is another image from Amazon.com, showing that the HD-DVD is still skyrocketing up the charts.

Microsoft, Xbox 360, HD-DVD, Amazon

NOTE: If this turns out to all be smoke that is being blown up my ass by lazy Wal-Mart employees, I will be royally, ROYALLY pissed!

A picture says a thousand words, doesn’t it? Here is an actual in-store flier from Wal-Mart, and you can plainly see the Xbox 360 console with the big numbers “$349″ above it. That is, in fact, an Xbox 360 Premium Console selling for $349 at Wal-Mart. But this is no sale, oh no. See the red? That’s the famous Wal-Mart “Rollback” logo, meaning that this is the NEW price of the Xbox 360 Premium!

But as of now, Microsoft hasn’t returned my many e-mails regarding the matter, so I, JW, have taken the news into my own hands, and have begun calling EVERY SUPER WAL-MART I CAN FIND, searching for answers. Little by little, the puzzle is starting to come together!

INFO GATHERED (All info gathered is subject to change with more inquiry)
Xbox 360 Elite will rollback to $399, Xbox 360 Premium to $349, and Xbox 360 Core to $299
Rollback will take effect “sometime this week”, possibly as early as Sunday.

————————————————–
(more…)