NeilThompson
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Microsoft compulsively quashes Natal 'impulse buy' rumors
Sony's said to be launching its PS3 motion controllers sometime early next year and, while that company isn't always the most reliable when it comes to shipping things on time, Microsoft must surely want to get its competition out sooner than later. Last we heard, though, the 360 Natal attachment wouldn't be ready to compete until next holiday season -- but would at least sell for an attractive "impulse buy" price point as low as $50. Now Microsoft's Neil Thompson (the same guy who told us Xbox2Go was a lie) is shattering your 2010 wish list already, denying last week's report and saying the company has "a lot of things" left to figure out before its release. Something tells us MS will handle this a little better than the Wireless N launch debacle.
UK Xbox exec unimpressed with PS3
Yeah, so the headline isn't all that shocking. Nonetheless, the senior regional director of Microsoft in Ireland and the UK, Neil Thompson, isn't worried about the Playstation 3 (which finally landed in Europe last week). Speaking to Times Online, Thompson said that the PS3 poses no threat to the Xbox 360 from a technological standpoint. He says that the biggest threat Microsoft faces is Sony's well established brand presence. Technologically, Thompson notes that the PS3 has no notable features that he wishes were also in the Xbox 360. Thompson does admit that the PS3 may have a graphical advantage, but states that the Xbox 360 already outperforms the PS3's online capabilities and has a wider variety of games available..Concerning Blu-ray, Thompson says that Sony has jumped into the next generation format war prematurely, stating that the average consumer isn't ready to replace his or her DVD collection with another format. Furthermore, he notes that a regular DVD will actually play at a higher resolution on an Xbox 360 than it will on a Playstation 3. Finally, Thompson references the oft cited reasoning that the format war will be rendered moot by digital distribution in the long run anyway. Digital distribution, of course, is something the Xbox 360 already supports (very successfully, according to Microsoft).So, an Xbox executive thinks the Xbox is top notch. No surprise there. Still, now that the new console war has gone global, we expect this isn't the last bit of executive sniping to be had.
MS: PS3 online plans "plagiarism," Blu-ray "forced"
Quotable Chris Lewis of Xbox Europe calls Sony's vague online efforts "plagiarism" and throws in a a car business analogy for good measure. Excerpt: "I'm flattered that they've followed our clear direction," Lewis told UK site Eurogamer. "Plagiarism is a good thing - that in itself isn't such a problem, it's what the market wants. But we've known that's what the market wanted all along."Meanwhile, UK boss Neil Thompson pours salt on an old wound:"This is the company that brought out Betamax – we don't quite know where they're going to go with this," he added, in a pointed reference to Sony's defeat in the format war against VHS...Both execs slam Sony's strategy of "forcing" Beta-ray...I mean Blu-ray on consumers. I have to say I love these guys and their slightly more Churchillian approach. More fanboy fodder here in video form.
Microsoft denies author's claim of impending Xbox2Go
In a denial that should come as a surprise to no one (what, like they were really gonna tip their hand this early?), Microsoft's Xbox chief for Northern and Eastern Europe told UK tech site T3 "that we're not even thinking about handhelds at the moment." Neil Thompson's remarks came just days after the Internet was buzzing about a claim made by author Dean Takahashi in his new book, Xbox 360 Uncloaked, that said half of the 360 development team immediately began working on a portable 'box right after the next-gen console was launched last November. Thompson went on to say that although the big M has no plans to release a PSP-like device, the huge mobile phone market offers the company a "really good opportunity" to connect people with "other entertainment experiences." You heard it here first, folks: instead of wasting all that money on hardware development, Microsoft is simply going to develop an Xbox emulator for cellphones that lets you pull content directly from the Live service (either that, or Thompson was just toeing the party line in order to keep the wraps on this supposed Xbox2Go -- you be the judge).
