aaron-greenberg
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Microsoft expects PS3 price cut soon, while Reeves reiterates profit mantra
This time, it's not an analyst that's predicting a PS3 price drop. It's the competition. Microsoft's outspoken Aaron Greenberg has been celebrating the tremendous success of Xbox 360, which currently leads PS3 by more than 8 million units worldwide. Obviously, part of the 360's success comes from its competitive price. In America, the cheapest 360 is half the price of the cheapest PS3. However, Greenberg doesn't believe the price difference to be as substantial in the future. "We absolutely expect the PS3 price drop to happen in the next couple of months. We're frankly surprised it's taken this long. ... I would expect they'd have to move on price, sooner than later, for sure."Certainly, a lower priced PS3 would have helped the install base during an economically depressed holiday season. However, SCEE's Reeves said very frankly on the PlayStation site that "the most important thing for us as a company in the very short term is for us to start making money. This is a pledge that was made last March and is something that we are still very much on target to achieve."With the cost of manufacturing a PS3 plummeting, it won't be long until PS3 units can be sold at a profit. "Once we have achieved this, I think it will be a very exciting time for PlayStation. Once we have alleviated that specific pressure, we can move forward at a rate of knots," Reeves promised.
Microsoft shares post-NXE stats: Marketplace sales up, more friends online
Just three weeks after the – by all accounts, very successful – launch of the New Xbox Experience, Microsoft is ready to trumpet some statistics related to the new interface. To help us navigate this panoply of numbers, Microsoft lent us the services of one Mr. Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, who served as our tour guide through the press release. First, with 14 million folks suddenly using an entirely new interface designed to make content easier to find, you'd wonder how successful it is in that regard. Well, glad you asked! Microsoft reports that Marketplace downloads of TV episodes were up 30% and movie downloads an impressive 49% the week after the NXE launch. This is in spite of competition from Netflix's ample on-demand offerings in both areas. Wondering how many folks are using Netflix? Yeah, so were we ... Greenberg told us they're not providing that data just yet, but we wouldn't be surprised to hear them noting that as a success during next month's CES.
Oh no he didn't: Microsoft man dubs Wii a novelty
Pretty this won't be. In an interview with Gamasutra, Microsoft big cheese Aaron Greenberg ended up discussing the rivalry between the Xbox 360 and Wii, and in the process loftily dismissed Nintendo's console as a "novelty." Greenberg compared Wii buyers to "the same people that buy a karaoke machine," and suggested that the console was simply "something [to] break out when people come over, and it's maybe a fun thing [...] They're not really buying it for games, they're just buying it as a novelty." From there, he adopts a more conciliatory tone, stating that Microsoft "[doesn't] really see the Wii as a direct competitor, we actually very much complement the Wii experience." Greenberg believes that Wii owners will eventually "graduate" to the Xbox 360.While we can't ignore the 360's higher software tie-in ratio, Greenberg and his fellow naysayers seem to forget that the Wii hardware alone turns a profit for Nintendo, that it continues to thrash the pants off everything else out there, and that demand still outstrips supply in some parts of the world, despite the thing launching more than 18 months ago. The tiresome excuse of Wii being a "novelty" is beginning to wear horribly thin.
Greenberg attacks Sony on failure to live up to their promises
In a recent interview, Microsoft's own Aaron Greenberg decided to go on the offense when talking about Sony and their big promises that they keep making yet fail to deliver on. Specifically speaking, Greenberg brings up the PS3's 1080p support, Blu-ray, Playstation Home, PS3's supposed lead in Europe and even Killzone 2. Talk about fanboy ammunition! We don't have to say much more, because we think Aaron Greenberg's remarks can pretty much stand on their own. Check after the break for some attack'alicious Greenberg quotes ... yum!
Microsoft's Greenberg slams Sony's failed promises
Speaking to Destructoid, Aaron Greenberg, Director of Product Management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, added fuel to the red-hot fanboy fire when discussing PS3's upcoming lineup for 2008. Greenberg's statement is certainly going to inspire some truly extraordinary comments from PS3 and Xbox 360 fans alike. While he is a Microsoft spokesperson, we wonder: do his complaints have merit? Read on: "I know a lot of folks enjoy watching the console wars and we would never underestimate our competition. But answer to your question specifically, didn't Sony promise all of this last year including Home as well? We have been fighting Sony's promises from the day we entered the market and if you remember at that time it was all about PS2 being an online cybercity with partner announcements from the likes of RealNetworks and AOL. Then three years ago at E3 they showed what PS3 games would supposedly look like with the Killzone 2 video, that we are now learning will ship four years later. That means that we will have shipped Gears of War and Gears of War 2 before they can even get Killzone out the door," he said. "Think back to GDC 2007 when Sony promised to leap ahead in online with the Sony Home unveil. Here we are two years later and multiple delays for a product that appears to have little to no buzz. Where are the achievements? The friends list integration across all games? Where is the long-promised video store? Where are all the other products using and networking with their CELL chip? How come Blu-ray did not result in better games? What happened with Sixaxis and rumble? Where is the complete 1080p game library we were promised? If Blu-ray as they said would be such a catalyst to PS3 console sales, then why have PS3 sales over the past couple months not seen any lift since the format victory?"Certainly, being a Playstation devotee has been frustrating. The system has been plagued by a slow start, and a number of key delays. Home and in-game XMB continue to be promises that have failed to materialize. This is a "ten year life cycle" on Sony's part -- but should that mean we should wait so long for the good stuff?[Via GameDaily] Is Aaron Greenberg right? Has Sony failed to keep its promises? Yes - Sony needs to keep its game up No - he's just a Microsoft shill
Microsoft predicts 'hollow victory' for PS3 in Feb/Mar
Every company has to put some spin on the monthly NPD numbers. But this month, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg is taking a preemptive strike. NPD numbers will come out later this today, and already Microsoft is trash-talking the PS3. "Our expectation is that because of our shortages at retail during February, we will sell less than PS3," he told Next Gen. "That's not a surprise to us. I don't know what Sony's reaction will be to that, but it will definitely be a bit of a hollow victory. The competition sure didn't show up [in February]."However, it looks like MS is also conceding March figures as well, saying that their so-called supply issues will be rectified in April. "By April, we will be in a very healthy inventory situation," he told Reuters. This is a crucial month for both console manufacturers, as the release of Grand Theft Auto IV will certainly stir up the charts. Will Xbox 360's exclusive DLC make an impact on console sales?Greenberg then further puts the PS3 in doubt, and its use of Blu-ray. "I can tell you that we're not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray disc association regarding integrating Blu-ray to the Xbox 360 experience," Greenberg says. "And we don't know what will happen to Blu-ray. Is it the next DVD, or the next UMD? Your guess is as good as ours ... we don't expect [Blu-ray's win] to give a boost to PS3 sales, and we don't expect it to impact our sales. Frankly, we think it's the games that sell the consoles."
Microsoft 'not in talks' with Sony over Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive
Well, this is awkward. Just a week after a Sony executive told the Financial Times that Sony was "in talks with console rival Microsoft about offering a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360," console rival Microsoft corrected the record. Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360 (and all around pleasant guy), told Reuters rather unequivocally, "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience."Considering a not insignificant portion of the Xbox 360 owning audience has a now obsolete drive tethered to their 'box, we're unconvinced that the "Xbox experience" couldn't use a high-def optical format. Greenberg is quick to point out that Xbox 360 is "the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content" which, to our continued great surprise (don't you own a movie studio, Sony?), is still true ... but for how long? We can't be sure of what makes sense to Microsoft bossman Ballmer, but we think just talking to the Blu-ray Association might be a good start.[Via Engadget]
Why exact change is an MS Point no-no
It's happened to all of us. There's a game on Xbox Live Arcade that you want for the ever attractive price of 400 MS Points. You don't have any points, so you decide to buy some. But what's this? You can only purchase them in multiples of 500, leaving you with useless leftover points. This begs the question, why can't you buy the exact amount you need? 1UP's Patrick Klepek asked just this question of Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg. While we've always assumed that spare change is produced in order to entice users to spend more money so they can spend more Microsoft Points, Greenberg has a different answer. "The reason why we do that, the core reason, is around credit card transaction fees," says Greenberg, adding, "If we do this in bulk, we don't have to burden the consumer with the transaction fees, or ourselves or publishers." He conceded that it's annoying to end up with odd leftover points, but added that Microsoft isn't planning on changing the system anytime soon.So there you have it folks, you're spending extra money so you can save money. Simple, right?[Via Joystiq]
MS explains why you can't use exact change on XBL
We're going to be honest with you: We hate MS points. It's not because they're inconvenient, if anything, they're too convenient, and far too easy to spend. Whenever we get a mittful of them it's like when we go to another country where the money looks so dissimilar to our own that we just pretend all the bills are gift certificates. If we were paid in MS points, we would be broke in a week.One of the other (perhaps more concrete) issues that some users have is being forced to buy more points than they need, something that so annoyed 1UP's Patrick Klepek that he went out and found out why: "The reason why we do that, the core reason, is around credit card transaction fees," said Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg. "If we do this in bulk, we don't have to burden the consumer with the transaction fees, or ourselves or publishers."...OK, you win this round, Greenberg. Now, explain why points aren't worth a penny a piece, and we'll treat you to a (child's size) ice cream in a flavor of your choice.
Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update detailed: DivX, XBLA Hits, and more
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox_360/Xbox_360_Fall_Dashboard_Update_detailed_DivX_XBLA_Hits_and_more'; Things were a little different this year. For their second Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update, Microsoft decided to trickle the features out instead of dropping them on us all at once. Around Halloween, we realized things were awful quiet, so we asked you what you wanted to see in the Fall Update. On November 7, Microsoft kicked things off by announcing the Parental Timer, a feature we're certain you're all eager to try out. They followed that up on November 13 by confirming Xbox Originals, downloadable Xbox 1 games for your 360. On the 26th, they spilled the beans on the social-networky "Friends of Friends" feature, ostensibly to give paranoid folks some time to disable the functionality (which they can do here). Capping it all off a day later, MS Japan dropped some info, notably the ability to set your real name (your real name is xXsmokezmadbluntz420Xx?), your location, and a brief bio – more of that social networking stuff the kids are crazy about. Finally, after what seemed an interminable wait, Microsoft was ready to let us in on the big picture. We spoke with Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg about next Tuesday's update and what was still in store. "There are three different categories that speak to a majority of the updates," Greenberg told us.
Microsoft defends Pac-Man CE pricing
During the Gamerscore Blog's Lunchtime Conversation, Xbox group product manager Aaron Greenberg defended the pricing for Pac-Man Championship Edition. Greenberg went on to say that Pac-Man CE is not a simple port of the old game, but is almost a sequel in it's own right with new gameplay, artwork, music and HD implementation added. So, he feels that the 800 Microsoft points that the game costs is more than reasonable for what you're getting.And if you're a regular Fancast listener, you'll know that we were all impressed by the new Championship Edition and most of us were happy to plop down our Microsoft points. We also agree that it's more of a sequel than anything else, but it's ultimately up to you if you think 800 points is worth a new (and extremely fun) Pac-Man experience. So, is the pricing overkill or is it in line with other Arcade offerings?
GDC 07: a quick chat with Aaron Greenberg
After the Microsoft blogger's breakfast (which will be written up shortly) we caught up with Xbox Live's Aaron Greenberg (also known as BIGVIP) for a quick chat. Unfortunately, we lacked the presence of mind to shoot a candid photo, so we present you with this handsome stock photo instead. We can tell you, however, that he was wearing this shirt. Along with Spencer from Siliconera, we had a chance to ask Greenberg a few questions. When asked about specific Arcade releases, in this case Ikaruga, Raiden IV, and Every Extend Extra Extreme. Greenberg said that it's rare for the team to concentrate on distant games. According to Greenberg, in the world of "internet time" he mainly focuses on games coming out within the next 6 to 8 weeks. In other words, don't expect Ikaruga anytime soon. He did mention that the XBLA games on display here at GDC -- Minigolf Adventures, Boom Boom Rocket, Jetpack Refuelled, etc -- will be released within a few months. We should get some hands on time with these games later this week.We asked about the possibility of seeing some RPGs on Xbox Live Arcade, and Greenberg said there was no reason we couldn't see them, citing Castlevania as an example of a deeper Arcade experience, though perhaps not a traditional RPG. When asked about the possibility of Final DOOM hitting the Arcade -- its ESRB entry was recently discovered -- he noted that Id is definitely interested. Talking about DOOM's surprise launch last year during X06, Greenberg said that their were more surprise launches involving famous franchises in the future. So, RPGs heading to Live Arcade ... surprise launches ... famous franchises. Anyone care to make some wild speculation?
Aaron Greenberg, hip-hop, and street cred
File this one under bizarre: Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, Xbox Live Marketing Manager, appeared on Eminem's SIRIUS radio station, Shade 45. As you would imagine, Shade 45 is nothing but straight up hip-hop. While the juxtaposition of a Microsoft exec and a hip-hop station is too delicious to comprehend, we have it on good authority that Aaron Greenberg is all about hip-hop, son. Who'd a thunk it? Of course, somewhat more shocking is the gesture Greenberg is flashing in the above image (posing with Shade 45 hosts, Lord Sear and Rude Jude). Do with that what you will.Anybody catch Greenberg when he was on?
Vision video chat demo
Gamertag Radio got to check out the Vision Cameras video chat functionality at the Microsoft Games Unwrapped event in NYC. Not exactly earth shattering if you've used a webcam in the past 10 years, but still eagerly awaited. Unfortunately, the hot chick isn't included with the retail SKU, so you're stuck chatting with whoever is on your friends list. I hope there's an option for full-screen.
