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Live from Microsoft's E3 2010 keynote!
After last night's Kinect-ic event, what on earth could Microsoft have in store for its big E3 2010 press conference? A slimmer Xbox 360? Valhalla motherboards? Hulu integration? Surely there's gonna be a new game or two in store. Stay tuned -- doors open at 10:00AM PT / 1:00PM ET and the magic starts shortly after!
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LXIV: Microsoft's Greenberg says Xbox will outsell PS3 for 'entire generation'
Didn't think Microsoft exec Aaron Greenberg could top himself after saying that Hulu on 360 was like "asking out a really hot chick on a date?" Well, think again, 'cause Greenberg recently sat down with GameInformer for a fairly wide ranging interview, and he took the opportunity to toss a few bombs in Sony's direction. The biggest of those is that he's "confident" that the Xbox 360 will "not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation" -- adding that it's "similar to a game of baseball, it is not about just winning one inning, but instead being able to win the game by consistently delivering across all nine innings." Greenberg also went on to say that Sony's expected good showing in the September sales numbers is merely a "short term bump," and that "it is not a real concern to us." Hit up the link below for the complete interview, which also includes talk of the Zune HD, Xbox Live, and Microsoft's plans for the holiday season.[Via PC World]
Greenberg gives Hirai a verbal smackdown for his 'longevity' talk
If you thought Microsoft was going to sit back and take verbal abuse from Sony Computer Entertainment's Kaz Hirai, then you don't know Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg. Commenting on Hirai's "lacks longevity" talk, Greenberg fights back, explaining that "this sounds like an old hardware company that's comfortable with its market position." Adding, "that complacent attitude is out of touch with where the industry and consumer is today." Yes'm, the gloves are off! But that isn't all. Greenberg continues by making claims of his own, admitting "I'm confident we will outsell the PS3 throughout the entire generation" and that "I can't imagine any scenario where the PS3 can catch up with us."Now, we don't like getting involved in these types of quarrels, but in this instance, we find it appropriate to step in and mediate. Hirai apologize to Greenberg, Greenberg apologize to Hirai. After the apologies are given, we can all can all go grab some Pinkberry and put this behind us.
GTA IV could become Xbox Live's top game
It probably comes as no shock that Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox Live, believes Grand Theft Auto IV could very well take the top spot on Live from the see-saw battle waged between Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3. Greenberg tells Reuters that the multiplayer is so well implemented in GTA IV that he can't imagine anyone who owns a copy of the game not trying it on Xbox Live.Greenberg goes on to say that GTA IV appeals to such a large audience and it'll probably be the best-selling game launched all year. GTA's multiplayer is certainly a different experience from COD 4 and Halo's first-person perspective, and could easily take the top spot on Live with curious players testing it, but whether the game's multiplayer is actually deep enough to hold on to players remains to be seen.[Via GameDaily]
Microsoft's Greenberg claims victory in battle for 'core user' over Sony
Less than two years into what some see as a ten-year battle might seem like an odd time to declare victory, but not to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Group Product Manager Aaron Greenberg. In an interview with Next-Gen, Greenberg stated that, in his opinion, "the battle for the core user is sort of over, if you will. ... I feel we've secured that core buyer, and that gives us quite a bit of an advantage versus PS3, which is late to the game and still at a price disadvantage relative to the Xbox."Greenberg did offer one slight caveat to his claim, acknowledging that Sony is "a very formidable competitor in Europe," (indeed) but overall he scoffed at the idea that upcoming PS3 exclusives would make a dent in the Xbox 360's lead in installed base and mindshare. "They're trying to go after a consumer that has already bought an Xbox 360," Greenberg said. "You could say that they showed up with too little, too late." Or you could say that Microsoft is declaring too much too early. We report ... you decide.
Blu-ray on Xbox 360? Microsoft hasn't heard about it
Those hot/cold "Blu-ray coming to Xbox 360" rumors just cooled off a bit again, with product manager Aaron Greenberg telling Reuters "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience". Clear enough? He also dropped the nugget that Microsoft expects to trail the PS3 in sales again in February, but should have things turned around by April, just in time for the GTA IV launch, which should also be right around the time this rumor rears its head again. In the meantime, digital distribution anyone?
GameDaily's 'Persons of the Year': #4 Greenberg and #5 Gerstmann
GameDaily is counting down who it believes are 2007's industry "Persons of the Year," and the site started things off with a bang yesterday picking Gamespot's former editorial director Jeff Gerstmann. Today GameDaily did a much softer pick with Xbox Live's Aaron Greenberg. As group product manager for Xbox Live, Greenberg has been the point man in what every console should strive for in its online experience.Unlike a lot of the Microsoft execs, Greenberg has actually been with the Xbox for the last seven years. As GameDaily points out, the success of Xbox Live probably rests quite strongly in that the Xbox 360 seems to have been designed around the service which Greenberg heads.GameDaily also has a Reader's Choice award, so check it out if there's someone in the industry who you think should be nominated.Read -- #5 Jeff Gerstmann.Read -- #4 Aaron Greenberg.
Microsoft defends Pac-Man CE price
Microsoft exec. Aaron Greenberg defends the 800 MS point ($10) cost of Pac-Man Championship Edition saying that it isn't really a retro title. Although we've certainly sung the praises of this new Pac-Man with the stupid name, we are also fence sitters on this 800 price point. Greenberg said to Gamerscore blog, "Namco came to us with what they thought the content price should be and I do not disagree with it costing 800 points. There's actually a lot of work from a lot of people to bring it all together." Yeah, but it would be nice if people actually played, as Greenberg puts it, "Toru Iwatani's gift to the world," right?The price point is really the most controversial thing about Pac-Man Championship Edition. At 800 MS points it's a good game, some people might see the logic, but most will just see *snore* Pac-Man. For 400 MS points ($5), there's no reason why everyone shouldn't get this game. At $5, it's completely worth it. So, Microsoft's gotta ask itself, does it feel lucky? Will they make more money keeping the game at the questionable 800 point mark, or could they make more at 400 points? Ah, the mysteries of the marketplace. %Gallery-3684%
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?
