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In what was almost certainly an anti-climax for some, Bill Gates avoided all mention of XBox 2 in his recent keynote speech at the CES show. The Microsoft Chairman instead focussed on existing strengths and goals to the dissapointment of many, outling his vision for a digital lifestyle combining music, photos, television, movies, gaming, and communications.
Key announcements follow;
Strong momentum for the Xboxî system, with industry-leading sales for the 2004 holiday season, and expected sales of more than 20 million consoles by July 2005. The “Haloî 2” game generated $125 million in revenue in its first weekend of availability, surpassing the biggest opening weekend in box-office history, for “Spiderman,” which generated just under $115 million.
New digital music and video devices that expand Microsoft’s PlaysForSure logo program to more than 50 currently verified devices and seven online services, ranging from small, low-cost, flash-based players to full-featured hard-disk-based units and forthcoming network-connected high-definition televisions (HDTVs) and DVD players. Gates also announced that 90 million copies of Windows Mediaî Player 10 have been downloaded since its launch in October.
Continued momentum around interactive entertainment, with Media Center PC sales doubling year over year, surpassing 1.4 million units globally and growing by 40 percent in just three months
Little pause was given on XBox itself, showing that this only forms part of Microsoft’s plan, but Gates did say that three major trends drive the gaming mindset today; HDTV ( which has yet to reach U.K shores ), broadband and wireless connectivity, and rich personalization. He then joined talk-show personality Connan O’Brian in demonstrating the new Forza racer due for release in April 2005, and also the painful fact that the number of times these two men have picked up a control pad could be counted on one hand.
The speech can be found on Microsoft’s Website.
