SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday its Xbox 360 game machine beat Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 to reach 10 million units in U.S. sales.

"History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle," Don Mattrick, a Microsoft senior vice president who heads the company's Xbox business, said in a statement.

The Xbox 360 was the first of this latest generation of game machines to launch in the United States when it was released in November 2005. The PS3 and Wii were launched in the United States a year later.

The Wii is closing in on the Xbox 360, with 8.8 million units sold as of the end of March, while Sony has totaled 4.1 million PS3 units sold, according to market research firm NPD.

Microsoft also said global membership of its Xbox Live online service reached 12 million members.

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Monday, March 10 2008, 09:31 GMT

By David Gibbon, Gaming Reporter
Chief executive of Microsoft Steve Ballmer has confirmed that his firm is looking at ways to back the HD format Blu-ray.

While Ballmer avoided linking his announcement directly with the Xbox 360, he admitted Microsoft is ready to move on following the demise of HD-DVD.

"We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on," said Ballmer at the Mix08 conference.

"Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense."

Recent news of Sony holding talks with Microsoft has led to many industry insiders expecting the US firm to announce an add-on Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.

by Clint DeBoer — last modified March 04, 2008 04:00
Plasma TV is Dead - Pioneer Exits

Plasma TV is DEAD

As we predicted several years ago, plasma technology is on its way out. Putting one of the nails in the lengthy coffin is Pioneer Corp, who is stopping ALL production of plasma display panels. Last week we reported that they had decided to stop all 42-inch panel production, however that has now been expanded to its entire plasma line. This comes via an industry source briefed on the plan and quoted by Reuters in an article released today. Rather than panic, Pioneer shares immediately jumped to a four-month high following the report - up 11.2 percent.

You heard it here first: Plasma TV is dead.

Pioneer is the world's fifth-largest plasma TV manufacturer and has constantly struggled for relevance against the larger Panasonic brand (Matsushita). Now, Pioneer will buy its panels from the competing brand and it will begin picking up LCD panels from... you guessed it - Sharp. This makes three major manufacturers who are backing Sharp panel production in the coming year (inclusive of both Toshiba and Sony Electronics). Our guess is that Sharp is going to be the first to market with the new line of super-thin LCD panels that fans such as myself have been dreaming about for some time.

Investors have long known that Pioneer was bleeding red ink over its plasma division having several years ago decided not to compete in the low-price market. "This is an excellent development," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. "Pioneer could have chosen another way and stepped up its plasma investment despite the fact that the business is bleeding red ink, but it's a wise step to decide against that... a quicker decision would have been even better," he said.

This is no easy decision for the Japan-based manufacturer. Pioneer has spent nearly $1 billion (yes, with a 'b') on four plasma TV manufacturing plants and two additional plants it purchased from NEC.

According to the report, a Pioneer spokesman said the company would unveil its display business strategy when it announces company-wide business plans on Friday.

The only thing surprising about this announcement is its timing. Pioneer just last year launched its premier "Project Kuro" line which promised total black levels and was designed to give consumers a no-holds-barred choice for high-end plasma displays. Pioneer had repeatedly stated that the Kuro brand was gaining speed and 2008 would show that Pioneer had captured the high-end market. The problem is that Pioneer, while predicting several hundreds of thousands of plasma TV sales, was up against rival Panasonic who had a planned sales volume of more than 5 million units.

For those concerned, this doesn't mean that Pioneer will exit the plasma business. It simply means that they are, in the interim at least, looking to leave the plasma panel manufacturing business, opting instead to purchase their panels from a company like Matsushita (Panasonic).

As to what this means for plasma as a technology, we believe that, as predicted, this is the beginning of the end. It's longevity depends on a few factors now:

    * Marketing and consumer perspective of the technology
    * How quickly the new super-thin LCD TVs hit the consumer market (Hitachi is already releasing some)
    * The continuation of rapidly-dropping LCD panel prices
    * How much Matsushita invests in plasma versus its LCD manufacturing efforts in upcoming years

So there you have it. Plasma has begun its exit from the market as consolidation forces one of the largest proponents of the technology finally exits the manufacturing business and takes on LCD. We're sad to see it go, but it appeared to us at this year's CES that ultra-thin LCDs are going to hit the market much sooner than ultra-thin plasmas. When that happens there is going to be an incredible surge in popularity for the <1-inch thin displays that will push plasma technology further away. The same effect has happened to rear projection television, with manufacturers leaving those markets and technology in droves. Just this year, Sony decided to eschew all screen technologies save LCD and OLED - and it had a large stake in its LCoS-based SXRD line.

The future looks bright. We can't wait to see what happens next.

Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD products, it said Tuesday, handing victory to rival high definition disc format Blu-ray Disc.

The company will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders.

It will reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail markets and aims to cease the businesses altogether by the end of March.

But the Japanese electronics giant pledged to provide full product support and after-sales service for owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

Recent changes in the market prompted the decision, Toshiba said. Early this year, Warner Bros. said it would stop issuing movies on HD DVD in the coming months and rely exclusively on Blu-ray Disc. The Hollywood studio was one of three major studios remaining in the HD DVD camp, and its defection created widespread belief that the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc was now over.

More recently, major U.S. retail chain Wal-Mart announced it would phase out the sale of HD DVD products, moving to exclusivity with Blu-ray Disc. Electronics retailer Best Buy also said it would back Blu-ray Disc, but it did not say it would stop offering HD DVD.

Warner made its decision based on consumer confusion and indifference to high definition movies, an indifference that cost Hollywood in lost revenue, it said. Wal-Mart said U.S. customers preferred Blu-ray Disc movies and hardware. Blu-ray Disc is the high definition disc format championed by Sony.

"This once again shows why incompatible and mutually exclusive formats should be avoided at all cost by the industry," said Carl Gressum, a senior analyst at Ovum. "It reduces profitability and delays customer adoption."

"The big question is, however, the impacts on Toshiba as an electronics company," he added. "It has after all bet its disc media business on HD DVD, as well as gone for HD DVD integration into some of its laptop PCs. The channel has inventory to clear, and demands from owners of HD DVD players."

Toshiba said its decision came after careful analysis of the long-term impact of continuing the format war, and said a swift decision was called for to help the high definition market develop.

The company also pledged to remain a player in the high definition market. Developing HD DVD created many assets for Toshiba and its partners, which include Microsoft, Intel, HP, and Universal Studios, the company said. Toshiba plans to work with these companies to seek future business opportunities.

By Beth Snyder Bulik

Published: February 07, 2008
YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- Sports video gaming used to mean sitting around on couches frantically punching buttons on a controller -- with the only other minimal exertion being smack talk. Then came the Nintendo Wii. Suddenly, sports video gaming meant getting up off the couch to virtually play by actually jumping, running, swinging and pitching.
The 'Nintendo Fan Network' allows fans to get stats, player info, watch extra videos, order food and drinks and interact with each other during games.
The 'Nintendo Fan Network' allows fans to get stats, player info, watch extra videos, order food and drinks and interact with each other during games.
Photo Credit: AP


Now, Nintendo is tying its active game play to real-life sporting events. Its winter marketing plan includes a slate of baseball, golf and monster-truck sponsorships and events that put the Wii and DS in sports fans' hands.

Safeco Field's 'Fan Network'
Nintendo is doing more than just conducting hands-on demonstrations and interactive play at PGA tournaments and Major League Baseball training camps -- it is also building on its "Nintendo Fan Network," which already began at the Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field. The system allows fans with DS devices to download software that allows them to get stats and player info, watch extra videos, order food and drinks and interact with each other during games.

Nintendo of America's director-public relations, Marc Franklin, said that while other stadiums have approached Nintendo about the network, it will likely remain exclusive to the Seattle stadium for 2008. That said, he did promise "additional surprises" for Nintendo Fan Network users there.

IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon said moving the DS into stadiums and arenas helps Nintendo "integrate into users' lives as much as possible. Every place where they can convince users to carry them is a win for them."

The sports marketing push is a "great opportunity to reach another key audience," Mr. Franklin said. "Sports fans tend to be social and passionate ... and the energy and enthusiasm at live sporting events provide a great backdrop for showcasing Nintendo games."

Unique advantage
Indeed, analysts believe Nintendo is wise to capitalize on its unique and active sports advantage. "Nintendo showed they could do sports in a whole different way than anyone else could, and people got it -- in a big way," said JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg.

The sports and exercise marketing angle can also be effective because it adds another reason for consumers to buy, said analysts. "If you look at the real advantage the Wii has here, it's that you can justify it in ways other than just fun video games. You can argue [it has] a health advantage, plus its sustaining advantage is it's a helluva lot cheaper than the competition," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. "They're building multiple reasons for purchase."

And it's likely we'll see Nintendo pushing even more of those reasons when it brings the Wii Fit "exergame" to the U.S. later this year. With a balance board, dozens of different exercises and fitness tracking software, Nintendo will be looking to engage exercise, yoga and fitness enthusiasts.

"Weight loss is one of those [things] people spend a lot of money on -- particularly if they think it's going to be easy," Mr. Enderle said. "The trick is going to be making sure people are using it and reporting back that it works."