By: Todd Hargosh
Although there was noting about the anticipated price drop for the Xbox 360, Microsoft still managed to wow the audience with what they are calling "The Largest Game Lineup in History." In addition to Halo 3 and Mass Effect, Microsoft VP Peter Moore said every game demoed at the show would be released in 2007.
And Microsoft had a lot of games to show including PGR 4, Dynasty warriors: GUNDAM, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Stranglehold, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, Beautiful Katamari, Lost Odyssey, NBA Live 08, Mass Effect, Fatal Intertia, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Tiger Woods 08, Ace Combat 6: Fires of liberation, NHL 08,
Assassin's Creed, Spider Man: friend or foe, The Simpsons Game, Splinter Cell: Conviction, NASCAR 08, Eternal Sonata, Bioshock, Madden NFL 08, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Crash of the Titans, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Orange Box: Half Life, Bee Movie, Rock Band and NARUTO: Rise of a Ninja among others.
And according to Moore, the Xbox 360 is doing well in sales with an ongoing tight race against the Wii and sales outstripping the PS3 with a ratio of 2:1. A total of 5.6 million Xbox 360s have been sold so far in the U.S. Moore said.
Games on the 360 will also push the limit and redefine what a console can do he said. As proof, Moore said that all 360 games published by Electronic Arts from now on would run at 60 frames per second or greater, starting with the release of NCAA 08 next week.
Xbox Live continues to be popular, with a new account being created every eight seconds. There are currently seven million members and Microsoft hopes to have 10 million by next year. There will be over 100 games ready to download through the service by the end of the year including Bomberman Live!, Hexic, Sonic the Hedgehog, War World, Sensible Soccer, Every Extend Extra Extreme, Geon, Wing Commander, Arena, Feeding Frenzy 2, Track and Field, Spyglasss Board games, Golden Axe, Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD, Word Puzzle, Marathon: Durandal, Poker Smash, Switchball, Tetris Splash, Puzzle Quest and Boku Soduku. In addition, both Sonic and Golden Axe are available right away.
Microsoft also scored a victory in an agreement with Disney to bring rentable movies that can be downloaded through the Xbox Live service. Beginning today, consumers of all ages will have access to a growing catalog of new and classic movies from The Walt Disney Studios including titles from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films, on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the leading high-definition-video download service. Xbox 360 owners will be able to rent popular Disney films on demand as they become available, such as "Bridge to Terabithia," Miramax Film's "The Queen" and Touchstone Pictures' "DéjÃ