According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends more on entertainment than they do on gasoline, household furnishings and clothing combined, and nearly the same amount as spent on dining out.
Household spending on entertainment has outpaced overall expenditures over the past 10 years, by more than doubling during this time. Household earning [...]

In this month’s Official Xbox Magazine, places one of the first targets for sales volumes for the Xbox 360. At a recent gathering of industry analysts after presenting Microsoft’s financials, Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell told the group that the company hopes to have 4.5 to 5.5 million consoles on the market by the middle of next year worldwide.

Liddell again reiterated a warning that launch volumes may be low but that the company was focusing on maintaining a steady flow of the console into retail lines.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that will ban the sale of any video game to those under 18 that “depict serious injury to human beings in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel”. This bill is similar to other laws recently passed in Michigan and Illinois. It is also similar to laws being challenged and already defeated.

Lawmakers believe laws of this nature will protect children from experiencing the “interactive nature of video game violence”. They point to studies that link violence in video games to violence and hostile actions in teenagers and preteens. There are numerous independent studies dispelling this connection as being no stronger than other forms of entertainment/media and even the positive effects of video games.

While most game retailers are offering Xbox 360 Bundles, most of these are random assortments that tend to be more focused on increasing sales than satisfying gamers.
Enter Costco. Costco has announced (edit: link to Google Cache of page, as Costco has removed the page) a Xbox 360 bundle that will sell for $479.99 (for [...]

Tim Chen, chief executive for Microsoft in China, told a group at a business forum in Shanghai that Microsoft hope to launch the Xbox 360 in China in 2006.

Microsoft has planned rollout to target the three largest gaming regions at the end of this year, with launches in North America on November 22nd, Europe on December 2nd and Japan on December 10th. This announcement adds mainland China to the list of countries expecting the 360 in 2006, which includes, Australia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

Gamers may have to wait a little longer for the Xbox 360, but it may be worth the delay. IGN has received information from three unnamed retail chains that the next-gen console will be now be available for wale on Friday, November 25th – the day after Thanksgiving and the largest shopping day in the States. Launch titles will still be available before the console, with sales starting on Monday, November 22nd.

Officially, Microsoft has told the public the Xbox 360 will be available “this fall”. Unofficially, the company has said that November would be the launch month.

This extra time will give developers additional time to finish launch titles and still release the system in time to capitalize on the “holiday rush”.

Microsoft and Sony are clearly in a race to win the hardcore gamer. This has accelerated the console timeline and is pushing console prices up. In the end, the PS3 and 360 will likely match up very closely in overall functionality. One will have a slight edge in some areas, and the other will “best” remaining areas.

Should the PS3 and the Xbox 360 each include a hard drive and wireless bridge standard? How about other features? Not necessarily; it depends on who exactly is being targeted. By including these additional features, the price of each console will increase drastically.

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The important thing to remember is that the industry needs to pay attention to the casual gamer if it wants to substantially grow fixed game sales. By segmenting the consoles, Microsoft has begun to do this. The “full package” will still be available to for the typical gamer, but a cheaper version that meets the needs of the casual gamer will also be available.

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The market continues to say that Microsoft and Sony are both doing a great job of supporting their developers, but both companies still appear very hardware and technology focused. Nintendo on the other hand has always taken a more holistic approach to console design by looking at what makes games fun and improving on that.

Nintendo did lose significant ground in the current generation, but we are looking forward to seeing the continuation of features like the Bongo Drum Controller.

Will Sony miss the boat with casual gamers? Does Nintendo or Microsoft have the best approach for targeting both hardcore and casual gamers? Only time will tell, but we would love to hear your opinions…

According to Gamesindustry.biz, Sony Europe’s Phil Harrison told audiences at GDCE that multiple versions of the Playstation 3 would be “unlikely” and would “confusing”. Harrison was quick to point out that these statement and others were his “personal view” and not an official Sony decision or release, but they do help set the differences [...]

Microsoft has promised for months that the Xbox 360 will be available for the 2005 holiday season, and today, the company has moved one step closer to that goal.
Microsoft released packaging detail on the Xbox 360, its price and confirmation on a release this year. The next-gen system will be available in [...]

“According to Ziff Davis Media’s annual “Digital Gaming in America” survey of more than 1,500 randomly selected U.S. households, nearly a quarter of all video game players watched less television than last year and expect to cut their viewing time even further this year. The study also showed that 76.2 million people in the United States play videogames, up from 67.5 million a year ago, representing an increase of 11.4%. The increase in gaming follows strong sales of portable gaming systems and reductions in the prices of current-generation video game consoles.”