June Console Sales Numbers (Meet the new boss)

[MJ4H]

lol ea sports

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The chorus of calls for a major Xbox 360 price drop continues. This analyst notes that the PS3 is actually positioned better than the 360 for the first time in this generation. He also mentions that, outside of Gears of War 2, the Xbox 360 is devoid of any other must-have exclusives in the near-future. He states that the Netflix arrangement is much more beneficial to Netflix than Microsoft.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-360-price-cut

[Big Fo]

I got a chuckle out of the subtitle for Dead Rising on Wii.

Originally Posted by Capcom

PRESS RELEASE: CAPCOM® ANNOUNCES DEAD RISING: CHOP TIL YOU DROP
Wii Gamers Prepare For a Zombie Invasion

...

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop includes the following features:
• Utilizes the same engine as Resident Evil 4 Wii edition.
• New level of interaction – aim and fire guns, swing and throw weapons and shake off zombie attacks with added Wii Remote functionality
• Huge environment – expansive indoor and outdoor areas of the mall provide a variety of different locations to explore
• Improved save functionality allows for more seamless gameplay
• Hoards of enemies on screen at once resulting in non-stop, pulse-pounding action
• Anything in the mall is at Frank’s disposal
• Grab environmental objects like umbrellas and benches to use as improvised weapons
• Snatch items from different stores to use as weapons including golf clubs, lawnmowers, frying pans and more
• Consume food and drink to revive health

Rest of the release here.

[Big Fo]

Top 10 for all consoles/handhelds (except the PSP for some reason) :


July 2008
Overall Top 20 Video Game Titles

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
2. Guitar Hero: On Tour (NDS)
3. Ninja Gaiden II (Xbox 360)
4. Wii Fit (Wii)
5. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii)
6. Battlefield: Bad Company* (Xbox 360)
7. Mario Kart (Wii)
8. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Wii)
9. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (NDS)
10. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (PS2)
11. Grand Theft Auto IV* (Xbox 360)
12. Rock Band* (Wii)
13. Super Smash Bros: Brawl (Wii)
14. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith* (Wii)
15. Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games (NDS)
16. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith* (Xbox 360)
17. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith* (PS2)
18. New Super Mario Bros (NDS)
19. Grand Theft Auto IV* (PS3)
20. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Xbox 360)

Top 10 Wii Titles

1. Wii Fit
2. Wii Play w/ Remote
3. Mario Kart
4. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
5. Rock Band
6. Super Smash Bros: Brawl
7. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith*
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
9. Game Party
10. Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games

Top 10 Xbox 360 Titles

1. Ninja Gaiden II
2. Battlefield: Bad Company*
3. Grand Theft Auto IV*
4. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith*
5. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
6. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare*
7. Dragonball Z: Burst Limit
8. Grid
9. Rock Band*
10. Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy

Top 10 PS3 Titles

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
2. Grand Theft Auto IV*
3. Battlefield: Bad Company*
4. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare*
6. Dragonball Z: Burst Limit
7. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith*
8. Grid
9. Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy
10. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue

Top 10 PS2 Titles

1. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
2. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith*
3. The Incredible Hulk
4. Rock Band*
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock*
6. Kung Fu Panda
7. Iron Man
8. God of War II
9. Grand THeft Auto: San Andreas
10. NASCAR 09

Top 10 NDS Titles

1. Guitar Hero: On Tour
2. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
3. Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games
4. New Super Mario Bros
5. Mario Kart
6. Kung Fu Panda
7. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day
8. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
9. Mario Party
10. Imagine: Babyz

* Includes Collector's, Limited, Legendary, Bundled (Guitars) editions

From the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

Look how similar the 360 and PS3 charts are.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Bioware denies internet rumors that the next two Mass Effect games will be Xbox 360 exclusives.

BioWare has 'never confirmed any plans' for Mass Effect 360 exclusivity - Joystiq

Good news for Final Fantasy fans. The original build of FFVII is going to be released on the PSN and XBLA. In addition, either a remake of FFVII or a sequel of FFVII will be released for the PS3..........

The Final Fantasy Info [Rumor] « PlayStation LifeStyle

I can now reveal exclusive inside info about Final Fantasy… VII!

Final Fantasy VII will be getting a “new” version of the classic game from the massive franchise and it will be exclusive (for now at least) to the PLAYSTATION 3. It is unclear whether a new version will be a simple remake or an extension to the original like Crisis Core, and if it will be a Blu-ray release, or on the PSN. Something else which won’t be exclusive is the original FF7 which will be coming to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade by the end of the year.

Both will be officially announced at either Square Enix’s August conference in Japan, or the Tokyo Game Show.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

After the failure of football on the Wii, I'm now looking to buy a 360 or a PS3. I've bribed my wife with a shopping trip, so I should be able to get one within the next month. I honestly have no idea what to get. Both have pros. With the 360, I know what I am getting because I have an Xbox. I loved the exclusive KOTR and Fable, though I've only heard of a Fable 2 coming for the 360, no new KOTR games. For the PS3, there's no exclusives I'd play but my wife would get mileage out of the BR because she's a Disney fan and they are going BR exclusive, though she's told me to buy a system based on the games. It's a toss up for me right now.

Might want to hold off on buying a 360 until the new Jasper mobo 360 comes out in August. They're replacing the 90nm Graphics Chip found in all 360s with a 65nm Chip. The Falcon model had its old 90nm CPU chip replaced with the 65nm chip, along with the removal of the X-clamp, and it has drastically reduced failure rates. I would think that doing the same to the GPU would reduce heat and further stomp out failure rates on the Jasper 360s.

[General Mike]

I've given up on my plan of buying a console this generation. Just doesn't seem worth it to me. The way the industry is going isn't going to help change my mind either.

[twothree]

Originally Posted by General Mike

I've given up on my plan of buying a console this generation. Just doesn't seem worth it to me. The way the industry is going isn't going to help change my mind either.

I hate that the "ship now, patch later" mentality of computer games has invaded the realm of console games. I bet some companies already have resources allocated for a post release patch for a console game in their development cycle and budget. Which is just sad.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New Splinter Cell game delayed until 09-10 fiscal year......

Splinter Cell: Conviction Delayed

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by twothree

I hate that the "ship now, patch later" mentality of computer games has invaded the realm of console games. I bet some companies already have resources allocated for a post release patch for a console game in their development cycle and budget. Which is just sad.

*looks around for the +1 smiley thing*

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting new info from Surfer Girl from post-E3. First, it appears that Bungie is becoming increasingly frustrated with Microsoft over the pulled announcement at E3 and Don Matrick's comments afterwards............

Surfer Girl Strikes Back: Miss Independant

And Sony is putting more pressure on Insomniac to produce final build quality gameplay in Resistance 2 since the release is only a few months away.........

Surfer Girl Strikes Back: Insomniac feeling the heat

[Eaglesfan27]

Interesting rumor that Xbox Live may start allowing Silver members to play online games for free:

Rumor: XBL Silver Now Allows Free Online Play?

[cartman]

Sony reportedly had to pull WipEoutHD because it ran the risk of causing potentially fatal responses to some people................

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thum...peout-hd-delay

Failed epilepsy test could be reason for WipEout HD delay

Most gamers blindly chug through the opening few seconds of any game they play. You know, the crucial moment when the game warns users with epilepsy about potential issues? Alas, it seems that the long-awaited HD version of the famed WipEout series has been brought to a halt because of this very warning.

Though it has been in the works and basically done for quite some time, the PSN release WipEout HD has not been able to meet release standards due to the failure of some key epilepsy tests. Sony Europe's David Reeves explained last week that the game was suffering from "a specific technical problem" that "no region has been able to solve at the moment," and CVG has learned that this technical problem is that the game "fails the epilepsy tests so much that it has to be re-engineered."

Sony has not officially confirmed this, but word has it that the game has gone back into the development house to be worked on with no realistic window for how long the fix might take or when a PSN release can be expected. Hopefully the development team can come upon a "eureka" solution: the game has been a long time coming and we're anxious to take it for a spin.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by cartman

Sony reportedly had to pull WipEoutHD because it ran the risk of causing potentially fatal responses to some people................

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thum...peout-hd-delay

That stuff always amazes me. There's usually 2-3 games a year that fail that test, though you don't always hear about it. I've always wondered who the people were that would volunteer themselves for that kind of a test.

"Whoops, looks like that game won't go out. Bill's having a seizure."

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony financial numbers for Q1 2008 are out. Sales don't contain any surprises, but the bottom line certainly does. The gaming division is already making a profit. That's worthy of note because Sony didn't expect to make profit until Q2 2008 when the new chip sets were introduced.

Sony: Sony Shifts 1.5 Million PS3s, 3.7 Million PSPs In Q1 2008

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Interesting rumor that Xbox Live may start allowing Silver members to play online games for free:

Rumor: XBL Silver Now Allows Free Online Play?

Probably should clarify that your statement is misleading. The rumor states that it only is happening on games that are both PC and 360-based. There's no indication at all that Silver members will be able to play all games online anytime soon. The Gold Membership is a major revenue driver for Microsoft and they won't abandon it anytime soon.

[Big Fo]

Boom Blox sells over 450,000 since launch, "continues to sell well."

shacknews.conm link

EA didn't specify whether this was US only or worldwide but it is probably the latter. You may or may not remember but when this game sold only 60k in its first month (of which the game was on sale for only a week) it started up another wave of "third parties can't sell games on Nintendo platforms" articles all over the internet. It's not all about the first week/month of sales on the Wii and DS...

I guess this also means that the MSRP won't be dropping anytime soon so I might as well stop waiting to get the game, pretty much everyone who has played it seems to like it.

[MJ4H]

Good 3rd party games will sell. 3rd parties need to stop shoveling crap at the Wii, though.

[Big Fo]

Well even if third-parties do produce more good titles, there is always going to be shovelware. It's part of being the most popular console. The PS1 and PS2 had loads of craptastic games but it's no big deal, just buy the good ones. In addition to the Wii's popularity, Nintendo has no sort of quality control or anything like Sony and Microsoft do with their consoles. As long as the game runs relatively bug-free they'll approve it no matter how bad it is.

[MJ4H]

Hey, I agree there will be shovelware. The problem is when it is nothing but shovelware.

My problem isn't with shovelware, really, anyway. My problem is with Rock Band releasing a crippled version for the Wii, EA Sports making even shittier (if that's even possible) versions of their games for the Wii, and countless developers taking the easy way out and porting ps2 games. Further, since the Wii isn't as graphically advanced as the other consoles, a lot of developers put basically no effort into the graphics component. There is so much laziness on the part of 3rd party developers for the Wii it is absolutely amazing to hear some of them turn around and bitch about how their stuff doesn't sell.

It is good to see an actual good 3rd party game selling well.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some amusing spin from the EA CEO as the NCAA franchise sees drops in pre-sales and overall sales for the third straight year. Evidently, pre-sales are a dinosaur out of the past now. Also, he claims that they are emphasizing quality and innovation in their games. Certainly an interesting assertion.........

EA Sports: With Preorders Down, EA Highlights Sports Innovation

[Big Fo]

After Sony was happy just to get into the black with their latest financial results, Nintendo has posted a $1.1 billion profit over the last quarter.

Reuters article

Nintendo earnings release

Some numbers from the release, taken from neoGAF:


Wii HW Q1 - 5.17 million (an increase of 1.74 million from last year) (29.62 million total)
DS HW Q1 - 6.94 million (a decrease of 0.04 million from last year) (77.54 million total)

Wii SW Q1 - 40.41 million (an increase of 24.42 million from last year)
DS SW Q1 - 36.59 million (an increase of 2.33 million from last year)

Mario Kart Wii Q1 - 6.42 million
Wii Fit Q1 - 3.42 million (5.27 million total)

Cash and Deposits ~$6.6 billion (decrease mostly due to payment of dividends and income taxes)
Total Assets ~$16.4 billion

Yearly Net Profit Forecast ~$3 billion

Nintendo Since 1998 has made roughly $10,737,000,000
Sony Since 1998 has made roughly $1,953,000,000
Microsoft since 2002 has made - $6,369,000,000

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some interesting numbers were in the Nintendo release. Sales in Europe and North America were very strong. Somewhat surprising was the dramatic fall in demand for the Wii over in Japan. In Q1 2007, Nintendo sold over 900K units. In Q1 2008, that number plummeted to just over 500K units. The DS also saw some big drops in unit sales. Software sales are still relatively strong. Is Japan just a place where consoles will sit on shelves and collect dust?

Nintendo Q109 Results: DS, Wii Totally Cooling Off In Japan

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This will be an interesting trend to watch. In EA's financial release for this quarter, they showed a heavy profit on their PS3 software, with profit on the Wii and 360 being substantially smaller. There must be a bigger profit margin on the PS3 units, as the installed base on the PS3 is not as big as the other two consoles. As we all know, EA runs for the profit margins. We'll have to see if this negative trend for the 360 and relatively stagnant numbers on the Wii will move more emphasis to the more profitable PS3 console.

Ea: PS3 Now EA's Single Biggest Bread-Winner

In other news, Netflix is rolling out early testing of the price bump on HD movie rental service.........

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssC...43889620080725

[MJ4H]

lol

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

lol

I'm assuming since your a Wii fan that this is in response to my post concerning the slower Wii sales. It's certainly a relevant point. Wii sales in that region are way down and PS3 sales are selling 1/3 of the Wii's numbers. The 360 is all but gone. There's certainly something amiss in the hardware market over in Japan. Nintendo and Sony have both voiced concern over the slow market in Japan. The slow market in Japan is a big reason why Europe has become THE battleground in this generation of consoles.

[MJ4H]

its a response to you being you

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

its a response to you being you

As always, very insightful post by the man who idolizes an accused felon.

[MJ4H]

speaking of insightful

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

speaking of insightful

Sorry, I stooped to your level. Apologies. I'm sure you enjoyed the 2008 Cotton Bowl as much as I did.

We'll resumed the regularly scheduled console discussions.

[MJ4H]

lol

[Big Fo]

Yeah Japan is the Wii's weakest region. This is also true for the 360 and PS3. Still, in a typical week (ignoring the Metal Gear bump basically) about three times as many Wiis are sold as the HD twins combined. People just love the handhelds over there it seems.

As far as the declining DS sales over there, over 20 million people already own one and it has passed the PS2 as the best selling console or handheld in Japan's history. How many more people are really out there that want a DS but haven't bought one in the last four years? One-sixth of the population already has one, compared with about one-fourteeth here in the US.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Yeah Japan is the Wii's weakest region. This is also true for the 360 and PS3. Still, in a typical week (ignoring the Metal Gear bump basically) about three times as many Wiis are sold as the HD twins combined. People just love the handhelds over there it seems.

As far as the declining DS sales over there, over 20 million people already own one and it has passed the PS2 as the best selling console or handheld in Japan's history. How many more people are really out there that want a DS but haven't bought one in the last four years? One-sixth of the population already has one, compared with about one-fourteeth here in the US.

Definitely. The DS has reached the point where they need a new color release. Sounds crazy, but Japanese people go crazy for it.

I'm a bit surprised at the Wii numbers as they shouldn't be hitting a slowdown quite yet. My guess is that a price cut may be in order in early 2009 to restart demand over there. I doubt a price cut comes as quick in N/A and Europe as the demand remains very strong.

[MikeVic]

I do not think the Wii needs a price cut.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

This will be an interesting trend to watch. In EA's financial release for this quarter, they showed a heavy profit on their PS3 software, with profit on the Wii and 360 being substantially smaller. There must be a bigger profit margin on the PS3 units, as the installed base on the PS3 is not as big as the other two consoles. As we all know, EA runs for the profit margins. We'll have to see if this negative trend for the 360 and relatively stagnant numbers on the Wii will move more emphasis to the more profitable PS3 console.

Ea: PS3 Now EA's Single Biggest Bread-Winner

In other news, Netflix is rolling out early testing of the price bump on HD movie rental service.........

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssC...43889620080725

I don't pretend to understand what kind of number massaging is going on with EA's financials, but somebody over at Kotaku posted this link:

hxxp://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12187261&postcount=129

Which link purports to explain how exactly EA is booking the revenue. As best I can tell the difference isn't in actual retail game sales but in how and when they book the microtransaction revenue.

Put another way, all of the Xbox 360 revenue for the quarter is being booked identically in both GAAP and Non-GAAP forms. The PS3 revenue has around a $50 million difference. I know that GAAP stands for "Generally Accepted Accounting Principles," but I'm at a loss for how exactly those result in $50 million worth of revenue difference depending on how you book the revenue.

[gstelmack]

Could also simply be the earlier "develop on 360 first" mentality, which means the PS3 is cheaper to make since the hard work was done on the 360, and the PS3 was just the port. Would be interesting to see if this flips after the switch to "develop on PS3 first".

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Could also simply be the earlier "develop on 360 first" mentality, which means the PS3 is cheaper to make since the hard work was done on the 360, and the PS3 was just the port. Would be interesting to see if this flips after the switch to "develop on PS3 first".

I don't think it's that, because the discussion there is one of revenue for the quarter, not profitability on the games.

The GAAP numbers are asserting that the PS3 made $50m more in revenue than the 360 for the quarter, but the Non-GAAP numbers (the ones I guess they have to be more careful with for auditing reasons) show it as $81m to $68m. Closer to parity than they were in the past, but still with a slight edge on 360 because of some EA-owned properties that were (and may still be) exclusive to the 360.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'm a bit surprised at the Wii numbers as they shouldn't be hitting a slowdown quite

Is it possible that the slowdown in Japanese sales is down to units being shifted to other markets to satisfy demand in Europe and North America?

[Big Fo]

Nah, Japan gets enough to meet demand. But some analysts have speculated that consoles meant for North America are being shifted to Europe because of the weaker dollar, which could explain why North America is the only territory to still have shortages.

I forgot to mention it when I posted the numbers up the page but it's nice to see Mario Kart outselling Wii Fit, it's such a good game. 6.4 million copies in three months and change is pretty solid and it will probably keep selling for some time.

[kingnebwsu]

If I have someone to "ignore," and you guys keep quoting him, it sort of defeats the purpose of the ignore, eh?

Seriously, one anonymous person has posted like 15 times in this thread. I'm sure it's all insightful thoughts...

[Big Fo]

Here's a cool video on IGN showing possible applications for WiiMotion Plus and some development tools for motion recognition.

AiLive Shows Off WiiMotion Plus

Give me some kind of medieval battlefield action game with swordfighting and IR bow and arrow shooting ASAP.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New indications from Activision as far as console sales in North America for 2008........

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53960

During a conference call today, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith detailed the company's expectations for console sales across 2008, revealing its belief that the PlayStation 3 will sell more systems than the Xbox 360 this year.

By the end of the current calendar year, Activision believes the consoles will sell:

PlayStation 3: 8 million units
Xbox 360: 6-7 million units
Wii: 15 million units
PlayStation 2: 4-5 million units

Griffith also noted the company's expectation that handhelds will grow "in excess of 24 million," but did not provide a specific breakdown between PSP and Nintendo DS.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New info from the developer of 'Rage'. If things don't change, the developer says that the PS3 version of the game will be better graphically than the 360 version. Microsoft currently charges some of its licensing fees on a per-disc basis. The Rage developer states that unless Microsoft drops some of the licensing fees to allow for 3 discs on the game, the development group will be forced to used compressed data on 2 discs.

This will be an interesting story to watch to see if Microsoft gives in and rescinds some of their licensing fees as it's becoming apparant that more and more advance games will require multiple discs on the Xbox 360.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53976

[Big Fo]

XBox 360 to see an across the board price drop in September?

Originally Posted by arstechnica.com

Early Sept price reduction on X360 hardware:

* Arcade (no hard drive) to $199
* Pro (60GB) to $299
* Elite (120GB) to $399

We should also expect hardware and game bundles for all hardware versions coming in the fourth quarter, just in time for the holidays.

In addition, the mole revealed that the upcoming release of Forza 2 Platinum Hits will include all the DLC tracks that were made for the title, which is a good way to add value to the game.

The last time the mole talked to me, before he became a super-villain, he told me the 60GB model of the hardware was coming, and he was right on the money with that one. Those prices should be considered rumors, but I'd be very surprised if this wasn't accurate information. Very sexy pricing.

full article

A $299 non-gimped 360 bundled with a game could see the 360 take second place in the vital holiday season.

[MikeVic]

I have no desire to get a 360 anymore, but would get a PS3 if the price dropped more. As long as I get a new TV before that.

[cartman]

There is some pressure on Sony from the other Blu-Ray manufacturers to not drop the price of the PS3, as they are saying it will hurt their already weak player sales.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by cartman

There is some pressure on Sony from the other Blu-Ray manufacturers to not drop the price of the PS3, as they are saying it will hurt their already weak player sales.

That is an interesting twist on the PS3 Blu-Ray advantage.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

That is an interesting twist on the PS3 Blu-Ray advantage.

It's been a stupid game that both Sony and the BR player manufacturers have played. Neither want to drop the price because they both want a higher profit margin while selling players. At some point, something's gotta give. BR players are expected to drop significantly in price after the holidays (they're expected to be around $300 at the low end by the holidays). I'm guessing similar PS3 drops will come after the new year.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

XBox 360 to see an across the board price drop in September?

A $299 non-gimped 360 bundled with a game could see the 360 take second place in the vital holiday season.

They need much more than a $50 drop to spark sales. Both the PS3 and 360 need a $100 price drop to see any noticable bump. They also need more good games in the fall, which is somewhat surprising to say given that the 360 library has been the stronger one up to now. Sony has the stronger upcoming lineup at this point.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

XBox 360 to see an across the board price drop in September?



A $299 non-gimped 360 bundled with a game could see the 360 take second place in the vital holiday season.

Seems to be true: VGChartz.com | VGC Exclusive: Xbox 360 to Cut Arcade Prices to $199.99 on Sept. 7th

Not only is the impact of the $199.99 going to of large importance, the scheduling of the drop is telling as well. It takes place 1 week after Square Enix's 'Infinite Undiscovery' and 2 weeks before Harmonix/EA's 'Rock Band 2' - Both exclusive to the Xbox 360 platform at the time of release and pricedrop (obviously, Rock Band 2 will ship in November for the other platforms).
Could Microsoft be making a true power-play for the Holidays? I think so. At a $199.99 price point, and Microsoft's continued dedication to steal away both Sony's hardcore user base through gobbling up former exclusives such as Tales of Vesperia, and Star Ocean, and attempting to woo casual gamers away from Nintendo with such offerings as Your In the Movies and Lips, it would seem that the price drop could act as a suitable catalyst for higher sales.