Microsoft a envoyé à ses troupes un petit memo juste avant le CES de Las Vegas pour leur signaler que la Xbox 360 a en fait gagné la
guerre des consoles. Voici un large extrait original (avec traduction des passages qui "tuent" par notre pigiste bilingue) à savourer slip tendu :
"Team,
These are truly exciting times for us in the Interactive Entertainment Business.
Tonight Bill Gates and Robbie Bach will take the stage in Las Vegas to kick off the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where it will be announced that
according to US NPD data through November, Xbox 360 is on track to register the biggest year in video game history.
La Xbox 360 va connaitre la plus grande année de toute l'histoire du jeu vidéo.
While final sales numbers are still being collected, consumers in North America have spent over $3.5 billion dollars on Xbox 360 hardware, software and accessories. That’s $1 billion more
than consumers spent on the Wii, and $2 billion more than the PS3. When December data is added, we expect Xbox 360 in 2007 to have generated more calendar year revenue than any other
gaming platform ever, including PS2 at its peak.
Le consommateur Americain à claqué 3,5 milliards de $ dans le hardware Xbox360, c'est 1 milliard de plus que la Wii, et 2 milliards de plus que la PS3. Ahahah
!
Thank you all for your hard work. It’s because of your efforts this holiday and throughout the previous year that we’ve been able to drive this historic growth and sell over 17.7 million
consoles worldwide. Our growth also continues online, where I’m proud to announce we have surpassed the 10 million member mark on Xbox LIVE, over six months ahead of schedule.
17,7 millions de consoles vendues, 10 millions de membres Xbox Live. On est trop fort.
This growth, however, is not limited to just Microsoft and Xbox 360. The work that you do is also driving growth throughout our industry’s entire ecosystem. History has shown that the
eventual winner of each console generation was the console that generated the most 3rd party revenue, and according to the most recent NPD data, Xbox 360 generated more 3rd party revenue in 2007
than Nintendo and Sony combined.
La Xbox 360 a généré plus de revenu chez les editeurs tiers que Nintendo et Sony combinés. Vlan !
In 2007 the best games in our industry were on our platform, driving better-than-expected sales results for both first and third party games:
Nous avons les meilleurs jeux. Point.
· “Halo 3” sold 8.1 million units worldwide and logged over 1.5 billion multiplayer matches since launch – that’s an average of 14 million matches a day
· “Mass Effect” sold 1.6 million units worldwide, after just five weeks on the market
8,1 millions de halo 3 pour 1,5 milliards de parties en ligne sur ce jeu, c'est le meilleur jeu du monde.
We expect at least seven different franchise titles to have sold in excess of one million units on Xbox 360, including “Halo 3,” “Mass Effect,” “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,” “Guitar Hero III:
Legends of Rock,” “BioShock,” “Assassin’s Creed” and “Madden NFL 08”
7 franchises dépassent le million d'unités vendues, çà déchire grave.
· “Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action” has already achieved its total FY08 revenue budget in just two months, helping establish a new franchise for the Xbox 360 that reaches out to a broad
audience of social gamers
· Xbox 360 titles have received the highest average review scores this generation according to Metacritic, with the majority of cross-platform titles posting higher
review scores on Xbox 360 than PS3
Nous avons les meilleures notes dans les tests effectués par la presse, la PS3 se ramasse.
At CES Robbie will announce new content and partnerships that cement our position as the clear leader in delivering digital entertainment to the living room. Right now Xbox LIVE Marketplace
features over 3,500 total hours of downloadable content and has hosted more than 380 million downloads, along with the largest library of on-demand, high definition content in the US. Now,
Xbox LIVE Marketplace will add TV and movie content from the Disney-ABC Television Group and MGM Studios, bringing hits to our platform including TV shows Lost and Grey’s Anatomy and movies
including Legally Blonde, Silence of the Lambs and Barbershop.
380 millions de téléchargements sur le Xbox Live. Et encore c'est rien car avec la VOD on va tout pêter.
Robbie will also announce an exciting new partnership with BT to offer a first-of-its kind complete entertainment experience to all BT broadband customers by making Internet Protocol TV (IPTV)
available through Xbox 360 through BT’s service BT Vision. This groundbreaking partnership will bring BT’s extensive library of on-demand content to the Xbox 360 and give consumers yet
another option to get high definition content on our platform.
This year’s CES also proves to be exciting for Microsoft as a whole, with Bill Gates introducing a new wave of software-based services for TV, online, mobile phones and
automobiles.
Moving Forward
Looking ahead, I believe we will close 2008 with Xbox 360 being the leader of this generation of consoles.
We’ve led our industry in developing and publishing great games on a platform that is equal parts hardware, software and services. We’ve led in driving growth for
our partners at record rates. Now, it is our mission to fully deliver on our promise for Xbox 360 to be the console of choice for everyone in the family.
This year will be judged by which console will best capture core gamers and captivate the masses with both exciting new gaming content and access to great movie and TV
content online. By this measurement, I feel confident that we are best positioned for success.
La Xbox 360 va gagner la guerre en 2008. Nous sommes confiant car nous sommes les meilleurs.
We have the big blockbuster hits that everyone wanted to play. Of the top 20 best-selling titles in 2007 this generation, 13 were on Xbox 360, compared to seven on the Wii and zero on the
PS3 according to NPD.
13 jeux sur 20 dans le top 20, qui dit mieux ?
Games sell better on Xbox 360 because they play better on Xbox 360. From “Halo 3” to “Mass Effect” to “Bioshock,” Xbox 360 has the highest-rated and hottest games. In fact, Xbox 360
has 6 of the top 10 highest-ranked games this generation according to Metacritic, the world-wide authority in entertainment reviews.
6 des 10 meilleurs jeux de l'histoire de l'humanité sont sur Xbox 360
When you look at the best-reviewed games, consumers will find that Xbox 360 has more than double the number of titles (81) with a Metacritic score of 80 or higher than PS3 (40), and six times
more than the Wii (13).
On a 81 titres avec une note supérieure à 80, contre 40 sur PS3 et 13 sur Wii... huhuhu...
In 2008 the hits will continue to come with exclusives including “Halo Wars,” “Too Human,” “Fable 2,” Alan Wake,” “Splinter Cell: Conviction,” and several
exciting yet-to-be-announced titles. Xbox 360 will be home to the next versions of great franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil, and we will continue to be the leading choice
for sports fans, with the next editions of Madden and FIFA looking and playing better on our platform." (...)
Bref, on nique tout le monde.
Take 2 vient de se payer un nouveau Studio de développement : Illusion Softworks. Un studio tchèque basé à Prague et Brno qui a pondu
par exemple Mafia, Vietcong ou encore Hidden & Dangerous. L'équipe de 200 personnes est renommée 2K Czech (très exotique comme nom !) et bosse en
théorie toujours sur Mafia 2 prévu sur PC et next-gen. 
Malgré toutes les rumeurs et spéculations autour de l'annonce par Bill Gates au CES d'une nouvelle Xbox 360 HD-DVD, celui-ci n'a rien annoncé du
tout et s'est contenté de dire que la Xbox 360 était un énorme succès hardware et software... (Certes aux USA, moins évident en Europe, et pas du tout vrai au Japon).