Microsoft 'sold' 17.7M Xbox 360 units, Halo 3 '8.1M' and Mass Effect '1.6M
Written by Dax
Thursday, 03 January 2008
It is most likely shipped to retailers for all figures, but either way Halo 3 seems to have a 50% attach rate with all Xbox 360 consoles sold and Mass Effect should be doing pretty well (maybe at 1.25 million).
Quote:
The Xbox 360 has sold in excess of 17.7 million units worldwide, Microsoft revealed today in a statement that included several other sales figures. The company also announced that Bungie's Xbox 360 exclusive Halo 3 has sold over 8.1 million copies since September 25, 2007, with BioWare's fellow Xbox 360 exclusive Mass Effect moving more than 1.6 million units after its November 20 release.
The figures follow statements made by Microsoft VP of corporate marketing Jeff Bell last December, in which he claimed that Halo 3 had sold in excess of 5 million units and Mass Effect sales totaled over 1 million copies.
"When we look back at 2007, we'll say this was the best holiday lineup in video game history," Bell stated at the time.
Microsoft and Viacom Announce $500 million Partnership
Written by Dax
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Quote:
Viacom Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced a five-year, $500-million strategic partnership under which Viacom will supply Microsoft with movies, videos and games, and Microsoft will sell advertising for Viacom's Internet sites.
Under the deal, which the companies announced in a joint press release today, Microsoft will license, on a nonexclusive basis, entertainment content from Viacom's MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures movie studios and BET Networks, for use on its MSN website and on its Xbox 360 game system.
Microsoft also will buy advertising on Viacom sites, and the companies will collaborate on promotions and sponsorships for award shows on MTV Networks and BET Networks, they said.
The agreement makes Microsoft the exclusive seller of remnant display advertising - or unsold ad inventory - on Viacom's U.S. websites. Microsoft's Atlas division will become the ad server for Viacom's domestic websites as well, the companies said.
"This landmark alliance brings valuable promotional power and increased monetization to our wide portfolio of branded websites, which collectively represent the leading entertainment presence online," Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said in a statement. He added, "Microsoft's superior assets and expertise in the ad serving and sales business will drive enhanced value to our digital operations."
Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's Platforms and Services division, said: "Viacom's portfolio of original content and strong consumer brand connections are a terrific complement to Microsoft's Web, gaming and digital advertising assets. This deal is another milestone in our quest to build a world-class advertising platform to serve the broad needs of advertisers and publishers. If ever there was a 'win-win' partnership across two companies, this is it."
Face it: Japanese Wii owners buy Wii Sports, Wii Fit and maybe Super Mario Galaxy. That's about it, really! So, when a third party company releases something that, well, isn't any of those three, what happens? Not much. That's No More Heroes executive producer and Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada and No More Heroes and Killer 7 creator Goichi Suda hoping to give out toilet paper and hoping to sign copies of NMH. Thing is, after twenty minutes of Suda and Wada standing in front of Akihabara's Sofmap, nobody bought the game. Keep in mind, that not only two well-known game creators were giving out toilet paper, but there was also a woman in a mini-skirt (that, after the jump). Talk about a tough crowd!
Japanese game press like IT Media, GA Graphic and Famitsu were at the bust of an event and didn't have any customers to photograph at the launch. According to Akiba Blog, a staffer from Famitsu publisher Enterbrain apparently went and bought a copy of No More Heroes for Wada and Suda to sign. Regardless of what you think of No More Heroes, stuff like this isn't just sad for Suda and co., but for Wii owners ultimately. No More Heroes isn't your typical Wii game, and it seems to be getting punished for that. Hope it does better in the States — for the Wii's sake.
Hit the jump for the mini-skirt cosplay girl.
