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Title: “Ninja Blade”

Age Rating: Rating Pending

Availability: Q1 2009

Product Overview: Step into the dark and mysterious world of “Ninja Blade,” where gamers will be given the epic task to defend Tokyo and ultimately humanity itself from a horrific, genetically mutating disease.

High atop the towering skyscrapers of modern-day Tokyo, Ken Ogawa and his team of skilled ninjas are deployed to destroy the infected monster horde and stem the spreading disease as humanity hangs in the balance. Matters quickly take a turn for the worse as Ken and his team are betrayed from within their own ranks. After narrowly escaping death, Ken is left to fight the daunting battle alone while also attempting to understand the motivations behind his betrayal.

Armed with an extensive arsenal of specialized ninja weapons, tools and skills including the powerful forces of “Ninja Vision” and “Todome,” players must fight insurmountable odds, and once again bring peace and order to Tokyo.

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Driven by record sales at retail along with an 84 percent jump in online consumer spending; global install base lead over PlayStation 3 expands to more than 8 million units.

REDMOND, Wash. - Jan. 5, 2009 - Despite a tough economy, the gaming industry held strong in 2008 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system recorded the biggest year in Xbox history, with more consoles, games and online entertainment experiences sold than any previous year. It was a year in which life-to-date unit sales of Xbox 360 systems climbed to 28 million consoles worldwide - expanding the product’s lead over Sony PlayStation 3 to more than 8 million units. The Xbox LIVE community also grew to more than 17 million active members, as online consumer spending increased 84 percent from last year. Since the launch of the Xbox 360 three years ago, more than $1 billion has been spent on Xbox LIVE. This amazing growth was fueled by the launch of the New Xbox Experience1; the broadest selection of hit games, TV shows, and movies available; and mass-market price points, starting at $199.Xbox 360 is experiencing record-setting sales around the globe, particularly in Japan and Europe, nearly doubling market share in these key territories. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) specifically, Xbox 360 has now sold more than 8 million units, extending its lead over the PS3 by more than 1 million units.

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LONDON - 5th January 2009: Xbox® today revealed sales data showing Christmas 2008 was the biggest sales period ever in the brand’s six-year European history, with sales of Xbox 360^TM almost double those of Christmas 2007[1]. Eight million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)[2] up to the end of 2008, widening its lead over PlayStation 3 in the region to more than one million and setting the scene for further growth in 2009.

GfK-ChartTrack data shows that Xbox 360 was the fastest-growing console of 2008, with sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 over double that of the same period in 2007, spurred on by a mix of value, great games and entertainment, and the recently-launched New Xbox Experience.

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Fudzilla is reporting that Microsoft is preparing for a massive layoff on January 15th, 2009.  According to the report about 17 percent (15,000 jobs) of Microsoft’s workforce will be cut.  MSN is expected to get hit hardest, while the Entertainment and Devices Division will most likely see little change considering they have just started to become profitable.

Due to a lack of official confirmation from Microsoft this one will stay in the rumor category for now.

Link

-Justin

Sony’s strategy of selling a pricey game machine with advanced features and cutting-edge components appears to be backfiring as a deepening recession has U.S. consumers more price sensitive than ever.

If Sony doesn’t close the gap with its rivals, it could risk making the PS3 an afterthought to game publishers, who focus most of their resources on the machines with the most users. At the end of September, the Wii had a wide lead with nearly 35 million units sold since its launch in 2006 compared with about 22 million Xbox 360 consoles and 17 million PS3 machines. Nintendo last month sold 2 million Wii machines in the U.S., while Microsoft sold 836,000 Xbox 360s and Sony sold 378,000 PS3s, according to NPD.

Sony said earlier this month that it was happy with the “strong momentum” of the PS3 and focused on the machine’s 60% rise in the year-to-date sales. A spokesman at Sony’s game division declined to comment further, saying it is working hard to close the quarter strong.

Read the full article here.

-Justin

As for Sony, well, they just can’t catch a break. The company scored a major coup when Blu-ray officially trounced HD-DVD in the hi-def format war, but few believe the technology will catch on with consumers. Strong sales of big-time exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4 were promising, but the troubled launch of their ‘Home’ network coupled with relatively weak holiday sales (only Resistance 2 cracked the Top 10 list in November, all the way back at number 9) cramped their style. The once-promising PSP is getting whomped by both the DS and Apple’s surging iPhone…

I’ve heard talk that 2009 will be the year the PlayStation 3 makes a come back but I think the other consoles are just too far ahead in sales at this point.  When the PS3 launched Microsoft had sold about 2.8 million Xbox 360s in the US.  Since that time the 360 has increased its lead on the PS3 to a little over 6 million, and that doesn’t even take into account how far ahead Nintendo is.  That’s not a good trend and it won’t be long until developers and publishers are forced to take that into consideration while working on new projects.

Read the full article here.

-Justin

Testimony obtained from a Microsoft program manager indicates that Microsoft became aware of the problem [Xbox 360 scratching discs] months before the 360’s launch when retail demonstration consoles malfunctioned. The company examined three solutions: strengthening the magnets that hold the discs in place, slowing the rotational speed of the discs, and installing rubber bumpers to cushion the discs, but rejected them all.

It’s simply amazing how well the Xbox 360 is doing considering how prone the system is to malfunctions.  If there has ever been another system that had this bad of a track record I can’t recall it.

Link

-Justin

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Speaking of Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ), it would be unwise to completely discount the struggling PS3. The system is still just too expensive for most people and has fallen short on its current title lineup, but it hasn’t dominated the past two generations of gaming systems by luck. It’s less a consideration for most shoppers this year, but it could be in the thick of the hunt by next year’s holiday season.

Poor Sony.  First they end up with terrible November hardware sales and now they are getting press like this.  If things don’t turn around soon next year’s holiday season could be much worse than the current one.

Read the full article here.

-Justin

Get creative with your avatar and win some fantastic prizes
LONDON, 15th December 2008 - Xbox 360^TM proudly presents ‘Free your Avatar’, an exciting new feature that allows you to export your avatar¹ out of Xbox LIVE® and share with friends and family, either via e-mail or on social networking sites, in an easy one step process.

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