Dean Takahashi, God love him, seems to be the go to guy for MS when they want to “leak” something. The latest proof of this is a memo sent to Dean from the head of Xbox, Don Mattrick. The memo implies that Xbox has a few tricks up it’s sleeve. Memo and more after the jump:
Below is a memo from Don Mattrick that was originally intended for internal distribution within the Xbox branch of Microsoft. Somehow the memo ended up on ‘ol Takahashi’s desk. While the memo’s details don’t go far beyond what we already knew in terms of exclusive titles, the memo does state that the 360 has “several” unannounced exclusives. I think our readers and forum members know what some of those exclusives are. Check out the memo for yourself and tell us what you think.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
· “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
· 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”
· “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
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.
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.
Games
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.
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.
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).
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.
