Microsoft’s High Hopes Holiday Lineup

This year Microsoft believes they’ve got a heavy hitter lineup of titles starting around now until the end of the year including: Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rock Band 2 and Fallout 3. They’re also looking at Lips, their karaoke title with a casual appeal to bring on the sales figures this season.

What about the PlayStation 3? Some of these titles, such as Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2 are not exclusives so both consoles have their chance, right? Microsoft’s looking at historical data on trends from Madden 2009 and see the 360 console out-selling the game even though it’s a shared franchise title.

Strong sales on the Xbox 360 suggest we’ll see those same sales this holiday season. Sure, the PlayStation 3 will get some big numbers thrown up but they may not compete on the same level as the Xbox 360.

All-in-all, Microsoft wants to toss up the one-million game units sold for the holidays, not including consoles we believe. That’s a strong holiday sales cycle if they can pull it off.

Even with economic downturns and financial markets doing poorly, entertainment tends to be something people are willing to invest. Will they pull it off? Will PlayStation 3 keep up?

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“The official start of the beta is a month away, so there’s still plenty of time for you to sign up. When the studio head at Beachhead said this would be a live beta, he was not kidding — your participation really can make a difference in how Elite evolves,” added Amrich, “And don’t be discouraged by the big number, thinking you shouldn’t bother because they already have enough people — two million volunteers among 30 million Call of Duty players is a small amount. More would be even better. Once you’ve signed up, just watch your email inbox for an invite.”

The 2M beta applications aren’t necessarily an endorsement for Elite. Rather, users are probably curious to see the beta and if it pleases them. The paid subscription portion reportedly only represents 10% of Elite, anyway, and is aimed at more “professional” and “hardcore” gamers, aka clans.

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You’re looking to pickup a copy of Guitar Hero World Tour, but you’re currently unsure which bundle does what and how much each will cost. That has now been made clear and gamers can go about their holiday shopping business later this month (Oct. 26th) to pickup the bundle of their choosing.

  • USD $190 for the full band kit on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
  • USD $180 for the full band kit on PS2.
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“And, if $190 just isn’t enough money to spend for you, Red Octane is also offering a special $240 deluxe full band kit bundle that also comes with an XL t-shirt, battery charger, key chain, and guitar case. This deluxe kit is available for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with a $220 deluxe kit offered for the PlayStation 2 and Wii.” (1up)

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