Microsoft @ E3

When Microsoft’s Xbox 360 hit the market last holiday season, it brought madness to the video game industry since you could barely find one to purchase. I even received multiple e-mails and phone calls from folks wanting me to hook them up with an Xbox 360. I really couldn’t help anyone in that department, but at least things finally calmed down a bit, and you can actually find the 360 on some store shelves these days without massive price inflation.

I was in heaven while walking through a sea of Xbox 360s at Microsoft’s booth at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), not to mention the lineup of games. One of the games that particularly stood out in my mind was Halo 3 (first-person shooter (FPS), by Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie Studios), the much-anticipated sequel to one of my personal favorites Halo and Halo 2. Chromehounds (Sci-Fi Shooter, by Sega), Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (FPS, by Ubisoft), Gears of War (Sci-Fi Shooter, by Microsoft Game Studios / Epic Games) and Lost Planet (Sci-Fi Adventure, by Capcom) were a few of my E3 favorites.

Other games included Blue Dragon (role-playing, by Microsoft Game Studios), Crackdown (action adventure, by Microsoft Game Studios), Dance Dance Revolution Universe (rhythm/dancing, by Konami), Dead Rising (fantasy shooter, by Capcom), F.E.A.R. (FPS, by Vivendi Games), Ninety-Nine Nights (fantasy action, by Q Entertainment Ltd. / Phantagram Co. Ltd.), Frontlines: Fuel of War (FPS, by THQ), Mobile Ops: The One Year War (mech simulator, by Namco Bandai Games) Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent (FPS, by Ubisoft), and many more.

With most of these games you can connect to other players via Xbox Live. There are currently about three million console gamers connected to the Xbox Live community via their Xbox or Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft anticipates this number to double to six million by the end of this year, especially with Xbox Live Arcade. It provides quick fun experiences for gamers of all interests, skill levels and budgets. This also provides the most sought-after downloadable games in high definition supported by an integrated friends list, achievements, leaderboards and voice/video communications. Over 50 titles will be available through Xbox Live Arcade by the end of the year.

According to Microsoft’s Chairman & Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, the Xbox 360 system will have a 10 million-unit head start by the time the competition enters the market this holiday season. There will also be more than 160 Xbox 360 games by the end of the year. You can find the Xbox 360 for about $400 at your nearest Gamestop, CompUSA or Best Buy. For detailed information about the above listed games, check out www.xbox.com.