Microsoft pulling out all the stops

It's funny because last year I thought Microsoft played things a bit safe. They sat back and watched Sony release a Slim and some solid games. I kind of thought in the back of my head back to the movie The Fast and the Furious where the guy hits the Nitrous and Vin Diesel is like "too Soon". See Sony had false hope of winning a race. That all came to an end at this past E3.

Microsoft played it just right, see while the PS3 fanboys are sitting their complaining that there wasn't any "Hardcore" games shown on Kinect and that they didn't show a lot of "Hardcore" games for the 360 in general, Microsoft had other ideas.

They actually showed games for Kinect, which is something Sony lacked to do for Move, Now the Kinect games might not have been for the "Hardcore" crowd, but I walked away from the show thinking, "I know who would love one of those". Of course I want one too, not just for the games but for the media applications as well.

The Nay Sayers were out in full force "It wont sell" "it will fail" etc.. and so on and so forth.

So while Kinect was getting across to the new and casual crowd, we see game after game after game for it, like I said maybe not a ton of games I'd get personally but I wasn't the intended target. What was intended for me and other fans were big name hardcore games like Halo Reach, Fable 3 and the Mighty Gears of War 3. To go along with those great "Hardcore title" we get a new slim/redesigned gaming machine. The Slim Xbox 360. Built in Wireless N, 250 gig HDD, headset and a promise of no more Red Ring of Death.

Do you see the genius in this? How many of us know someone who would love to play the huge Microsoft Xbox 360 catalog? I mean Halo, Fable, gears, Forza, Project Gotham racing, Left 4 Dead, Mass Effect, Splinter Cell Conviction, Alan Wake just to name a few?

I personally know a ton of people who just like to game, but were afraid by the media surrounding the RROD. Now, those people have no excuse. I know tons that jumped and went out right away to get one of these new machines.

I run a gaming clan, both Xbox 360 and PS3. Almost half my PS3 side is getting these new 360's, 75% of my 360 side is upgrading to the new Xbox 360 slim as well. That's over 100 people in my clan alone.

What about the budget hardcore gamer? Right now the 1.5 to 2 million Xbox 360 arcades or Elites out their, the current model are being slashed in price. The Spring Arcade Bundle is going for $149 and you get 2 free games and a $49 gift card! So essentially you are paying $99 for a Xbox 360 and your getting some solid games.

The Elites are the same way, they knocked $50 off the $299 price and places like Walmart are offering an additional $50 gift card. So in addition to the millions on Slim Xbox 360's going to be sold this year, the older model is still going to sell off the stock they have to budget people or people who wanted one but didn't have a full $300+ to spend.

As a person who owns all the consoles currently and traditionally throughout my life dating back to the NES and Sega Master System, I can say when the PS3 slim came out I knew it would sell well. I also knew Microsoft would weather that storm and then pull out all the stops this year.

When you think about it, Microsoft has released a steady stream of great content this year.

Mass Effect 2, Metro 2033, Splinter Cell Conviction, Alan Wake, Halo Reach, Crackdown 2, Ninety Nine Nights 2, Fable 3, Kinect and a slim Xbox 360. Early next year we get Gears OF War 3. So it's been a steady stream of support. I've been saying all year that Microsoft was pulling out all the stops. Expect the same surge the PS3 saw last year to be had by the Xbox 360, but even more so. Why do I think more so? Because unlike the Slim PS3, there wasn't many current PS3 owners going out to buy or replace to the new Slim, it wasn't really an upgrade, in fact it was a downgrade, continuing a trend by Sony to take items out of the PS3. This Xbox 360 slim is an Upgrade. Bigger HDD, Wireless N which is the top of the line, quieter, no RROD. It's just an all around great deal to be honest.

So while Sony and Nintendo were saying "Hey, this is the future" Microsoft said "Hey guys, this is the present" We have this redesign you can buy today.

So while people are saying their opinions on who won E3, I tend to even pick Nintendo as winner, I think Microsoft is laughing all the way to the bank, there occupying the top 8 spots on Amazon and Kinect even without a price locked in is right on top. Remember all you that said it would fail? No price yet and it's selling like crazy, not just there either, Gamestop, Walmart are all doing deals and pre-orders. It's going to do the projected 3-5 million this year and a good percentage of those are going to be sold with the new 360. Some to first time buyers.

When you look at whats on top of Amazon or any site, it's the Slim Xbox 360. "Move" even with a price and release isn't anywhere to be seen.

So we can keep seeing articles here especially about what a fail the Microsoft Presser was and about how kinect is for casual gamers and how it will fail, or we can smarten up and see that the Wii has sold close to 80 million consoles to "Casual gamers" and 50 million "Casual gamers" play things like Farmville or Petville, my parents and grandparents included.

So keep saying these things will fail, just don't be surprised when all the wishing doesn't help. My Father always said wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which piles up faster.

So who won E3? Well if you go by sales and hype right now there is indeed a clear winner, Microsoft.

If you've always wanted to "Jump in" with the Xbox 360, now is the time. It might be a good idea to drop fanboy alliances and just try it out. You might be surprised. The 360 has the biggest and best online community, solid games, great voice chat, everyone has Headsets, which is something I'm thankful for. The Communication is great. For $100 how can you go wrong?

In all likelihood the places the consoles are in now is where they will finish. Kinect and Move were attempts at "Soft console launches". Many people view the Move as a glorified wii HD, but lacking the quality Nintendo first party games, it's going to be a tough sell to mostly hardcore gamers and a $400 bundle and the thought of having to buy maybe a $100 or more worth of controllers for Move make that a hard sell. While the Wii is $199 and we are likely to see a 360/Kinect bundle for $250-$299, it's clear the Sony product is going to have the tougher sale.

Personally I entered the lottery at my local gamestop and won the right to purchase a Slim Xbox 360 and it's amazing! So quiet, sleek and just nice to look at to be 100% honest. THe controller seems to have gotten a slight re-working and the buttons on the 360 are nice and work via touch. It's a nice addition.

I in a way just wish people here and in general would relax a bit on the fanboy stuff and play some games. I said it when the PS3 Slim released and I'm saying it now. Why not get the new slim 360? or a 360 in general? there is nothing really stopping people now.

The timing is perfect for Microsoft, they shipped them out now, we will get three solid months of hype, hype, hype, sales, sales, sales and then the Holidays hit and we will get bundles, Kinect, game etc.. Wait until the Halo Reach bundle hits. How many consoles do you think that will push? Exactly.

So In conclusion, I think Microsoft gets the most from their E3 conference. Maybe once the 3DS comes out Nintendo see's some kind of gain from their show, but right here, right now it's all about that Kinect and Xbox 360 slim!