Aussie Xbox boss reaction to PS3 launch confirmation.

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 25 January 2007 15:48

Opinion and Analysis

The Xbox 360 has had a dream year of Next-Gen sales virtually to itself, very soon the Sony flagship machine will be unleashed in the PAL territories.  Bring it on! Says Australian Xbox Director.

March 23rd is P-Day for PAL territories (Europe and Australasia) – The day PlayStation 3 joins the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 in the battle for gamer’s thumbs and minds.

Xbox Regional Director Australia and NZ, David McLean has a positive approach to the impending rival launch date; “I really want to welcome PlayStation 3 to the ANZ market. After all the talk, Australian gamers will finally have the chance to compare the consoles side-by-side and more importantly decide for themselves what’s the best all round experience.”

This is an approach McLean has taken all along, during the November eGames expo in Melbourne, you could argue that Mcleans’ presentation was overshadowed by the impending release of the Nintendo Wii, and too a lesser extent the technology and experience presentation around the Sony PS3.

But there is still plenty to crow about for Microsoft.  And plenty going on in the world of Xbox gaming. 

Soon to be released in Australia is the HD-DVD drive add on pack (with a copy of Peter Jackson’s King Kong and a media remote) for $A249.95. 

Now if only some of the rumors or time frames can be firmed up – we wait (In Australia) for access to Xbox Live Marketplace Hi-Def TV and Movies and a possible larger size HDD to store them on.

Franchises such as Gears of War, Halo and others will continue to drive Xbox 360 success.  But more importantly for Microsoft is the impending release of the Vista PC operating system.  Vista will bring a further level of online integration to the already superb Live offering, literally playing to Microsoft’s strengths.