Jobs made no secret of iPod's challenge to Sony during his presentation, telling the crowd that the iPod was outselling Sony's latest star product, the PlayStation Portable, or PSP. Sony sold about 2 million PSPs in the last quarter but Apple shipped more than 6 million iPods during that same time.

Offerings from Japanese artists on Sony labels aren't available on iTunes, said Sony Music Entertainment spokeswoman Kiyono Yoshinaga.

"We are in talks with Apple, but we have not reached an agreement at this time," she said, while declining to give details ...

Jobs made no secret of iPod's challenge to Sony during his presentation, telling the crowd that the iPod was outselling Sony's latest star product, the PlayStation Portable, or PSP. Sony sold about 2 million PSPs in the last quarter but Apple shipped more than 6 million iPods during that same time.

Offerings from Japanese artists on Sony labels aren't available on iTunes, said Sony Music Entertainment spokeswoman Kiyono Yoshinaga.

"We are in talks with Apple, but we have not reached an agreement at this time," she said, while declining to give details ...

Advertisers fear their messages may get edited out by the growing band of iPod listeners, writes Paul Durman

PERSONAL video recorders, such as Sky+, are already scaring the living daylights out of television advertisers, fearful that viewers will quickly learn to fast-forward through the commercials. Now the podcasting phenomenon is posing a similar threat to commercial radio.

Podcasting can make radio broadcasts and other audio files available over the internet, allowing them to be downloaded and saved on an iPod or similar digital music player.

Since podcasting started to gain popularity last autumn, it has quickly been embraced by conventional radio companies, in addition to the many amateur broadcasters who were the first to adopt the technology. The BBC and Virgin Radio are both in the vanguard of those experimenting with podcasts.

It is easy to see the appeal. Podcasting breaks down the temporal and geographical limitations of radio. If you want to listen to the Today programme in Toronto at 10pm, you can.

Chris Kimber, head of radio interactive at the BBC, said feedback from listeners had been “overwhelmingly” positive. “The feedback is: ‘We absolutely love this. When are you going to start offering more of your programmes like this?’” The BBC trial includes the Chris Moyles show from Radio 1, as well as the main interview from the Today programme and Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent. Kimber said: “You can listen to it on a plane or on holiday in France. You can take it with you.”

He said the BBC was keen to ensure that radio remained relevant to a mobile generation growing up with the iPod.

The danger, at least for commercial broadcasters, is that the podcast generation will stop listening to the advertisements. It is almost as easy to skip ads with a digital music player as it is with a Sky+ box.

Roger Parry, the chairman of ClearChannel International, part of America’s biggest radio company, said: “You have exactly the same sort of issues that you have with a Sky+ box.

“The conventional, 30-second spot is threatened. The more power you have to listen to something under your control the less likely you are to sit through (an advertisement).”

Audiences could also fragment if podcasting takes off in a big way. That could have commercial implications. Our listener in Toronto is not very valuable to an advertiser offering tool hire in Tooting.

But there will also be new opportunities. James Cridland, head of new-media strategic development at Virgin Radio, said: “We believe we can reach new audiences for our advertisers that we otherwise couldn’t. It’s a great marketing tool.

“There are a lot of people who will be able to sample what our breakfast show is all about who perhaps would not have otherwise listened to Virgin Radio.”

Virgin’s Pete and Geoff breakfast show began daily podcasting in March, the first such move by a British radio station.

The podcast is stripped of the news, weather and travel information that would date it. More awkwardly, for copyright reasons Virgin also has to remove the music.

Cridland said: “What you end up with is the best of our breakfast show and what people tune in for — which apart from the music is the entertaining and wry observations on the world.” ...

Advertisers fear their messages may get edited out by the growing band of iPod listeners, writes Paul Durman

PERSONAL video recorders, such as Sky+, are already scaring the living daylights out of television advertisers, fearful that viewers will quickly learn to fast-forward through the commercials. Now the podcasting phenomenon is posing a similar threat to commercial radio.

Podcasting can make radio broadcasts and other audio files available over the internet, allowing them to be downloaded and saved on an iPod or similar digital music player.

Since podcasting started to gain popularity last autumn, it has quickly been embraced by conventional radio companies, in addition to the many amateur broadcasters who were the first to adopt the technology. The BBC and Virgin Radio are both in the vanguard of those experimenting with podcasts.

It is easy to see the appeal. Podcasting breaks down the temporal and geographical limitations of radio. If you want to listen to the Today programme in Toronto at 10pm, you can.

Chris Kimber, head of radio interactive at the BBC, said feedback from listeners had been “overwhelmingly” positive. “The feedback is: ‘We absolutely love this. When are you going to start offering more of your programmes like this?’” The BBC trial includes the Chris Moyles show from Radio 1, as well as the main interview from the Today programme and Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent. Kimber said: “You can listen to it on a plane or on holiday in France. You can take it with you.”

He said the BBC was keen to ensure that radio remained relevant to a mobile generation growing up with the iPod.

The danger, at least for commercial broadcasters, is that the podcast generation will stop listening to the advertisements. It is almost as easy to skip ads with a digital music player as it is with a Sky+ box.

Roger Parry, the chairman of ClearChannel International, part of America’s biggest radio company, said: “You have exactly the same sort of issues that you have with a Sky+ box.

“The conventional, 30-second spot is threatened. The more power you have to listen to something under your control the less likely you are to sit through (an advertisement).”

Audiences could also fragment if podcasting takes off in a big way. That could have commercial implications. Our listener in Toronto is not very valuable to an advertiser offering tool hire in Tooting.

But there will also be new opportunities. James Cridland, head of new-media strategic development at Virgin Radio, said: “We believe we can reach new audiences for our advertisers that we otherwise couldn’t. It’s a great marketing tool.

“There are a lot of people who will be able to sample what our breakfast show is all about who perhaps would not have otherwise listened to Virgin Radio.”

Virgin’s Pete and Geoff breakfast show began daily podcasting in March, the first such move by a British radio station.

The podcast is stripped of the news, weather and travel information that would date it. More awkwardly, for copyright reasons Virgin also has to remove the music.

Cridland said: “What you end up with is the best of our breakfast show and what people tune in for — which apart from the music is the entertaining and wry observations on the world.” ...

The next generation of consoles are nearly upon us. Assuming a November release for the Xbox 360, we're but three months away from the first next-gen system. All three consoles promise not only enhanced visuals and some exciting new features, like wireless controllers standard for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and the highly secretive Nintendo Revolution controller, but they also promise greatly enhanced online and network functionality.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are both capable of being turned into media centers for your entertainment system as the Xbox 360 has built-in Windows Media Center Extender capabilities and the PlayStation 3 hard drive will ship with a version of Linux. The Revolution too promises great online functionality with Nintendo creating its own online service and even offering NES, SNES and Nintendo 64 games for download and play on the Revolution.

How demanding will the next-gen systems be on an Internet connection though? While the networked media functions and whatnot should work nicely over a fast wireless or 100Mbit wired connection, online gaming and media downloads looks like it may require quite a hefty connection to take full advantage of the systems' abilities.

For instance, many Xbox 360 games will feature support for 64 players online, and many PlayStation 3 games will likely support the same number. Add in full voice support and something like a first-person shooter will already require double the bandwidth of similar 32 player games on current-gen machines. Battlefield 2 for the PC supports 64 players, but you need to be on a very, very fast pipe in order to handle it.

Next-gen games will have a lot more going on that needs to be sent to each player in the game as well. For one, physics systems should be much more advanced than they are in current games, and all of that data will need to be sent to each client. As well, many next-gen games seem to be pushing many, many times more AI characters on-screen simultaneously than current games, so anything with online co-op play will need to send data for each one of those characters. We've heard of games having 2,000 characters/enemies on-screen simultaneously; it would take a massive connection to be able to keep up with that data.

So the question then is whether or not "standard" broadband access will be enough for some of these games. Will a 1.5Mbps DSL connection be good enough, or will gamers need something like a 6Mbps, 10Mbps or even higher to play at the games' most advanced settings? It seems as though college kids may have it best with dedicated optical connections running through their dorms. ...

Software giant Microsoft and the biggest threat to the Playstation brand name of Sony Microsoft has announced confirmed plans to unveil its Xbox 360 next-generation gaming console to the media and press personals in Europe later this year in October. The location has yet not been revealed.

Microsoft would be holding their forth event about their Xbox gaming machines first of which was held in Cannas. This coming event would take place on October 4 and October 5 and more details about this upcoming gaming console from the company are expected to be revealed. The media is quite curious about Xbox 360 as many questions are yet to be answered by the company. ...

Is the Xbox 360 going to launch with two SKUs? Piper Jaffray analyst Anthony Gikas believes it is. GameDAILY BIZ spoke with Gikas about his predictions for launch, 360 Live, and Microsoft subsidizing third party content.


Xbox 360 rumor and speculation has reached an all-time high this week, as reports of a leaked UK launch date continue to spread, supposed US pricing strategy resurfaced, and most recently, Piper Jaffray analyst Anthony Gikas released a note detailing his Xbox 360 launch thoughts, based on "many conversations" with Microsoft executives.

GameDAILY BIZ spoke with Gikas about why he is so confident the system will lauch with multiple SKUs, his prediction for 360 live pricing, and why it's smart for MS to help subsidize third party 360 launch title development.

The Great SKU Debate
Whether or not Microsoft will launch the Xbox 360 at multiple price points has given message boards across the internet plenty of chatter about since E3. Xbox representatives has been unusually coy, even when asked directly whether the system would launch with two SKUs or not.

[ "Microsoft has been very, very aggressive. They're coming at Sony at 110 miles per hour," Anthony Gikas, Analyst, Piper Jaffray ]

Gikas told GameDAILY BIZ that he knew with a "high degree of certainty" that the 360 would indeed launch with two SKUs, although he refused to speculate on the all-important question of whether the low-end model would include a smaller hard drive (thereby making it standard) as opposed to not having one at all.

"Microsoft knows $299 is important," Gikas explained. "They know that historically that's been the launch sweet spot, but they also don't want to take such large hardware losses this time. Of the 1 million units Microsoft is expected to have available at launch, I expect 80% of them will probably be the more expensive SKU, because that's what early adopters are going to want."

As for the higher end model, Gikas conceded that it could come in as low as $350, but $399 seems like the most probably price point. He stressed that the model will likely include "all the additional peripherals gamers would want to buy anyway," as well.

360 Live Price Hike?
Gikas' initial note erroneously stated that he expected 360 Live's "Gold Level" price to be about $20 a month- confusingly said to be in line with current Xbox Live pricing. The current Xbox Live fee if $50 a year, or $6 a month.

Gikas quickly corrected the typo, stating "I do expect a small raise in the price of premium 'Live' service, but I expect it to fall in line with the $50 a year they are charging currently," he said. "I certainly do not expect a $20/month fee. That would be far too prohibitive for too many prospective owners."

The biggest innovation the 360 brings to Microsoft's Live system is the addition of a free "Silver" package to download free (or otherwise) content for their games, and to have access to a friends list. Gikas noted that Microsoft's goal for 360 Live is to have an impressive 50% of owners connected via the system. The hope is that offering a stripped-down free online service will go a long way towards realizing that goal.

Eating Developer Cost
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Gikas' research note was news of Microsoft's heavy use of incentives for third parties to support the 360 100%, and to secure exclusive titles for the system.

"Microsoft has set up a fund (of sorts) to be utilized for subsidizing game development and promotion for the XBX360. We think the Company will provide financial incentives in the form of development dollars, sales and promotions, and reduced royalty structures. At the end of the day, expensive third-party product development (on key IP) could be subsidized in part by Microsoft's balance sheet," Gikas stated.

Gikas explained to GameDAILY BIZ, why Microsoft would try to save money on hardware, only to turn around and spend to support some third party development efforts. "Microsoft has been very, very aggressive. They're coming at Sony at 110 miles per hour, and they feel it's very important for those key games to be there at launch," he said.

Gikas also pointed to the 360's lead-off position as another big reason why Microsoft felt it necessary to lend developers a helping (financial) hand. "Xbox 360 games will potentially cost upwards of 50% more than current-gen titles, and those 360 assets can't be reused in other versions to help spread that cost. The 360 version can't be ported" he said. "Microsoft wants to cushion that initial R&D blow as much as they can to ensure that publishers are behind the 360 100% right from the start." ...

“Electronic Arts announced today Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho as cover stars for EA SPORTS' FIFA 06, due for release this fall. These partnerships build on the success of EA SPORTS' FIFA, Europe's best selling sports game franchise ever. EA also today announced major enhancements to the gameplay and management modes aimed at making FIFA 06 the total football game.

"I'm a big fan of EA's FIFA series and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the final version. The game is very popular with many other players, especially when we travel together for away matches, and it's a great honour for a young player like myself to be chosen to be featured on the cover of FIFA," said Wayne Rooney.

Wayne Rooney, current PFA Young Player of the Year, is one of the most exciting young football stars ever, having scored his first Premiership goal at 16. He became England's youngest ever player to score for his country at 17, and enjoyed a spectacular Euro 2004 tournament. Still only 19, he is a key striker for Manchester United and England.

"I feel very privileged to be asked to feature in another FIFA release. The game gives me the opportunity to play the matches I want to play every day of the week – even while away from the field," said Ronaldinho.

Ronaldinho, FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004, was also noticed for his football wizardry at a very young age. At 19 he was part of the Brazil's 1999 Copa America winning team, and now 25, he has gone on to captain the Brazilian team and is also a star player for FC Barcelona.

For Rooney and Ronaldinho this is an exciting extension of previous collaborations with EA. Rooney has already worked on EA's FIFA 05 in the UK while Ronaldinho appeared on the packs of FIFA Street and FIFA Football 04. Both players have been valuable consultants in the development of the game. Under the new agreement Rooney and Ronaldinho will now both become global celebrity endorsers and appear on merchandising and advertising for FIFA 06. ...

Three entirely self-funded software developers formerly of S2 Games (Savage: The Battle of Newerth) are currently using their apartment as the staging ground for a brand new PC (and newly-revealed possible PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) game known as "Project Offset." Named after the development team itself (which is simply called Offset), the upcoming actioner is being hailed as "unlike no other first-person shooter to date."

Set in a fantasy world similar to those found in most PC RPGs, Project Offset allows players to select from among several different character classes while forming clans to combat over ranked mission-based objectives. There will be a heavy emphasis on game mode flexibility and users can participate in solo, co-op, team, and deathmatch-style showdowns. Interested parties can also expect both long-range and melee combat as well as a throng of vehicles, creatures, and dragons to ride and drive.

In the team's latest update on its official website, further bits of information regarding the game's multiplayer aspects were described in higher detail. Of the several elements mentioned, the co-op components were listed as Project Offset's main design goal. Moreover, the typical player limit is expected to fall somewhere around 64 or higher, and the ability to gain experience points to customize and improve any one of the five available character classes has also been confirmed.

Speaking of character classes, the team shed some light on what those can be used for too. Human Warriors, for example, are the default "all purpose" units that just about anyone can pick up and use. The stealthy Elvin Marksmen, on the other hand, are meant specifically as sneak attack and ranged snipers, while Dwarven builders (used to repair and construct objects), Healers (pretty self explanatory), and Wizards (area damage experts) were also touched on.

Vehicles were glossed over a bit as well and seem to be the great equalizers in terms of game balancing. Horses, catapults, dragons, giant trolls, and battleships all provide a number of unique advantages to those that use them (increased speed, the ability to fly, mass group movement, etc), and when taken in tandem with the aforementioned character classes begin to describe something reminiscent of Battlefield 1942 in the Middle Ages. Other interesting morsels of info, like multiple battles that form overarching war scenarios and castle sieges have also been hinted at, while destructible environments, dynamically simulated deaths, and various other physics-based goodies were revealed. ...