All quiet on the Xbox 2 front at CES !

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates delivered his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show 2005 event yesterday, and despite the run-up to his talk being paved with rumour and hype about an unveiling of Xbox 2, as we confirmed yesterday there wasn't so much as a droplet of chat about Xbox's successor.[br]Xbox 2 information may have been in absence, but amidst a number of announcements from Gates on Microsoft 'digital experience' initiatives in the areas of television, music and video, photos and communications, he did touch on the current status of Xbox, highlight sales performance of Halo 2 and Fable and take upcoming racing title Forza Motorsport for a spin.[br][br]Microsoft's chairman announced industry-leading sales for Xbox in the US in the 2004 holiday season, revealing that the console secured a 40-percent market share during November and December of last year. Xbox Live experienced highest level of usage ever over the same period, 1 million-plus gamers entering into online bouts and racking, up to date, a staggering 69 million hours of play on Halo 2.[br][br]Gates also spoke of Halo 2's impressive sales, which have now hit 6.3 million units since its November 9 2004 launch, and reminded us of the game's launch-day revenue of $125 million in the United States and Canada. Lionhead/Big Blue Box RPG Fable received a special mention as well, the title breaking the 1 million sales barrier in two months.[br][br]But perhaps the zenith of Bill Gates' keynote speech was the demonstration of Xbox's would-be Gran Turismo beater Forza Motorsport, which Gates played with talk-show personality Conan O'Brien as part of his discussion of major trends driving gaming today (HDTV, ubiquitous broadband and wireless connectivity, and rich personalisation). [br][br]Gates and O'Brien raced through Manhattan in customised cars, according to reports complete with a system crash and shoddy framerate on Conan's console. S******.