05 Janvier 2006 -  Les lecteurs de matbe.com le savent bien, le CES 2006 (Consumer Electronics Show) de Las Vegas est ouvert. L'occasion pour Microsoft de faire le point, et notamment sur la situation de la Xbox 360 après 1 mois 1/2 d'existence. Premier point et non des moindres, l'arrivée en fin d'année d'un lecteur HD-DVD externe (cf. cette news).

Pour le reste, Peter Moore (Vice-Président de la division Interactive Entertainment de Microsoft) fait évidemment preuve d'optimisme en s'attardant sur le passé de la Xbox, et surtout sur son futur. Il rappelle le coup d'essai réussi de la première console, avec 22 millions de Xbox vendues, une communauté stable autour du Xbox Live et de gros hits comme Halo.


Pour le futur de la Xbox 360, ce bon Peter s'attend toujours à des ventes mondiales qui devraient s'étaler entre 4.5 et 5.5 millions d'ici juin. Pour ce faire, la production va s'intensifier avec quelques partenariats intéressants (Selectica), ce qui évitera de répéter les désagréments du lancement. Enfin, dans la série des petites choses anecdotiques mais fun, Peter Moore nous rappelle que le trailer de Mission Impossible 3 a été disponible en exclusivité sur le Xbox Live marketplace. Une manière de montrer qu'il s'agit d'un service sur lequel il compte beaucoup, tout comme le Xbox Live Arcade. Bref, une année 2006 qu'on nous annonce placée sous le signe de la X360, sans grosse révélation, même s'il aurait été étonnant qu'on nous dise le contraire...


- L'intégralité du discours de Peter Moore (en VO) -

"So it's five years ago today right on this very stage that we used CES to unveil Xbox, challenging the conventional wisdom we got in the future of what console gaming was about. Xbox as we all know is now a success story in more than 22 million homes worldwide. We envision with Xbox a community connected through Xbox Live, the first and only unified online gaming service. Xbox Live is now a movement of more than 2 million members that grows and diversifies each day. We believed that Halo would be a great franchise. Well, not only is it a great franchise but Halo 2 recorded the greatest day in retail entertainment history with $125 million in sales in one day.

And we built partnerships to create an incredibly diverse portfolio of high quality games that will number 800 by the end of this year.

In the Xbox generation we were the thought leader.

Let's fast-forward to Xbox 360. We're quickly moving from thought leadership to market leadership. And tonight I'm pleased to announce that Xbox 360 achieved an unprecedented global launch for the world of videogame consoles. In the first 90 days we will have launched Xbox 360 in nearly 30 countries, and Xbox 360 is on track to ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million consoles by the end of June.

Xbox 360 has a stunning attach rate of four games per console, and an accessory level and attach rate of three per console, both of which are nearly double the previous record.

Now, it's no secret to anybody in this room that our biggest challenge has been meeting the high consumer demand for the console. We are working to deliver consoles as quickly as we can manufacture them. To further bolster our capacity for output, I'm happy to announce that next month Selectica will join both Flextronics and Wistron as our third manufacturing partner. We need to meet the consumer demand worldwide and having this ability now to do that with three manufacturing partners helps us do that.

Xbox Live continues to lead the way in defining online entertainment for this global audience that we're delivering. Xbox Live is regarded as the standard by which all over online game services are measured. It's a seamlessly integrated world through the entire Xbox 360, and players are instantly connected to a vibrant online community the moment they power on the system.

Now, on Xbox 10 percent of customers connected their box to the Internet, on Xbox 360 more than 50 percent of all consoles worldwide are now connected to Xbox Live.

And Xbox Live doesn't only connect people around the world via games and entertainment, it also offers access to high definition content. Xbox Live marketplace is a one-stop digital download center where you can access high definition games, music, movie content from our leading industry partners.

Using our free Silver level of service, all Xbox Live players can connect to the Xbox Live marketplace.

As evidence of this, tonight I'm pleased to announce that in just four weeks since the launch of Xbox 360, more than 4 million Xbox Live marketplace downloads have enhanced the games and entertainment experiences of Xbox 360 owners around the world.

With numbers like that, Xbox Live is a proven form of mainstream entertainment. In fact, on a share basis, the 18 to 34 male demographic that we deliver through Xbox Live is comparable to network programs such as "CSI" or "The Office," and that fact and the popularity of Xbox Live has not gone unnoticed. Movie studios and record labels like 20th Century Fox and Epic Records have recently released movie and music video content on Xbox Live marketplace, and just two weeks ago Paramount Pictures chose Xbox 360 to world premiere the "Mission Impossible 3" trailer on Xbox Live marketplace, spotlighted right there on today's Xbox Live marketplace blade.

Now, digital distribution of content isn't limited to just music and video content. Watch out for Xbox Live arcade, where hundreds of thousands of people are downloading and playing casual, classic, puzzle and new action pack games like Joust or Geometry Wars or Hearts.

By March, we'll be proud to announce that more than 20 games will be available through Xbox Live Arcade, games like Streetfighter 2 from Capcom, games like Texas Hold 'Em and Marble Blast Ultra. Texas Hold 'Em will be the first fully sponsored game on Xbox Live Arcade, sponsored by our partners at (River Vail ?).

Xbox Live marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade are proof positive that high definition content delivery via the Internet is real and it's happening right now.

We're on the verge of an explosion in the kinds of high definition content available. Similarly, we're seeing a revolution in the way consumers can access all of that high def content, download it from the Internet, streaming over the whole network and, of course, high def optical disks.

Five years ago, we envisioned the future would include the convergence of high definition movies, things like games and photos, movies and, of course, television. Today, Xbox 360 is delivering on that vision.

Tonight, I'm proud to announce that later this year we will be launching an Xbox 360 external HD DVD drive. Soon millions of Xbox 360 owners can pop in an HD DVD disk and enjoy high definition movie playback.

In fact, Xbox 360 is the killer app for HDTV adoption. It's driving HDTV monitor sales. A recent study concluded that 9 out of 10 Xbox 360 owners have either purchased or intend to purchase an HDTV in the next six months. And 90 percent of them say that it was Xbox 360 that is the primary reason for making that purchase, 90 percent of them say it's about Xbox 360.

But exciting as all of this is, Xbox 360 continues to be about great games. It's my pleasure to announce that by June of this year Xbox 360 will have 50 high definition games from the best names in publishing, including 2K Games, Capcom, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft.

So without further ado, let's get it on by demonstrating the heavyweight power of Xbox 360 games pipeline. The upcoming blockbuster, EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 is the undisputed champion of boxing videogames. Now, for a game of this quality we need some world class fighters. And since we're in Las Vegas, we really need to do this right. So please welcome Al Bernstein, the host of one of the greatest boxing shows on television, both ESPN and Showtime, and a commentator of the World's Greatest Respect for the past 25 years. Please welcome Al Bernstein. (Applause.)"