Microsoft Sends Letter to Yahoo! Board of Directors
>> From microsoft.com: [QUOTE] Dear Members of the Board:
It has now been more than two months since we made our proposal to acquire Yahoo! at a 62% premium to its closing price on January 31, 2008, the day prior to our announcement. Our goal in making such a generous offer was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction. Despite this, the pace of the last two months has been anything but speedy.
While there has been some limited interaction between management of our two companies, there has been no meaningful negotiation to conclude an agreement. We understand that you have been meeting to consider and assess your alternatives, including alternative transactions with others in the industry, but we've seen no indication that you have authorized Yahoo! management to negotiate with Microsoft. This is despite the fact that our proposal is the only alternative put forward that offers your shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.
During these two months of inactivity, the Internet has continued to march on, while the public equity markets and overall economic conditions have weakened considerably, both in general and for other Internet-focused companies in particular. At the same time, public indicators suggest that Yahoo!'s search and page view shares have declined. Finally, you have adopted new plans at the company that have made any change of control more costly.
By any fair measure, the large premium we offered in January is even more significant today. We believe that the majority of your shareholders share this assessment, even after reviewing your public disclosures relating to your future prospects.
Given these developments, we believe now is the time for our respective companies to authorize teams to sit down and negotiate a definitive agreement on a combination of our companies that will deliver superior value to our respective shareholders, creating a more efficient and competitive company that will provide greater value and service to our customers. If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board. The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction with you. If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.
It is unfortunate that by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo!'s shareholders and employees. We think it is critically important not to let this window of opportunity pass. [/QUOTE]
Sat TV Crypto Hacker was Offered 100k USD to hack the 360 - Not Enough
>> From slashdot.org: [QUOTE] This article from a Swiss newspaper recounts the appearance of Christopher Tarnovsky at the European Black Hat conference. While with NDS, Tarnovsky cracked Kudeslki's satellite TV encryption, but claims he didn't post the result on the open Net. His responses to audience questions are amusing, in particular when someone from Microsoft asks him about breaking the Xbox 360 console. Tarnovsky replies: "I have been offered 100,000 dollars for the break, but I replied that it was not enough." [/QUOTE]
Interview: Greenpeace's Al-Hajj Talks Green Consoles
>> From gamasutra.com: [QUOTE] International activist organization Greenpeace recently released an updated version of its report ranking the three current games consoles in terms of their environmental impact. We spoke to Al-Hajj, and asked about the report, and where she hopes the industry will go in the coming years.
* What were your findings, on the whole? * First, as a component of it, you have to realise that all electronic appliances are compliant with a regulation from Europe called the ROHS - Restriction of Hazardous Substances. This directive was passed in the EU, and says that any product sold in that market needs to be free of lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, and two types of polybrominated flame retardant. All the electronic industry players must comply with that, otherwise they can't sell their product in the EU market. And because it's a global industry, the impact of that directive is on a global level. All products are free of lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, and two types of polybrominated flame retardant. The industry has already started to improve, but that's not enough. The amount of chemicals used by the industry, and the toxicity of the chemicals, is very high. We're challenging the industry to eliminate additional chemicals, like all types of polybrominated flame retardant and PVC. They're used by the industry, and when those products become waste, it's hazardous waste. None of the game console manufacturers have made any commitment to this, or put on the market a green device free of those additional chemicals. They're free of lead, cadmium and chromium - they have to be, because that's the law. To give you a comparison: Sony has a VAIO laptop that's free of PVC in most of its components, as well as polybrominated flame retardant, and they've eliminated lead in the screens now. That's not the case with their games consoles. That's the challenge for us: to make sure the industry starts implementing the changes they've made with other electronic products. The energy consumption is another element that we're now adding to our assessment of the industry, and we started doing that with the games consoles from the beginning. There is a huge difference between the three main consoles.
* Have we seen a difference with the Xbox 360 over its lifecycle? * They're all improving, yes. They have the Elite one, which uses less energy than the original Xbox 360 - that one, on idle, used 170 watts, and they reduced it to 97 watts now. It's very obvious that they're all acting on the energy consumption. On the chemical use, we haven't seen a shift. We've seen promises, but no shift in reality. We're hoping that with the designs of the new devices that they're now working, those elements will feature. That's exactly why we launched this campaign at this time, because we know that they must all be designing right now and working on their new products. We hope that will influence them into looking at environment when doing that. [/QUOTE]
Sony: Microsoft 'punched themselves out' of next-gen fight
>> From gamepro.com: [QUOTE] Sony's marketing VP tells GamePro that Microsoft may have "already leveraged all of their big assets" for the Xbox 360 in 2007, leaving 2008 wide open for the PlayStation 3.
* GamePro: The Blu-ray victory was a huge win and may represent a turning point for the PS3. What is Sony doing to keep PS3 interest high among gamers? * Sony: I think [the Blu-ray win] is a huge momentum builder for us and I think it is part of why we believe 2008 is going to be a monster year for the PS3. When you incorporate games like Gran Turismo 5, Metal Gear Solid 4, Little Big Planet, and Resistance 2...there will a great mixture of new IP and proven PlayStation brands. I think these factors are timed perfectly because our competition has already leveraged all their big assets in the first couple of years and may have punched themselves out of the fight. We are the [HD movie] standard and now we have the creativity and the products, so I think that formula is going to drive consumers to the PS3. [/QUOTE]
>> From xbox360fanboy.com: [QUOTE] According to some readers, Xbox Live is experiencing slowdown reminiscent of the Holiday '07 debacle. The general guess is that the popularity of the recently released Call of Duty 4 map pack may have a hand in the current network situation.
While some readers are experiencing login issues, download errors and general feeling of the service being dragged through molasses, we've been receiving friend requests for the last hour and a half for tonight's big game while connected to Xbox Live without any issues other than a slow performance from the Xbox Live Marketplace. [/QUOTE]
The X360 needs a new SKU, and this is what it should include
>> From gameplayer.com.au: [QUOTE] Microsoft needs to get serious and release a new SKU for their console that gives it a fresh image, and a fresh sense of purpose. And here's how...
Let's start with the biggie: reliability. The dreaded 'red ring of death' is an event too many users have had to endure. Microsoft needs to do a dramatic rethink of their core hardware parts and do whatever it takes to guarantee a failure rate that competes with the PS3 and Wii. They then need to redesign the look of the Xbox 360 so it appears like a new, snazzy machine... a fresh beginning.
So along with an improved aesthetic, a new Xbox 360 SKU should do away with that flimsy piece of shit they call a disc drive and opt for the 'suck-in' option of its competitors. Hopefully this will also cure that incessant whine and dodgy vibrations that emanate through your entire house whenever a disc is spinning. Faceplates should be abandoned completely and buried with the other gaming turds in New Mexico. The hard-drive needs to be rethought completely; its current 'strap-on' design looks cheap and nasty. In fact, the hard-drive needs to be redesigned in its entirety. The proprietary system currently in place is a joke.
Indeed, it seems like much of the Xbox 360's original design was built to encourage you to spend more on additions post purchase. It was originally argued that the modular nature of the console was a plus: you could buy the Core machine for relatively cheap and add things to it as you went. That couldn't be more untrue. In fact we have theorized in the past how the decision has acted to slow down the entire evolution of gaming. Faceplates, optional hard-drives, DVD as standard with optional HD-DVD drives: everything costs more and more.
When Microsoft announced the Elite, we were simply stunned that built-in wireless wasn't included. A standard feature in the Wii and PS3, Microsoft would prefer that you paid $169 on an ugly, white (on a black machine?) wireless adapter instead. WTF?
Now what about Blu-ray? HD-DVD is dead and the giant format war hoax has come to its inevitable conclusion at a massive cost to consumers. Should Microsoft get jiggy with a blue diode or not? We think they have to. Costs in their production have come down since the PS3 launched, which means the increase in cost to the consumer can be manageable. [/QUOTE]
>> From gamedaily.com: [QUOTE] With the Wii consistently selling out as soon as it hits store shelves, and the DS continuing to sell like hotcakes, 2007 was definitely Nintendo's year. According to Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research, that momentum will carry Mario and co. right through 2008 as well.
For fiscal year 2008 (which ended this March), Sony sold 9 million PS3 units globally, Microsoft sold 9.5 million Xbox 360s and Nintendo sold 18.5 million Wiis. For fiscal year 2009 (ending next March), Ernst forecasts that Microsoft will sell 11.2 million units of the Xbox 360 worldwide, Sony will sell 12.5 million PS3s and Nintendo will sell 23 million Wiis. [/QUOTE]
>> From guardian.co.uk: [QUOTE] Neil Thompson has just one word to describe what it felt like when he first experienced the Xbox 360's so-called red ring of death (RROD): "disappointing".
Microsoft has refused to discuss the gory details of what went wrong, and Thompson himself is fuzzy when it comes down to defining the problem. "There is a certain percentage - not a massive percentage - of consoles that were experiencing disk failures or CPU failures, or whatever word we want to use," he explains. "My personal understanding of the precise technology isn't sufficient," he says. "But I do know that we've isolated certain elements that, for certain products that were produced, made them fail." "The first thing to say is I'm sorry that you've had a bad product experience, and hopefully we're doing what we can to solve that. The bottom line is that you want a product that is reliable." "It's obviously reinforced the fact that quality is paramount. It was something that we understood before, but it's become an intense focus. It's something you can't slip below - you have to maintain a quality bar."
A $1bn cockup would be a salutary lesson for any company, but the Xbox's problems haven't stopped there. At the peak of the vital Christmas season, the Live service (used by millions of Xbox owners to play online) ground to a halt. Just when thousands of punters were ready to swarm onto the net, darkness descended. "Incredible success brings some operational issues that mean we haven't scaled in the way we should have. As we said at the time, we apologise for that. It isn't the way we want to do business." "When you look at the scale of what we're running, I think we are actually quite good at it - we've got millions and millions and millions of people playing online across the world every day. It's not an insubstantial task to keep that going. Now that's not an excuse, that just context ... but we are breaking new ground with this - unfortunately, at Christmas, we failed the test."
The online efforts of Sony and Nintendo might remain fairly basic, but they are improving all the time. However, the suggestion that Xbox Live could become completely free is met with a shake of the head. "What we offer is the deepest, most involving service of anyone, and I think the fees we charge are appropriate," he says. "Would I want to pay for the service my competitors offer? No, because they're not offering anything near what we do."
But underneath the corporate, maybe there's an easier way to gauge Microsoft's response to all this tumult. Just last month Xbox prices were slashed, with the most common package dropping significantly by £50 to £199. Perhaps actions really do speak louder than words. [/QUOTE]
>> From telegraph.co.uk: [QUOTE] As many as one in 30 computer game players have symptoms similar to those of gambling and drug addicts, psychologists claim. A study of nearly 400 "gamers" found three per cent missed meals and went without sleep to spend more time playing.
They suffered withdrawal symptoms and were found to be more introverted, emotionally unstable and have lower self-esteem. Psychologists at the British Psychological Society conference in Dublin said gaming addicts had personality traits similar to Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism. [/QUOTE]
72pct of US Population Play Video Games: 360s Owners Play Most
>> From the press release: [QUOTE] According to The NPD Group's recently released report, "Online Gaming 2008," which analyzes the online gaming landscape and focuses specifically on consumers' behavior, time and money spent in this market, overall participation in gaming rose in 2007 over 2006, from 64 percent of the population to 72 percent of the population. Of these, more than half say they play games online.
The PC platform continues to be the driving force in online gaming, with 90 percent of online gamers stating they use a PC to play games online, 19 percent claiming they use a video game system (console or portable) and 3 percent claiming they use a cell phone.
Four out of 10 online gamers are ages 2-17, driven heavily by kids ages 6-12. Kids ages 2 to 12 are driving more than 25 percent of online gaming, while 18-24 year olds only represent 10 percent of online gaming.
Among those who use a video game system for online gaming, Xbox 360 is the top system used, with 50 percent stating they play games online via that system. On average, Xbox 360 owners spend the most time per week using their 360s to play games online, followed by PC and PS3 owners using these respective systems for online game play.
According to the report, 13 percent of online gamers spend 20 hours or more per week on online gaming. Per platform, 33 percent of portable online gamers, 29 percent of console online gamers and 13 percent of PC online gamers are in this heaviest online gaming group.
At this point in the lifecycle of today's video game consoles, multiple console ownership is low, with only 3 percent reporting that they own two of the three "next-gen" systems and only 2 percent claiming to own all three systems.
"Despite the buzz in the industry regarding online gaming, it is still relatively small compared to offline gaming," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "There is still a large, untapped market for gaming in general and online gaming in particular." [/QUOTE]
>> From techradar.com: [QUOTE] Microsoft has insisted that Lite-on will not be making Blu-ray drives for its Xbox 360, despite widespread internet rumours to the contrary.
Here's the statement just in from Microsoft to scupper their rumour-mongering: "No. Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360. As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available. "For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available and the ability to play back DVDs in high definition." [/QUOTE]
Blu-ray Xbox 360s may sell at a loss, say Taiwan makers
>> Digitimes.com posted an update to yesterday's rumor about a 360 Blu-ray SKU: [QUOTE] If, as previously reported, Microsoft adopts built-in Blu-ray Disc (BD)-ROM drives for a new version of its Xbox 360, sales prices are likely to be lower than the corresponding production costs since current OEM quotes for BD-ROM drives are as high as US$95-100, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
It is reported that Microsoft plans to offer a new Xbox 360 hardware revision equipped with a BD-ROM drive to compete with Sony's PlayStation 3. Taiwan-based Lite-On IT is said to have been invited to participate in designing the drive.
However, while the US$95-100 quoted for a BD-ROM drive is much higher than US$18-20 quoted for the DVD-ROM drives built into current Xbox 360s, the increase in retail price of the new consoles is unlikely to cover the whole of the OEM price gap, the sources analyzed, meaning Microsoft would be selling the consoles at a loss. [/QUOTE]
>> From digitimes.com: [QUOTE] Lite-On IT is developing built-in Blu-ray Disc-(BD) ROM drives for the Microsoft Xbox 360 game console, according to industry sources. Lite-On declined to comment, citing client confidentiality.
Lite-On's shipments of the BD ROMs to Microsoft will start in the second half of 2008, the sources added. Lite-On is currently one of the suppliers of Xbox 360-use internal DVD-ROM drives.
Power supply makers also revealed that while the present Xbox 360 uses a 210-watt power supply, the next-generation game console will use a 170-watt power supply in order to reduce production cost and the size of the device, according to the sources. [/QUOTE]
Note: Yes, I am aware of todays date, but I don't think it's very popular in Taiwan where digitimes is based. Anyway it's a rumor, so take with a grain of salt. About the PSU, well that's no rumor but they got their timeline a bit wrong ... some Falcon (v3) 360s already ship with a 175W PSU compared to the old 203W PSU.
>> From gamesindustry.biz: [QUOTE] The Xbox 360 is on course to record 2 million sales in the UK next week, according to Chart-Track. Boosted by the recent official price cut and bumper Easter sales period, Microsoft's console hits the milestone in the midst of a fierce scrap with Sony's rival PlayStation 3 in the key European territory.
The Xbox 360 launched in the UK in December 2005 and reached 1 million sales after 60 weeks. Sony announced that PlayStation 3, which launched in the UK last March, had sold through 1 million units by February of this year. According to Microsoft, the Xbox 360 has sold around 18 million units worldwide since launch. [/QUOTE]
Reminder: Xbox Live Maintenance on Tuesday April 1
>> From majornelson.com (FYI: MS owned blog): [QUOTE] On Tuesday April 1st from 0200-0500 PT Xbox Live will be offline for maintenance. As a result, the 'My Xbox' section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won't be able to post.) The remainder of Xbox.com will be available. Find out what time the maintenance will begin in your time zone
This is for maintenance, there are no new features on your that will appear on your Xbox 360 console or Xbox.com when the service comes back online. This is server maintenance only. [/QUOTE]
UK: PS3 and Xbox 360 'neck and neck' after successful Easter
>> From tgdaily.com: [QUOTE] London (England) - Sales of the Playstaion 3 were up 73% during Easter week and the Xbox 360 shot up 78%. It's been a close race between the two contenders all year, and according to industry tracking ChartTrack they're in a virtual deadlock for 2008.
In an interview with game publication MCV, industry follower ChartTrack said the surge in sales was due to the Easter holiday. With the PS3 edging out against the Xbox 360 up to this point, the higher sales increase for the 360 helped to bridge that gap. The "PS3 and Xbox 360 are pretty much neck and neck at the moment, with PS3 slightly ahead," said ChartTrack director Dorian Bloch. [/QUOTE]
>> From next-gen.biz: [QUOTE] Microsoft is set to distribute a number of original shows over Xbox Live Video Marketplace from Safran Digital Group, a company headed by Hollywood producer Peter Safran.
The shows will be around ten minutes long and focus on genres that appeal to the core male 14-34 year-old Xbox Live user base. Safran Digital Group intends to recruit established filmmakers for the productions but isn't planning on recruiting major movie stars.
The shows, some of which will be supported by advertising, will be available exclusively via the Xbox Live platform beginning this fall, although they may become available on other formats at a later date, reports The New York Times. [/QUOTE]
