"When you think of Live Anywhere as a consumer, it will mean you're part of a community," said Gates. Live Anywhere will allow players on the Xbox 360, PC and cellphones to communicate and play together.
#Halo grand theft auto software#
Microsoft founder and chief software architect Bill Gates also made a surprise appearance at the pre-E3 press event to announce an expansion of Xbox Live, the system's popular online gaming service, which currently has about 3 million subscribers. In addition to obtaining first-day rights to "GTA 4," Microsoft ( Research) announced it had entered into a strategic relationship with Take Two to provide exclusive episodic content via its Xbox Live service. "Halo 2," released in 2004, sold more than 8 million copies for Microsoft. The "Grand Theft Auto" franchise has sold roughly 40 million copies since its inception and is the flagship of Take Two's ( Research) gaming catalog. Microsoft considers this to be one of the key gaming advantages it will have in the upcoming holiday season. On the other hand, developers have had more time to become familiar with the machine, which usually results in deeper and more fully realized titles. The Xbox 360 launched last holiday and is more familiar, so the company needs to make an extra push to keep it in the front of consumers' minds.
Sony's ( Research) PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii are likely to get the lion's share of the media spotlight in the 2006 holiday season because they are new gaming systems. The two key gaming announcements were part of Microsoft's renewed assault for mindshare among gamers. (Microsoft did not describe the relationship with publisher Take Two Interactive Software as exclusive, indicating PlayStation 3 owners will also be able to play the latest version, Grand Theft Auto 4, on Day One.)Īnd while it won't be out until next year either, "Halo 3" made its world debut Tuesday in trailer form. New DVD standards take center stage at E3