The Iceman Cometh

As my life turns from academia to the real world, I offer you proof that hell has frozen over. That's right, Microsoft is pitching the other guy's stuff (italics emphasis added). FYI, Wii is the name of the console formerly known as Revolution (Nintendo's next generation console).

Wired News May, 11, 2006

Microsoft sided with rival Nintendo on Wednesday in the fight to unseat video game leader Sony, saying many consumers will choose to buy both of their machines for the price of one PlayStation 3.

Microsoft entered the next-generation game console market first with its Xbox 360 last November. Sony aims to extend its market leadership with its upcoming PS3, while Nintendo plans to offer a new game machine called Wii in the fourth quarter.

"Tell me why you would buy a $600 PS3?" Peter Moore, a Microsoft vice president, said in an interview. "People are going to buy two (machines.) They're going to buy an Xbox and they're going to buy a Wii ... for the price of one PS3."

Moore then turned pitchman for Nintendo's Wii, the latest offering from the Japanese company that once dominated the video game industry. "People will always gravitate toward a competitively priced product -- like what I believe Wii will be -- with innovative new designs and great intellectual property like Mario, Zelda and Metroid," Moore said.

Microsoft predicted on Tuesday it will have 10 million Xbox 360 consoles in the market before Sony launches the PS3. The high-end Xbox 360 sells for $400, but it does not include a built-in, high-definition DVD video player that comes with Sony's PS3. Sony plans to sell a premium PS3 model for $600 when it debuts in North America on November 17, and Nintendo has not yet disclosed pricing for Wii.


So there you go. Have your Xbox and Nintendo too. (Just make sure to stop by the money tree)