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Perhaps
in anticipation of Nintendo unveiling Wii’s price and release date
and once again stealing an overwhelming share of hype, things have
been reasonably quiet on the  Xbox360 front. However, that’s not to
say there’s nothing happening on the world’s first
Next-Generation console.
The
week’s main announcement was that of the Live Vision Webcam, the
Xbox360’s answer to the PlayStation2’s hit-and-miss Eye-Toy.
The Live Vision Webcam will allow Xbox360 owners to Video Call each
other over XboxLIVE!, although gamers will need a Headset to
talk. The Live Vision Webcam also works in a similar way to the
original Eye-Toy, allowing Motion Sensing in some games. The
Live Vision Webcam will be available in two packages, the first will
include the Live Vision Camera, a month’s XboxLIVE! Subscription,
a Headset and two XboxLive! Arcade games, Uno and TotemBall,
and will have an RRP of £34.99. The second and - in keeping with
the Core and Premium Pack philosophy - more desirable version, will
come to retail with an RRP of £49.99, and include all of the
previous, plus a twelve month XboxLIVE! Subscription, a free
download of Robotron 2084 and 200 Microsoft Points. Although
gamers may have already played Uno and Robotron 2084
through XboxLIVE!
Arcade
, TotemBall is an original title playable only with the Live
Vision Camera. The Live Vision Webcam is scheduled for UK release on
October 6th, 2006.
The
second big announcement was unveiled at the Leipzig Games Convention
and, although perhaps not as massive as the bigwigs at Microsoft
would like to suggest, will likely help sales of the Xbox360 this
Christmas, especially in Europe. The only Next-Generation machine
that will play a Next-Generation football game until Easter 2007, in
Europe at least, is the Xbox360. That’s right, Next-Generation
versions of EA’s dominant FIFA
series and Konami’s sublime Pro Evolution Soccer will be
exclusive to Xbox360, despite the fact that the PlayStation3 and Wii
both are predicted to arrive before the end of the year. Although
this way sound like a snub to the two Japanese hardware giants, both
FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer will still be available
to a multitude of Current-Generation formats, including the
NintendoDS, PlayStation2 and PSP, and the PlayStation2 version of
both will obviously be playable on the PlayStation3.
Xbox360
Backwards Compatibility has once again been improved, although it is
still nowhere near as comprehensive as  the planned PlayStation3 and
Wii schemes. The list of titles now pushes three hundred titles,
although, despite fan pressure, Psychonauts is still
unavailable.
Last
but not least, Microsoft has been a little more generous than usual
this week and allowed all Gold Membership subscribers a free
download of Texas Hold ’em, an XboxLive! Arcade game
based on the Poker game of the same name. Although no longer
available for free, Texas
Hold ’em has proved somewhat popular as it allows gamers
to bet against other gamers on XboxLIVE!. Let’s hope
Microsoft continues this trend and proves that Next-Generation
gaming is not just about cutting-edge graphics and bigger margins.
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