Between The Xbox Domain’s late in the year ‘illness’ and my own personal under-the-weatherness, the latest installment in What Has Happened Here has been a little bit behind.  But F.E.A.R. not as I would never forget you, my faithful reader,  for once again it is time to look back in time and spotlight some of the  moments of interest in the world that is Xbox.  But this is no mere wrap up, SUPERGHOST likes to put a little TXD spin on the record.  So let us see what has caught our collective eye as of late:

28 Million People Can’t Be Wrong!

I just wanted you to know that you made the right choice by purchasing that Xbox 360 sitting in your entertainment center.  Microsoft has announced that it has sold through 28 million consoles since its launch in November of  2005, that says to me says that the Xbox 360 is a bonified hit.  In spite of some severe bumps in the road it appears that Microsoft’s strategy on getting out the door first has paid huge dividends, and with the price sitting in a nice sweet-spot,  I can only see continued movement upon that same upward trajectory.  It is obvious that this generation has seen Nintendo’s return to prominence in the electronic games market, but that should not overshadow the huge strides that Microsoft has made in the mindshare and households of the globe over the last several years against what some would say as seemingly insurmountable odds.  I think this past Christmas we will have seen many more converts enter the fold, so to you I say welcome, 2009 should be another banner year here in the 360-verse and for The Xbox Domain!

Halo Wars > Star Wars

Yeah, I have pissed a lot of you off with that title, but really I was just trying to wake you up.  Above I wrote about the strength of the Xbox brand, that strength was built upon the Halo franchise.  Now coming this March we may truly see the strength of the brand as Halo will not only see a change in developer, but in genre as well.  Halo Wars is going to try its heart out to bring the console masses to the RTS genre using one of the most powerful gaming franchises on the planet.  The big question is if it will succeed?  From I have seen is a pretty firm split between those who will take the plunge and for those who are uninterested.  I will put it to you this way, if twenty percent of the Halo players dare to try their hand in Halo Wars, the title will be considered a smashing success.  Early in 2009, this may be the most interesting story to watch.  Head over to The Xbox Domain Community Site to cast your vote on the Halo Wars wars.

Thank You For Being a Friend!

As we reported at The Xbox Domain, their may be an increase in the amount of Friends in your Friends list in the works.  Now over the years this has been something that the Xbox community has been clamouring for.  But I have to ask, how many of the people on your Friends list do you actually interact with?  I know for myself, while my friends list is nearly full, but I many only count a fifth of them as ‘Friends’.  I do have trouble weeding out people on my list, but if an expansion is in the works the people may just continue to pile up.  I do know that scanning your NXE Avatar friends list will take a while if that amount would double.  Six years later and we still are at that 100 Friends cap.  Is it really that hard to increase?  Apparently if they have not done something about it already.

Party Like it is 2009!

Since we are just nicely into 2009 I thought I would take a look into my crystal ball and see what the future holds for the Xbox.  Some of these predictions are genuine, some tongue is firmly implanted in cheek, I will let you decided which is which:

• The Xbox Domain continues to grow and becomes a site of choice for the serious Xbox fanboy
• Alan Wake will receive a release date…for 201
• Microsoft will have a 360 bombshell at E3 which will turn the industry on its ear!
• Metal Gear Solid 4…X
• We finally find out what Peter Jackson’s Halo project is all about
• Waggle 360
• Some personal shakeup for the entertainment division at Microsoft
• J Allard is awakened from cryo-stasis to forge the path for Microsoft’s new console
• Xbox 360 continues to be the serious gamers console of choice

And that last prediction was a no-brainer.  Hope everyone had a great holiday, until next time this is SUPERGHOST saying “Stay Frosty!”

-Patrick “SUPERGHOST” Bonk-