Xbox 360 gets shedloads of limelight

Top of the list was its new external HD DVD player for its Xbox 360 platform. This will mean that the box can compete with the Blu-Ray equipped PS3 when that comes out. The HD DVD player will be released around Christmas and signal the start of the long anticipated format war between the two standards.

It is a measure of how seriously Microsoft is taking its games console that it even dusted off the chief Vole Bill Gates to give a key note speech.

Gates waxed lyrical about Microsoft's online game plans called 'Live Anywhere' which shoves Xbox Live's online communications and online gaming capabilities to personal computers running on Vista and cell phones running Windows Mobile.

The big idea is that users will be able to take their gamer tag with them wherever they are, communicate across platforms to users on their friend list.

Vole also announced that it was going to release Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360, when it debuts on October next year. It took GTA III two years to make it to the XBox so again this steals a bit of PS3's thunder.

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