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GAMING by Marauder

GAMING

With a one-year head start in hand, Microsoft’s Xbox has surpassed the 10-million milestone, the company said Wednesday, but NPD Group reported that Nintendo’s Wii is closing fast with 8.8 million units sold while Sony’s PlayStation 3 trails at 4.1 million. Microsoft executives used the occasion to boast that the eventual top-seller of each generation of consoles has generally been the one that first reaches the 10-million mark. (Reuters 5/14, CNET 5/14)

Sony’s profit tripled for its year ended March 31, boosted by strong comeback sales from its PlayStation 3, which outsold Microsoft’s Xbox in the first quarter of 2008, as well as strong flat-panel TV and digital-camera sales, the company reported Wednesday. Sony — which predicted revenue at its video game division would rise just 1% this year because of the strong yen — cited a stronger lineup of titles, a 20% price cut on PlayStations late last year and the emergence of the integrated Blu-ray DVD player as reasons for the gaming resurgence. (ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg 5/14, The Wall Street Journal 5/15, The Washington Post/Associated Press 5/15)

Disney today will begin offering DGamer, a Web-based service that allows gamers across North America to communicate with one another. The company says that it will incorporate the DGamer application into all of its future Nintendo DS-based games and that the service will be available worldwide next year. (The New York Times 5/15)

A scene from Disney’s DGamer service. Players can choose outfits for their characters and interact with others using the service.

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