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Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg

Kinect vs. Move! Halo vs. COD! Etc.

Eurogamer I don't think my mum was ever going to buy a Steel Battalion controller. Even if it was a pound.
Aaron Greenberg

That's probably true. But I'm confident this title will sell more than its predecessor and Kinect is a big part of that. It'll be unique, it'll be different. How Inafune-san does it remains to be seen. I'll leave that to the creator to speak to that.

Eurogamer Also launching rather soon is Call of Duty: Black Ops. Do you think it's going to outsell Halo: Reach?
Aaron Greenberg

What I can tell you is that I think Call of Duty is a fantastic title and I think Halo: Reach is a fantastic title. It's not apples to apples...

Eurogamer It sort of is though, because they are both shooters. Like, Call of Duty is a Cox's Pippin and Halo: Reach is a Golden Delicious.
Aaron Greenberg

Yeah. But COD is multi-platform, and I think a more interesting comparison would be how they do on Xbox 360. I think it'll be very close.

We're really pleased Halo: Reach did $200 million on the first day - that's bigger than any entertainment launch this year, bigger than any movie. COD will do a big number like that, absolutely.

Eurogamer Would you bet me a tenner that Halo: Reach will do better than COD on Xbox 360?
Aaron Greenberg

No. I don't, you know, I don't like to... Yeah. No.

Eurogamer Michael Pachter has predicted you're going to charge publishers to make their games playable online...
Aaron Greenberg

Pach. Pach! I love Pach! The Pach Attack!

Eurogamer Sitting there with his tea leaves and his headscarf, predicting the future...
Aaron Greenberg

Michael Pachter is obviously a great analyst and he's a fun and entertaining guy to listen to. I can't comment on his speculation about things like that. Just pure speculation, not grounded in any reality.

Eurogamer What about Sony's rival technology, PlayStation Move? Can you describe what you think of it, without using the phrases "different offering", "we don't see it as direct competition" or "room in the marketplace for both"?
Aaron Greenberg

Well, it's really a very different offering which we don't see as direct competition, but there's room in the marketplace for both.

Eurogamer That was a terrible effort. Achievement LOCKED.
Aaron Greenberg

Haha! Um... I think Move... Um... Is...

Eurogamer See, it's hard isn't it?
Aaron Greenberg

No no, I'm not thinking about your words, I'm thinking about how to describe it. Here's what I think: Move is just a different approach to the market. We're thinking about Kinect as a key component to the platform, and what they've done with Move...

First off, it's a great product and the reviews seem to be pretty favourable. But they've targeted it purely to existing owners. They've said you can decide whether you want to play existing titles on the platform, like SOCOM, with the controller or with Move.

Our approach has been different. We're not going to take Halo, a game you love playing with the controller, and offer you the option to play it with a different interface which may or may not have been designed for that game. We want to build completely unique experiences from the ground up which are designed for Kinect. It's just a different approach.

I'm confident the commitment we're making to Kinect is on a par with the commitment we've made to Xbox Live. We have a significantly larger team and resources we're dedicating to Kinect. This is a big bet and it's a game changer. It's unique and different.

That said, for gamers who have a PS3 and like playing those games, it offers a different way to play - and some people will get pleasure out of that, absolutely.

Eurogamer You did you use the word "different" several times there, but I'll let you off the hook for not using "competition" or "marketplace". When's the next Xbox coming out?
Aaron Greenberg

We think of Kinect as really the launch of the new platform and a new generation, in many ways. We have the sensor, we have a line-up of 15 new titles, we're investing in it as if it's a new launch.

What we're looking at now is how we can creatively bring variety and new ways to play. Kinect allows us to do that without having to launch an entirely new platform. So I think we're five years in and we safely feel like there's at least another five years left in this generation.

Aaron Greenberg is Chief of Staff for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. Kinect launches in the UK on 10th November.

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