Robbie Bach Says Next Xbox Still Distant

Robbie Bach Says Next Xbox Still Distant

The first Xbox only lasted four years, but it looks like the Xbox 360 is going to be around a bit longer than that. Especially as the economy continues to worsen.

Edge (via the San Jose Mercury News) is reporting that Microsoft president of entertainment and devices Robbie Bach expects this generation to last longer than others, a statement similar to Sony's expectations of a ten-year lifespan for the PlayStation 3. Bach pointed to increasingly fickle consumers and the recession as reasons to hold back.

"Just coming up with something that's faster and prettier isn't going to be sufficient," said Bach. He also suggested that consumers are becoming "more value-conscious."

Guitar Hero 3 Surpasses $1 billion

The Guitar Hero franchise is huge. How huge? Huge enough that it could practically be considered an industry unto itself.

Edge is reporting that Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, which launched in 2007, has become the first single game to surpass $1 billion in sales. The announcement came during a CES keynote by Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith, and follows on from an announcement that the entire franchise had broken the same mark a year ago.

Griffith said that Guitar Hero's monumental success has trickled down to other industries, most especially the struggling music industry. According to Griffith, sales on everything connected to Guitar Hero from music to real guitars have gone up.