Halo 2 may not be playable between the Xbox 360 and Vista, despite what a Microsoft press release lead us all to believe, but at least PC gamers will be getting some hot Uno PC versus 360 action on.

It looks like they also might be bringing Geometry Wars to Vista. About 45 minutes in to Microsoft's CES keynote the game pops up in the Vista gaming montage. This shouldn't come as a surprise. Microsoft recently shot down the Geometry Wars clone for the PC, GridWars, and it's a pretty easy port.

[Thanks for the tip Brian]

Also, don't forget to check out our in-person chat with Gates. In it he talks about the new push for the Xbox team, the Xbox as PC trojan horse, how Zune is following the Xbox model and his own personal gaming habits.

CES 06 Keynote

Gamers will be able to watch and record television on their console in the background while playing games on Live, Bach said.

The new service is expected to hit by this holiday and will be offered by "providers that are deploying TV services based on Microsoft TV IPTV Edition."

"Our goal is to make entertainment more personal, more interactive and more social," Bach said. "IPTV on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are powerful examples of ways we are bringing together the worlds of gaming, TV viewing and community to make it easy for people to access and discover their favorite content and share their personal experiences with the communities they are part of."

Bach also revealed that the company has sold 10.4 million Xbox 360s to date and has 5 million Xbox Live members, though they did not say, nor could Gates clarify, how many of those were paid subscriptions.

In an chat earlier in the day, Gates said that at least half of the 5 million were paying, gold members. Finally, Microsoft said that people have downloaded more than 100 million pieces of content to their 360, including games, television shows and movies.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

Microsoft Unveils Wave of New Products and Services at CES
Bill Gates and Robbie Bach hit play on new releases from Windows Vista, Xbox 360, Microsoft TV and more.

LAS VEGAS — Jan. 7, 2007 — Speaking at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach showed how the company is delivering a new generation of connected experiences that are inspired by the universal desire to create community and share interests and passions with friends and family.
Gates and Bach announced several new products and services that include new Windows Vista -inspired PCs, never-before-seen Windows Vista features, an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)-enabled Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, and a new partnership with Ford Motor Co. that will extend digital experiences to the car. The company also unveiled Microsoft Windows Home Server, which provides a central place to help store, protect and access all the digital content in the home.
"As the magic of software makes it easier for people to be creators, publishers and consumers of digital content, it is expanding the way we think about community and entertainment," Gates said. "From your living room to your car, we're delivering a wave of new software products and services that make it easier for you to manage your day-to-day lives, express your ideas and share your interests."
Windows Vista: New Features Revealed as Countdown to Launch Begins
With less than a month to go until the Jan. 30 consumer launch of Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, thousands of PC manufacturers and system builders across the globe are preparing to deliver new PCs designed to run the new versions of Microsoft's flagship Windows and Office products. By Jan. 30, more than 1.5 million devices will work with Windows Vista and more than 2,000 products will be Certified for Windows Vista, helping to make Internet and networking connections, home entertainment and business tasks faster, easier and more secure than ever.
As a part of his keynote address, Gates provided a first look at a number of Windows Vista features and announced several new content partnerships that will enable people to explore their interests and express their creativity with greater freedom than ever. For example, Windows DreamScene , available to Windows Ultimate customers through Windows Ultimate Extras, transforms the PC desktop from static background wallpaper into a full-motion, personalized video canvas. Windows Media Center SportsLounge in conjunction with FOXSports.com seamlessly combines live television, real-time scores and online sports media to keep people close to their favorite games, teams and players. Premium versions of Windows Vista will also offer brand-new content from existing partners and new ones, including, Nickelodeon, Showtime and Starz.
Gates also unveiled a series of exciting new Windows Vista-powered PCs that ranged from innovative desktop designs and ultra-portable models, all scheduled to be available Jan. 30, including the following:
The HP TouchSmart PC, a Windows Vista-inspired PC that introduces the convenient touch-screen experience to desktop computing, serves as a fast and easy-to-access information, communication and entertainment hub designed to fit wherever life happens: in the kitchen, family room or living room.
The Toshiba Portege R400 is a Windows Vista-inspired signature mobile PC that incorporates innovative connectivity and display technologies to provide timely access to e-mail and appointments via Active Notifications and is built on Windows SideShow technology.
Sony VAIO VGX-TP1 is a stylish PC that delivers a high-performance entertainment experience so users can enjoy their favorite live and recorded TV and movies or surf the Web from their sofa using the wireless keyboard or remote control.
The Medion UMPC is an ultra-mobile PC that provides multiple input options such as a keyboard, a pen and touch capabilities and features the new Origami Experience, a user interface that optimizes entertainment and communications on the smallest class of personal computers running Windows Vista.
"Windows Vista is the catalyst for a variety of new hardware devices being made available to consumers," Gates said. "The result will be an incredible set of new connected experiences that link our interests, our communities and our desires in ways that extend across home, work and play."
With its powerful graphics capabilities, advanced parental controls, and connectivity to the Live games and entertainment network, Windows Vista promises to capture the imagination of 200 million hardcore and casual PC gamers alike. Titles such as "Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures" (Eidos Interactive Ltd./Funcom) and "Crysis" (EA Partners/Crytek) take advantage of DirectX 10, and offer some of the smoothest, most lifelike visual experiences available on any gaming platform today. Microsoft also showed off "Shadowrun" (Microsoft Game Studios) and "Halo 2 for Windows Vista" (Microsoft Game Studios), the first of many titles that will enable gamers on Windows Vista to connect with their friends on Xbox 360 through the Live network. And for casual gamers, the company demonstrated a cross-platform game of "UNO!," with some players joining from their Windows Vista-based PCs and others joining from their Xbox 360 consoles.
"Windows Vista marks the biggest investment from Microsoft around Windows games since Windows 95, making games easier, safer and more fun to play on the PC," said Gates. "For consumers, we believe gaming is one of the top reasons to upgrade to Windows Vista."
The development of Windows Vista and the 2007 Office release are the result of an unprecedented collaboration between Microsoft and its customers and partners. After more than 5 million beta downloads of Windows Vista and the 2007 Office release, the two products were designed with the help of millions of customers worldwide, including 50 families from seven countries taking part in the Life with Windows Vista program.
Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV: Together Expanding the World of Games and Entertainment
In a move that will combine the power of Xbox 360 with Microsoft TV IPTV Edition, Bach provided an early look at a new service, IPTV on Xbox 360. The offering is expected to deliver world-class TV experiences such as digital video recording capabilities, with gaming, movie viewing, and even voice and video communications. Tapping into an expanded set of entertainment experiences, users will be able to watch their favorite sporting event live while chatting with their friends, for example, or participate in a match on Xbox Live while they record a TV program in the background. IPTV on Xbox 360 is expected to be available to consumers by holiday season 2007 and will be offered by providers that are deploying TV services based on the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform.
"Our goal is to make entertainment more personal, more interactive and more social," Bach said. "IPTV on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are powerful examples of ways we are bringing together the worlds of gaming, TV viewing and community to make it easy for people to access and discover their favorite content and share their personal experiences with the communities they are part of."
Microsoft TV IPTV Edition continues to strengthen its position in the market with deployments under way with five of the world's largest service providers and trials with 11 additional companies, representing a footprint across 14 countries on four continents.
Bach also showcased the strong momentum behind Xbox 360 and highlighted the company's success in delivering high-definition viewing experiences with HD DVD. Exceeding expectations by hitting the 10.4 million-console-sold mark this holiday season, Xbox 360 is the leading next-generation games and entertainment platform. It is also the largest social network in the living room, with 5 million Xbox Live members.
In addition, strong sales of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player and strong demand for downloadable movies and television programs are a clear indication that increasing numbers of consumers see Xbox 360 as an ideal device for connecting to a broad range of entertainment experiences. In just over a year, people have downloaded more than 100 million pieces of content to their Xbox 360 consoles, which include game content, television shows and movies.
Connecting Digital Devices and Experiences at Home and on the Road
During his keynote address, Gates announced Windows Home Server, a new software product for families with multiple PCs that want to connect their home computers, digital devices and printers to help easily store, protect and share their rapidly expanding collections of digital content and entertainment. Later this year, HP plans to deliver the HP MediaSmart Server, powered by Windows Home Server.
Windows Home Server was created to help consumers deal with the explosion in digital content. For example, 273 billion digital images were captured worldwide in 2006.1 Today, more than 40 million homes in the U.S. have more than one PC2 and one in three homes in the U.S. has an MP3 player.3 Windows Home Server automatically backs up home PCs and provides a central location for storing a family's photographs, music, videos and documents. Using a personalized Windows Live Internet address, people will be able to remotely access digital content on Windows Home Server when they are away from home. At CES, companies such as AMD, Inventec Corp. and Quanta Computer Inc. will demonstrate hardware reference designs for Windows Home Server. Windows Home Server will also serve as a platform for independent software vendors to build innovative products for the digital home.
Gates also announced a partnership between Microsoft and Ford to deliver Sync, a voice-activated, intelligent means to connect personal electronic devices to vehicles, including a wide range of mobile phones, storage media, and portable music players such as Zune and others.
Sync, developed by Ford and based on the Microsoft Auto platform, will offer hands-free phone dialing, address-book synchronization, and other features such as the ability to read text messages through the car's audio system. Drivers can also control their digital music players using voice commands or controls on the steering wheel. In addition, the Microsoft Auto software is easily updatable, so Sync can integrate new devices as they are introduced, with a simple software upgrade.
With Sync, Ford is using Microsoft Auto to give drivers greater control by unifying their mobile phones and portable media players into a single voice-operated in-car system. Sync is planned to be available in the second half of 2007 in 12 models of 2008 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks and will expand to all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks by the 2009 model year.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Sony today announced that they have sold 1 million Playstation 3s in North America since the launch of the console six weeks ago.

That makes the Playstation 3 the fastest selling home console Sony has ever launched.

Microsoft sold 600,000 of their Xbox 360s from their November launch to the second week in January.

"SCEA went to great lengths to help meet demand for PS3, including airlifting systems into North America on a weekly basis to ensure a steady stream of units were available to consumers throughout the holiday season," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "The fact that we were able to reach the one-million mark faster than our top-selling platform, the PS2, further validates the strength of the PlayStation brand and our belief that consumers are ready to experience true high-definition gaming." ... "Reaching the one million mark for PS3 is the first of many major milestones for us as we head into a new year. Even more impressive, is that we were able to accomplish this feat while successfully managing two other gaming platforms—PS2 and PSP," said Tretton. "With three PlayStation platforms now available to gamers, 2007 will be about software and delivering innovative, new experiences and award-winning franchises to consumers, both through retail and through our online PLAYSTATION Network."

Wow. Maybe all of those PS3s sitting around have more to do with ramped up production than dwindling desire. Brian Crecente

LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2007 -At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007 in Las Vegas, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that more than one million units of its recently launched PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3 ) computer entertainment system have been sold in to the retail channel in North America. The company successfully achieved this milestone by the end of the 2006 calendar year, just six weeks after the product was introduced on November 17, 2006.
PS3 has been selling-out at retail outlets across North America since it was launched. This high consumer demand drove the PS3 to reach the one-million mark before its predecessors, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the PS one game console - both systems have shipped more than 213 million units of hardware and more than 2.1 billion pieces of software worldwide.
"SCEA went to great lengths to help meet demand for PS3, including airlifting systems into North America on a weekly basis to ensure a steady stream of units were available to consumers throughout the holiday season," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "The fact that we were able to reach the one-million mark faster than our top-selling platform, the PS2, further validates the strength of the PlayStation brand and our belief that consumers are ready to experience true high-definition gaming."
PS3 wasn't the only hot gift this holiday season, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system continues to enjoy record-breaking sales in North America. In the first quarter of 2007, PS2 will continue to fuel industry growth with the highly anticipated release of the MLB 07 The Show and God of War 2 titles. PlayStation-branded entertainment and gaming content that will be shown in the Sony booth at CES 2007, includes:
FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION - PS3
MLB 07 The Show - PS3, PSP
MotorStorm — PS3
LAIR — PS3
Heavenly Sword — PS3
Gran Turismo HD - PS3 downloadable
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters - PSP
Killzone — PSP
SOCOM: Fire Team Bravo - PSP

Other features on display will include "Remote Play" for the PS3, which allows the consumer to utilize their PSP to access content on their PS3 hard drive, including movies, television shows, videos and music. A full demonstration of the PLAYSTATION Network, and PLAYSTATION Store for the PS3, as well as Location Free TV for the PSP, will also be shown.

Hardcore gaming, it seems, isn't his thing, instead he's more of an online Bridge player.

"I'm not that much of an online player except on some goofy things like Zuma," he said. "I'm not a great Halo 2 player. Project Gotham I'm decent at. Uno I don't play much and when I do play online its much more where I arrange with friends to play."

"The truth is, my biggest online game is not an Xbox game, it's online bridge," he said. "A friend who lives here in Las Vegas has a site called Bridge Base that I'm on quite a bit. I play with Warren Buffett.
"We don't play for money."

Yeah, they play for souls. Brian Crecente

"Zune is very analogous to Xbox One," he said. "That is, a very innovative product with some identifiable features that move the category forward: The larger screen, the WiFi capabilities, sending music around."

"Even more than Xbox, we can upgrade a lot of things we are going to do in the future. For example, we could let you buy music right there on the device. And there are a ton of more things we can do because it is software driven and has a fair bit of capacity." Brian Crecente

"The reason we got into Xbox was not just for gaming," he said. "It's a general purpose computer. In terms of the first generation in particular, where we were so known as a PC company, the need to make clear how we were prioritizing the needs of demanding gamers, that was super important.

"We wouldn't have done it if it was just a gaming device," he said. "We wouldn't have gone into the category at all. It was strategically getting into the living room. This is not some big secret, Sony says the same things."

Gates added that before Microsoft could talk about that though, they had to establish their system as being gaming centric, earn themselves gaming cred. Now that they have established the brand, Gates said, Microsoft feels more confident in branching out with the console.

This year, he said, is a "huge milestone" for the Xbox, because it has gone from a gaming device to something much more.

"When you talk about convergence, its the first device you can say that really say this is convergence this is real," he said.

Despite Microsoft's attention to consoles, Gates and the company haven't and won't give up on the PC gaming market, he said.

The two, Gates believe, can co-exist.

"I can stick up for both the PC model where you don't pay any royalties, you can introduce games without asking anybody, that's a great thing. And you will see a lot of innovation," he said. "PC gaming is where you will see that really cutting edge high-end type stuff happening. As the Xbox gets cheaper and cheaper some very cool things happen there."

"But both of these models, even in the living room are still very, I think very important. The kind of openness and variety of the PC, and then the kind of very inexpensive deep integration that Xbox represents. Really bootstrapping off of video gaming but being far more than that." Brian Crecente

"Vision is huge, I mean it's just absolutely gigantic it terms of knowing who's there are they paying attention...," he said.

"I didn't see (Eye of Judgement at E3), but the Eye Toy is a good example of how even in gaming the idea of "OK I'm swinging a bat or dancing..." will become a big deal in gaming."

Gates said that just like voice is becoming an important and necessary part of online gaming now, soon video imaging will as well.

"...and I don't mean just the video conferencing,... I mean the actual software analysis," he said. "There is a lot of work between the Xbox team and Microsoft research on that."

While vision might be the future, it seems that making things "Live" is very much the present.

"That's a very big deal," he said. "If you go into Microsoft and say what's the thing that when Ballmer shows up, Bill shows up, Ray shows up they just try to hammer into your head. It's Live, Live, Live," he said. "We have to get Windows more Live enabled, office more Live enabled."

"We have to get some of the online properties more integrated. We got to connect the phone, the Xbox, the PC, so Live is sort of this big focus.... making sure we stun people with the Live platform."

Brian Crecente

I just got out of the half-hour-ish lunch with Bill Gates. Interesting guy. He seems most at home, not on a stage pitching a product or his company, but sitting around a table with a bunch of fellow geeks.

Joining us were Brian Lam from Gizmodo, Chris Grant from Joystiq, Ryan Block from Engadget and Bobby Scobel.

While I enjoyed the time with Gates, the crowd was so diverse it was very hard to dig too deep into gaming stuff. Instead, much of the discussion was taken up with questions about PC power use, vertical integration of Microsoft products and stuff I'll be able to tell you much more about at 7:30 p.m. Mountain.

I'm working through my notes now to pluck the interesting flotsam and jetsam of the conversation from the sea of otherwise white noise. Check back in a bit for the results. Brian Crecente

So in about one hour I will be sitting down with Bill Gates (yes, that Bill Gates) and four other bloggers to talk about everything. Most of which I can post straight away, though I'm told some of the info will be under embargo until after his keynote.

This is, or course, what roused me from my slumber in the cold confines of Denver Friday. There are only a handful of people who I would jump on a plane to interview on such short notice and Gates likely tops that list.

Fan or not, for good or for bad, the man has helped shape the word we live in. Brian Crecente

But don't worry, you're in capable hands and of course team Gizmodo is covering all that non-gaming stuff that will happen here, which I like to call crap I don't care about.

I can't tell you why I'm here for less than 12 hours, but it was interesting enough to roust me out of my frozen lair and fly here pretty much last minute. Check back later today for more details and through the week for plenty o Mike at CES goodness. Brian Crecente