Chris Liddell, chief financial officer for Microsoft, said in a conference call, “Halo 3 is clearly going to have a positive impact in two senses. One, it gives us more confidence in the number of consoles we think we’re going to be able to sell next year. In terms of the direct impact, obviously it’s a first-party product so it’s reasonably profitable from our point of view, and it will be several hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue next year.”

I’m really glad that Microsoft’s officers are here to enlighten us on this, as I was worried that the release of another Halo game would spell the death of the XBox console family. OF COURSE it will boost sales! It’s one of the most popular console games of all time!

An article on Fox News.com puts forth the idea that “PC games are returning to the pinnacle of video game graphics — thanks to some under-the-hood tweaks in Microsoft’s Vista operating system.” Basically, the article opines that DirectX 10 will push PC games back into the spotlight. While I’m not up for a debate on the relative merits of DX 10, what I would say is that consoles have always lagged behind PC games graphics-wise, so this is not exactly news. Now, if the new graphics bring back the old sales numbers, THAT will be something to report.

It’s being reported that at a Microsoft UK event this morning, BioWare’s much-anticipated Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect was announced with a September release date. Bioware had originally said that the RPG title would ship prior to E3 this summer. But wait! Microsoft US is remaining silent on the topic, saying only, “We have not made any official announcements regarding release timing for Mass Effect. At this time, any information about the game’s release date is purely rumor and speculation.” It could be that the European release date is being pushed back, while the US date remains unchanged. Bioware is not commenting, simply locking all threads on their forums relating to release dates. Community Coordinator Chris Priestly did make a post, which reads in part, “When we do have either an official release date or when we know what the ESRB rating for Mass Effect will be, we will make a formal announcement and there will likely be a thread or two discussing such announcements.”

Most gamers today realize that consoles hold the lion’s share of the gaming market. Some of us recall when that was not the case, and recent numbers indicate that PC games are making quite a comeback against their console brethren. The NDP Group, an independent research firm, says that for the first two months of 2007, PC game sales have jumped to $203 million, a 48% increase compared to the same period last year. While they point to the success of World of Warcraft as a prime example, Anita Frazier, an industry analyst for the NPD Group says, “The robust performance we’re seeing in PC game sales can be tied to several key titles across several genres.” One thing I would be remiss in not mentioning would be the recent efforts of Microsoft to spotlight the PC as a gaming platform. Sure, it’s in their best interest, but you have to admit that the Games for Windows tag is a pretty darn good idea. Especially when you consider that they plan to tie the PC and console gamers together using Games for Windows – Live in the near future. I wonder who will win those online contests?

Microsoft has announced a slew of XBL upgrades that will release in early may. The “Spring Update” will bring a host of new features including an updated achievement system that displays the title and value of your accomplishment on-screen, a ton of changes to the way downloadable content works, and the incorporation of instant messaging via Live. MS also showed off their new keyboard equipped controller, which reminds me a lot of the original Xbox controller. Except of course that this one is white, has a keypad, and is smaller than a Grizzly Bear paw.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned an Xbox 360 television spot that they feel “gave the impression that reckless street car racing was exciting and fun.” The spot, which is amazingly mild by my perhaps questionable standards, features a group of people scampering about the rooftops before jumping into their cars and swerving through traffic. Hardly a scene out of Ronin if you ask me. I would have expected more lenience from a county that prides itself on the comic genius found in animal cruelty and abuse of a corpse.

Microsoft has announced that the upcoming incarnation of Halo 3 will come in not one, not two, but 3 flavors. The granddaddy of them all would be the Legendary Edition, which includes the game, 2 bonus DVDs, some storyboard art, and comes package in a miniature Spartan helmet. Current anticipated price, assuming you can find one, is $130.00. Purchasers of the Limited Edition can still mock the richer and luckier of the species with the original art book included in the Limited Edition. Sorry fanboys, you want “all” the goodies you have to buy both.

The Xbox Live Arcade hit Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved has made the jump to PC. GW now joins the rapidly expanding list of Vista only games available over at MSN Games. The full PC version is a bit pricier that its XBLA counterpart at $7.95, but still worth every penny. Here’s the free demo to tide you over while you scrape up the change.

Good news coming out of the GDC this week as Microsoft has announced a new 512MB memory card for the Xbox 360. The larger memory card should be available in early April and for a limited time will come preloaded with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. The new card will become a must for core system gamers as MS also announced that the file size limit for Live Arcade games is being raised from the scant 50MB to 150MB.

The demo for Crackdown is now officially available for download on Xbox Live. The current incarnation of the demo weighs in at a smooth 1.2 Gigs and will be available only to Gold subscribers for the first week. The demo is of course intended to generate interest in consumers that are not Halo fans, since all the others will be buying Crackdown anyways for a shot at the H3 beta. This proves MS does have a heart. They could have attached it to E.T. for the 2600 and still made a killing.