John Schappert VP of Microsoft gaming division in a recent interview answers the hard hitting questions such as if Avatars were inspired by the Nintendo Wii’s Mii avatars. Also Schappert reiterates Microsoft’s stance on Blu-ray and the future of media.

There are an inordinate number of issues that add up to decide whether a console is ultimately successful or not. Price, user-friendliness (appealing to the casual market), and games are just three, but there is also how easy the platform is to develop for. And it seems on this important issue, the PS3 fails miserably.

EA recently released their financial statement and there is a surprising turn of events on the sheet. Currently the PS3 is shown to be selling much more software than any of the other consoles including the PS2.

Today comes the news that profits at Nintendo are through the roof, piqued by increasingly healthy sales of the Wii, and continuing strong results for the DS. So with Nintendo on the crest of a wave, attention turns to plans for the next generation of consoles, with talk of the Wii 2 already emerging.

This generation console war is taking a decidedly bizarre twist, where there are two polar opposite sets of gamers being fought over. On the one hand we have the Wii, dominating sales, and soaking up the majority of the casual gamers there are in the world. On the other hand we have the PS3 and Xbox 360, technically superior consoles which appeal to the more hardcore and committed element. But the two worlds could soon collide.

The PS2 has been a loyal machine for millions of gamers for 8 years now, and a veritable money-making machine for Sony. Although the console has seen many changes to its model, and a repositioning in the marketplace, it has sold consistently in that time frame. The PS2 is now dirt cheap, and being marketed as a kind of starter console for people on a budget who don’t need the latest games to satisfy their gaming desires. But the PS3 is now outselling it.

Ah yes, the much highly anticipated fall dashboard update that will bring us avatars and a new spiffy looking 3D interface has been leaked onto the Internet. I have to ask who in the world is leaking this stuff? I can only assume its all internal code as of right now making it virtually impossible for the public to get their hands on it.

The Nintendo Wii has surprised everyone in the gaming industry with its success, with early sale even surpassing Nintendo’s hopes (hence the ongoing stock shortages). The Wii’s dominance in this generation has also meant 3rd-party games developers and publishers have had to change their minds, and backtrack on business strategies. And EA is the biggest of that bunch.

**Update**7/29/08 - We contacted Microsoft and received a statement as to what is exactly going on why cross-platform games can be played for free with the silver account on Xbox Live.

Prisoners incarcerated in British jails will no longer be allowed to play adult games rated 18 or over. Access to the PS3s and Xbox 360s already installed in prisons will be limited, and the State will not be supplying the consoles for prisoners any more. About time too.