Microsoft and Newsweek are it again, this time wagering on the future of the PS3. Last time, Microsoft's J. Allard bet that Sony wouldn't reach its target goal of sales for the PSP.

This time around it's Xbox Live's director of technical strategy Andre Vrignaud who is making the wager against the same Newsweek reporter N'Gai Croal. Croal describes how Vrignaud wanted to wager with the same stakes - targetting Croal's dreadlocks - but instead they settled for a steak dinner in Gotham steakhouse. In Vancouver, no less.

Vrignaud predicts that Sony will be releasing a low-end PS3 with a 40GB hard drive on the holidays. It will not have WiFi or a memory card reader and will not be backward compatible. An external WiFi device will be available separately to accommodate those who still want the function. This low-end PS3 will be available for US$ 399 while the 80GB version will drop to US$ 499 as the 60GB version drops out of the market.

So in quick summary, here's the wager:

• Vrignaud's predicts a low-end PS3 worth US$ 399 will be out by November 23, Black Friday of 2007.
  
• Croal's side of the bet is that Sony will stick to only one PS3 type for the rest of the year.

Last time, J. Allard had to wear dreadlocks to make good on the wager when the PSP exceeded sales expectations. Croal has been known to give predictions in the past, but we'll have to wait to see who'll pay for that steak dinner.

Andre Vrignaud, otherwise known to the net as Ozymandias, pulled a Nostradamus of his own recently with his predictions for 2007. Being a Microsoft spokesperson though, you'll have to admit that some of his predictions are somewhat pointed, even if they do happen to be very logical.

We'll tread lightly here with one of the somewhat obvious Microsoft-favored predictions as an example:

By the end of 2007, total lifetime unit sell-through of home consoles will be led by the Xbox 360, followed by Nintendo’s Wii, with the Playstation 3 third. This order will also be true of units sold-through solely in 2007 (ie, not lifetime sales).

There's enough evidence to make that prediction viable, though we'd have to say the Wii is catching up far quicker than anyone expected. Since the total number of PS3 units created does happen to be far less than the total number of Xbox 360 or Wii units sold, Sony is the obvious dark horse for a 2007 sell-through victory.

Here are the rest of his predictions. Take a good note of his PSP-related predictions, as our own Chris L. made a fearless forecast similar to Ozy's. As for everything else, just remember that this is all speculation rather than fact, though you're quite free to put in your own two cents on the predictions he's given.

The original PSP (with memory stick) will be discontinued, and replaced by a new model with an integrated hard drive. The new model will enable connectivity to the Playstation store via internet connection, and allow you to purchase and download both emulated PS1 and native PSP games directly. Over time (meaning not in 2007), it will also allow you to purchase music and movies from the Sony store.

The future will have... ROBOTS! More of Ozymandias' insights and predictions after the jump.

It was just a while ago when we all agreed that Microsoft will definitely issue statements regarding its rival companies. And now here goes the mighty corporation again. This time, it's Xbox Live Director of Technical Strategy Andre Vrignaud's turn to comment on the apparent problems the PS3 is having with certain HDTV units.

"It appears there's no internal hardware scaler in the PS3. As reported, it appears the PS3 is unable to output a consistent signal to your TV based upon your desired selection," wrote Vrignaud in his Ozymandias blog. The official even claimed that he wanted to play Resistance in 1080i (He has a PS3?).

Unfortunately, the console drops down to a lower-common denominator of 480p, in case the game doesn't support it. Vrignaud continued that he was prompted to quit, go to the dashboard, change the PS3's resolution to 720p and then relaunch the game.

Also, according to Vrignaud, older HDTV doesn't support 720p, just 480i/480p and 1080i. So owners of the said units are forced to play in 480i/p because they are unable to scale the output to 1080i. "This smells of the console being rushed to market, and I'm not holding out any hopes for any significant fix. It's bad, and feels like something Sony would have fixed if possible," said Vrignaud.

Earlier we did an article focusing on Microsoft employee Andre Vrignaud (Ozymandias) and his opinions on Sony's online PlayStation Network Service. This post will focus on John Smedley's counterpoint. Just in case you don't know who John Smedley is, the search tab is there for your convenient use. Moving on. John Smedley's response is such:

One of the cool things about integrating both the PlayStation Network and Xfire into our PS3 title Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom is that my friends on Xfire running on the PC can send me messages while I’m playing the game on the PlayStation 3. I can also respond to them if I want.

I can do the same thing (also from within the game) with my friends that are playing other PlayStation 3 games using my PlayStation Network friends list. We’ve integrated both into the game because we realize how important it is to be able to tie into different groups of online friends. I personally think that’s one of the best things about the PS3’s open approach. I am a member of multiple online communities. The fact that the PlayStation 3 will allow publishers the option of hooking my favorite games into these communities is a big plus to me.

I do want to point out that you aren’t just able to see if your friends are online at the cross media bar interface level.. it can happen within games too.

So what is the good Mr. Smedley trying to say? Basically in his point of view it's good that the PS3 is open and is allowing the publishers to dictate who they will be implementing their online community. He also thinks that it's good that, depending on what service a particular publisher is using, people on the PC can send messages to people playing on their PS3's.

Given that it is possible to be able to access the cross media bar at any point, he does have a point that it's convenient to see which one of your “global” PS3 friends are online, and that you can use the game to check which one of your game-specific friends are online.

We'll have to see where this pseudo online debate will go, before we say anymore regarding this topic. Now we say pseudo debate because if you click on our VIA link below and you look at Smedley's previous posts, you'll see that he's been actively responding to Ozymandias' blog posts. We could try to give you guys several metaphors describing what each service looks like so far, but we won't. That would be flame-bait.

Regardless of the direction this argument will go, it's comforting to see that Sony is actively trying to take their PlayStation Network in a direction different than Microsoft's XBL.

It is expected that Microsoft employee's wouldn't think much of Sony's PS3 or Sony's Online service. It's normal. They are working for a company that's in direct competition. But just for the sake of clarity, let's take some time to look at the actual points raised by Microsoft employee Andre Vrignaud (better known as Ozymandias on his blog) regarding the lack of efficiency of Sony's online service.

This starts with the lawsuit that Xfire has brought against Gamespy. You see, Xfire believes that GameSpy Comrade's "Buddy Sync" feature is infringing on its copyrights. How does this connect to the PlayStation Network? Vrignaud says this: "This suit highlights how busted Sony's PS3 online network is, and how companies are fighting to position themselves to take advantage of this financially."

He means that online middleware companies are trying to position themselves to become the eventual de facto solution that publishers will use when online on the PS3. It's the same with the web: These companies are trying to get momentum and a large enough user base that will cause them to be the "PS3 online" solution of choice.

How is the PlayStation Network busted? Why does the PlayStation Network need "solutions" from middleware companies? Well, Vrignaud gives several reasons. In his blog he wrotes:

Even though I already have a "Sony ID", I may have to create a new "Resistance ID" (because Insomniac's Resistance has it's own list) to play. And then start thinking about just how broken the experience is when you try to invite someone to a game. Do you send it via the Resistance UI? What screenname do I send it to? If I want to add you to my "Sony ID" friends list, do I need to send you an in-game message to ask you what your real "Sony ID" name is? What about game invites? How does that work across even just these two IDs?

You think that's bad? Now let's open up a few more games from different publishers. Each of these publishers had to make a choice of what online interface to use - again, because Sony's online network just isn't ready.

Yep, his problem is with Sony's PlayStation Network, is that it is just isn't ready. Publishers will have to either write their own communications interface or license Xfire, or GameSpy, or Quazal, or Demonware. That means many potential networks with different namespaces, and an inherent lack of ability to communicate (chatting, voice, invites, finding friends, etc.) between them.

He further inquires as to what could happen if each publisher doesn't stick with the same online solution for all of their games? This is very likely as most publishers use different developers - so even across a single publisher, you may find fragmented communities.

So what's the point of the Sony ID according to him? The Sony ID gives you a lifeline to be see friends when they are online... but only in the crossbar UI.

Andre Vrignaud, otherwise known as Ozymandias on the Xbox Live circuit, recently wrote an essay on his blog in response to a reader's question on mods and console modding. Specifically, the reader asked Andre his opinon on mods, and whether they had a positive or negative effect on the Xbox. While the piece is against modding in general, which might be disagreeable to many QJ readers, his article does serve as food for thought, especially since Vrignaud also helps manage strategies for marketing the Xbox and Windows gaming platforms and thus have a point of view most modders and readers do not get to see.

For instance, one thing most of us don't really get to understand is the reasoning behind the high cost of games. He mentions that it is due to the way the gaming industry is situated, business-wise. Consoles are sold for less than the price of their manufacturing costs, and it is the sale of the additional products, whether they be games, additional hardware, or services like Xbox Live, that make up for this and keep the gaming industry afloat. With piracy, it becomes more difficult to recoup their losses from manufacturing and make an actual profit for further development.

The only other alternative would be the opposite, selling the games for cheap and the consoles at a price that makes up for manufacturing and allows for profit. This leads to the prices of consoles being around the price of PCs, and comparatively speaking, for the same price, a console would be able to do a lot less than a PC can. That doesn't make for good business.

On the whole, Vrignaud's response was against modding for some very valid reasons, and while we do post articles on mods and modding, Ozy's blog gives us a lot to think about. He has an insider look on these things, and at the same time, he also mentions that even Bill Gates is intrigued by the possibilities of mods and homebrewed games, as shown by the ton of mods available for PSPs out there.

The problem definitely lies in finding a way to reconcile both points, in allowing for mods to showcase homebrewed talent while protecting the intellectual property rights and investments of those who made the games we love. The opportunity now lies in seeking out that middle path so that modding can become an avenue for creativity and technical skill without killing the industry it wants to be a part of.

Those that frequent the Penny Arcade site knows that their witty comic strips are filled with wry wit and knee slapping humor. Now what you didn't know, is that these guys made an unreleased strip especially for the team working on what was then "Xenon."

Andre Vrignaud, of the Xbox team recounts how amusing it was to read all the rumors flying around the web at that time. "It was a great time - there were tons of random rumors swirling around the web, and I can't tell you how much fun it was to read everyone's theories on what we were up to," says Vrignaud.

After THE meeting, they enlisted the help of the guys over at Penny arcade to make a strip about "Xbox 2 rumors." Now, you can get a glimpse of the unreleased comic strip written and drawn in complete Penny Arcade fashion.

It seems the Wii60 train has not slowed down since its launch at E3! This time, it's not Peter Moore or Perrin Kaplan, it's Andre Vrignaud. Vrignaud is the former director of Xbox Live and a current member of the Xbox Platform Strategy Group. What does he have to say?

"[The announcement of the 6 EA Wii titles] also shows a strong level of industry support for the direction Nintendo has taken with lower-cost hardware and their unique control scheme," he says. "I'm actually a big fan of the Wii (although I'll add my voice to the chorus and state they should have stuck with Revolution for a name). My time with it at E3 showed a lot of potential for new game ideas and new ways to play.

That said, kudos to EA for stepping up and supporting one of the more original attempts to invigorate the game industry in recent history!"

It's great to see people speaking so openly without fear of being fired by their employers! Microsoft is really starting to be a PR wonder, especially when compared to the mess that Sony's PR is in right now!

If you missed our post featuring a photo of the new Xbox 360 motherboard with theHDMI port, you can take a second look here. The verdict on its authenticity is still out and the rumored HDMI port is still that. So what else is new? Well, Andre Vrignaud, a member of the Xbox Team posted his thoughts on how MS should handle the fallout IF the HDMI rumor turns out to be true.

Mind you, Andre is not confirming the rumor. He's just painting a personal scenario on what MS should do to appease the 3,966,003 (and counting) already owners of the HDMI-less console. Andre says the HDMI port will not do much for existing gamers since it will mainly function as part of the HD-DVD playback (plus you need an HDTV for that).

So he doesn't think all three miliion Xbox 360 owners will take to street crying for blood. But for those who do want the HDMI port, Andre believes MS should offer an upgrade program - not necessarily free but reasonable - for good Karma. Again, Andre is just voicing out his personal view on a rumor. We can only hope MS executives will be as understanding.