There has been a lot of talk about whether the most highly anticipated title for 360, Halo 3 will be released on the same day as the PlayStation 3. It all started when Bill Gates went renegade and announced that Microsoft planned to release Halo 3 on the very day that the PS3 launches; however, after that comment from Mr. Gates, there was a lot of feedback from various Microsoft employees that rang to the tune of, "we honestly don't know where Bill got that idea."

Sony's PS3 has gone from being uber hyped to kinda iffy, and very questionable. After E3 2005, where everybody was absolutely wowed by the PS3's graphical capabilities, the gaming community started to realize that the PS3 is going to be very, very expensive. It's been downhill ever since, including Sony's issues with programmers complaining that the PS3 is too difficult to code for, and most recently a report from Klizko; where they managed to get their hands on a PS3, and were not as impressed as they expected by the near-final hardware.

Anyway, back to Halo. At CES2006, after a PS3 no-show, Mr. Gates was quoted as saying that Halo 3 would not mirror the PS3's launch. Despite this, both the PS3 and Halo 3 seem to be targeting a late 2006 release date.

So, do I think that the two will launch on the same day? In a word, yes. This move by Microsoft will literally take gaming to the next level, it is an extremely aggressive move, and will likely be very successful. It all rests on Microsoft's ability to sell 360's before the PS3 is launched. When it comes down to a 360 owner getting an amazing game for $50 or $60, as opposed to a brand new console for upwards of $700 (guesstimate)...they're going to buy the game for the console they already own.

Microsoft will try to trump PS3's launch entirely, and I think they will be successful, but I also think that the gaming industry will not be the same after this because it will ignite a normally docile industry into extreme competition, and there won't be enough space for the PS3 and the 360. One console will win in the end, and it's too early to say which one, but what happens on the day that Halo 3 launches will likely be a very major battle in the war.