Despite the competition, the Xbox 360 is helping Microsoft turn a profit the size of many country’s entire economies. According to an earnings report filed today, the software giant’s Entertainment and Devices Division–which includes income from the Xbox 360, Games for Windows, and Zune multimedia handheld–saw its quarterly revenue surge 68 percent. For the three months ended March 31, the division saw $1.57 billion in revenue, up from $936 million the prior year. However, operating income for the period was just $89 million–an improvement over the $324 million loss the company took the year before, as outcry over widespread 360 hardware failures was reaching a fever pitch. In a statement, Microsoft called out the division as being one of the crown jewels of its multibillion-dollar empire. “The Entertainment and Devices revenue for the quarter grew 68 percent over the comparable period last year driven by robust demand for Xbox 360 consoles,” the company said. “Cumulative console sales surpassed 19 million during the quarter, up 74 percent from a year ago.” For the nine months ending March 31, the department took in $6.57 billion, a year-on-year increase of $1.65 billion. Overall, Microsoft beat analyst expectations, despite a sizable drop in profits. The January-March period saw it earn $4.39 billion on $14.5 billion in revenue, down 11 percent from the same period in 2007. Earnings were hurt by a $1.42 billion fine levied on the company by the European Union and helped by an 18 percent rise in server and tools division revenue. For the current April-June quarter, Microsoft estimates it will have operating income of $5.8 billion to $6.2 billion on revenues of $15.5 billion to $15.8 billion. For the financial year ending June 30, 2008, the company expects operating income of $26.7 billion to $27.4 billion on $66.9 billion to $68.0 billion in revenue.

It used to be that Madden NFL cover duties would be a simple affair. A gridiron grunt would perform well, EA Sports would offer that player a pile of cash to appear on the cover of its game, and then the superstar would sit out the following season with a debilitating injury. Clean, simple, easy. This year, however, EA Sports has thrown a monkey wrench in its well-oiled machine for all its football franchises. Rather than selecting a single cover star for NCAA Football 09, EA has opted to cover individual editions with a different athlete, with Darren McFadden gracing the Xbox 360, Ryan on the PS3 edition, Michigan State’s mascot Sparty for the Wii, and others to come. Confusion has also arisen over NFL Head Coach 09. When the game was initially announced in February, EA said that Colts skipper Tony Dungy would be featured front and center. However, Dungy’s cover was called into question when EA said that Head Coach would be available only as part of the $90 collector’s edition of Madden NFL 09, and the muddled scenario wasn’t resolved until earlier this week, when EA caved to fan outcry and said that Head Coach would see a stand-alone release. Now, rumors are being bandied about concerning who will cover the flagship edition of EA’s football franchises, Madden NFL 09. According to a report on GameDaily, cover duties will go to Green Bay Packers maestro Brett Favre. How did the gaming site arrive at this conclusion? EA has said on the game’s official Facebook page that the cover athlete will be officially announced tomorrow, and Brett Favre is expected to appear on the Late Show With David Letterman tonight. GameDaily appears to be assuming that EA will unveil the game’s cover athlete in much the same way it attempted to announce on Jimmy Kimmel Live that Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young would cover Madden NFL 08. As one of the most widely recognized players in the league and orchestrator of the Packers’ Cinderella run to the NFC Championship game last year, Favre is a natural choice for the cover. However, there’s just one problem: Brett Favre is no longer a professional football player. In March, the iron man QB said he would be retiring from the game, and handed the reins over to Berkeley alum Aaron Rodgers after a 15-year run. That’s not to say that EA might not consider Favre. This year being the 20th anniversary for EA’s perennial best-seller, the publishing house may choose to honor one of football’s greatest living players with the milestone cover. Plus, there are worse ways to avoid the whole Madden Cover Curse controversy than electing a man who won’t be near a pro pigskin on Sundays this fall. (That was a long one, lol)

One of the games Microsoft and Namco Bandai Games showed off at last year’s Tokyo Game Show was Smash Court Tennis 3. Released for the Xbox 360 in Japan last December, the game will now apparently be getting a North American release as well. Atari said today that it would be importing Smash Court Tennis 3 to Microsoft’s console this August. Not to be confused with the upcoming Top Spin 3 or Virtua Tennis 3, Smash Court Tennis 3 is Namco Bandai’s latest realistic sim tennis title, and features 16 top performers on the pro circuit, including Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis, Andreas Seppi, and Nicole Vaidisova. The game packs an extensive suite of customization options that will let players create their own personalized superstars. Smash Court 3 offers a host of graphic and gameplay updates form its legacy-generation precursors. Players will be able to compete in a variety of modes, including Tutorial, Arcade, Pro-Tour, and Exhibition, and Smash Court 3 will accommodate online play over Xbox Live. Online matches accommodate up to four players, gamers can compete in online tournaments, and the game supports leaderboards and voice chat.

As the sole third-party rights holder to the Major League Baseball license, Take-Two has enjoyed a monopoly of sorts on the sim baseball gaming space, with the only real competitor of its MLB 2K franchise being Sony with MLB: The Show. As the pro license is wrapped up until 2012, Activision has found the best solution to this conundrum is to step up to the little league plate. The publisher has announced Little League World Series 2008 for the Wii and Nintendo DS will take the field August 5. Billed as “the first officially licensed Little League video game to hit next-generation consoles,” Little League World Series 2008 offers 16 international teams, eight of which hail from the US. In addition to a standard franchise mode, the game offers a variety of skill-based minigames and character customization options. Few specific gameplay details have been revealed, but Activision did say that the game will make use of the Wii’s motion-sensing controls, while the DS edition “gives players the freedom to get on the diamond anywhere.” Activision is aiming for an authentic baseball experience, and little leaguers will be able to bat, field, and pitch.