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Week of August 26, 2007
10 Things You (Maybe) Didn't Know About your Xbox360
>> From xbox.com:
[QUOTE]
Hello, class. My name is Professor Elle, and I'll be your instructor for Xbox 201: Unknown Xbox. In this section, I'll be covering a few Xbox 360 features you may not know about.
* Online Status
Your online status shows up when people look at your Gamer Profile. You can be online, away, busy, or offline. Your status is usually online when you sign in, and away if your console is idle for a while.
* Black Level
If you find that your display is too dark or too light during games, try adjusting the black level of your display. In the Xbox Dashboard, on the System blade, select Console Settings, Display, Black Level.
* Instant Messaging
This one got a lot of attention with the May update, but I thought it was time for a refresher. Xbox 360 is now integrated with Windows Live Messenger, and you can send messages to your contacts directly from your console. You can use the virtual keyboard or plug in a USB keyboard to chat, but the best way is to snap on the chatpad from the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit and let your thumbs fly.
* Auto Sign-in
When you first create a Gamer Profile on a new console, you're automatically set to sign in every time you start up the console. This is actually something you can turn on and off.
* Privacy Settings
How you appear to the world and what you see online is totally up to you. Allow only your friends to send messages. Block everyone from seeing what games you played. It's all in your hands.
* Startup
If you're annoyed by the fact that your game always starts up automatically when you turn on the console, have I got good news for you. There is a setting that'll bypass the game and go straight to the Xbox Dashboard when you power up.
* Media Center
Speaking of Media Center, yes, your Xbox 360 console is also a Media Center Extender. You can use your Xbox 360 to view music, video, and pictures from Windows Media Center on your PC if you have one of the following: Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate
* Visualizations
This one's good for parties. Tucked away on the Media blade is a music player, complete with visualizations. With your MP3 player plugged in, or a CD in the drive, go to the Media blade and select Music. Cue up a few songs, then press X for a trippy full-screen visualization.
* Game Defaults
Here's one of my favorite obscure features. If the first thing you do in a shooter is go into the settings and invert the y-axis, or go into a racing game and set your transmission to manual, game defaults are for you. It's a group of settings in your profile that a game will pick up and set automatically, so you don't have to keep doing that in all your games.
* HDTV
We've found that many people who have an Xbox 360 console and an HDTV don't know how to set their display properly. The little switch on the component cable is automatically set to standard definition so that it'll work on any TV, but some people with HDTVs don't actually switch it. And, when they do, they don't always go into the display area and switch off of 480p.
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Full article: xbox.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
CPX3 v1.0a
>> A new version of CPX3 has been released - it's a Capcom Play System 3 emulator for Xbox1.
What's new/fixed:
* Fixed controls not being saved after configuration.
* Fixed sound interpolation settings not being saved.
* Fixed sprite/bg 1-pixel misalignment
* Fixed autoframeskip code when using PAL50 screen modes. I've added an option in the Video settings to select if you want to keep the PAL50 mode (and play at 50fps) or switch the xbox to PAL60 (not supported in old TVs). You must reset the emulator for this option to take effect.
* Rearranged the controls to a more standard layout:
-Insert coin is now the BACK button, Service (credit) is white button, Test is black button,
-GUI Enter/Exit is right thumbstick button.
* The Virtual Memory cache was being stored in the Permament Title Storage, in the current partition. Now it's stored in the Utility Partition, that is cleared when a new title is loaded.
Official Site: www.speksnk.org
Download: n/a (built with XDK)
Full Readme: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
EFF: Microsoft Embraces Machinima
>> From eff.org:
[QUOTE]
The big news in the machinima world this week has been Microsoft's new "Game Content Usage Rules," which is a license that explicitly authorizes the creation of machinima (and other derivative works) using Microsoft game content. As far as I know, this is the first time a major commercial game vendor has created a "machinima license" to facilitate this exciting new genre.
Some machinima creators have been critical of the new license. I'll leave the detailed discussion of the pros and cons of the license to Hugh Hancock, noted machinima creator and author, but while the license is not perfect, I think it actually does a great deal of good, without doing any harm. [UPDATE: Hugh has now posted some additional thoughts, as well.]
The new license appears to give you permission to do things that would otherwise be forbidden by copyright law. These permissions are in addition to any fair use rights you might otherwise enjoy (according to Microsoft's lawyers, Xbox games do not include any contractual terms intended to strip you of those rights). So machinima creators who use Microsoft games now have two choices -- they can follow the rules set out in the new license, or they can fall back on their fair use rights.
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Full Story: eff.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Bungie: Retailers Don't Have Halo 3 Yet
>> Some blog sites have been reporting that Halo3 games hit retail stores already (with pictures of Halo3 boxes), but it's obvious Bungie is not gonna ship their game 25 days early to retailers ... and anyone who visited a retail store recently knows these (empty) display boxes are everywhere (at least here in Europe). Anyway, if you're still in doubt...
Bungie administrator SketchFactor wrote:
[QUOTE]
We don't know who REDDOGG is... he could be MS, it may even be someone at Bungie who is out of the office and grabbed a disc.
At this point, a FEW people have legitimate copies of the game. These people are not supposed to be playing the game on Xbox LIVE.
No actual copies are available to any retailers yet. The photos that surfaced earlier were EMPTY promotional/pre-order copies of the game. Many retailers have had these for a while now. It was a hoax.
However, we are just days away from real copies starting to legitimately leave the manufacturing plant. We are doing everything we can to try and keep the game story secret and not have the game get out early but sadly this is probably inevitable. The earliest anyone will officially get a copy is some members of press which will be around 9/22. Reviewers are playing it beforehand but only at Bungie or MGS controlled events. Nobody gets a disc. And then their reviews are under an embargo until 9/23 and even then, they are agreeing to not disclose story spoilers in their articles. We're trying our best but once this baby gets momentum nobody will be able to contain it.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Dean Takahashi: 360 uses 194watts, PS3 171 watts, Wii 17watts
>> From Dean Takahashi on mercurynews.com (free reg. req.):
[QUOTE]
To test the power efficiency of my products, I used a simple test. I got a device that measures electrical usage. It's called the Kill A Watt. You plug one end into the wall and plug your device into the three-pronged socket on the Kill A Watt. Press the watt button and you can see how much electricity the device is using.
The game consoles yielded some predictable results. The Xbox 360 Elite came in at 194 watts. That's why it has the whirring fans inside the box as well as in the power supply that is inside the large "brick" in the power cord. The PlayStation 3 came in at 171 watts. But the Nintendo Wii consumed a measly 17 watts.
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Full Story: mercurynews.com (free reg. req.)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Halo 3 Already Has Lots of 'Fans' in Japan - Literally
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft has stepped up the Halo 3 advertising campaign in Japan, and as of two weeks ago, the company's been handing out flyers at major retailers -- though not just any kind of flyers: they're fans.
A fan is more of an advertising tool than a packet of tissues can ever be, making summer a huge season for foot-traffic marketing. When someone is flapping a fan near you on a train, it's hard not to at least glance at them. So even if the product advertised on the fan isn't something that the fan-flapper could care less about, someone in the vicinity might care.
One side shows three miniscule screenshots of the game, and bears a simple-enough description of what the game is about. The tagline is sharp enough: "The year is 2552. The human race continues its fight against an alien race." They're giving it a low-key pitch as science-fiction. That's good. The ensuing description pitches the game's story as dynamic, and paints its scenario in bold colors. These are the sort of points they need to be hitting. And finally, they toss out the fact that the series has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide to date.
The one big faux pas I can point out -- since you're just forcing me to be negative -- is what's on the other side of the fan: just a big numeral "3", in Halo font. Microsoft has taken out billboards in Shibuya, Shinjuku, and even at Akihabara's massive Yodobashi Camera, each of them showing the same swirling, cloud sky and the same ethereal numeral "3". Might I suggest that the Xbox-fearing nation of Japan is probably the one country in the world where you don't want to advertise Halo based just on a numeral? This is Japan, where a Famitsu poll asking "Would you like to be able to download movie trailers on the PlayStation Store?" was answered with an overwhelming "No", with one high-school student reporting in by saying "I think Sony should just concentrate on games." It's not like Sony's going to be calling Fumito Ueda away from his ICO followup to direct and shoot a motion picture trailer, for god's sake! Either way, it goes without saying that the average gamer here might not think about things in the most common-sensical Western marketing terms, and if they see a "3" in a font they don't recognize, all they're going to know is that they don't remember a "2" in the same font, and even if they do, they don't remember playing that game, so they shouldn't play the "3", because to do so would be rude.
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Full Story: next-gen.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
EkszBox ForzaMod v1.1
>> Kernel Master released a new version of EkszBox ForzaMod - a Forza Motorsport mod tool, which includes an Xbe CRC patcher.
What's new/fixed:
* Edited files quirk has been addressed: Loading xml/ini files which have had their edits saved will now load the edited files instead of re-extracting & loading the originals.
* Faster ca2 load speed.
* Single click file load on the list.
* New gui (Thanks to TeknoJuce @ TeamXBMC).
* Button flickering has been eliminated.
* Various bug fixes.
* Better/Fixed error checking.
* No more xbe renaming required.
* 2 forza xbe versions are now supported (v1 & new support for v46).
* ForzaMod source code included.
Official Site: n/a, by Kernel Master
Download: here
Full readme: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Halo3-inspired Accessories and Messenger Kit in Time for Holiday
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
Xbox 360 fanatics are invited to accessorize this holiday season with Microsoft's new Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Controllers and Headset, and the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit, all available beginning Sept. 4.
Gear up for the release of "Halo 3" on Sept. 25 with two new high-quality Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Controllers. Legendary comic book artist and "Spawn" creator, Todd McFarlane, has masterfully designed these controllers featuring both the Covenant Brute and Master Chief™ themes. Both fade and scratch-resistant controllers come with a Limited Edition "Halo 3" Master Chief™ figurine designed by McFarlane himself for an estimated retail price of $59.99 (U.S.).
The Spartan green and gold Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Headset provides the mobility and communication essential for soldiers in their fight against the Covenant. With high-quality voice connections over Xbox LIVE, this accessory will be available for an estimated retail price of $59.99 (U.S.)
The Xbox 360 Messenger Kit, which includes a Chatpad and Xbox 360 headset for an estimated retail price of $29.99 (U.S), allows users to easily chat with friends or family on Xbox LIVE and Windows-based PCs. The automatically backlit Chatpad quickly connects to any Xbox 360 controller and can be easily controlled with simple thumb strokes so users can simultaneously chat and play games with ease.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
First Zune 2 and Zune Flash Shots
>> From gizmodo.com:
[QUOTE]
Here are the first shots of the Zune 2 and Zune Flash. The images reveal an 80GB version and a 4 and 8GB flash model.
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Full Story: gizmodo.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
August Xbox360s Still go RRoD
>> It looks like Xbox360 produced in August 2007 still get the RRoD ... I guess that means still no Falcon motherboards in August (or atleast not all production lines) ... unless MS still didn't solve the issue on this new board, but I doubt that as this issue is costing MS enough already.
From gearlive.com:
[QUOTE]
Yeah, another one - but there is a bit more to this story. This Xbox 360 has been used for all of 20 minutes. You see, about three weeks ago my old box 360 crashed and was giving me the three Red Lights of Doom. I sent it in for repair, and today I finally got a replacement. This actually is a replacement - they didn't fix the one I sent in, they just sent me a new one. This one happened to have been manufactured on 8/15/2007. Anyway, I got it in the mail, hooked everything up, went through the Dashboard configuration, and started playing a demo. Fatal Intertia. We got tired of that after about ten minutes, and decided to boot up the demo of Stranglehold. We got through the opening sequence when everything froze. Fair enough. I had to manually turn the Xbox 360 off because it wouldn't even respond to the guide button. I turned it back on, and was presented with yes another Three Red Ring Circus.
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Full Story: gearlive.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Limited Time Xbox LIVE Arcade Price Drop
>> From majornelson.com (FYI: MS owned blog):
[QUOTE]
Been waiting to grab a few new Arcade titles? This weekend is the perfect time as we're having our first ever LIVE Arcade price drop.
For the 48 hour period beginning at 12:00 a.m. GMT on Sunday, September 2 and continuing until 11: 59 p.m. GMT on Monday, September 3, the following Xbox LIVE Arcade games will be available for half their usual price:
* Small Arms - 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
* Zuma Deluxe- 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
* Gauntlet - 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
* Dig Dug - 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
Remember: If the game is available in your region, it will be available for the 'sale' price during the above time.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Boing Boing interview: Team-XBMC on the Future of XBMC for Linux
>> Freelance writer Joel Johnson recently did and interview with representatives from Team-XBMC for Boing Boing Gadget blog about the Future of XBMC for Linux.
Short excerpt from the interview:
[QUOTE]
* Joel: How close do you feel you are to a stable version of the XBMC for Linux port? (And by stable I mean "easy enough even a jerk like myself could install and run it."
* Team XBMC: We don't have a date yet (it is really to early to know), our best guess today is 6-12 months or so from now but it could be longer. As we are a hobby project we depend on developers own personal interest and free time, making it impossible to set an E.T.A., more 'outside' developers would sure help speed things along.
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You can read the full interview on gadgets.boingboing.net (thx to gamester17 for news/link)
PS! Developers interested in contributing checkout XBMC Linux port project
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Fox joining Xbox family
>> From variety.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft has signed up Fox as the newest partner for its Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and the two are launching with "Family Guy," a show aimed squarely at the service's young male gamer demo.
Video Marketplace, which allows Xbox 360 owners to download movies and TV shows via the vidgame console's Internet connection, already has films from Warner Bros., Paramount, Lionsgate and New Line and TV shows from CBS, NBC Universal and MTV Networks. Some content is available in high-def, making it the only Internet videostore offering HD downloads.
Deal likely marks the first step in a broader relationship between Fox and Microsoft to distribute TV shows and films.
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Full Story: variety.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XCM White 360 HDMI 1080i cable (for regular white Xbox 360)
>> From Team Xtender:
[QUOTE]
This cable will be the world first HDMI 1080i cable for Regular Xbox 360,with this cable you can enjoy the digital 1080i output signal on HD TV :)
The cable can let you have the HDMI digital signal on your HD TV, the original white xbox 360 hasn't got the HDMI port ,so the signal of it is analog signal ,with this cable we convert the analog signal to digital signal ,apart from this function, we also build in the extra RCA and optical socket to connect the loud speaker or amplifier to let you get more enjoyable when playing game
And it will come with the HDMI to DVI adapter, so this cable is not only can be use on HD TV but also on PC as well
Concept pictures:
  White regular XBOX 360 to DVI | White regular XBOX 360 to HDMI 1080i  Extra Audio socket connect to Amplifier or loud speaker
Official Site: www.teamxtender.com
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Microsoft using new Warranty Seals on Xbox 360?
>> Several European forums like gueux-forum.net and xbox360-tribe.org report that they got their Xbox 360 back from repair with a new warranty seal.
It's not clear right now if this is only on Xbox360s coming from the repair centers or if new units will get this new seal too. However it wouldn't be the first time the repair centers introduce something new, the new GPU heatsink also came first on units coming from a repair center and appeared only later in retail units.
The warranty seal is located under the face plate. The new sticker with a metallic line looks a lot like the seals used by Microsoft with OEM version of Windows (that you are supposed to stick on the back of your PC).
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Gamefest 2007 XNA Presentations and Keynote Videos now Online
>> The Microsoft Gamefest 2007 presentations and keynote videos are now online on creators.xna.com.
* Gamefest 2007 Keynote
Listen in as Chris Satchell, General Manager of the XNA Group at Microsoft, talks about "Taking It To The Next Level" -- moving beyond delighting the core set of customers and expanding the gaming market with new innovations.
* Gamefest 2007: Understanding XNA Framework Performance
This talk is for programmers who want to understand how the XNA Framework works on Xbox 360, and the implications for writing high-performance code. The talk explains when and why the framework transitions between the Xbox user and supervisor modes, and why should you care. The talk also presents best practices for writing efficient graphics and math code, how to use multiple cores to parallelize your game, and which XNA Framework APIs can be called reentrantly while doing so. Finally, the talk demonstrates what tools are available for investigating performance on Xbox 360, and how Windows tools can help you understand Xbox 360 performance issues. Speaker: Shawn Hargreaves.
* Gamefest 2007: XNA Game Studio for Fun and Profit
One question resounds as more and more developers discover the productivity gains from XNA Game Studio. How do you make money from the games you create? This talk offers a sneak peek at developing an Xbox LIVE Arcade game along with details of how professional developers can take advantage of XNA Game Studio to produce commercial games. Speaker: Frank Savage.
* Gamefest 2007: Networking with the XNA Framework
Playing games by yourself can be fun, but it's far better when you can play with others, whether cooperatively or head-to-head. Creating multiplayer games using XNA Game Studio, however, requires networking support in the XNA Framework for both Windows and Xbox 360. And that support simply isn't there...until now! For the upcoming release of XNA Game Studio 2.0 later this holiday 2007, we will be augmenting the XNA Framework to include support for networked games. Come learn where we're taking networking in the XNA Framework, what is supported and what's not, and how you will soon be able to enable multiplayer support in your games. Speaker: Shawn Hargreaves.
* Gamefest 2007: What's New in XNA Game Studio 2.0
Last December 2006, XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 brought new levels of approachability and ease in developing video games for both Windows and Xbox 360. We are taking our commitment to democratize game development further with the upcoming release of XNA Game Studio 2.0 this holiday 2007. To learn more about this major update, join this talk as we provide an early look at exciting new features and tools shown publicly for the first time. Filled with great demos and code samples, this talk dives into the enhancements to the XNA Framework, content pipeline, and developer environment, and even offers a glimpse of our community sharing plans. Speaker: Mitch Walker.
* Gamefest 2007: Pre-Mortem: Torpex Games' Schizoid
Considering XNA Game Studio for a new commercial game project and want to know what you might encounter down the road? This talk covers the experiences of several AAA game developers who have almost completed an XNA Framework game for Xbox LIVE Arcade. We delve into the pros and cons of using the XNA Framework and share a few engineering tricks we learned along the way. This presentation is targeted at programmers and producers interested in learning about shipping an Xbox LIVE Arcade game using XNA Game Studio. Speakers: Jamie Fristrom, Bill Dugan, Torpex Games
* Gamefest 2007: The Costs of Managed Code: The Avoidable and the Unavoidable
This talk is for those who want to understand the inescapable performance consequences of the managed programming method: the things you cannot avoid and the things you can. The presentation explains those few characteristics of managed code, such as array bounds checking, application domain isolation, and write barriers, that profoundly affect the code generation at a primitive level. Comparing and contrasting the consequences for the .NET Compact Framework and the classic .NET runtime, the talk explains the reasons for these overheads, the benefits they provide, and what practices minimize the associated costs. Additionally, we discuss some commonly occurring costs, such as boxing, that aren't inherent to all managed code, and we offer some tips for minimizing those costs. Speaker: Rico Mariani
Check out the videos on creators.xna.com.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
360 Media Server v0.0.2
>> Tawsi released a new version of 360 Media Server, a upnp media server designed for streaming music to the Xbox 360. It is capable of transcoding many non supported formats including AAC, Ogg and Flac as well as the formats the 360 already supports (MP3 and WMA). Also capable of reading iTunes XML.
It's working on Windows, Mac and Linux.
No details found on the exact changelog in this new version.
Official Site: http://sourceforge.net/projects/x360mediaserve/
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
X07 Canada - Running on Generators
>> From gamerscoreblog.com (FYI: MS owned blog):
[QUOTE]
As in years past, Xbox.com/ca's Jade, Jeff, and the rest of the Canada team kept the doors open into the evening, and invited 150 community members to check out some of the games coming this fall. Check out their coverage on Xbox.com/ca.
There were more than 60 stations set up with Xbox 360 and Games for Windows titles, from Microsoft, EA, Activision, 2K, Sega, Eidos, Midway, Namco Bandai, THQ, Ubisoft, and Vivendi. The Bungie guys were on site, answering quesitons, and showing part of the single player campaign, and giving away a few awesome prizes. And everyone left with some cool SWAG, and everyone seemed to have a great time.
At about 3, someone in the street hit a power pole or transformer or something, and the entire block lost power. The team scrambled to find generators, and we got most of the games back up and running after the community arrived. Despite having no lights or air conditioning, the event was successful in letting everyone hang out with each others, play some pre-release games, and get questions answered. Thanks for your patience, and we're glad you all stuck around and had a great time.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Hack360 Hitachi IX v1.2
>> Hack360 is a Windows PPF-based firmware flashing tool for Hitachi-LG drives. From readme/nfo:
[QUOTE]
This version installs IXtreme 1.2 rev 2 by C4E, It does not need nothing else. This pack not have any firmware, only patch drive firmware and convert to firmware ixtreme firmware or restore to original Firmware.
News:
- Autodetection drive (only without spoofing drives)
- Spoofing and restore Model drives.
- Change Keydrive (Only anothers firmware hitachi 3X, 4X, 5X)
- Selection to restore cheksum data.
Scripts uses "subroutines" that are not needed to repeat for each version of the reader nor of firmware. This allows to adapt the code very easily.
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Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD/EULA)
Full Readme: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Nintendo's success good for business: Microsoft
>> From canada.com:
[QUOTE]
Nintendo's success with the Wii is a benefit to the gaming industry according to Microsoft.
In an interview with canada.com at this year's X07, Xbox Marketing VP Jeff Bell said that there was room in the marketplace for three consoles.
"I'd like to see the industry grow and be robust" said Bell. "In many ways, I'm thankful the Wii has been as successful as it has."
Bell also said that he doesn't have a problem with Wii and promoted the Wii-60 phenomenon which has caught on with many game fans, in which gamers buy both a Nintendo Wii and and Xbox 360 to cover both the hardcore and casual game groups.
"If the Wii does grow the market, good for all of us," said Bell. "I don't see any problem with a household that has both a Wii and a 360. In fact I would expect that you'd see that, as they are very different experiences."
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Full Story: canada.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Halo 3 Goes Gold
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
Most Anticipated Title of 2007 Released to Manufacturing, Begins Final March to Xbox 360
The wait is almost over. "Halo 3," the final chapter in the groundbreaking "Halo" trilogy and the most anticipated game release of 2007, has been released to manufacturing.
Three years in the making by renowned developer Bungie Studios, "Halo 3" is now finished and will begin its journey to store shelves around the world in less than four weeks. "Halo 3," which has already set new records as the fastest preordered game in history, has exceeded one million presales in North America alone. The title is set to shatter day-one entertainment sales records when it is released worldwide beginning Tuesday, Sept. 25.
"This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios," said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. "This is the game we've always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can't wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25."
Created by legendary developer Bungie Studios and exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, "Halo 3" will set a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging consumers worldwide in Master Chief's epic battle to save humankind. In November 2004, the world's view of video games changed forever with the release of "Halo 2," which generated a record-setting $125 million (U.S.) in sales within the first 24 hours and changed the way people think about interactive entertainment. Three years later, it remains the most-played game on Microsoft's Xbox LIVE® online gaming and entertainment network, with nearly 1 billion hours of online gaming logged to date.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft: We Didn't Pay Paramount for HD DVD
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
Kevin Collins, who runs Microsoft's HD DVD unit, is denying that his company paid Paramount to exclusively back HD DVD in the high-def format war against Blu-ray.
The New York Times last week quoted an industry official as saying the studios received $150 million combined to back HD DVD, although the newspaper did not say who paid the studios.
But in a post at the Home Theater Forum message board, Collins said he was interrupting his vacation to "go on the record stating that Microsoft did not provide any financial incentives to Paramount/Dreamworks' recent decision to support HD DVD."
Referring to articles saying Microsoft had paid the studios, Collins continued: "This type of 'reporting' amazes me and I challenge anyone to provide proof around these statements. They are unfounded and inaccurate."
However, Collins appeared to indirectly confirm that Toshiba paid the studios.
Collins also seems to dismiss rumors that Microsoft is offering financial incentives to Warner Bros. to back HD DVD exclusively. The studio now releases titles in both formats.
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Full press release here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Rumor: Xbox 360 repairs delayed by up to six weeks?
>> From gamepro.com:
[QUOTE]
Game blog Kotaku reports that Xbox 360 repairs are taking upwards of six weeks due to a spike in returns after Microsoft extended the console's warranty from one to three years in early July.
One commenter confirmed the six week repair turnaround while adding that Microsoft was kind enough to send along a free game due to the excessive delay.
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Full Story: gamepro.com | kotaku.com
Let us know how long MS took to repair/return your Xbox 360.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 Brings Video Games Live Concert To London
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
Video Games Live, the premier concert celebrating the most memorable music from the biggest video games, is brought to London by Microsoft Xbox 360, IMG Artists, and Raymond Gubbay in association with the Southbank Centre, as the opening event of the London Games Festival. The biggest scores from the most iconic games will be performed by members of the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall on 22nd October 2007, at 7.30pm. Tickets can be bought from the Royal Festival Hall box office on 0871 663 2500, or www.southbankcentre.co.uk
Video Games Live is not just a concert, but a musical, visual and interactive celebration of gaming that will enthral anyone who has ever played a video game. Whether it's the power and passion of forthcoming Xbox 360 blockbuster Halo 3, or nostalgia for the days of Pong and Space Invaders, Video Games Live is sure to be a hit with gamers and non-gamers alike.
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Read the whole press release here.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Netflix says demand for HD discs is evenly split
>> From afterdawn.com:
[QUOTE]
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that the company was still seeing low demand for HD discs but that demand was equal for both rivals.
"We carry all the Blu-ray titles and we carry all the HD DVD, so we're agnostic. And we think the solution in that market is to have the studios publish on both," said Hastings. "(Customer demand) is pretty evenly split between them (but it's) tiny, like a percent or something."
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Full Story: afterdawn.com
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Halo3 LE Xbox360 Console and Controller Pictures
>> The Community Evangelist for the Entertainment and Devices Division of Microsoft Australia and New Zealand got his Halo3 LE Xbox360 console already. He posted some pictures on his blog:
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Amazon: 8 Free Movies with Xbox360 HD DVD Addon
>> Amazon USA is adding 2 extra free HD DVD discs if you buy an Xbox360 HD DVD addon (or 3 if you buy one of the Toshiba standalone players). Together with the free King Kong disc in the box and the 5 free discs you'll get afterwards via a mail-in rebate from Toshiba .... that gives you a total of 8 free HD movies. Basically you pretty much get your $180 HD DVD addon for free.
It also seems like Amazon takes no side in the format war, you'll also get 8 free Blu-ray movies with the PlayStation3.
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Gabe Newell: DirectX 10 for Vista-only was a mistake
>> From heise.de:
[QUOTE]
According to an online survey by Valve Software, only one in fifty players who access download service Steam has a DirectX 10-compatible graphics card and Windows Vista installed. In an interview with heise online, Gabe Newell, president of Valve Software, said that Microsoft made a terrible mistake releasing DirectX 10 for Vista only and excluding Windows XP. He said this decision affected the whole industry as so far only a very small percentage of players can use DirectX 10.
When developing cross-platform games which are also released fo Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, developers look for the smallest common denominator. And since neither Microsoft's nor Sony's new consoles support Shader Model 4.0 for DirectX 10, only few games use it, he said.
The Half-Life 2 Orange Box, which will be released for PC and Xbox 360 on 12. October, uses DirectX 10 functionality only for accelerating some mimics. Visually, however, it was virtually impossible to differentiate between the versions. The PS3 edition is being developed by an EA studio and is scheduled for release two to three weeks later.
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Full Story: heise.de
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Rob Enderle: Blu-ray Will Lose and Killed the PS3
>> From Rob Enderle on technewsworld.com:
[QUOTE]
I was one of the folks who thought that Blu-ray was going to eliminate HD-DVD and by this time HD-DVD would be toast. In fact, I was one of the analysts who helped convince Time Warner to hedge its bets and go with both formats.
However, this was all before I knew the cost of the Blu-ray technology, and it was based on the assumption that Sony would never be stupid enough to price itself out of the game console market, effectively giving it to Nintendo and Microsoft.
Not only was Blu-ray too expensive, the technology wasn't as far along as Sony led us to believe. The delays not only make the PS3 too expensive; they made it late. That was effectively a one-two punch, knocking Sony out of the lead so far in the game console business. Now, Sony is dead last by a significant margin.
This means that developers, instead of favoring Sony with their best stuff, are now concentrating on the Xbox first, and increasingly the Wii. That's because both have more homes, and thus represent a greater revenue opportunity, than Sony does.
So instead of the PS3 ensuring Blu-ray's success, right now it appears that Blu-ray may have effectively killed the PS3, at least in terms of market leadership. We'll have to wait until the PS4 before Sony has a chance to come back.
I think all realize, or should, time isn't unlimited either. We are already talking about what comes after HD-DVD and Blu-ray, and scalers are getting so good that increasingly many are arguing that you don't need either now.
In other words, while Blu-ray can't win, in my view, there is still an excellent chance the market will simply bypass both if one doesn't ramp to high volume this year. In that instance, everyone loses.
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Full Story: technewsworld.com
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Dump and Flash the BenQ VAD6038 drive
>> Team Modfreakz released a guide explaining how to read and flash an Xbox360 BenQ VAD6038 ODD. The easier 'method1' (no need to remove epoxy) requires cutting two traces on the ODD motherboard and installing a simple switch. This will cut the 3,3V power supply for SPI. The drive should go into recovery mode if none flash present.
MTKflash will not work with this drive, you'll have to use Schtrom's DosFlash v1.0 with dosflash.typ modification required for this drive. You can download it here.
There's no iXtreme firmware for this drive yet, but it's in progress atm together with a new Maximus 360 Firmware Toolbox(info) with support for this drive (no ETA).
  Above you can see 'method1', more details and a 2nd method (for advanced users) in the full guide below.
Download guide (by Team Modfreakz): here
Download DosFlash v1.0 beta (with modified dosflash.typ): here
Full Story: forums.xbox-scene.com | xboxhacker.net
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Hitachi Sense Fix for ixtreme
>> If any of you have had the following error flashing your hitachi:
"DeviceIOControl() failed 0"
"failed to execute flasher (sense: [xx/xx/xx])"
Then this is the fix for you!
The error is not caused by the orig bats, but caused by the way CMD negotiates the commands within the bats!
This update should solve bad sector calls, during the first attempt of flashing (or) restoring of the drive!
If these errors are witnessed throughout the restore/flashix process,it may result in an unsuccessful flashix/restore attempt, excessive read errors, and/or cause bad flash scenarios to occur! eg. "3RLOD" after flashing!
Until now, running flashix/restore.bat multiple times or until the absences of errors is witnessed, was the only sure fire way to get 100 compliance!
Note: I have noticed that if certian sectors are not flashed (by old batch files) things may appear to be ok, but certian games will cause your system to lockup. This process eliminates those mistakes and possible lockups.
And remember, *always* restore before flashing!
Official Site: n/a (Update by Lahey)
Download: n/a (May Be illegal under EULA/DMCA)
News-Source and full readme: xbins.org
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Valve: Half Life2 using 93-94pct of the Console's Power
>> From psu.com:
[QUOTE]
* PSU: What is the primary advantage with the technologies for next-gen? Are there differences between the 360 and PS3 that you found aided you in the game?
* Charles Kieg: We defintiely feel next-gen technology aided truly in our development process. You know---you have complexer AI, you have more characters to work with, an enhanced ability to work with the animations on a higher scale--all that stuff. The only difference between the 360 and PS3--which both as a collective helped us develop The Orange Box is definitely there. For the 360 version of the game, we can probably say we are using around 93-94% of the console's power given our current optimization. With the PS3, we can't exactly say what power cap we reached, since no developer really knows where the boundary is for the PS3. We can tell you that in terms of the whole game together on the PS3, we are not even using the SPU's and it is purely built on the graphics card and Cell. We're still optimizing for PS3 more because we can, which can explain the slight delay to you. But no worries, everything is going smoothly to put down any rumors.
Update: When contacted about the last answer, Valve stated that they are still continuing to optimize for the 360, so the power % is just the estimate for their current optimization. They still have a long way to go.
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[FS] psu.com
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