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Week of June 21, 2009
Arstechnica Mole: Elite to replace Pro Xbox 360 this fall?
>> From arstechnica.com:
[QUOTE]
Our favorite inside source has given us a heads-up on what to expect from both Sony and Microsoft this year in hardware packages and pricing.
Expect the Xbox 360 Pro to disappear in July or August, but you're going to see some solid bundles to get those systems moving off store shelves. The Halo 3/Fable 2 bundle the Mole previously tipped us off to shows that Microsoft is willing to put some good games into the box to get people buying.
So what are we going to do without the Pro systems? Nothing. The Elite units, with the 120GB hard drive, are going to become the Pro-level system after an early September price cut. We'll be on the lookout for another holiday bundle as well, and that should hit around October.
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Full Story: arstechnica.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
360 Modification USB Drive v1.6 Revision 3
>> FrostyTheSnowman released a new revision of his 360 Modification USB Drive(info).
What's new/fixed in v1.6 Revision 3:
* General code cleanup on all scripts
* Powerpoint-style GUI added
* Disclaimer screen ad
Official Site: n/a, by FrostyTheSnowman
Download: n/a (contains modified FWs)
News-Source/Full Readme: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Non-purchasable Facebook, Twitter, Sky and Last.FM branded Xbox 360
>> From examiner.com:
[QUOTE]
Xbox Director of Programming, Major Nelson sent a tweet today showing off four Xbox 360 consoles that we the consumer will not be able to buy.
Though no doubt there are plenty who would buy up such neatly colored boxes, they were made specifically for the companies that Xbox 360 had announced partnership with during their E3 conference.
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Full Story: examiner.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
New Xbox 360 Dev Kits with 1GB RAM, X-Engine
>> From gamezine.co.uk:
[QUOTE]
You may not know it, but Microsoft shipped a new Xbox 360 development kit to studios earlier in the year. One striking difference was the inclusion of one-gigabytes of RAM. No, this does not mean that Microsoft will be releasing a new Xbox 360 with more memory; the new kit instead makes development a little easier.
Like the PlayStation 3 1GB development kits, the extra memory can be used to properly test your game. This was a problem for Xbox 360 developers before now, since extra memory from the 512MB pool would have to be put aside to test their game engine. Developers could of course disable these test features in order to use this spare memory, but that would mean that they wouldn't easily be able to test their game.
Something else might have surprised developers when they received their new Xbox 360 development kit; a new set of tools, or more accurately a new engine. According to our insider source, Microsoft has been on working a new internal Xbox 360 engine, which has been nick-named the X-Engine.
Our source explains that Sony's PlayStation 3 tools (named Edge) have been picking up steam, and are now taking true advantage of the platform's make-up, especially the consoles CPU, Kutaragi-san's infamous Cell. As for the Xbox 360, it was lacking an engine that took advantage of it in the same way; a hole Microsoft hopes to plug with their new X-Engine. We're told that the engine isn't just a new set of special effects; it's actually a whole new way to develop for the system: a new first party engine design.
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Full Story: gamezine.co.uk
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Patcher: What Went Under-Reported at This Year's E3?
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
The announcement that I thought was missed was the opening of the Xbox Live Dashboard interface to the internet. Later this year, Microsoft will allow members to access last.fm and to select music, to access Netflix and instantly watch films/TV shows, to access Facebook and interact with other friends, and to access Twitter and post/read tweets.
In order for this to happen, Microsoft has to open up the Xbox Live interface and for the first time will let Xbox Live members use the built-in browser as a browser.
Admittedly, the selection is limited to these four sites, but it's a start, and is a glimpse into the future of the Xbox 360 as a home media/internet hub. I think that this announcement was far and away the most important one of the show, and think that the media completely missed its importance.
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Full Story: gamasutra.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XBLC games not 'financially viable'
>> From eurogamer.net:
[QUOTE]
Clover developer Binary Tweed believes the Xbox Live Community Games market is too small to be "financially viable", and that the service's only use is as an "arena for proving concepts".
"It's a shame to say that Clover has not sold as many copies as we'd hoped for. As it stands, through Community Games alone, we definitely won't recoup costs," Binary Tweed boss Daniel Jones told Digital Spy.
"Frustratingly enough, the critical reception to the game has been good," he added, as if reading Eurogamer's Clover review aloud. "The size of the XBLCG market is prohibitively small to be financially viable, so I can only see it being of use to Binary Tweed as an arena for proving concepts."
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Full Story: eurogamer.net
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Rumour: Xbox 360 to get one terabyte HDD?
>> From techradar.com:
[QUOTE]
A whopping one terabyte hard drive is rumoured to be in development for the next iteration of Microsoft's Xbox 360 console.
The increased capacity hard drive is rumoured to be launched at the same time with as Project Natal.
Industry analysts have identified the limited storage space of the current Xbox 360 range as a major feature holding the tech back right now, particularly with the rapid developments in movies and games on demand services via Xbox Live.
"I don't see the timing between new release and digital download being a function of anything other than hard drive sizes," analyst Michale Pachter told GamesIndustry.biz. "I think as soon as we have large hard drives - think the rumoured Project Natal 'new' Xbox 360 with a terabyte of storage in 2010 - we'll have day-and-date downloads."
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Full Story: techradar.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox Live not Blocked by Iranian Firewall
>> From examiner.com:
[QUOTE]
Craig Labovitz of Arbor Networks Inc has written a detailed report on what specific traffic is being blocked and/or filtered, noting that "Interestingly, game protocols like xbox and World of Warcraft show little evidence of government manipulation".
With the Xbox 360 offering video chat among the features of being an Xbox Gold subscriber, this could easily be an upcoming popular way for loved ones and news outlets to deliver messages to and from the country.
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Full Story: examiner.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft unveils new 360 wireless mic
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
Get ready aspiring music stars, the biggest music event is taking place in the best hot spot ever - your living room! Now you can take the stage solo, or join your friends like true rock stars or power duets, free from the clutter of wires. Grab your friends and get ready to croon along to the best songs on your favorite Xbox 360 music games with the new Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone. Belt out your vocals while playing games like "Lips," "Guitar Hero Metallica," "Rock Band 2"* and "Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year" as well as new blockbusters available this holiday, including "Lips: Number One Hits" and "The Beatles: Rock Band."
Whether you want to jam to today's biggest hits or revive Beatlemania, the Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone will bring out your best performance with high-quality voice reproduction technology and stylish interactive motion sensors and lights. Available this fall, the Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone will have an estimated retail price of $49.99 (U.S.).
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Major Nelson Reveals Xbox is Working on New Dashboard
>> From planetxbox360.com:
[QUOTE]
Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry Hryb has posted his latest podcast in his blog, revealing that Microsoft is working on making the New Xbox Experience guide faster.
"The team has done some really good stuff around making performance enhancements." Hryb said. "Whatever we call it (and it's not going to be called the NNXE), but whatever the next version of the dashboard is called, it's better with a lot of very cool new features. That update will be out later this year."
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Full Story: planetxbox360.com | majornelson.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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