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Week of September 11, 2005
Team UIX's Xbe Shortcut Maker v1.0
>> From JbOnE on TeamUIX.com:
[QUOTE]
Creates shortcut xbes for xbox titles keeping your current method of organization intact so you can keep your hd roots as uncluttered as possible, as well as add items to dash menus without moving or creating duplicate installs. Simply point the target path to the xbe you wish to launch and the output xbe will be a 60kb shortcut that will simply launch the given title. Any comments, bugs, feedback - you know where to find me :-)
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.teamuix.com
Download: here
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(Saturday 17 September 2005 20:55 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
)
Halo 2 Box Dispute
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft has come under fire from Scandinavian firm Glud and Marstrand, which alleges that Microsoft broke NDAs and revealed trade secrets in the creation of the packaging for its Halo 2 limited edition. G&M apparently met with Microsoft at the game publisher's request to discuss a possible metal casing for the game, only to go with another firm instead. G&M claims that the other firm used information supplied to it by Microsoft that broke the company's NDA over the process for the metal packaging. G&M has filed suit against Microsoft in Washington court over the allegations.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: gamasutra.com
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(Saturday 17 September 2005 17:33 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox 360 Production Video
>> Xbox360News.com/lagxbl.com posted a video showing the assembly line production of the Xbox 360. As far as I know this video is legit (as-in not secretly taken with a phonecam) but I'm not sure who it was made for. It looks like this movie is sourced from some PR firm (Edelman) working for Microsoft as it includes a name and phonenumber pointing to them at the start (that I cut out on our mirror).
The video shows the Xbox 360 production line similarly to the 3 photos released with the pre-TGS press release (1) (2 more here). It shortly shows the actual production line, the testing racks (where each Xbox 360 is connected with a memcard and USB/wired controller and where you can see all the 'ring of lights' flickering ;)), individual tests, the packaging line and where they are stocking the finished product.
The video also includes gameplay footage of Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo and Call of Duty 2.
News-Source: xbox360news.com/lagxbl.com
Download: here (8.4MB - encoded with XviD) or on lagxbl.com (MSVC), justgamers.de (mp4)
Thanks to ivc for the news/link.
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(Friday 16 September 2005 23:57 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
The Race to Linux Challenge: Win an Xbox360
>> From the pressrelease:
[QUOTE]
Cross-platform Competition Challenges .NET Developers to Port ASP.NET Apps to Linux
The Code Project, a virtual community comprised of 2.2 million Visual Studio developers worldwide, today announced that registrations for the first-ever "Race to Linux", sponsored by Mainsoft Corporation and IBM, are now open.
The Race to Linux challenges Visual Studio developers to port existing ASP.NET applications to Linux using their cross-platform tool of choice (e.g. Mono, Grasshopper, PHP, Macromedia, etc.). The Code Project will announce which ASP.NET application needs to run on IBM xSeries Linux at the start of each race.
The winners of each of the three races will win an Xbox 360. In addition, contestants using Grasshopper will also qualify to win an Xbox 360 game of their choice. Limit one Xbox 360 and one game per participant.
The first race begins Monday, September 19th at 8:00 a.m. North America PT. Check The Code Project for additional start times.
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.codeproject.com/racetolinux/
Full PressRelease: prnewswire.com
Microsoft must enjoy the fact that their CPU partner is giving out Xbox360s to people porting applications from Microsoft's ASP.NET platform so they can run on Linux ;)
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(Friday 16 September 2005 19:06 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
TGS 2005: Microsoft's keynote, TGS Booth *update2*
>> Yesterday you had Microsoft's pre-TGS press conference, today at the opening of the Tokyo Game Show you get Robbie Bach's keynote.
*UPDATE* Major Nelson uploaded the Xbox Keynote from the TGS in mp3 and wma format (~15MB) on his blog. Some pictures are available here.
*UPDATE2* Some pictures of the Xbox booth are available in 'photo story' on xbox.com
GameSpot.com reports about Microsoft's opening keynote:
[QUOTE]
The Tokyo Game Show didn't actually start until today, and Microsoft had one more major event in the Japanese limelight--Microsoft Home and Entertainment Division vice president Robbie Bach's keynote speech to kick off the convention. Bach just concluded speaking, and this last chance for Microsoft didn't drop any bombshells as gamers had hoped.
The main theme of the keynote was Microsoft's role in ushering in the high-def era, and its continuing efforts to push the Xbox 360 into Japanese homes. Bach stressed that Microsoft has learned from the lackluster performance of the first-generation Xbox in Japan, and is concentrating more energy to attract Japanese gamers. To do this, the company has recruited top Japanese developers to make games for the console.
Bach ran a short demo of Epic Games' Gears of War, and showed a montage of several upcoming 360 titles, none of which were previously unannounced.
Microsoft has always touted the 360 as being more than just a gaming machine, and it showed that during the keynote. Bach demonstrated how the 360 can be use Windows Media Player to stream movies, Star Wars(info): Episode II – Attack of the Clones in this case. Bach also showed no hard feelings towards rival Apple by hooking up an iPod Shuffle to the 360 to play music.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: gamespot.com, xbox360.ign.com, gamasutra.com.
Nothing really special was announced during this keynote, all the big/important news (release dates, jap launch sku/price, TGS games line-up, ...) was released yesterday. If you missed it read our previous articles here, here and here.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was scheduled for the show's second keynote, where he finally revealed the "revolutionary" controller for his company's next-generation console (code-name Revolution). If you're interested, check it out on gamespot.com, joystiq.com(1), joystiq.com(2), ign.com or buzzscope.com.
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(Thursday 15 September 2005 23:48 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
More People Sentenced in Pandora's Cube case
>> Another person has been sentenced in the Pandora's Cube case.
If you are not familiar with this case you can read more about it in our previous articles about it here , here and here. Basicly these are US retail stores that sold "Super Xboxes". Xbox consoles not just modified with a modchip, but also pre-loaded with tons of illegal copies of Xbox games on the harddrive.
From the ESA pressrelease:
[QUOTE]
Biren Amin, owner of Pandora's Cube, a major retailer of pirated games and illegally modified Microsoft Xboxes in the Washington, DC area, has been sentenced to five months in prison with three years of supervised release, including five months of home confinement, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today. Mr. Amin was also fined $247,237.05 and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service as part of his sentence. The ESA applauded federal law enforcement officials for their accomplishments and called Amin's sentence a clarion warning for others contemplating computer and video game piracy.
Last week's conviction is the fourth in a series of guilty convictions of Pandora's Cube employees, all of whom were sentenced for conspiring to commit felony copyright infringement and conspiring to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Amin, the owner of retailer Pandora's Cube, was sentenced by Judge Peter Messitte of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Amin's sentence comes after three of his co-conspirators were convicted and sentenced for piracy activities at Pandora's Cube. Defendant Mguresh Amin, a store manager, received a sentence of six months home confinement, twenty-four months probation and 150 hours community service. Herbie Walker, a senior retail manager, was sentenced to six months home confinement, paying for the costs associated with electronic monitoring, twenty-four months probation and 100 hours of community service. Hitesh Patel, a store manager and technician, received a sentence of four months in prison, with two years of supervised release including four months of home detention.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole pressrelease on businesswire.com.
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(Thursday 15 September 2005 22:18 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox 360 pre-TGS Press Conference Videos and Additional Details
>> We've got a bit more info about Microsoft's pre-TGS (Tokyo Game Show) press conference. We already reported about the announcement of the worldwide release date for the Xbox360 (US: 22 Nov, EU: 2 Dec, Jap: 11 Dec) and Japanese launch price (single SKU (only the premium bundle - no 'core' bundle) for 37900YEN (~345USD)) in a previous news item. In another news item we also already told you Microsoft confirmed the Xbox 360 will be region locked (both games and DVD) and Microsoft will open an 'Xbox 360 Lounge' store in Tokyo.
Here's some more info from the press conference:
* Press Conference Videos
-IGN.com uploaded a video of the entire press conference, complete and uncut except the Gears of War and Ninety-Nine Nights gameplay demonstration sessions that were cut on request of Microsoft. The movie is a +200MB quicktime file.
-IGN.com has a video montage shared by Microsoft during the press conference with clips of some of the Xbox 360's hottest upcoming Japanese games. 1up.com also uploaded this video.
-Major Nelson posted a "Photo Story" of the pre-TGS Press Conference, check it out here.
* Press Conference Articles
There are several write-ups of the press conference on teamxbox.com, 1up.com, xbox360.ign.com and gamesindustry.biz. Besides the launch dates, japanese launch price details, region lock and 'Xbox 360 Lounge' detailed in news articles posted earlier I found some other things worth mentioning:
- Explaining the decision not to release the Core System in Japan, local Xbox boss Yoshihiro Maruyama said that by comparison with the rest of the world, Japan has a very mature broadband infrastructure, and that he expects the region to have a high demand for content such as MMOGs which will need the hard drive to function (FF XI). However, he did not rule out the possibility of launching a cut-price Core System style bundle at some point in future, saying only that there is "currently no decision on this... There is a possibility that this may take place."
- In japan, as announced earlier, the single SKU will be 37,900 yen but that's without taxes (no idea what taxes apply on electronic goods in Japan) unlike the European price (299/399eur) that does include VAT (sale taxes). Seven titles will be available for launch in Japan with six more titles before end of January. Several more titles may be also be ready, bringing the total to more than 20 games before January. With launch there will also be a Beta test for Final Fantasy XI.
- When faced with a question regarding HD-DVD technology, Microsoft once again took the approach that an HD-DVD is not currently "necessary" for games, but they will explore the possibility of offering an HD-DVD drive in the future if the technology is well adopted.
- Microsoft said they have no current plans to enter the handheld market, because their focus is on providing a home high-definition experience.
- Currently there are over 100 titles in development. The majority of these games will be launched before 2006. 66 have already been announced and over 200 titles available worldwide.
- At the show, which begins tomorrow at 10am, the Microsoft booth will feature 80 useable kiosks allowing people to use the console and get a feel for many of the games on display, including Ninety Nine Nights. Microsoft announced that around 27 games will be on display at the Xbox 360 stand this weekend, with about ten of them expected to be playable.
- The current titles and the most popular titles will be prioritized as being backwards compatible. Specific games are not yet being announced but the most popular games will be backwards compatible.
- Joystiq informs the Xbox 360 will launch sometime during the 2006 calendar year for all the patient gamers in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, and Colombia.
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(Thursday 15 September 2005 14:35 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Origen Xbox 360: Sept 15th Update
>> Another update of the origenxbox360.com teaser site. But we still don't know much about it - it all stays a big mistery so far.
From TeamXbox.com:
[QUOTE]
Well, it seems that those two rabbits are no longer friends as the latest update to the Origen Xbox 360 website has put two rabbits apart. Also, two new fruits have poped up, making for a total of four pairs. The latin phrase that appeared with last week's update has also disappeared from the tree.
[/QUOTE]
Read More on TeamXbox.com
Xbox-Scene Discussion Thread: forums.xbox-scene.com
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(Thursday 15 September 2005 14:26 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox 360 Region Locked and Xbox 360 Lounge
>> From TeamXbox.com:
[QUOTE]
At the pre-TGS press briefing, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox 360 will be region locked for both games and DVD movie playback, meaning that you can't play games or watch DVD movies from another region other than the one your Xbox 360 is locked to.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: TeamXbox.com
Microsoft also announced more about this building in contruction in Tokyo with a huge Xbox 360 logo drapped around it. From TeamXbox.com:
[QUOTE]
Along with the recently announced launch date and price of the Xbox 360 in Japan, one of the more interesting items to come out of today's Microsoft TGS Press Conference was information related to the opening of an Xbox 360 Lounge this November in one of Tokyo's busiest retail areas, Omote Sando. A few slides showed the current construction site with a huge Xbox 360 logo drape covering it, along with concept renderings of the building, indoor and out.
Microsoft is really pushing the concept of the Xbox 360 being a home, high-definition experience. The Xbox 360 Lounge will feature a number of different living room-like sections that replicate the home experience, complete with high-definition televisions and 5.1 home theater systems.
Rumor has it that the United States will see a similar Xbox 360 Lounge to open in New York City, but this is unconfirmed.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: TeamXbox.com
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(Thursday 15 September 2005 09:52 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
TGS Xbox Conf.: Xbox360 dated! US: 22 Nov, EU: 2 Dec, Jap: 11 Dec (37900YEN)
>> From 1up.com/bloomberg.com/reuters.com:
[QUOTE]
Right off, the US launch date. The Xbox 360 will arrive Tuesday, November 22, just two days ahead of Thanksgiving. Surprisingly enough, the company's keeping on track with their worldwide roll out; the machine will hit Europe on December 2, Japan on December 11.
Microsoft's also announcing at the conference that right at this very moment, Xbox 360s are already in production to meet the worldwide demand during the holiday season. We still don't know what to expect in terms of launch numbers, but don't look for those specifics until closer to launch, maybe even at X05.
Flextronics International Ltd., Wistron Corp. and Celestica Inc. make the consoles, and production probably started in mid- August, Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles, said. He estimates Microsoft will have about 1.5 million units to sell when the Xbox is released in USA. He expected 500,000-700,000 consoles ready in Europe. He had no estimates for Japan.
"If they deliver fewer than 2 million in the U.S. and Europe combined, they will be sold out in two days," he said. "After that, they will be able to produce about 150,000 a week for the first few weeks, so they'll be sold out for a long time."
Seeing as how it's Tokyo Game Show, though, the company's focusing on their overseas efforts. In addition to confirming a launch price of 37,900 YEN (almost $345 USD) for Xbox 360, Microsoft's predictably avoiding a dual SKU launch in the land of the rising sun. Japan will receive one version of Xbox 360 loaded with the removable 20GB HD, wireless controller, an media remote control, an headset, an ethernet cable, batteries and a component HD-AV cable.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: 1up.com, nytimes.com, news.com, teamxbox.com, bloomberg.com, reuters.com.
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(Thursday 15 September 2005 00:07 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Innovative Web Services Applications Contest: win 5000usd, Xbox360s, ...
>> From the pressrelease:
[QUOTE]
Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Corp. today kicked off the Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005/Amazon Web Services Developer Contest at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005. From now through Dec. 31, 2005, developers will compete for prizes by using Visual Studio 2005 to build innovative and entrepreneurial applications that use product data and technology from the AWS platform. The grand-prize winner will have his or her Amazon.com Wish List fulfilled with a value up to $5,000 (U.S.). A complete list of contest rules, eligibility restrictions, entry instructions and prizes is available on the AWS Web site at http://www.amazon.com/aws.
Contest applications will be judged on creativity, quality and extent of AWS services integration, commercial appeal, and usability. Eight winners will be selected and receive the following prizes:
-- First Place: $5,000 Amazon.com Wish List fulfillment
-- Second Place: Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition with MSDN subscription
-- Third Place: $500 Amazon.com gift certificate
-- Honorable Mention (five winners): Xbox 360 console
[/QUOTE]
More Info: http://www.amazon.com/aws
Read the whole pressrelease here.
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(Wednesday 14 September 2005 23:36 EST) - (Category: GamingGeneral) - (Posted by::
)
Gears of War Currently Only Using 1 CPU Core
>> From 1up.com:
[QUOTE]
In the demo we checked out, the characters and environments looked just like they did at E3, but other minor details were improved, such as the nice dramatic motion blur effect when you turn quickly and the polished look of the line that shows up when you aim to throw a grenade (which now looks futuristic). The framerate appears to be improved on the E3 version as well, and though it's still not 100% perfect in all areas -- the game doesn't come out until 2006, after all -- it's clearly well within reach and we don't see the occasional hiccups showing up in the final version at all.
According to Epic's Cliff Bleszinski, the game [Gears of War] as it is running right now is only using one of the Xbox 360's three cores, and has been up and running on the final development kits for only about two weeks. The game had been running on Beta development kits for only a few weeks before that, so it's clear that the team at Epic is only getting started in terms of finding out how much power they can get out of the system.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: 1up.com
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(Wednesday 14 September 2005 21:17 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft Xbox 360 aims at Sony's hold on Japan
>> From reuters.com/next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach dismisses surveys showing interest in his new console is still low.
"None of that is worth anything," he said at the Reuters Technology and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The lack of success in Japan with the first Xbox was due to lack of compelling games for Japanese, not relations with retailers or even the bulky design of the first Xbox.
"Ultimately if we had great games, people would have put a big, black Xbox in the living room," he said. This time, he says, Microsoft has laid the groundwork for just that.
"There are going to be times when we lose a little money on the hardware, times when we make a little money on the hardware," he said. "In the end what we've been telling people is, think of the hardware as something that kind of breaks even, plus or minus, and the focus when it comes to the business side in terms of making money is on selling a lot of great games."
Analysts expect the Xbox 360 to sell better than its previous version, but they don't expect it to seriously challenge Sony's dominance of the gaming market in Japan.
"There is no way it will come close to the PlayStation," said Tokyo-based Deutsche Securities analyst Takashi Oya. "Microsoft will have done well if it gets 10 percent market share in Japan."
U.S.-based research firm IDC estimates that Microsoft will sell 3.5 million Xbox 360 units in Japan by 2009, compared with 8 million PlayStation 3 units.
According to Famitsu, Japan's leading game magazine, Microsoft has sold 470,624 Xboxes in the country as of August. This compares with Sony's 18.14 million cumulative PS2 sales, and Nintendo's 3.8 million GameCube unit sales.
"Whether Microsoft launches on Nov. 20 or Dec. 5, we expect they will sell through every unit they can deliver before New Year's," said Richard Doherty, research director at New York-based Envisioneering Group.
Not everyone is as optimistic, but some say it may be enough for now that Japanese gamers are curious about Xbox 360.
It will be "a job well done" if Microsoft can get equal market share with Nintendo in the next-generation battle, said KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide. "It's not going to be possible to be number one," he said.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: reuters.com and next-gen.biz
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(Wednesday 14 September 2005 13:07 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft sees week between Xbox360 regional debuts
>> From reuters.co.uk:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft Corp. expects a lag of a week to 10 days between regional launches of its Xbox 360 video game console, which will debut later this year, Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach said on Wednesday.
"We will launch in North America, Europe and Japan in the same holiday season. There will probably be a week or 10 days in between the different territories, just to give us a chance to manage the logistics," Bach said at the Reuters Technology and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo.
Microsoft aims to supplant Sony Corp. as the global video game franchise leader with the new Xbox. Some 15 to 20 games for the new Xbox will be ready at launch and 25 to 40 by the end of the year, Bach said.
[/QUOTE]
News-Source: reuters.co.uk
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(Wednesday 14 September 2005 11:39 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Bizarre Tests the Limits of Xbox360 Hardware
>> From computerandvideogames.com:
[QUOTE]
Bizarre Creations has been trying to break an Xbox 360 by standing 35,000 (yep, that's 35,000) polygon spectators on the corner of a Project Gotham Racing 3 track. A screenshot of this frankly bizarre experiment can be seen here (feel free to count heads to see if the number's a lie) and the developer says in a recent update on its community website that the whole thing was actually a test "to show how crazy our crowd rendering system is".
Anyway, apparently the scene was rendered without a framerate hit, although we certainly won't be seeing 35,000 spectators on a single track corner in the final game. However, Bizarre does promise in the update that we can "still expect many thousands (yes, thousands) of spectators per track" and adds that "Seeing all of these virtual spectators shuffling around and waving their arms is a memorable sight".
[/QUOTE]
Read More: computerandvideogames.com (free reg. poss. req.)
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(Wednesday 14 September 2005 00:39 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
IDG Profiles Next Gen US Gamer Habits
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
Magazine publisher IDG has released its annual 'industry white paper' data on spending habits of U.S gamers.
The report says active gamers can be segmented into three categories: devoted, social and casual gamers. Devoted gamers, who count game-playing as their primary activity, make up 41% of the total gaming audience and are responsible for 52% of the dollars spent on video games and systems.
Social gamers represent 35% of spending while casual gamers represent 28% of the gaming audience but only 13% of dollars spent.
The report says devoted gamers will drive sales of new systems in 2005 and 2006 with more than half of them likely to buy a PlayStation 3 and over 45% planning to buy Xbox 360 within the first year of release for each system.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: next-gen.biz
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(Wednesday 14 September 2005 00:02 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Origen Links to Halo 3 Denied by Bungie
>> From planetxbox360.com:
[QUOTE]
As was recently reported, there is a school of thought that believes the Origen Xbox 360 site is counting down to an announcement regarding Halo 3 for the Xbox 360.
Well apparently Bungie (makers of the Halo series) have been getting a lot of emails about this, because they felt the need to post the following in their Weekly Update dated 9 September:
"I got a lot of mail from folks about www.origenxbox360.com which as far as I can tell, is some kind of viral marketing thing, and maybe even an ilovebees style ARG. Thing is, that's all I know about it. I got the same info as you – six plums (that's what they look like to me) a stick man, an MSN Messenger icon and two rabbits. I think they might be hares. The only thing I've noticed is that if you switch between .org and .com, the image pops to the right a couple of pixels. I'm helping! And I swear, I really DON'T know what this is."
[/QUOTE]
Read More: planetxbox360.com
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(Tuesday 13 September 2005 23:44 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Team XOS neXgen Logo Contest Update
>> Team XboxOpenSource posted an update about their logo contest for their new dashboard currently in development (that has a similar look as the Xbox 360 dashboard).
From xboxopensource.com:
[QUOTE]
Sorry to all who uploaded images to CServerz, they have been lost. This was the server that all images for the logo contest were stored on. They were all lost when the server ddos'd and crashed. If you would like to upload them again, please upload them to
http://www.imageshack.us for now until the server is back up.
Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience.
[/QUOTE]
More Info/Submit your logos here
Xbox Live on 360: Euro pricing unveiled
>> From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Xbox 360 owners in Europe will pay 59.99 Euro (GBP 39.99) per year for a Gold Xbox Live membership, Microsoft has announced, and the company has also done away with the need to input credit card details to access the service - a move that's likely to meet with a positive response.
UK subscriptions to the actual online gaming part of Xbox 360's online service, Xbox Live Gold, will be available to buy from retailers for cash.
Those happy to pay by credit card will be able to do as they used to do and subscribe via the Xbox 360 dashboard for periods of one month (6.99 Euro, GBP 4.99), three months (19.99 Euro, GBP 14.99) or 12 months (59.99 Euro, GBP 39.99). Anybody with an existing Xbox Live subscription from the first-generation Xbox will be able to migrate it to the new system as a Gold membership when they first start it up for no extra cost.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: gamesindustry.biz
The pressrelease is available here.
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(Tuesday 13 September 2005 10:07 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Gentoox Resctoox v1.9
>> ShALLaX released a new version of Resctoox(info). From gentoox.shallax.com:
[QUOTE]
Nothing ground breaking - just an updated statically compiled `mkreiserfs`, a statically compiled `stat` and a statically compiled `mke2fs` (no more complaining about missing libs or files).
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://gentoox.shallax.com
Download: here
Xbox Live Gets an Emmy
>> From xbox.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft's Xbox Live game service is being given an Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Technology and Advanced New Media.
At the 57th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards on September 29, the Academy will honor Microsoft's online gaming service for Outstanding Achievement in Multiplayer-Backend Console Game Technology. The awards recognize "ground-breaking work in television broadcast and production systems, interactive television and other new media technologies."
[/QUOTE]
News-Source: xbox.ign.com
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(Tuesday 13 September 2005 00:20 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
XboxMediaCenter DVD-Player Announcement and 2005-09-12 CVS build
>> From xboxmediacenter.com:
[QUOTE]
The day many of you have been waiting for has finally come; XBMC's built-in DVD-player core is now officially open to the public for general usage. The new dvdplayer-core, which a few of our developers have been working on for almost a year has been enabled in our CVS and is of today the default player for DVD-Video playback in XBMC. Please be patient with it, understand that it can be a bit buggy, it has some limitations, and still needs a lot of work. The basics functions for DVD-Video playback (DVD-menus support) is in there and from now on we will accept (properly formatted) bug-reports from end-users and we will do our best to help users of the player. We would also like to take this moment to ask and encourage programmers who may or may not yet have contributed to the XBMC project to step up and assist in the development of this new core for DVD-Video playback. Please take a look at the source code, its potential, and then look at the many (big and small) features that are missing or lacking, there are things that almost anyone can help with.
A special thanks goes to all people and groups who made a donatation!
XBMC Forum-discussion: XBMC DVD-Player made public!
[/QUOTE]
The T3CH group also made a new CVS build of XboxMediaCenter(info), so you can directly try out this new DVD-Player Team XBMC has been working on for about a year.
This T3CH-compile is a BAREBONE package (without thirdparty scripts and with just the default skin) compiled with XDK v5849.
Most important change is that XBMC's own DVD-Player has now been enabled for everyone for public testing. If you've followed the CVS changelogs over the last months/year you saw a lot of work has been involved with this. Also in this release the winamp DLL is no longer required, they made their own MP3 decoder based on libMAD for Paplayer.
Here's the full changelog since the 2005-09-06 CVS release:
* changed: XBMC DVD-Player is public now, and is now used by default when playing dvd's
* changed: libid3tag closes files immediately after reading and writing
* changed: libid3tag only opens files on the hdd with write access
* changed: my music files view now uses a true numeric sort for starting digits, like the library
* changed: my music files is now strictly the files view. if you want to open up to the LAST open music window, use window ID of 5, or the window name "mymusic". this is a virtual window which will open up music to the last window.
* changed: added display of default player when selectring player. moved Play Using... up in context menu
* changed: replaced id3lib with libid3tag (much smaller and better performance), needs libid3tag.dll in q:\system
* changed: made section unloading delayed same as dll unloading. (speeds up filelisting over daap://)
* changed: increased progressbar timeout to 3 seconds on startup instead of 2
* added: skin and xboxmediacenter tags now accept window names
* added: ability to select player for music and video from context menu
* added: libfaad to dvdplayer
* added: NSF (Nintendo Sound File) codec to paplayer. Based on nosefart.
* added: MP2 audio for Paplayer
* added: MP3 decoder based on libMAD for Paplayer, this replaces winamp's in_mp3.dll for mp3 decoding. If you still want to use in_mp3.dll instead rename in_mp3.dll to MADCodec.dll
* added: Startwindow examples to xboxmediacenter.xml
* fixed: id3 tags with ISO 8859 1 textencoding may not display correct, q:\system\libid3tag.dll got updated
* fixed: charset conversion from id3 tags was wrong
* fixed: play button in movie info screen now plays back in full screen
* fixed: After libid3tag was added, music files opened over smb could be destroyed if write access was enabled on the share. It is sometimes enough to enter directory....
* fixed: when playing an audio file with the dvdplayer, switching between visualisation and menu resulted in a crash
* fixed: replay gain info from an id3v2 tag was never read
* fixed: replay gain info created with MP3gain was never read
* fixed: audio stutters when playback is started.
* fixed: mplayer would leak about 300k on each run, du to UnrarXLib not cleaning up when failing
* updated: Polish, Norwegian, German, Dutch, German (Austrian), Spanish, Finnish, Korean, Chinese (Traditional) language file
You can add more scripts and skins yourself if desired. You can download them from allxboxskins.com, xbox-skins.net and xbmcscripts.com.
Keep in mind this is a CVS snapshot of the current development tree. It's not a official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official Site: http://www.xboxmediacenter.com / http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmc
Full Changelog/Xbox-Scene Discussion Thread: forums.xbox-scene.com
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK)
Download SourceCode: here
California passes violent game restriction legislation
>> From GamesIndustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
The state of California looks set to become the second US state to pass laws restricting the sale of violent videogames to minors, after the California state senate and assembly both overwhelmingly voted in favour of AB1179.
It includes provisions for a $1000 fine for any retailer who sells a violent game to a minor, and for a large "18" sticker to be applied to the box of any violent title, which would be significantly more visible than the current ESRB ratings.
One final step exists before the bill enters law - it must be signed by Californian governor Arnold Schwarznegger, himself the star of several violent movies and games. Schwarznegger has 30 days in which to either sign or veto the bill.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: gamesindustry.biz
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(Monday 12 September 2005 12:28 EST) - (Category: GamingGeneral) - (Posted by::
)
Japan: Only 6% Next Gen Consumers Want Xbox 360
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
The survey, published by Nikkei, revealed that 70% of relevant consumers are "interested in buying PlayStation 3". It also found that 65% of the target audience are excited about next generation consoles and games, compared with just 30% a year ago.
Of those consumers who plan to buy a console, 72% are opting for PlayStation 3, 22% for Nintendo Revolution and 6% for Xbox 360. However, it's not all bad news for Microsoft. A similar survey in July found that only 2% of consumers were interested in its machine.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: next-gen.biz
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(Monday 12 September 2005 10:58 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Nagravision and Microsoft agreement to deliver solutions for digital pay-TV
>> From the pressrelease:
[QUOTE]
Nagravision, the world's leading independent provider of value-added content protection solutions, and Microsoft Corp., the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions, today announced a joint commitment to enable technology solutions that help provide the secure reception of digital pay-TV programs on personal computers and devices running Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Nagravision and Microsoft will work together to enable the development of cost-effective products and services that use both parties’ technologies for the delivery of premium television content to personal computers running the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system and its ecosystem of connected devices, including Xbox 360 and Portable Media Centers. The agreement includes a plan for joint marketing and business development activities.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole pressrelease here
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(Sunday 11 September 2005 22:10 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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