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Week of March 19, 2006
New Xbox Live Statistics
>> From Major Nelson's Blog (Xbox Live Director of Programming):
[QUOTE]
Since Xbox Live's online gaming network launched in November 2002, gamers have spent over 1.5 billion hours on the network playing games online with their friends around the world. This is equal to 65 million days of gaming or close to 200,000 years. With our top title, Halo 2, which is being played on both the Xbox and Xbox 360, gamers have spent over 500 million hours playing online.
Not only are the majority of our owners connected, but they are also spending more time connected to the Xbox Live community on Xbox 360 than ever before. The average number of gaming sessions on Xbox Live on Xbox 360 is currently at 25-a-week, which is up dramatically from the average of 6 sessions-a-week we saw on the original Xbox.
Xbox Live on Xbox 360 continues to grow as a social community; we are seeing an average of 600,000 text messages sent every day between members on the service.
We have already had over 10 million downloads on Marketplace in the first 4 months on the market, reaching this milestone faster than iTunes did when it launched. Playable game demos remain the most popular item with over half of our consumers downloading these.
Xbox Live Arcade has been an instant hit on the Xbox 360, with over 60% of all connected consoles already downloading and playing Xbox Live Arcade titles.
Every Xbox Live Arcade title has a free trial version. To-date, we are seeing on average 20% trial to purchase conversion rates across all Arcade titles, with our top title converting at 39%.
Top WW Xbox 360 Live titles to date:
1. Call of Duty 2
2. Perfect Dark Zero
3. PGR3
4. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
5. Dead or Alive 4
Top WW Arcade Titles on Xbox 360 to date:
1. Geometry Wars
2. Marble Blast Ultra
3. Gauntlet
4. Smash TV
5. Zuma
[/QUOTE]
Read More: majornelson.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xecuter Xbox360 DVD Firmware Progress: Read, Write Firmware from PC
>> Team Xecuter(info) comes with a new update of their progress on the Xbox 360 DVD Firmware Hack (also read: follow-up, Xecuter update1, Robinsod interview, MS' response). They managed to not only read (like SeventhSon did - more info), but also write the DVD firmware from a PC!
From teamxecuter.com:
[QUOTE]
We have made some progress when connecting the Xbox360 DVD ROM to a PC - reading the firmware and then writing back to it. Our goal is to make this plug and play - as simple as possible that anyone could do it with no fuss - and without any great expense.
We have a couple of products lined up to make life incredibly simple for the DVD drive modder - one of which will (in our opinion) be the "tool of choice" in the near future.
Here's a picture of a 360 DVD ROM connected to a PC.
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.teamxecuter.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft Japan readies news for April event
>> From gamespot.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft Japan today said it would hold a press event in Tokyo on April 6. The goal of the event is to announce a new business strategy for the Xbox 360 in Japan.
The new Xbox division chief in Nippon, Takashi Sensui, will lead the 90-minute press conference and is scheduled to show off games for the Xbox 360, although whether those games will be new, unannounced titles or simply the most recent builds of known games is unclear.
[/QUOTE]
A new business strategy could be useful, the Xbox 360 is still not selling well at all in Japan. According to Media Create Co. Microsoft sold just 1039 Xbox 360 consoles, in the week of March 13-19, compared to 66670 for the PS2, 1318 for the Gamecube and 108 for the original Xbox.
Read More: gamespot.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
X2VGA 2 High Definition VGA Transcoder
>> Neoya Ltd. announced a new version of the X2VGA.
Here's the official product description:
[QUOTE]
The X2VGA 2 has been officially released! The X2VGA 2 High Definition VGA Transcoder by Neoya is designed to work with any gaming console or video device that has a standard component video output, such as the Playstation2, Xbox, GameCube, and Xbox 360, etc. With the X2VGA 2 and a standard VGA monitor, users can play their favorite games at 480p, 720p, or 1080i resolutions - over double that of a standard TV! The X2VGA 2 makes games come alive, delivering the sharpest, most realistic visuals available. Furthermore, the exceptional 480i EasyView and Input AutoSelect features provided by the X2VGA 2 make it easy for users to fully enjoy the mind-blowing audio and visual effects.
Comparing with the former X2VGA , the X2VGA 2 is compatible with various gaming consoles and video devices, and presents you with the perfect visual performance by its brand-new design of video processing circuits. Moreover, the newly integrated two sets of video inputs and PC pass-through function on the X2VGA 2 even allow a quick switch between your gaming consoles and PC.
In order to express our gratitude for your supports, we provide special offer during the first selling of the X2VGA 2:
1. Function upgrade with no rise in price! During the first selling period, the X2VGA 2 will remain the same price as the old X2VGA+ at ONLY USD 64.95!
2. You get a FREE Xbox component video cable with digital audio output (USD 15 Saved!), which provides complete functionality of the Microsoft High Definition AV Pack for you to use the X2VGA 2 with the Xbox.
3. In addition, we will upgrade your order to Express Shipping (USD10 Saved!) for Free and have the X2VGA 2 delivered to you in the shortest time!
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.x2vga.com
Thanks to joshgambit and J.G. for sending in this news.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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(Friday 24 March 2006 22:15 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
x360 Tool v1.2
>> WunSick at Team GX released a new version of x360 Tool(info), an application to show information about and within an Xbox 360 file.
What's new/fixed:
* Fixed Extract bug, where it always extracts an empty PNG if the file does not have a icon.
* Removed Auto extracting of icon.png
* Dumps DIR not needed anymore.
* File listing of all files within the container!
* lots of bugs fixed! some cleaner code too...
* General information about files within the container added!
* Better save game support
* Better System file support, no XEX Support yet, some bugs with error handling will be fixed with next release
* Fixed Open window, if you press cancel it bugs out.
Official Site: http://www.team-gx.org/x360tool/
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox programmers to rewrite 60pct of Vista code? No *Updated*
>> From smarthouse.com.au:
[QUOTE]
Up to 60% of the code in the new consumer version of Microsoft new Vista operating system is set to be rewritten as the Company "scrambles" to fix internal problems a Microsoft insider has confirmed to SHN.
In an effort to meet a dealine of the 2007 CES show in Las Vegas Microsoft has pulled programmers from the highly succesful Xbox team to help resolve many problems associated with entertainment and media centre functionality inside the OS. The team are also working closely with engineers from the Intel Viiv team. and it is now expected that the next version of Viiv could be delayed to line up with the launch of the consumer version of Vista at the 2007 CES Show in Las Vegas.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: smarthouse.com.au (via joystiq.com)
*UPDATE* The Xbox Team GamerScore Blog says no Xbox devs are working on Vista:
[QUOTE]
Saw a few posts speculating that Xbox devs have been recruited to rewrite 60% of the Vista Code. Thought I'd answer: Not True. It's, at best, speculation with no demonstrable basis in fact. There aren't any Xbox developers moving over to the Windows Vista team. Nope.
In fact, Vista is feature complete - meaning the code writing process is essentially over. The next phase of development focuses on security, testing and fit/finish - not writing new code. Vista is on track for business availability in November 2006 and consumer availability in January 2007.
[/QUOTE]
The guys at betanews.com have also an article about it.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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(Friday 24 March 2006 14:26 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Pioneer HTP-XGS1 5.1 surround for Xbox 360
>> From newlaunches.com and journaldugeek.com (translated to english):
[QUOTE]
The Pioneer HTP-XGS1 5.1 channel surround sound system is designed specifically to work with the Xbox 360. The unit has an output of 600 watts which will blow you away. The HTP-XGS1 is equipped with MCACC which stands for Multi Channel Acoustic Calibration. So what does MCACC do it measures your room's acoustic properties, and automatically adjusts the sound coming out of the speakers to to give you the best listening experience.
The remote controller should also allow you to control some of the features of the Xbox 360. There's no price yet, but the device is expected in may in Europe (no US/Jap info yet).
[/QUOTE]
Read More: newlaunches.com and journaldugeek.com.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
MCE Video Encoder
>> Here's another application, similar to Transcode 360(info), that will convert xvid, divx and other video formats on-the-fly so you can stream them from your Windows MediaCenter PC to your Xbox 360.
From lightningware.co.uk:
[QUOTE]
MCE Video Encoder is a Windows application that controls encoding and streaming of all video files, including DivX and XVid.
The application also includes a set of add-ins for Windows Media Center Addition 2005 that controls the MCE Video Encoder application.
Therefore, this allows you to not only set up and control video streams from your Windows Media Center PC, but also control and view the streams from a Media Center Extender and even an Xbox 360.
MCE Video Encoder has the following features:
* Start and Stop Streaming from Windows Client and MCE Add-in,
* Pause and Unpause Streaming from Windows Client and MCE Add-in,
* Rewind and Fast Forward the Streaming (by configurable amount) from Windows Client and MCE Add-in,
* Play the stream from MCE Add-in,
* View Progress of video encoding in Windows Client, and
* Remote control MCE Video Encoder through Windows Messages and/or Command Files.
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.lightningware.co.uk
Documentation for full installation and usage guidance: lightningware.co.uk
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2006-03-23 CVS T3CH build
>> T3CH released a new CVS compile of XboxMediaCenter(info).
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in CVS at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Since XBMC is in a FEATUREFREEZE at the moment, T3CH decided to make more than one BUILD per week. If you want to report bugs, please do it the PROPER way, see here.
Here's the added/changed stuff from the changelog since the 2006-03-20 T3CH CVS release:
* added: partial support for windows style domain specification.
(smb://domain\user:password@host/...)
* added: dvdplayer: some debugging utilities
* added: RemapGlyph() routine to remap common missing characters in XPR fonts (only handles quotes and double quotes at this stage).
* changed: Default sort direction for program count, date, rating and size is now descending.
* removed: Support for skins with versions < 2.0
... rest of changelog (including many fixes): here.
Noteworthy, XML and Script changes in this build:
* Support for skins with versions < 2.0 has been removed
* Keymap.xml: No changes this time
* XboxMediaCenter.xml: CDDARipPath removed (configged in UI Settings now)
Keep in mind this is a CVS snapshot of the current development tree. It's not an official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official Site: http://www.xboxmediacenter.com / http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmc
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Plantronics GameCom X30 headset for Xbox 360
>> From 360insider.net:
[QUOTE]
Plantronics sent me their latest Xbox 360 accessory-the GameCom X30 headset for Xbox and Xbox 360. While it works for the older Xbox, the color scheme and inline volume and on/off switch let you know this was designed for the 360 from the ground up. With the CoD 2 multiplayer patch finally out, and GRAW and other big Live games out and on the horizon, it's about time we get a headset for the hardcore gamers among us.
Despite somewhat similar aesthetics, it's a rather large diversion from their popular Halo 2 Edition headset. When you finally figure out how you are supposed to wear it, you'll quickly forget it's there due to it's light weight and free-hanging design.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: 360insider.net
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
x360 tool v1.1
>> WunSick released a new version of x360 tool(info). What's new/fixed:
* Fixed Extract bug, where it always extracts test.png, now it dumps all images into a DUMPS dir ... other bugs being fixed.
* Removed Updater For now, will be back with auto-updater
* Known Bug: some images have corrupted or no images at the same location, ill make it not extract it if the image is 0kb, so expect that soon. Right now they extract, but are empty.
Official Site: http://www.team-gx.org/x360tool/
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Toshiba Delays HD DVD Launch One Month
>> From teamxbox.com:
[QUOTE]
Last week, we reported Warner Bros' decision to release only three HD DVD titles, "Million Dollar Baby"; "The Last Samurai" and "The Phantom of the Opera," instead of the twenty titles originally planned for HD DVD launch. WB also announced at that time it will release these three movies on April 18.
Toshiba originally planned to roll out the first HD DVD players on mid March but due to the lack of movie titles, the creator of the HD DVD format has decided now to release its upcoming HD-A1 and HD-XA1 players in April.
"We're not saying exactly when," said Jodi Sally, vp digital A/V marketing at Toshiba. "We are ready to ship, but we feel it's really best for the launch of HD DVD that we synchronize our hardware with our software at retail."
[/QUOTE]
Read More: teamxbox.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
GDC 06: New Xbox 360 Camera Details
>> From xbox360.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
You know that extra USB port on the back of your 360? That's for the upcoming Xbox 360 camera, a handy little gadget that will rival Sony's innovative EyeToy. We got our hands on a brochure for game developers at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. today and are excited at what this little baby will do.
With a nine-foot cord, the camera will reach around large TVs. You'll be able to video chat over Xbox Live.
But the biggest and best feature will be gesture recognition. Basically, the camera is going to translate your movements in real life and input them in the game.
Also, the camera program will include XDK support for streaming video. The three-dimensional "face-in-game" for which the EyeToy is famous will be available "through middleware providers."
Here are the specs:
* USB 2.0 bus-powered device
* Smooth, near DV quality video: up to VGA 640x480 at 30 FPS
* High-def images: still photos up to SVGA 1280x980 (1.3 Mp)
* Manually adjustable variable focus: 2 feet to infinity
* Field of View: 43 degrees
* On board image processor
* Digital zoom, cropping
* Auto exposure, white balance, gamma correction, sharpness
* Long (~9 feet) cable to reach around large TVs
* Includes a headset for great audio.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: xbox360.ign.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
x360 Tool v1.0
>> From team-gx.org:
[QUOTE]
Use: Shows the information within an xbox 360 file you specify.
Compatability: Limited at this point but does open most files, we are always working on more compatability.
Wait this is kinda buggy: of course its just a beta, i work on itwhen i have time, ill post sources here once i get what i want into it, its more of a learning experience anyway. If its useful to you, awsome.
Coded in: Visual Basic 6, simple and easy....
You will need Visual Basic 6 Runtimes for this application: Download Runtimes Here
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.team-gx.org/x360tool/
Download: here
XDVDFS Maker v2.2.1l
>> A new version of XDVDFS Maker (which the application in XDVDFS Tools(info) to create xbox images) has been released. From layouts.xbox-scene.com:
[QUOTE]
Mwg added the ability to crosslink files. It´s not something everybody would want to use, but in some special cases it may prove very usefull. On the other hand he´s been working to fix a couple of bugs, so perhaps we all should start using this new version with any non working backup with the previous version.
XDVDFS Maker v2.2.1 lite (patch by mwg)
This is basically the same as v2.2 lite by xbwin, with added support for cross-linked files.
* You can create an ISO without a layout file again, -ordercreate is back as well
* Hopefully fixed the block size error, as well as the infinite sized dvd images
* Cross-linking of files. Shouldn't be needed for most users.
To use, manually edit the layout file and use this syntax:
When we got enough feedback I´ll add to the standart MooGUI(info) 1.3.0 package.
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: Patch by Mwg (see forums.xbox-scene.com)
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
New Mimesis Content for Halo 2
>> From projectmimesis.com:
[QUOTE]
He is at it again! The crazy xheadshotmasterx comes out with another fine Mimesis(info) release, Sentinel Base! Also on the release schedule for today is Biohazard. This is the 3rd version of the Biohazard mod and is well worthy of the Mimesis seal of approval. Sorry it took us so long to get it published guys.
* Sentinel Base (Halo2 - created by xHeadshotmastAx)
The crew is worn out from the recent battles. Lets hope they can take this Sentinel Base without too many casualties.
* Biohazard v3 (Halo2 - created by ScottyGEE)
The flood has reached earth and is spreading fast! Remove the contamination before things get much worse than expected!
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.projectmimesis.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
(Australia) Gamers Brave the Elements for Xbox 360 Launch
>> From the Sydney Morning Herald:
[QUOTE]
A heavy downpour failed to dampen the enthusiasm of hundreds of Australian gamers who gathered at Sydney's Pitt Steet Mall on Wednesday night to take possession of their long awaited Xbox 360 gaming console at one minute past midnight.
The main Sydney launch activities took place at the EB Games store at Pitt Street Mall, and the Microsoft marketing machine was in overdrive with free pizza and red rain smocks distributed among a sodden crowd being entertained by live music, gaming booths and video walls.
Tom Golovodovski, operations manager for EB Games NSW estimated the crowd number at about 1000 and said the turnout had been fantastic in spite of the rain. "When a lauch like this happens, I don't think the weather really comes into it," he said.
Microsoft said it had taken a number measures to ensure it had adequate stock of the Xbox in Australia and one of those had included the unpopular decision made earlier this year to delay the Australian launch by 11 days.
Microsoft claims pre-sales figures indicate the first day takings will add up to the largest entertainment launch in Australian history, with the company expecting to make about $30-40 million in Xbox 360 retail sales at launch.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: smh.com.au
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(Wednesday 22 March 2006 17:14 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft Talks about Xbox 360 DVD Firmware Hack
>> Microsoft issued a short reply about the Xbox 360 DVD Firmware Hack on the Team Xbox GamersScrore Blog:
[QUOTE]
We've been asked from quite a few of you for a comment about the recent "hacked" Xbox 360. I got the official response for your perusal:
The core security system has not been broken. However, it is reported that the authentication protocol between the optical disc drive and the console may be attacked, which if accurate could allow people to play illegally copied games. Our security team is aware of this and we are investigating potential solutions to this issue. The Xbox 360 platform was designed to be updated, and we are prepared to respond appropriately should any unauthorized activity be identified.
Everyone should keep in mind that Microsoft invests a great deal of time and effort to ensure that Xbox gamers enjoy the most powerful and exhilarating game experience available today. Genuine and unmodified Microsoft Xbox products provide gamers with the reliability, security, support and dynamic gaming experience that they expect. Microsoft works with a large group of legitimate business partners to sell and service genuine Microsoft Xbox products. Microsoft does not authorize or support any products or companies that modify or change the Xbox console in any way.
[/QUOTE]
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(Wednesday 22 March 2006 12:02 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
New SmartXX v3 Manuals: Addons Guide and More
>> SmartXX(info) gave us a few new tutorials for the SmartXX (Pro) v3 modchip.
They released a new guide with lots of info about SmartXX addons: how to connect several types of LCD screens via the display adapter on the SmartXX v3 directly to an XLCD or to other LCDs by using a special display cable (pictured below - sold separately) or by using the LCD solderpads output.
Also some info on how to use the RGB-LED connector on your SmartXX v3 and how you should install the IR-receiver you got in your SmartXX v3 package.
Download this guide: english | german
The SmartXX v3 guides released earlier in english are now also available in german:
* Xbox v1.0-v1.5 solder-installation: english | german
* Xbox v1.6x solder-installation: english | german
* Xbox v1.6x Spider16 nosolder-installation: english | german
Official Site: http://www.smartxx.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft's Game Technology Group on 1080p, BluRay, Expansion
>> Kikizo posted an interesting interview with Scott Henson, Microsoft's Game Technology Group Director. From kikizo.com:
[QUOTE]
You may remember our recent PS3 feature in which the reality of 'Full HD' 1080p games for the console was thrown into some doubt. Scott openly offered his opinion, stating: "I think 1080p, just to address that directly, will be basically impossible. I think if you talk to any developer they will tell you that they will not have a performing game at 1080p."
Meanwhile in HD land, the recent announcement of the HD-DVD add on for Xbox 360 has not exactly set the world on fire. So how exactly does Microsoft intend to make the device a success? "This is like any conversation we'd ever have about any technology," says Scott, "it will all come down to content."
But what if Sony's BluRay format wins the next-gen movie war? Could we still see a BRD add-on for Xbox 360, or maybe even a combo drive? Henson pipes up, "I wanna make sure everyone understands this! The system itself is architected so that we can continue to add components over time. Could we do that kind of stuff technically? Yeah. But have we announced anything, no - high definition movie formats is going to be a really interesting thing to watch objectively - and we'll be ready to adapt to what consumers want." He also clarified, just for our own satisfaction, that "HD-DVD the accessory is for movie playback only" - no gamers will be alienated by Microsoft putting games on HD-DVD.
Furthermore, the fact that video media can only be streamed if you have the Media Center Edition of XP, was another bone of contention. "Are we looking at streaming [the user's video content] from [non-MCE] Windows XP systems in the future? That's one of those list of features that we're looking at right now, and figuring out where it fits in the overall priority scheme. I am not going to commit to anything specific, but I think what you're going to see in the coming months and year is us add more and more capability for both Windows XP systems, as well as Media Center Editions."
[/QUOTE]
Read More: kikizo.com
Download the full video interview: kikizo.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft to offer cheap Xbox 360 game development kit?
>> From CNet news.com:
[QUOTE]
Since last spring when the Xbox 360 was first announced, one of the biggest concerns was that it would be too expensive for most game developers to create games for the next-generation console.
But at the Game Developers Conference here today, the rumor is that Microsoft plans on announcing tomorrow a developers kit that would make it possible for anyone to build games for the console, or for PCs, and that the kit will cost only about $100.
It's hard to know exactly what such a development kit would mean for the larger body of Xbox games, but one thing seems clear: there would be a lot more games on the horizon, something that would no doubt annoy Sony as it ramps up for the launch of the PlayStation 3 sometime late this year or early next year, presumably not with such a cheap developers kit available.
Microsoft did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: news.com
Could this be related with the news we brought you back in December 2005: Developing for Xbox 360 Not Limited to Licensed Publishers?
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft Will Triple Xbox 360 Shipments After Sony Delay
>> From bloomberg.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft Corp. ramped up shipments of its Xbox 360 video-game console, seizing on a delay in Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 to bolster sales.
Two to three times as many Xbox 360 machines will be sent to retailers beginning this week, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said today in a statement. Microsoft, which ranks second to Sony in the $28.5 billion video-game industry, accelerated production by adding Celestica Inc. as a third manufacturer.
The increased shipments will help Microsoft overcome its own shortages as well as enabling the company to win customers who decide not to wait for the PlayStation 3. Tokyo-based Sony said last week the console won't be in stores until early November, putting it a year behind Microsoft's Xbox 360.
``They are finally hitting their production stride,'' said Mark Stahlman, an analyst at Caris & Co. in New York. He rates Microsoft ``buy'' and said he doesn't own the shares.
Microsoft's failure to make enough Xbox 360 consoles caused the company to miss its sales forecast for the quarter ended in December. Microsoft was unable to get some parts for the machine, preventing it from meeting holiday demand in the U.S. About 1.5 million Xbox machines were shipped in the quarter, compared with analyst estimates as high as 1.8 million.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: bloomberg.com | official pressrelease
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 DVD Firmware Hack Update: Interview with Robinsod
>> The guys at xlife.nl did an interview with TheSpecialist back sunday (translated by us to english here), now xboxic.com posted a new interview with Robinsod, one of other hackers that worked on the modified DVD firmware on XBH.
Here's an excerpt:
[QUOTE]
* Xboxic: Using the current hack the system cannot detect the modification, because the firmware can lie about its authenticity because of the cracked challenge/response protocol. Is it still possible for the system to softflash the drive should it want to? And if so, isn't the hack completely useless should Microsoft decide to simply reflash the drive's firmware every reboot, or every week, or every dashboard update?
* Robinsod: Well there are several parts to the answer. This is a consumer device and really you dont want to have a reflash fail and brick the device. I don't know if the Toshiba-Samsung drive has a fall back position to recover from a bad flash, the Hitachi-LG has a ‘recovery' mode if the main application is corrupted, restoring an empty firmware with only softflashing capabilities. If this feature, or something like it, does not exist then I doubt Microsoft would want to risk it, all those angry customers coming in with bricked 360's. The drive could be softflashed from the kernel, but the firmware controls the process, so it could just say that the flash succeeded any time even though it didn't do anything.
* Xboxic: Is your analysis of the used challenge/response protocols complete or does it just cover a subset of possible challenges? Would Microsoft be able to detect the hack if they send out a dashboard update sending different challenges to trigger erroneous behaviour from the firmware?
* Robinsod: Yes, I believe there's a reponse modifier but I haven't seen it used yet. Sure, then the game becomes how accurate an emulation can the hacker create? It becomes a game of cat and mouse.... The challenges themselves are actually on the game disc: the kernel reads an encrypted table from the disk, decrypts it and issues the challenges contained in it. Malformed challenges from the console could trigger correct responses from the hack and be detected, but we could probably reuse the existing code to factor this into the equations.
* Xboxic: Is there going to be an Xbox 360 revision soon containing a signed firmware in the drive? Ofcourse with the public key embedded in the DVD's ROM to avoid any future tinkering with the firmware?
* Robinsod: No idea, but unless the flash is inaccessable or properly encrypted any signature can be spoofed. I suppose if there was a bootloader in ROM that was packaged with the drives micro, that could check the flash's signature. The problem then is it pushes up costs, the drive uses standard components which don't have security features.
* Xboxic: $5 extra cost per drive to avoid 500k Linux boxes sold at $125 loss seems an easy equation.
* Robinsod: Then perhaps its a good thing the hack came so early and the cost of custom LSI can be spread over a larger number of consoles, and before too many ‘pirate capable' systems were sold.
* Xboxic: In a forumpost TheSpecialist literally said "I doubt you'll see some kind of OTHER hack soon, that lets you boot unsigned code for example. MS did a very good job on the 360 itself this time." Does this mean you guys don't see homebrew or other unsigned code being run anywhere soon, like within the current console's lifecycle?
* Robinsod: Hmmm, well given the complexity of the software (and MS's reputation for secure software) it seems unlikely that there's no way in. The problem is finding it... Another motivation for this hack is to see if there is any possibility of an attack via unsigned modified files (no idea if there are any or if it is - thats the next area of research). But again, any successful attack opens the door to piracy. If MS would sell me a home developers XDK that allows me the opportunity to write code for what is a fantastic piece of kit then I would have no reason or excuse for doing this.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole interview on xboxic.com.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
New Modchip: HyperX
>> From hyperxmod.com:
[QUOTE]
The Hyper X is a High quality, low cost solution for XBOX 1.0-1.6's. The installation is completely solderless and everything needed to install it is included. We use the highest quality branded parts and each and every unit is tested on a real console before shipping!
Features/specifications:
* Easy and Solderless Pogo and spring wire installation.
* High quality branded 1 Mbyte flash.
* High speed CPLD.
* ON/OFF switch.
* Enable/Disable function.
* Power indicator LED.
Downloads
* HyperX 1.0 Installation Manual
[/QUOTE]
*UPDATE* The chip is already on pre-order at divineo.cn.
Official Site: http://www.hyperxmod.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2006-03-20 CVS T3CH build
>> T3CH released a new CVS compile of XboxMediaCenter(info).
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in CVS at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Special note from T3CH readme:
[QUOTE]
Since XBMC is in a FEATUREFREEZE at the moment, I've decided to make more than one BUILD per week. If you want to report bugs, please do it the PROPER way, see here.
[/QUOTE]
Here's the added stuff from the changelog since the 2006-03-12 T3CH CVS release (a T3CH 03-16 build was released but posted only on the forums and not here on the news due my mistake):
* added: directory navigation history in my programs.
* added: the language folders now contain a file called langinfo.xml, this file contains defaults for each language. Defaults are: gui charset, subtitle charset for ttf fonts, dvd menu language, dvd audio language (Not working yet), dvd subtitle language (Not working yet)
* added: <info> tag now works on ButtonScroller buttons (for text)
* added: Stacked files played seamlessly save their playtimes in the database for fast startup (more of a workaround than a true fix)
* added: Parsing of .cue sheet replaygain data (still unused though)
* added: Systeminfo Network, full DHCP Informations!
* added: DCHP Network Informations to xbmc logfile
* added: Dialog.Close(window) built in function.
* added: Window.IsVisible bool condition.
* added: new info labels related to music party mode.
* added: more exception handling in dvdplayer and generic exception handling in most threads, onexit will be called on an exception in process
* added: You can activate specific parts of the Kai(info) window using ActivateWindow(XLinkKai,part) where part is Chat,Games,Buddies or Arenas.
* added: Filename, time, playcount and tracknumber to Smart playlists.
* added: ListItem.Thumb works for the filebrowser as well as media windows.
* added: half resolution decoding to dvdplayer and mplayer. if source is larger than 1280 pixels in width and decoded with ffmpeg, it will be decoded at half resolution
... rest of changelog (including many fixes): here.
Noteworthy, XML and Script changes in this build:
* Keymap.xml: No changes this time
* XboxMediaCenter.xml: XNS bookmarks examples removed (because XNS support is removed)
* Mouton's QuickTimeBrowser SCRIPT update: 1.37a to 1.38
Keep in mind this is a CVS snapshot of the current development tree. It's not an official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official Site: http://www.xboxmediacenter.com / http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmc
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
MednafenX-Lynx, MednafenX-NES, MednafenX-PCE v1
>> Xport released 3 new emulator for the Xbox ported from mednafen.com:
* MednafenX-Lynx: Emulates Atari Lynx
* MednafenX-NES: Emulates NES/Famicom Disk System/VS UniSystem
* MednafenX-PCE: Emulates PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16/SuperGrafx/Arcade Card CD/CD/SCD
Features:
*(ALL) Excellent (for PCE also stupendous, fanshmabulous) compatibility - ported from Mednafen
*(ALL) ZIP support
*(PCE) Launch original PCEngine CDs from your XBox DVDROM drive
*(ALL) Loads of hardware/software filters and video options to tweak
*(ALL) Cheat system - Search/Create your own cheat codes (see notes)
*(ALL) Favorites list
*(ALL) Save states
*(NES) Light gun support (see notes)
*(ALL) Fast forward/throttle
*(ALL) Resizable game screen
*(ALL) Text file viewer
*(ALL) ISO9660, Relax, Samba support
*(ALL) Take in-game screenshots and display them on the game selection list
*(ALL) Record/Playback feature - record your gameplay in the emu and then play it back again. Record up to 10 minutes of gameplay.
*(ALL) Every single in-game command is fully customizable on any of the four joypad controllers.
*(ALL) Map any emulator or UI command to a single button or a combination of two buttons. (e.g. RTrigger+LTrigger = Save State)
*(ALL) Autofire capabilities for any emulator button on any controller
*(ALL) One-button combos (define a series of emulator commands to be played back when you press a user-definable XBox controller combination.) (E.g. Press RTrigger+LTrigger to execute the command string A,B,A,B,Up,Down,Left,Right)
*(ALL) Traverse any directory on any drive ( Continue selecting the parent directory entry on the file selection list to get the drive selection list. Selectable drives are C, D, E, F, R, X, Y, Z, RLX, and SMB. R is the CDROM drive. SMB is your samba share, RLX is your relax share. Press Y from any file-listing screen to go up one directory level.
*(ALL) All UI commands (save state, load state, screenshot, etc) can be invoked from the Options/Pause menu as well as in-game via your customized joypad mappings.
*(ALL) All the other standard features found in XPort ports.
Official Site: http://xport.xbox-scene.com
Download: n/a (built with XDK)
Full Readme: MednafenX-Lynx | MednafenX-NES | MednafenX-PCE
Official Forum Threads: MednafenX-Lynx | MednafenX-NES | MednafenX-PCE
Team Xecuter Xbox 360 Firmware Hack Update
>> Team Xecuter(info) posted another news post about the Xbox 360 Firmware Hack. If you missed the earlier reports about this hack, go here and here. From teamxecuter.com:
[QUOTE]
We have opened up a new forum dedicated to Xbox 360 Development
http://www.teamxecuter.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=69
We have made some progress with a new read/patch/write app and no doubt you will all be plugging in your drives to your PC and having some fun shortly - all for free too as no modchips required (and yes we still want to play!)
Here is what we envisage...
* Connect Xbox 360 DVD-ROM to PC
* App to update firmware with magic code
* Connect DVD-ROM back to 360 - and away you go
Also this site has some killer information: http://www.kev.nu/360/dvdshort.html [posted yesterday on x-s, more info on what it is here]
Obviousley the only use for this is piracy - hence you wont see any modchips (not from us at least - however they wouldn't be needed anyway - however we do have a few cheap tools to make life much easier - more on that soon). Still a long long way off from unsigned code - but it's a start....
Thanks to The Specialist for reviving the scene! We understand he doesn't want to release anything due to possible backlash - but there are many of us who would - and will.
Keep your eyes on our 360 forums for updates...
BTW: Qwix(info)2 Rules! :-)
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: http://www.teamxecuter.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
FBA-xxx Pro v1.12
>> + T + released a new version of FBA-xxx Pro. What's new/fixed:
* Fixed graphics in kf2k2spr.
* Fixed ms5plus M ROM size.
* Patched out HW test in Neo-Geo games. (removes ugly green screen on boot) (by iq_132)
* The following sets have been added: aof3k, fswords, lastsold, rbff2k, ssf2tbr1, ms5pcb (incomplete)
* Updated several sets based on CRC info from FBA Plus.
* Fixed disabled shortcuts when reconnecting controllers.
Official Thread: 1emulation.com
Download: n/a (built with XDK)
Full Readme: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft's Plans For Handheld Game Player And iPod Killer
>> From Dean Takahashi at mercurynews.com:
[QUOTE]
In a bid to capture the huge audience for handheld entertainment gadgets, Microsoft is designing a product that combines video games, music and video in one handheld device, according to sources familiar with the project.
The Microsoft product would compete with Sony, Nintendo and Apple Computer's products, including the iPod. And Microsoft has some of its most seasoned talent from the division that created its popular Xbox 360 working on it. Game executive J Allard leads the project, and its director is Greg Gibson, who was the system designer on the Xbox 360 video game console. Bryan Lee, the finance chief on the Xbox business, is leading the business side of the project.
In the past, all of Microsoft's efforts to compete have fallen short. The company considered making an ""Xboy'' game player a few years ago but shelved the idea. It considered making a game handheld at the same time it devised plans for the Xbox 360 in 2002 and 2003, but it again decided to delay its entry.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's efforts in PocketPC handhelds and Portable Media Players have fallen short in competition with the iPod. Last week, Microsoft unveiled Project Origami, a handheld Windows computer. But that device isn't targeted on pure entertainment as the Xplayer is. The existence of these other projects suggests that there is still some infighting within Microsoft about its best approach to portable gadgets.
The handheld project is still in its early stages. Microsoft is still figuring out which strategy to pursue in music technology, according to sources familiar with the matter. The code name for its music service, which would be the equivalent of Apple's iTunes, is "Alexandria.''
One benefit of waiting longer is that the handheld will likely have sufficient technology in it to run a lot of original Xbox games from a few years ago. Hence, it wouldn't be hard to create a new library of games for the handheld.
What remains to be seen is when Microsoft will launch the device. Gibson may not need a large engineering team to run the project. But his group of hardware engineers only became free last fall, when most work on the Xbox 360 was completed.
It could be 2007 before the device hits store shelves. That gives rivals such as Sony, Nintendo and Apple considerable time to consolidate their position and come up with their own new gadgets in the meantime.
[/QUOTE]
Read More: mercurynews.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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(Monday 20 March 2006 11:50 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft Unveils XNA Framework, Opens Xbox Live Service
>> From the pressrelease:
[QUOTE]
In the face of escalating game development costs, expanding teams and ever more complex hardware technologies, Microsoft Corp. today delivered a pre-release version of the first XNA Studio tools and unveiled the XNA Framework to attendees of the Game Developers Conference 2006 in San Jose. Microsoft also announced that the company is opening its Xbox Live Server Platform to game developers and publishers, allowing them to innovate and extend the Xbox Live experience in their titles.
This community technology preview (CTP) represents the first public opportunity for game developers to get their hands on key components of XNA Studio. Included in the CTP is a pre-release version of XNA Build, which delivers mechanisms for orchestrating, debugging and optimizing the game build pipeline. XNA Build also provides studios with a foundation that helps them easily identify game asset relationships and dependency information to unlock a wealth of benefits, ranging from incremental content builds to assistance in identifying orphaned or unused content. Tools such as XNA Build enable game developers to spend less time building and maintaining their internal tools infrastructure, and more time creating great game experiences.
The XNA Framework contains a custom implementation of the Microsoft. .NET Framework and new game-development-specific libraries designed to help game developers more easily create cross-platform games on Windows and Xbox 360 using the highly productive C# programming language. Using the XNA Framework, game developers will benefit from the ability to re-use code and game assets in developing multiplatform titles, without sacrificing performance or flexibility.
In addition to XNA Studio, Microsoft today announced further enhancements for extending Xbox Live services with the Xbox Live Server Platform. Using this platform, developers can create their own back-end servers to run alongside Xbox Live. Developers will get firsthand experience with this update which provides easier-to-manage and more scalable technology on Xbox Live in the next Xbox Development Kit, expected in May.
By opening the Xbox Live Server Platform, Microsoft provides developers and publishers with the tools and environments they need to create all-new online game experiences, and delivers the benefits of an open platform for innovation while providing the solid foundation of the full-featured Xbox Live service. Developers will be able to tap into real-time Extensible Markup Language (XML) feeds to update things such as weather, rosters or other changing information. The Xbox Live Server Platform can also be used to support the creation of massively multiplayer online game worlds. In addition, it will serve as the enabling technology for game developers to unleash their creativity to bring a steady stream of fresh ideas to the Xbox Live gamer community.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole pressrelease here.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 DVD Firmware Hack - Follow-up
>> A bit more news about the Xbox 360 DVD Firmware Hack we talked about yesterday.
If you missed the news yesterday, I posted lots of info there already, check it out here so you can catch up and understand what's below.
* SeventhSon on the xboxhacker.net forums has been working on getting the Hitachi-LG GDR-3120L DVD drive working on Linux and Windows the last few weeks. Yesterday I said it was required to open your DVD drive and remove the firmware chip to read the Hitachi-LG DVD firmware and/or to get the unique 16 byte key, but on SeventhSon's page he explains how you can get this drive connected and recognized by Linux and Windows. He even programmed a few cmd-line tools (also available for windows and linux) that will allow you to dump the memory (incl. 'forbidden ranges'), firmware and unique key of the DVD drive on your PC and also tools to write (peek/poke single bytes) to the DVD memory (not firmware) and execute arbitrary MN103 code (this drives used the MN103 DVD chipset) from a PC on the drive.
Now, to flash your firmware you will still need to open your dvd drive and flash the firmware with a chip programmer (for now atleast, people are searching how to make it flashable via PC) (also note that chip is epoxied, so it's probably best to removed it to flash it), but with these tools you can already dump the firmware without chip programmer. So people out there with enough asm/assembly knowlegde that would like to take a look at the firmware themself but don't have a chip programmer can use this method.
Very technical details about his research are available on this page[kev.nu], but end-users will do just fine with this 'summary' page[kev.nu].
* Team xecuter also posted a bit about the hack:
[QUOTE]
Well done from Xecuter(info)!
(Pretty much) all the information you need is in these threads [note x-s: keep in mind these are threads in the XBH technical forum - technical/serious posts only please].
* The Challenge Response Protocol
* Hacking DVD firmware AGAIN
* Dumping Security Sector with H-943A
* Getting XBOX drives to work in windows
From what we can tell so far is that the game image will have to be patched too - We can smell a new feature for Qwix(info) 2 ;)
The scene can expect a hack for all drives very soon (It's currently only Hitachi) - you can be assured that it will be released although I don't think modchips will be any kind of business as its a pure piracy mod - no homebrew at all.
[/QUOTE]
*UPDATE* Team Xecuter posted more about the hack, find it in our new post here.
* Xlife.nl posted an nice interview with TheSpecialist (in dutch - translated to english by me):
[QUOTE]
Xlife: Tell us a bit about yourself for the visitors of Xlife.nl (who are you?, what's your job in real-life?, age?, ...)
TheSpecialist: Usually asking the age is indiscreet, but in this case it's the only one I want to answer, hehe, I'm 30.
Xlife: How many people worked on the project?
TheSpecialist: 6 hackers were in the team. Although I think you can't say that only these 6 people made the hack: without the contributions from other people on XBH this would never have succeeded, it would have taken much more time anyway.
Xlife: How long did you actually work on this hack?
TheSpecialist: It's hard to say how many hours were put into this hack. We started last year analysing the original Xbox DVD firmware security because very few was known about it. We were expecting that the Xbox 360 security was based on this one and good knowledge into the security of the original Xbox would probably give useful insight for the protection in the Xbox 360 (and it looks like we were right). The reason we started with the original Xbox is because the kernel was easy to rip which helped us to find out when the original Xbox kernel went 'OK' with a DVD.
Xlife: Did you have contact with Microsoft about this hack?
TheSpecialist: No
Xlife: Why did you decide not to release the hack publicly?
TheSpecialist: The Xbox 360 was announced by Microsoft as the best protected console on earth and that hackers would be surprized by the unseen high level of security. This type of statements makes most hackers excited/interested. For me personally it looked like a great challenge to find out if the security was really so good. I think this motivation applies for pretty much all hackers on XBH. To look for security bugs was thus the real goal. Distribute a hack like this has nothing do to with 'hacking' and has also never been my goal.
Xlife: Aren't you concerned/worried that you gave ideas to people and that these will duplicate your hack and release it publicly?
TheSpecialist: To start with I think the hack isn't interesting for the average end-user in it's current status, because you need specific hardware and knowlegde to flash the drive. The current hack is also easy to patch for Microsoft because a backup differs on several points from the original and Microsoft could easily check for this. A 'perfect' emulator, that reports a backup in ALL possible ways exactly the same way to the Xbox 360 as an original disc is outside our scope and this would also require a lot of work/time. There's a possibility that this would start a cat&mouse game, where Microsoft comes with new patches and hackers will hack this again, ... So this means that as long as there's no 'perfect emulator' Xbox LIVE users will always risk getting banned and if they don't want to take this risk they will still have to buy original games.
Xlife: Did you directly start hacking the DVD firmware or did you first try hacking other parts of the Xbox 360?
TheSpecialist: No, we started directly with the firmware. The DVD firmware project on XBH is totally separated from, for example, the guys at free60.org
Xlife: Is it possible to play games on Xbox LIVE with your hack?
TheSpecialist: At this moment yes, but that's till Microsoft comes with a patch.
Xlife: What's your opinion about the fact that people doubt the authenticity of the small video you released?
TheSpecialist: The proof is in the hardware details on the XBH forums, not in the video. I released the original video now [see here[rapidshare.de - 100MB high quality version of first movie and with original sound]], that will already crush the speculation of a 2nd Xbox 360 in the reflection of the TV. I also think that if you carefully watch the movements of the laser you can no longer say this is fake. If you'd put a backup in a normal Xbox 360 the laser would not move the same way (see for example the movements to the outer edge of the disc, where it reads the security placeholder data). Only with very expensive hardware and lots of work and money a video like this could be faked.
Xlife: Do you plan to try hacking other parts of the Xbox 360?
TheSpecialist: There are no plans for that at this moment.
Xlife: Is there something else you'd like to say to people reading this interview?
TheSpecialist: Like amiga release groups said in the 'old days':'A game worth playing is a game worth buying'. I don't want to sound 'moralistic', but I always agreed with this 'ideology' and I hope others do too. I also thought it was great to see The Netherlands was well represented on XBH and I hope to welcome more interested dutch people in this little world.
[/QUOTE]
Interview courtesy Xlife.nl.
Please don't use the discussion thread below to start another (pointless) real/fake fight (these posts will be deleted) ... if you really want to discuss that keep it in this thread.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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