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Week of December 3, 2006
NJ Xbox Modder Arrested
>> From www.nj.com:
[QUOTE]
Operating out of a Newark home cluttered with DVD burners, computer towers and piles of blank discs, Derek Ramirez was like countless other high-tech thieves pirating computer game software, authorities say.
But, those authorities say, Ramirez was a thief with a difference. He would not only sell customers pirated DVDs for Microsoft's Xbox 360 game. For $60, he would modify an Xbox console so it would not reject counterfeit software, they said.
Investigators estimate Ramirez, who advertised on the Internet, had thousands of customers before the Essex County Prosecutor's Office raided his home and arrested him yesterday.
"He was one of our higher profile targets in the area," said Robert Hunter, manager of intellectual property enforcement for the Entertainment Software Association, whose investigators keyed in on Ramirez.
Ramirez, 24, was arrested in the three-story home on Mount Prospect Avenue he shared with his mother and other family members. He was charged with violating New Jersey's anti-piracy act, a third-degree offense that can carry up to five years in prison.
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Full Story: www.nj.com
HSD - Modifying consoles may be illegal where you live people. Consider your local, provincial, state and federal laws before you get into the biz of modifying consoles for people. Generally, no matter where you live it's also illegal to sell copies of games or preload games.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Spike TV 2006 Video Game Awards Winners
>> From joystiq.com:
[QUOTE]
Spike TV has released the list of its 2006 Video Game Awards winners, expunging all temptation to tune into the televised presentation this coming Wednesday.
* GAME OF THE YEAR
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
* BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Tony Hawk Project 8 (Activision/Neversoft)
* BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
NBA2K7 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)
* BEST SONG
"Lights and Sounds" by YellowCard in Burnout Revenge, XBOX 360 (Electronic
Arts/Criterion Games)
* BEST SOUNDTRACK
Guitar Hero II (Red Octane/Harmonix)
* STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Epic Games (Gears of War)
* MOST ADDICTIVE
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
* CRITIC'S CHOICE
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
* BEST DRIVING GAME AWARD
Burnout Revenge, XBOX 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
* BEST ACTION GAME
Dead Rising (Capcom)
* BEST FIGHTING GAME
Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Midway Games)
* BEST RPG
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
* BEST SHOOTER
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
* BEST MILITARY GAME
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
* BEST GRAPHICS
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
* BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
* BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Wii (Nintendo)
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Read More: joystiq.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
British Modder Convicted Under New Law
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
In stark contrast to Wednesday's news that mod chips were to be formally legalized in Australia, British trade organization ELSPA has announced that a man in England has been sentenced to one hundred and twenty hours community service for running a "while you wait" modding service.
The conviction was made at Carlisle Crown Court on the Scottish border, where Stephen Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to nine charges relating to "chipping" games consoles, contrary to the British Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (copyright circumvention offenses). He was ordered to pay £2,500 towards prosecution costs and subject of a Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) confiscation order for £2,710, to be paid by May 23rd or face three months in jail.
Fitzgerald was picked up by Police, Cumbria Trading Standards and an ELSPA investigator in April 2004 when, trading as www.mods-and-sods.co.uk, he operated a stall at a computer fair held at the Swallow Hilltop Hotel in Carlisle, where he offered to modify PlayStation and Xbox consoles while people waited. His stall also offered and advertised for sale pre-chipped PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles.
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[RM] gamasutra.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Gamasutra's Top5 Most Popular Titles in US, Japan and Europe
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Gamasutra's weekly column, "Saling The World", covers the top five sellers for every available platform in the United States, Japan, and Europe, providing an important update of sales patterns worldwide.
Xbox 360
* North America: 1. Gears of War (Microsoft), 2. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 3. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 4. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft), 5. Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision).
* Japan: 1. Blue Dragon (Microsoft), 2. Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (Tecmo), 3. Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack 2006 (Square Enix), 4. Culdcept Saga (Bandai), 5. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft).
* UK: 1. Gears of War (Microsoft), 2. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft), 4. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 5. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games).
Blue Dragon proves to be the latest in a series of hits for the Xbox 360 in Japan, outselling all competing titles in its first week of release. Elsewhere, consumers turn to a number of popular franchises for the holiday season, with Gears of War, Call of Duty 3, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas generating high demand in the United States and Europe.
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Read More: gamasutra.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
PS3 vs Xbox 360 - Another Developer Speaks
>> From guardian.co.uk:
[QUOTE]
This week I spoke to Richard Hackett a head of technology at Blitz Games about his experiences with both machines. He feels that CELL has an ace up its sleeve and it's not something you might have predicted...
* One developer has publicly (although anonymously) stated that Xbox 360 - in games programming terms - is the better machine as the GPU is more powerful, providing greater pixel and vertex processing horsepower. Do you concur at all? Is this really what it all comes down to?
* The X360 GPU is slightly more flexible due to the subtle differences between the respective architectures of the nVidia and ATI chipset. Certain shader restrictions are lifted or easier to work around on X360. The bandwidth of the X360 GPU is pretty massive too, though partly this is balanced out by the differences in VRAM layout of the two systems that means the Xbox needs to move graphics data around the system more than the PS3 does. While the GPUs are fast and have a big impact on the visual quality and level of game effects, other factors such as general processing power and memory architecture also come into play.
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Read More: guardian.co.uk
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
(USA) NPD Group Nov. Numbers: Industry 34pct Up, 511k Xbox360s
>> We already published the US November sale numbers from several analyst companies, but here are the 'trusted' final NPD numbers for November 2006.
From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
Research firm NPD Group has reported overall November US videogame sales were up 34 percent year-over-year, with software sales up 15 percent; NPD's Anita Frazier optimistic about full year.
Videogame console software sales were $804 million versus $702 million in November 2005, topped by Microsoft's Gears of War, which sold 1 million units and raked in $61.5 million in sales (including the higher-priced Collector's Edition).
The Wii sold 476,000 units for the month, while the shorter-in-supply PlayStation 3 sold 197,000 units.
The little DS juggernaut sold 918,000 units in November, bringing life-to-date US sales to 8.1 million units. The PS2 followed as the second-best selling piece of hardware for the month with 664,000 units sold. Third place was held by the never-say-die GameBoy Advance with 641,000 units.
Xbox 360 was next, with 511,000 units sold, bringing life-to-date US sales to 3.8 million units. The PSP followed with 412,000 sold during the month.
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Read More: next-gen.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Wireless 360 Headset Defect Video
>> Micro23 posted on digg.com about a problem he has with his Wireless 360 Headset ... apparently it doesn't want to sync on the same channel as his original wireless controller he got with his launch 360, but it syncs fine with a brand new wireless controller.
[QUOTE]
Here is a video showing the Xbox 360 Wireless headset Defect. PLEASE help spread the word. Original console owners should not have to pay the cost for repair!
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Blue Dragon's 200,000 unit goal in Japan
>> From computerandvideogames.com:
[QUOTE]
According to Famitsu, over 180 Japanese gamers were queuing outside the official launch spot Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara, Tokyo yesterday morning, and at 9am the first copy of Blue Dragon was ceremonially sold to most punctual punter, on stage with a giant count-down and - presumably - someone dancing around in a big dragon costume.
According to German site Gamefront.de, Microsoft has revealed that its goal is to sell 200,000 copies of Blue Dragon in Japan - which would make it one of the best selling 360 games to date in the country.
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Read More: computerandvideogames.com
Import Blue Dragon: play-asia.com (note: Japanese txt and NOT regionfree (NTSC/J only))
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XBMC Skin MC360 nearing completion, ready for Christmas?
>> From Team BlackBolt:
[QUOTE]
Don't worry, we aren't dead and we haven't lost interest. Team Blackbolt have been working on MC360 and its very near to being ready for what we call our 1.0 Final release. Now we don't mean its our final release of MC360 ever, it just means it will no longer be a beta, it will be a finally completed product with all the features we intended it to have. The most important thing is there is well over 100 changes, some small, but many big. We have added new features, changed some completly, updated alot and fixed many many bugs. One major upgrade is the 2.1 skinning engine. We no longer use the standard 2.0.1 release engine. XBMC T3CH releases since 2.0.1 have featured the 2.1 skinning engine already under way. This new revision on the engine enhances the skinners ability to create more creative skins and better user interactions and animations. We think you'll like it a lot.
Ok the important stuff. MC360 is nearly done, we will release a 1.0 build, and after that we will maintain it as and when its needed via updates on this site. For the future, Team Blackbolt are taking a break over the holiday period, after that, sometime in mid-january, we will begin the creation of 'eX' our new skin. You can find more info about that in our skins section. Keep your eyes pealed to this page for more info on an actual release date and how we plan to bring this to you. The team thanks you all for the past year and how welcome you have made us feel in the community and scene. MC360 has been a great project to create and even better to see everyone enjoy it.
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Official Site: http://blackbolt.x-scene.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Evox M8plus VGA Patcher
>> FrostyTheSnowman released a new build of his VGA BIOS Patcher(info) with support for the Evox M8plus bios. This tool will add full support for HD resolutions over VGA.
From readme/nfo:
[QUOTE]
FrostyTheSnowman's Evox M8+ VGA Patcher for XBOX (Based on VGA BIOS Patcher v0.7)
* Supports Conexant Encoders
* Supports Focus Encoders
* Supports all HD resolutions, including 480p, 720p, and 1080i.
* Supports all current hacked BIOSes, including new X3 BIOSes.
NOTE: You NEED your HD settings enabled in your Microsoft Dashboard for this patch to function properly.
Known Issues:
1. When using IGR, the screen will turn green on your dashboard until you select another game, or reset your XBOX. (This is caused by the current IGR methods not resetting the GPU before loading the dashboard.)
2. Games that do not reset the GPU before executing will be green. (Morrowind, Splinter Cell 1 & 3, Jade Empire, etc.)
3. 480i games (interlaced games) are not supported in VGA mode.
4. When using a video cable OTHER than a VGA cable, the colors will be incorrect. It is advised that you use a Dual BIOS setup, consisting of a VGA patched BIOS, and a standard BIOS so that you can still use your XBOX on a regular TV.
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Official Site: n/a, by FrostyTheSnowman
Download: here (for Evox M8+ only) (for other bioses, get VGA BIOS Patcher v0.7)
News-Source/Full Readme: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Europe also Gets XNA Launch Event - December 13th
>> From David Weller's Blog (Community Manager at Microsoft's Game Technology Group):
[QUOTE]
I noticed that some people have lamented that we're only having a launch party in Redmond. Well, that's not quite true. There will actually be a bigger event held in England at University of Warwick. Check out this link that gives you all the cool details. Even Peter Molyneux will be there to talk about XNA Game Studio Express!
For those of you that can't attend, don't fear: We've put a lot of effort in focusing on online content to help you out, beginning with a series of training videos that will be available starting next week on the XNA Developer Center. Plus a LOT more cool stuff coming in the next few weeks.
About the only thing you'll miss at the Dec 11th launch event [in Redmond] are cold sodas and the ability to hobnob with XNA developers (and Major Nelson...and maybe TriXie :-)).
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 Owner Files a Lawsuit Against Microsoft?
>> From teamxbox.com:
[QUOTE]
Xbox Live user REDRUM6622 claims he has filed a class action lawsuit against Microsoft because of the problems he and other users have experienced after performing the Fall System Update.
Filed on the 29th of November:
XXXXX XXX, Individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. MICROSOFT CORPORATION, a Washington Corporation, and certain unidentified Microsoft Corporation affiliates, Defendants.
SUMMARY OF CLAIMS
1. This is a class action against Microsoft and its affiliates for Breach of Contract, violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act ("CPA") (RCW 19.86) and, alternatively, Negligence. Plaintiff brings this action on behalf of himself and all other persons who experienced hardware problems with their Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming consoles following installation of Microsoft's Fall 2006 Update for the Xbox 360.
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Read More: teamxbox.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Dragon Electronics: Neo Light Customize 360 Console Jacket
>> Dragon Electronics announced a new product, the Neo Light Customize 360 Console Jacket:
[QUOTE]
The Neo Light Console Jacket customize your Xbox 360 console while protecting it against dust and scratches. With its 2 great looking design that glow in the dark it is the perfect add on for the Xbox 360!
Specifications:
* Dust repel function
* Prevents against scratches
* Slim, perfect fit with easy installation
* High quality elastic silicon material
* Glow in the dark Neo Ligh effect
* Available in Neo Sun (white) and Neo Dragon (black) version
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Official Site: http://www.dragon-electronics.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 vs PS3 - Graphics Comparison
>> From gamespot.com:
[QUOTE]
We expected the PlayStation 3 to ship with several games that first appeared on the Xbox 360, similar to how the Xbox 360 had a lot of Xbox ports at launch. And the PS3 did indeed arrive with a good number of games that originally shipped for the Xbox 360. This gave us the perfect opportunity to compare the graphics on both systems with several cross-platform games. You'd think that the PS3 versions would be exactly the same or slightly superior to the Xbox 360 versions, since many of these games appeared on the 360 months ago, but it seems like developers didn't use the extra time to polish up the graphics for the PS3. We found that the Xbox 360 actually had better graphics in the majority of the games we compared.
Conclusion
The Xbox 360 had better graphics in almost all the games we examined. The 360's biggest victories were in Madden 07 and Fight Night Round 3, where the differences in texture detail and lighting stood out in our comparison shots. We couldn't capture this in the screenshots, but the Xbox 360 games generally offered better framerates too.
We're going to give the PS3 the benefit of the doubt in this initial round since developers might need more time to figure out how to maximize performance from the Cell and the RSX. If you look at the Xbox 360's first Madden game, Madden 06, you'll notice that it doesn't offer very realistic stadium shadows, either. The trouble with buying a console at launch is that you often have to wait for the second or third generation of games for the system to fulfill its potential. The PS3 didn't beat the 360 in this first comparison, but the games do look fine for first-generation titles. The real graphics battle will likely come next year.
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Read More: gamespot.com (8 pages)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
1st Official HD-DVD drive for PCs more Expensive than Xbox360 HD-DVD Addon
>> Buffalo will be launching the HDV-ROM2.4FB at the end of this month. Officially this HD-DVD drive (OEMed by Toshiba) will be the world's first HD-DVD drive for PCs. Some high-end PCs already shipped with HD-DVD drives, but until now it was impossible to buy any ATAPI HD-DVD drives sold independently for PCs.
Next to HD-DVD discs, the device will of course also read all previous formats: DVD±R/RW, DVD±R/R DL, DVD-ROM and CD-R/RW/ROM.
The device will retail for about 38850JPY, thats ~337usd/254eur. Seems a bit expensive considering the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Addon is already available right now for just 199usd and can be used in Windows Vista (natively) and Windows XP (with some special drivers) too.
The only thing missing in the Xbox360 HD-DVD package is PC software to playback HD-DVD movies. The Buffalo drive comes with PowerDVD HD-DVD Edition.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Moore: Microsoft Could Beat 10M Target
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
Xbox boss Peter Moore reckons that Microsoft could actually exceed its well-documented goal to sell 10 million Xbox 360s worldwide by year-end.
The goal has been consistently reiterated by Microsoft execs, as investors and industry watchers ponder whether or not Microsoft will meet the target.
When news agency Bloomberg asked Moore if Microsoft is "likely to beat" the target, he responded "Yes. All indications are that we came off a very strong Thanksgiving holiday." He didn't say by how much the company may exceed the forecast, nor did he update the goal.
Moore also told Bloomberg, "The key is we're in stock, we're available, we're delivering well to retail. Certainly the consumer is recognizing the fact that we have a great price point as well as 160 games available and that flies in the face of our competition."
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Read More: next-gen.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Playing DivX and Xvid content on Xbox 360 – An easy guide!
>> From tweaktown.com:
[QUOTE]
Last month a group of software folks at TVersity who know a thing or two about this subject managed to make the whole experience much easier and pleasant with their latest version of TVersity. They have a piece of software (and it's completely FREE!) that is able to on-the-fly transcode many video and audio formats into WMV format suitable for the Xbox 360. As it is playing in WMV format from your PC over the network, you are not modifying the console software or hardware and using legal software, therefore your warranty with Microsoft will be fine. Essentially, TVersity is able to trick the console into thinking the source format is WMV (or one of the formats supported by the 360) by using transcoding.
If you use Digital Media Servers which are able to stream content in a similar fashion to the Xbox 360, TVersity will also work just fine. As long as your device uses the UPnP AV / DLNA standard (which is the de-facto standard for connectivity between devices in the digital home), you won't be limited to whatever your DMS supports.
Over the following pages we'll provide a simple step by step guide on playing DivX and Xvid movies and a bunch of other video and audio formats on your Xbox 360 console. Let's get started!
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Read the whole guide on tweaktown.com (8 pages).
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox Live Marketplace Videos vs. HD-DVD
>> From xyhd.tv:
[QUOTE]
Lets start with the Basics. HD-DVD has the potential to be 36.55 Megabits per second, but tends to average about half of that. Marketplace videos or at least the one I checked out 'V for Vendetta' is 6.5 Megabits VBR. Account for 720p vs 1080p and you are looking at about 2.25 more pixels so pixels per bit the two are pretty close.
Conclusion
HD-DVD is spectacular I was unable to find a single artifact in the copy of 'V for Vendetta' the same was true for Tokyo Drift which is rather hard content to encode. Marketplace videos on most TV's in most home theatres, also spectacular. You being the Video enthusiast and cocky SOB that you probably think you have a home theatre that the quality difference will matter, well you are probably wrong.
Unless you have:
* A 1080p Display, that really runs at 1920x1080 as its native resolution.
* Have paid someone to calibrate the TV to reference, not the Dynamic, or Vibrant mode that many TV's are set to.
* Have disabled noise reduction on your TV.
* Are Viewing in a theatre lit room.
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Read More: xyhd.tv
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Australian Law lets modders back into consoles
>> From australianit.news.com.au:
[QUOTE]
Games console makers such as Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft may need to re-engineer anti-piracy technology in consoles made for the Australian market to stop consumers using illegal game titles, according to law firm Minter Ellison.
Amendments to Australia's copyright laws expected to be passed this week will make it legal for consumers to use modified chips (mod-chips) that circumvent anti-piracy technology built into game consoles if they also overcome measures that restrict the use of DVDs and games titles purchased legally in other regions.
Minter Ellison special counsel Carolyn Dalton said technology measures designed to restrict use of copyright material in geographic regions, including coding built into DVD players and games consoles, won't be given special protection under the law.
Games manufacturers will need to have technology in their consoles to deal with region coding and copyright protection that operate independently.
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Read More: australianit.news.com.au
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
(USA) Nov. Tops 3.2M Hardware Units: over 500k Xbox 360s
>> Next-gen.biz published the November numbers from Arcadia Investment, another analyst company. Their November expectations for the Xbox 360 are a bit lower than Wedbush Morgan's 750k:
[QUOTE]
In its monthly report analyst Arcadia Investment says console sales in November topped 3.2 million units. Next-Gen has exclusive details of the report's highlights including platform break-downs.
Xbox 360 unit sales topped a minimum of 500K units in the month, probably more, with 200K in Black Friday week. Retailers attributed the increase to strong sales of Gears of War and "chronic press coverage" of supply constraints on PS3. Microsoft is now on track to sell through about 4.25 million units in the US in calendar 2006 with an installed base of around 5 million units.
Available quantity of PS3 was probably less than 150K units at launch, with a further 50K creeping into the channel in November. Some retailers reporting less than 0.5 software units per hardware unit. Arcadia says a 600K total sell through for the year is reasonable.
It says Wii sold about 500K in unit sales in November with a tie ratio of about two per console. The report says that Nintendo remains on track to deliver about 1.3 million units to retail shelves by year end in the US.
PS2 sales topped 500K units, driven by the $129 price point and Guitar Hero II. PS2 is on track to hit about 4.7 million units in CY 06, which would bring the US total to about 36.5 million by year end. At this point it's not clear if Xbox 360 beat PS2 for the month.
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Read More: next-gen.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XNA Game Studio Express Launch Event/Open House
>> From the official XNA Team Blog:
[QUOTE]
Come join the members of the XNA team as we celebrate the launch of XNA Game Studio Express and the XNA Creators Club! You'll see demonstrations of how you can build and run XNA Framework-based games on your Xbox 360 and Windows PC, as well as getting a chance to mingle with the XNA product team. Come and check out the final product, as well as samples developed in-house by the XNA team and friends. In fact, bring your own games developed using XNA Game Studio Express and show them off!
We'll also deliver a number of short "mini tutorials" on XNA Game Studio Express and the XNA Framework based on your requests! Simply let us know what you want us to cover by leaving a comment on this blog post and we'll work on pulling something together for the most popular requests. We will tally the results and then begin the talks promptly at 6:30pm Monday night.
The Open House will take place in the "Millennium" campus at Microsoft, building E, from 6-8pm, on Monday, Dec 11th. The publicly-accessible cafeteria entrance is located at the back of the Millennium E building. You can find us by using this link here (The actual address is 18600 NE Union Hill Rd., Redmond, WA).
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft Advices you to buy a Wii for your 'GamerchiX'
>> From TriXie on xbox.com:
[QUOTE]
I recently asked the GamerchiX to do a public service for the gamer guys and clue them in on what to get their favorite girl for the Holidays. Because yes, we do acknowledge that you can't read our minds. There are some things that are popular with almost all the GamerchiX, so you're probably safe with any of the following:
* Xbox 360 Wireless Headset
* Microsoft Points
* Subscription to Xbox Live
* Gift Certificates to EBGames or GameStop
* Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel
* DS Lite
* Nintendo Wii
* Candles
* Spa gift certificates
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Read More: xbox.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 Arcade controller - Project Gyokusho
>> From instructables.com:
[QUOTE]
Well, this is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. I've torn apart a wired 360 controller, put the guts in a pretty box and soldered some arcade buttons and a joystick to it. Thought I'd publish this to give you all an idea of how it can be done and just for general inspiration.
The name, Gyokusho is actually stolen from a japanese chess variant called Shogi. The equivalent of the king is called the Gyokusho or "Jade general". The short hand for that is the sign you can see in the middle of the controller (see image below).
Oh, and by the way, it's huge.
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Read More/Tutorial: instructables.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Traffic surges for iTunes and Xbox Live
>> From arstechnica.com:
[QUOTE]
Broadband traffic for services such as iTunes and Xbox Live has surged in the last few months, according to Sandvine Incorporated. Sandvine, which develops network equipment to monitor broadband usage, says that Internet traffic for the two services has skyrocketed since the release of iTunes 7 in September and new games for use on Xbox Live in November.
Sandvine also reports having seen an 80 percent increase in the number of Xbox Live users since since November 7. That week, Microsoft released six new games for the Xbox 360--one of which was the highly-anticipated Gears of War--which spiked Xbox Live traffic. This traffic pattern is similar to the spike that followed the introduction of Halo II in 2004, says Sandvine, which managed sustain Xbox Live's popularity after the spike for the first time. Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo said that "the effect Gears of War and other games are having on networks indicates to service providers that online gaming is not just a craze."
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Read More: arstechnica.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Wedbush: Xbox 360 to sell 750k in Nov and 1.5-2 million in Dec
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Analyst Michael Pachter at Wedbush Morgan has released his preview of the NPD U.S. game charts for November, and is forecasting sales of $785 million, up 12% compared to last year.
The report, suggests $345 million in sales contribution from new platforms (PS3, Wii, 360, PSP and DS), representing year-over-year growth of $196 million, or 131%. However, current generation software sales, it's suggested, may be $440 million, reflecting year-over-year decrease of $112 million (-20%).
For hardware, Wedbush states: "Consumers appear willing to purchase compelling content for current generation consoles in spite of the recent launches of the unobtainable PS3 and Wii. Through October, NPD data shows that Xbox 360 hardware sales in the U.S. were 2.9 million units, averaging approximately 250,000 units monthly for the last six months."
Going forward, Pachter comments: "We expect sales of 750,000 Xbox 360 hardware units in November, and between 1.5 - 2 million units in December. Sell through of Xbox 360 hardware could be higher if the supply situation for the PS3 continues to lag Sony's promised 1.2 million units by year end, with many holiday gift givers likely substituting purchases of the 360 in place of the PS3."
However, a major note of caution is sounded over next-gen console pricing: "Once supply and demand of the PS3 and Wii are in balance (expected some time after April 2007), we think that hardware unit sales will be more modest than they were in the analogous period of 2002, when console prices averaged under $200. In our view, once hardcore gamers have
obtained their next generation consoles, the higher average prices will be an impediment to rapid sell-through, and we expect cycle-to-cycle declines of 10% or more to persist through the summer of 2007."
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Read More: gamasutra.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Halo 3 1st TV Commercial
>> This is the TV spot designed to run as a one-time special event during ESPN's Monday Night Football on December 4th. Featuring live actors and photo-realistic CG from leading Hollywood FX company, Digital Domain, the teaser was designed to give the Halo Nation a tiny, but evocative glimpse into the story of Halo 3 and a rare chance to see the Halo universe envisioned as a "live" action spectacle.
You can also stream this video in better quality from xbox.com (teamxbox.com has even better resolutions available!) or get it with your Xbox360 in 480p or 720p via the Xbox Live Marketplace (available for all regions).
For those who missed the press release a few days ago, the Halo 3 beta sign-up opened today (US/CAN only).
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Quiet Your Xbox 360 DVD Drive
>> From extremetech.com:
[QUOTE]
The most noticeable fault of the system, the one you'd be most likely to hear about from the largest number of users, is how loud it is. Sitting idly in the Dashboard system interface, the 360 isn't so bad: It's not whisper-quiet, but not annoying. Pop in a game, and it's a whole other story. When that DVD-ROM drive spins up to full 12x speed, it puts out a ton of noise. Fortunately, it spins slower when playing DVD movies, and the HD-DVD add-on drive is very quiet.
Our experiments with trying to bring down the noise level of a high-end system in an Antec Nine Hundred case got us thinking: Can we do anything about the 360's noise level? Specifically, can we reduce the sound output when the DVD drive spins up while playing a retail game? We've seen plenty of 360 mods around the 'net, most of them centered on making the case look cool or water-cooling the CPU and GPU inside. In our view, silencing or eliminating those rear exhaust fans is a moot point when the optical drive creates a lot more noise. So here, we'll take apart an Xbox 360 and show you a couple of simple tricks applied in an effort to bring down the noise level a bit, without dramatically hacking up the box.
Final Results--Worth the Effort?
And after the modifications? We managed to trim quite a bit of noise out, but it's still not exactly what you would call a "whisper quiet" system:
Idle (at dashboard): 48dB -> 44dB
Playing a DVD movie: 50dB -> 45dB
Playing a game (DVD drive spinning full speed): 60dB -> 56dB
That's a difference of 4dB to 5dB. Interestingly, the extra insulation seems to help reduce the system's noise at all times, even just idling at the dashboard with nothing in the DVD drive at all. In the logarithmic decibel scale, a difference of 3dB is literally half the sound pressure. That doesn't quite map to human perception, though, and a 3dB difference doesn't always sound "half as loud."
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Read More: extremetech.com (6 pages)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
How to copy HD DVD movies with your Xbox 360 and a PC
>> From jakeludington.com:
[QUOTE]
One of the key disadvantages of HD-DVD is no convenient way to make back-up copies of the discs. The HD-DVD spec supports what's known as a managed copy, but so far none of the HD-DVD disks I own have this feature. If I want to watch my HD content somewhere other than my Xbox, or if I want to backup my $30 investment, at this point, I have to create my own solution. Until someone starts giving me managed copies, I'm making copies of my HD-DVDs to watch them where I want to using an analog solution. Following the guidelines presented here, you can use an Xbox 360 with the HD-DVD drive [one of the few HD-DVD solutions which will output 1080i or 720p via component] and a PC to make copies of HD-DVD movies.
You need an HD capture card with analog component inputs. This card captures both the audio and video from the Xbox 360 via the component output cable. Audio will be passed either via the stereo outs on the component cable or via Toslink to your soundcard (the 5.1 Surround option). A four drive array (RAID 0) of SATA disks provides enough disk write speed for real time capture of the HD video.
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Note: As you can see this needs expensive hardware, and keep in mind it will only work as long as movies don't get flagged with an Image Constraint Token (ICT), which restricts the resolution for analog outputs without HDCP to 960×540.
Read the whole article: jakeludington.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XNA Game Studio Express got DEMMX Awards and Feature Suggestion
>> From the official Microsoft XNA Team Blog:
[QUOTE]
* XNA Game Studio Express and the DEMMX Awards
Last Wednesday (11/29), Boyd and I (Joe Nalewabau) had the privilege of representing the XNA Game Studio Express team at the Digital Entertainment Media and Marketing Excellence (DEMMX) awards. XNA Game Studio Express was nominated in two categories:
- Game Innovation of the Year
- Best of Show: Innovator of the Year
We won in both our categories and we now have two shiny trophies to show for it (although no one on the team ever thought that we would be in a competition, competing with Bob Dylan!).
PS It looks like we have also been nominated in the GameDeveloper Front Line awards in the programming category. Wish us luck!
* Got a Feature Suggestion for the Next Version of XNA Game Studio Express?
We're putting the final touches on our first release of XNA Game Studio Express and our launch on December 11th is less than three weeks away! Many of the team's members have started to think about features that could be implemented in versions of XNA Game Studio Express down the road. While the team has ideas about things we'd like to do, we rely on you to tell us about the things you're interested in or that you'd like us to change in future releases of the Product. The best way to share this information with us is by using Microsoft Connect. If you're unfamiliar with Microsoft Connect, please visit this previous post on our blog, for step by step instructions on how to get started.
We've set aside a site on Connect where you can file issues or suggest features for the next version of XNA Game Studio Express. If a feature has already been suggested, you can show your support for that feature by voting for it. We use those votes to help evaluate whether to implement the feature. It's always better to vote for a feature rather than suggest it twice. So if you have some ideas to make XNA Game Studio Express even better, head on over to Microsoft Connect and add, or vote for, your favorite feature suggestions today!
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
What Japanese Gamers Want: 2 Xbox360 Titles in Top10
>> From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
Here's the weekly round up of what folks in Japan are itching to get their fingers on, courtesy of game mag Famitsu:
* 1. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
* 2. Blue Dragon (Xbox 360)
* 3. Biohazard 5 (PS3)
* 4. Metal Gear Solid (PS3)
* 5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
* 6. Summon Night 4 (PS2)
* 7. Ryu ga Gotoku 2 (PS2)
* 8. Seiken Densetsu 4 (PS2)
* 9. Bruise of Destiny (PS 2)
* 10. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)
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Read More: kotaku.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Single-handed Wireless Xbox 360 Controller Mod
>> From Ben Heckendorn's Blog (the man who also made the watercooler Xbox 360 laptop):
[QUOTE]
I've built a wireless Xbox 360 controller that can be used with 1 hand:
I built this by request for a serviceman injured in Iraq. It's a left-handed version which works by setting it on your knee. Thus, tilting the controller against your leg acts as the right analog stick, which was the trickiest part of the controller to replicate. Most of the buttons are on the back and are pushed with your middle and ring fingers. For more pictures of the controls, guts and the story of how I put this together click the link below.
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Read More/Turorial: benheck.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2006-12-03 SVN rev7295 build - T3CH
>> T3CH released a new CVS compile of XboxMediaCenter(info), the 1st since the v2.0.1 point-release.
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Special Notes and Noteworthy/XML/Script changes since the v2.0.1 point-release:
* I'm back ;) Took a short break with my builds until SVN stabilized a bit.
* I'm also including the 'XBMC Win32 PC environment' .exe that is meant for skinners & python developers, read more about the concept here. It was built using Microsoft DirectX Summer 2004 SDK.
* Too many changes to list ;) (full list)
For the full changelog since the v2.0.1 point-release release click here.
Keep in mind this is a SVN 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: www.xboxmediacenter.com (manual and FAQ)
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
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