Via [ XboxHacker ]

It looks like Xbox 360's rumored Wiimote "Motion Controller" might actually serve a unique purpose after all (if it ever surfaces).  According to Kotaku, the next Dashboard Update may be sporting a Minority Report esque optional 3D interface.  Allegedly, the "motion controls will allow users to sort of slide through the different levels of this floating menu system".  This definitely has some potential, but heres to hoping Microsoft wont require you to have the motion controller to use it.  Lord knows I've had enough of them and their "add-ons"...

Via [ Kotaku ]

Team XLink has just released a new version of XLink Kai, a program that allows you to play System Link and Ad Hoc games globally over the internet.  The best thing is, its absolutely free!

Via [ Team XLink ]

Quote:

Microsoft will cut the price of its most popular Xbox 360 model, the 20GB Pro, by $50 to $299 in the coming weeks, game industry sources have confirmed.

Microsoft would not comment, but a major retailer, which requested anonymity, said the price move will come before the major video game trade show, E3, which runs July 15-17 in Los Angeles.

Microsoft last cut the price of the Xbox 360 Pro -- from $399 to $349 -- in August, in many ways setting the stage for the huge successful rollout of "Halo 3" the following month.

Quote:

---

Version 1.1 - 30/05/2008

Update by Bomb Bloke (see end of document for my moment on the soapbox).
Cluster size update correction.

Automatically uses 64k clusters when formatting ] 512GB partitions,
128k clusters when formatting ] 1TB partitions, and so forth.

(New system does not allow for users to 'toggle' cluster size via Y button).
Switched display of megabytes to equal 1,048,576 bytes (1024^2).

Extended partitions are now displayed in gigabytes.

---

Download: N/A (Built with XDK)

Via [ xbins ]

Quote:

---

1. Better Hardware
According to Harmonix: "Quieter, more realistic, and more reliable instruments..."

2. Third Party Hardware
"We're also actively welcoming new peripheral makers to make instruments for our game. Just like real instruments, we want players to be able to choose what instruments they use..."

3. Backwards Compatibility
Songs you purchased for Rock Band will work for Rock Band 2. Future Rock Band songs will work for both games.

4. More Meaning
"We have several new modes that not only provide new ways for you to experience your music library, but also new ways for you to transition from Expert to real instruments..."

---

 
Backwards compatibility is a huge plus, and to me a definite advantage over Guitar Hero IV. It's good to finally see the songs I buy not become a complete waste when I sell the old game to buy the sequel (I'm looking at you, Guitar Hero II). Plus, with the "quieter, more realistic, and reliable instruments" (read: We added a sunburst to the guitar.), I may actually spend more time playing my drums/guitar, and less time sending them in for repair. I'm sold.

Really though, more meaning? If Harmonix ever really wants to create a true parallel between the Rock Band guitar and the real guitar, they're gonna need a bit more than five buttons. But hey, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt with the "transition from Expert to real instruments..." thing. They did a pretty damn good job making the guitar look "real" this time around, so I suppose anything is possible.

 

VALVE Marketing executive, Doug Lombardi, has announced that there will be no new Half Life episode for this upcoming E3.  Instead, he mentioned that the corporation will be focusing on the new release of Left 4 Dead.

He has promised to make a playable demo available of E3 however.  A moajor dev for VALVE, Gabe Newell, has stated that Left 4 Dead will be a co-op FPS along the lines of Counter-Strike.

keep you eyes peeled for more info on this new game.

New Ranks
An additional 99 Elite Ranks have been added for bragging rights. For those of you who are already Elite, you may have noticed that your XP continued to accumulate while playing. Once you have the update, your XP will automatically be applied towards the new Elite ranks, so it is possible that you have already ranked up multiple times past Elite.

New A.C.E.S.
A total of 100 A.C.E.S. are available for each category: Marksman, CQB and Assault. Each A.C.E.S. level past 20 will reward you with 5000 XP that applies to your rank. For players who have already reached A.C.E.S. 20 and continued to collect A.C.E.S. points, you will be happy to know that the update will automatically advance you to the level you have earned. For example, if you have enough A.C.E.S. points to reach Marksman 25, you will automatically be at Marksman 25 and earn 25000 (5000 x 5) towards your next Rank.

Grenade Indicator
When you are within the damage radius of a Frag or Incendiary grenade, an indicator will appear on-screen telling you which direction it is. The indicator can show multiple grenades at once.

Weapons & Gadgets Balancing
Here are a couple of notes about Weapons and Gadgets:
• Explosion delay of the incendiary grenade has been increased
• Detonation speed of the C4 has been slightly increased
• Increased the damage of Sniper Rifles at long range
• Increased the base accuracy of the Light Machine Guns
• Adjusted the rate of fire for some of the Assault Rifles, Shotguns and an SMG
• Sped up the time it takes to zoom in & out with weapons, making it more responsive

To better clarify: the zoom for all firearms have been significantly sped-up and you can now fire DURING the zoom transition.

Respawns in Team Deathmatch – Host Option
An added host option has been added for Random Respawns. Random Respawns OFF will play like the classic Versus style where each team spawns in their designated Alpha or Bravo base. Random Respawns ON will have your players spawn randomly throughout the map after they die the first time.

Voice Chat – Host Option
Added as a host option for Player Match & System Link, players now have the option to talk to their team mates while dead.

Score in Deathmatch
Displayed on the bottom left of the HUD in Deathmatch, players can now see their score along with the top opponent’s score.

Team Leader - Spawn Change
Players now respawn next to the leader by default, unless players specifically choose to spawn back at the base.

Show Dead Players in Lobby
Players who no longer have lives remaining will now have a skull icon displayed next to their name in the pause menu.

Terrorist Hunt Spawning
Terrorists will no longer spawn right in front of you or behind you, or in a room you just cleared.

* * * * *

High Stakes Setting
High Stakes is a host option for every Versus mode that really pushes tactical gameplay to the next level. Here’s a detailed description of High Stakes:

Limited HUD (High Stakes)
The Radar is disabled. Enemies will not be visible on the Tactical Map (back button on 360/select button on PS3). Grenade indicator is disabled.

Health System (High Stakes)
Health regen is disabled. If you are shot and close to death, you’ll enter a visual state of critical health (screen turns monochromatic).

Cover System (High Stakes)
The cover system as been changed in High-Stakes mode to encourage players to peek instead of pop-n-shoot. The camera has been moved so your character cannot look past their cover unless they expose themselves around a corner.

Weapons & Gadgets (High Stakes)
Aim Assistance has been completely disabled. Bullet spread has also been increased when not zoomed-in (you will notice your crosshair indicators are much wider when not in zoom). Realistically, a person holding a gun would have better aim when zoomed-in than when he’s walking around. This encourages players to really take aim instead of run-n-gun. Also remember that the zoom time has been sped-up and you can now fire WHILE you zoom in and out. Players now have less ammunition (1 for each gadget you choose and less clips for your guns) so you really need to play conservatively and rely on precision use of ammo.

Kill Camera & Friendly Fire (High Stakes)
Kill Camera is always disabled and Friendly fire is always enabled.

*** DLC ***

THREE FREE MAPS
There are three maps included in the free DLC: Murdertown – Dark, CQB Training – Dark and best of all the much-requested fan favourite Calypso Casino! The three map layouts have not been changed. The re-lit “Dark maps” have a very eerie atmosphere, and may require players to use night vision to spot enemies. Calypso Casino returns with updated lighting and textures. The three maps are playable in all Versus modes and Terrorist Hunt.

source: http://rainbowsixgame.us.ubi.com

 An Activision filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission contains confirmation that the company is planning to release a Metallica version of the massively popular Guitar Hero game in early 2009, ending months of speculation about which band would be featured next.

Gaming sites are already abuzz with the news, but it was actually uncovered by a somewhat unlikely character: Edward Woo, a securities analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities. The sentence he unearthed reads, "In fiscal 2009, we plan to publish Guitar Hero: On Tour for the NDS; Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Guitar Hero IV across multiple platforms."

The Aerosmith version of the game had already been announced, but this is marks the first time Activision has confirmed -- however unintentionally -- that Metallica will be the next band to receive the full-on Guitar Hero treatment.

Metallica's blazing riffs make them a natural fit for the game, and the group has shown a newfound willingness to leverage the internet. Hetfield, Ulrich and co. launched a Mission: Metallica site to reach out to fans and draw them in with free pre-release audio clips and in-studio video footage.

However, Mission: Metallica faced a major backlash from fans who called its effort "too little too late" and said they would buy the next Metallica album just in order to share it online.

Some fans of the band came to its defense; they may have to do so again if Guitar Hero: Metallica elicits a similar reaction when it's released (before the end of March 2009, according to the filing).

If I were Lars Ulrich, I'd tell Activision to add a tongue-in-cheek mission to Guitar Hero: Metallica in which the band slowly progresses from fighting the internet to realizing that it represents a way forward. Maybe at the end of the mission, the band could release a videogame similar to this one.

One way or the other, Metallica (and, by extension, Activision), need to address the continuing PR problem that began when Ulrich rode the elevator to Napster's headquarters with those printouts of Metallica-sharing Napster users.

A friend of mine was in that elevator at the time, and he said the mood was pretty tense; maybe it's time for Metallica to exorcise the Napster demon by acknowledging the problem, poking a bit of fun at itself and dissolving that tension once and for all.

Via [ WIRED ]

What would be the point to this? Kotaku points out that previous game systems like a Panasonic Q, which was the GameCube + DVD player, served to help bring in software money, but lower development costs for Nintendo because they don't have to spend effort making new hardware. In Microsoft's case, imagine what would happen if a company built an Xbox 360 with a Blu-ray drive. Eh?

[ Gizmodo ] Via [ EGM ]

In the newest issue of the United Kingdom gaming mag “GamesTM”, a dude called videogamer247 shed some light on the upcoming Call of Duty game.  It is now officially known as Call of Duty: World at War.  For this installment, the game will take you back to World War II.

For the first time ever, the game will include a co-op campaign and vehicles and squad-based elements in multiplayer mode.

It is also confirmed that COD5 will be making it way to the Wii as well as the PS3, XBOX 360, and PC.

It is said that it will be run under the same COD 4 engine, but under different teams.  This is mainly due to the fact that the Wii copy will include compatibility to the Wii zapper and other exclusive peripherals. 

To give you guys a gist of the intensity of the game, here is a quote from videogamer247:

      “The opening scene of the first level we are shown is a Japanese commander stubbing a cigarette out in the eye of a         prisoner before slitting his throat - the blood splatters and dribbles down the side of the tent you are being held in.   He turns towards you to deal out the same treatment but help arrives just in time. Cue a daring level-long escape.”

As of now, however, there has been no release date announced.

Well we are back! Thanks to MonkeyMaximus (I bother that man constantly for you members) the news maker is back up. Over the past week or so when we tried to post some news it would give a file permission error. Now it is fixed

so expect some updates on all of your favorite consoles.

BKF/ Staff 06-13-2008

The National Purchase Diary released their monthly sales report, with only 1,969,800 next generation consoles sold. The Nintendo Wii was in first at 714,000 sales, 36% of all sales that month. Nintendo DS sold 414,800, and the PSP sold 192,700. The Xbox 360 was fourth place this time, at 188,000. The PS3 ranked fifth with only 187,100, very much less than expected. Though many estimates for sales were off by large numbers, it was a good month for Nintendo and the Wii.

[source: qj.net]

Jason at Doombot has developed a process for reaching intelligent life at XBOX customer service. He discovered this easy 4-step procedure thanks to a XBOX 360 that enjoys not reading discs.

1. Call 1-800-4-MY-XBOX.
2. Get a reference number for your problem as quickly as possible. You may need to say "I already did that" when they try to make you do the troubleshooting script, just to expedite the process.
3. Hang up and call the escalated support number, 866-506-3826.
4. Talk to someone who knows what they're doing. 

I know companies make these machines so they don't have to spend as much money... but can you make them a little smarter? 

Microsoft has finally posted the full list of unlockable achievements on Xbox.com.  This list has been a rumor for some time now, but has been finally confirmed.  This list includes 50 different achievements for a total of 1,000 points:

                                                                              

Microsoft is currently assembling a team which may very well work with renowned Hollywood director Peter Jackson. The official Microsoft website recently posted a listing on its career page looking for talented people willing to "help develop a new experience in the Halo universe".

It was also announced during the X06 event in Barcelona that the project will be under the supervision of Peter Jackson. A Microsoft spokesperson mentioned that the development of the new collaboration is well underway and the expanding of the internal team was needed to keep everything up to speed.

However, Bungie Studios will not be a part of this project. Microsoft is now looking for a Creative Director, a Producer, Game Engineers and other specialists to join the team.

 Does this also mean that there might also be a possibility of the revival or our dreams of the long awaited Halo movie everyone was talking about last year?  Unfortunately, there has been no word on that specifically... yet.

This will be the first time that Madden has displayed a retired player on the cover.  This unorthodox choice was commented on by Madden NFL Executive Producer Dale Jackson saying,  "Madden NFL Football and Brett Favre are sports icons who have set the standard and revolutionalized their positions within their respective genres, Brett Favre is a perfect fit for the Madden NFL 09 cover as he epitomizes everything the franchise has stood for the past 20 years - longevity, excellence, and a love of football."

Also, on his blog, head of EA sports Peter Moore says, "It is with great pride that we take the bold step of featuring a retired player on the front of packaging, an honor normally reserved for a player at the peak of his game. I say with great pride, because some may question the marketing strategy behind this. I don't for one minute. In this, the 20th year of this storied game franchise, as far as I was concerned there was only one choice. As we look back over the past couple of decades in the NFL, Brett stands out to me personally as a beacon for everything that made me a huge fan of this great game from almost the moment I arrived from the UK in the early eighties..."

Newton will probably be out by winter of 2008. Microsoft is rumored to have licensed patents from Gyration which is the same maker of the Wiimote... legally, Microsoft is not ripping off Nintendo but rather licensing the technology from the same place that Nintendo got it.

 It has been confirmed 100% that the XB360 is moving to a 60g HDD standard. Those configurations are in design verification testing right now.  It is said that this changeover also contributed to the lack of units. When Microsoft changes major sub-assemblies like this, they try not to over produce the old configurations.

This is a very great time for 360 current owners and people who wish to own a 360. How you ask?

Current owners of 360s:

1. The 20gb will probably move to arcade and 60 gb as premium (meaning game developers can add cache to all their games). Faster loading times are always great.

2.Bigger downloadable content. Well the PS3 has a larger "sized" disks but the 360 has the ability to store half of a game on a HDD. Meaning LONGER gameplay on newer games.

People who wish to own a 360:

1.  Lower prices on all 360s (especially with the new chipsets around the corner).

2. Blu-Ray on 360? Get ready....it is not confirmed yet but it is almost very positive now that HD-DVD is out the door.

The crew also talks about the news post under this one that relates to Take-Two possibly being purchased by EA.

Couldn't get enough of Bioshock? Hopefully you answered, "yes" to that question

because Bioshock is here to stay... Bioshock 2, that is. Expected to be released

in the 4th quarter of 2009, Bioshock 2 is certainly a long ways from being complete.

Why release the news of Bioshock 2 so early? IGN speculates it is a strategic

plan to raise the value of the developing company, Take-Two, in order to profit

more from EA. Recently, EA has been trying to purchase Take-Two, and since the

first Bioshock has more than 2 million sales, it's fair to say that Take-Two is

making a smart financial move, to say the very least.

Source: IGN

[quote]As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.[quote]

Well did this really come as a surprise? Ever since Toshiba ended HD-DVD it wasn't long before this would happen. I can almost confirm though a Blu-Ray Addon to the 360 in a short time.

It is official!  $129

Well it doesn't matter how it was done as long as it was. The consumer can now enjoy up to 1080P Hi-Def for $129. (HDMI 360 required)

This is very interesting.....very interesting indeed. Microsoft and Toshiba have worked close for the longest now.....but maybe not much longer. So far this is a rumor and is intended to be taken as one. Take it as you will though.

[quote]Marketing bigwig Jeff Bell says Microsoft has been talking to Blu-ray about the possibility of a partnership all along.

Warner Bros.'s recent decision to exclusively pick the Sony-championed disc format, and did not rule out the possibility MS will adopt it at some point in the future.

"We've been talking to Blu-ray all along because we have the best piece of software in the business, called HDi. It is the backbone that powers interactivity in HD-DVD and we have that available to potentially partner with others," Jeff Bell told 1UP.

"You never say never. I think we'd like to see how things evolve. Our commitment, however, to HD-DVD is profound and consistent, and we have done very, very well in term of our accessory sales.[/quote]

With Blu-Ray ruling over HD-DVD so far it wouldn't surprise me. 

Take it as a rumor. Also, it is rumor the sun will come out tomorrow. 

Ace won 1 game but mzm31speedy (ALAxOV3RKILLxV2) had 2 awesome games after that.

NEXT HALO 3 tournament is Friday 1/18/08 at 10:55 EST again.

Leaderboard:

ALAxOV3RKILLxV2: 70

ace_012: 66

staxx: 46

bkfraiders7: 33

wizkid: 8

wix G: 2

Get ready for the war to begin......

This may help:   EST:10:55pm. Central:9:55pm. Mountain: 8:55 pm. Western: 7:55 pm

One of the most legendary FPS games that Dominated the N64 era has been plan to hit the Xbox Live Arcade marketplace. The game was developed by Rareware who supposedly worked with Microsoft on this title.

Activision has recently bought the license of this game from EA and since they own the rights, they have come to an agreement to bring the Rareware licenced game to the Xbox Live Arcade.

Rareware is also planning on releasing even more of their lists of games such as: Perfect Dark and Banjoe Kazooie.

Brewology Staff

This seems a little harsh to me. Microsoft should have updated its servers before Christmas and Holidays but suing over it is a bit far, especially asking for $5 million. What does everyone else think? Be expecting a little more from Microsoft then a free arcade game if this actually goes through and happens.

 Dear Xbox LIVE Members: 

General Manager, Xbox LIVE 

A free arcade game...thats all?  Microsoft needs to do better then this. Maybe a month of Gold (heck a free week of Gold)? Maybe 800 Microsoft points so we all can go buy the new maps for Halo 3? All i have to say is Microsoft better give us a selection and not a game such as Tetris or Pacman.  

 Discuss in our forums 

HERE

By the way it looks the Ultimate is a story brewing in some man's mind as of right now. Bill Gates and his crew have enough money to make a Ultimate though just to show us wrong. We will update as we learn more about the situation. 

http://xboxfamily.com/xf/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1123&Itemid=2

According to The XboxFamily fansite, one of Konami's representatives stated that Metal Gear Solid 4 will

be released 12 to 14 months after the PS3 version hits the shelves. The sites News poster claims that this

is not a rumor, he has took the chance to speak with a Konami representative and stated that Metal Gear Solid 4

is in development for the 360.

Every Falcon has HDMI but every HDMI does not have Falcon.  NO HDMI= No Falcon. HDMI=Maybe

Now that we have gotten that, here are the steps to take to find out what you have.

1. Take your HDD off so you do not damage your 360.

2. Turn your 360 upside down verticle.

3. Get a good flashlight and look for these in the middleish:

90nm click here

60nm click here

Discuss in our forums HERE

Here is an EASY way to see what DVD drive you have (without voiding waranty) and a short description of each.

Take notice of the shape of the DVD tray itself.  Each have a unique design that makes it a relatively easy task to determine which drive you have without opening your console.

Hitachi: Easy to flash. Easy to Brick.

Samsung: Easy to flash. NOT easy to Brick.

BENQ: Not much is known of this drive. Popular opinion is quietest and fastest of all the 360 drives.

Click HERE to discuss in our forums

First: Xbox Live Problems: If you are having problems with your Gold subscription to Xbox Live do not be alarmed. Everyone is having problems with the service and the problem is being checked out by crew from Microsoft (almost fixed). This is mainly going out to people who had problems a few days ago(and still now but its not as bad). The problem is being said "almost" fixed. If you are a Gold subscriber be expecting a "gift" in some fashion from Microsoft. They have said they will do something for the members who had issuses (1 month free Live? 1000 points?)

Second: Brewology Issues: The staff is aware that people cant get to the site half the time (for me more then half) and is working on the issue. No worries, for to much longer the problem will be resolved.

To discuss in our forums click HERE

RUMORED specs(main differences):

320 HDD(overkill to me)

Built in HD-DVD player

Built in Wifi

To tell everyone the truth I expect this to be a false rumor. I have added up the price for this (if ordered how it is now) and it ends up being around $700. Microsoft has already said it hates the PS3's price. Why would they match or go higher then that?

Expected Release: 8/??/08

To discuss in our forums click HERE

Grand Theft Auto IV, that's right, the 9th game in the Grand Theft Auto series has had it's release date delayed from 2007 to around April 2008 because of additional time needed to complete the title.

Why you ask? Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, stated, “With Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar is setting a new standard for next generation video games. Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms. We all recognize that perfecting the game is vital and I can assure everyone it will be worth the wait. We owe it to the game’s millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience that takes maximum advantage of next generation technology.”

I guess all of us die-hard GTA fans will have to wait till next year untill we can get our greedy little hands on this baby. But, by the sounds of it, it's gonna be worth the wait. Check out screenshots and trailers here.

Full story here.

Also, DivX has been reported working. It is not 100% yet but more like 90%.  So for all the DivX lovers out there, this is a major update for you. In the tests, the 360 could play almost ALL the DivX movies we put on it. 

So what are you waiting for? Go UPDATE. 

And here's the official press release issued by Microsoft about the fall 2007 update explaining the main new features:

[QUOTE]
As promised, Microsoft is bringing some early gifts to your Xbox 360 just prior to the holiday season. Beginning at 0200 a.m. PST on Dec. 4, the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update will be available for all connected Xbox 360 consoles free of charge, bringing an array of new features and enhancements to the leading gaming and entertainment system.

Among the key new enhancements are the previously announced Xbox Originals game download service, Family Timer parental control feature, and expanded social networking experiences. Xbox 360 owners can also look forward to enhanced navigation, profile and video features and Xbox LIVE Arcade Hits.

This free update will be digitally distributed over Xbox LIVE to the more than 8 million Xbox LIVE members worldwide (Xbox LIVE Silver and Gold) with no disc or hard drive required. Gamers without an Xbox LIVE account can easily sign up for the free network by connecting their console to a broadband internet connection. New features and enhancements include:

MORE DOWNLOAD OPTIONS:
* Xbox Originals - With this new service, announced on Nov. 13, consumers can download-to-own full original Xbox games that were previously only available at retail. The digital shelves will always be stocked with classic titles, such as "Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex" "Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge," "Halo," "Fable," "Fuzion Frenzy," "Psychonauts," and more as the catalogue grows over time, at 1200 Microsoft Points per game.
* Xbox LIVE Arcade Hits - On Xbox LIVE Arcade, the Arcade Hits program kicks off where some of the best selling Xbox LIVE Arcade games will become available at permanently reduced prices, making it easier than ever for everyone to build a library of downloadable games! The first games to become Arcade Hits will be "Bankshot Billiards 2" and "Lumines LIVE," which will be available for 800 Microsoft Points each, and "Marble Blast Ultra," "Small Arms" and "Zuma Deluxe," which will be available for 400 Microsoft Points each. With free trial downloads for every game and over 100 games to choose from, Xbox LIVE Arcade offers something for every member of the family.

NEW WAYS TO KEEP UP TO DATE AND CONNECTED:
* Inside Xbox - A new direct feed brings current news straight from Xbox.com into the Xbox LIVE Dashboard providing members an easy, predictable entry point where they can discover what's new in: game releases, events, and Xbox LIVE Marketplace offers.
* Enhanced online profile - Members interested in sharing a few more details about themselves will have the option to go beyond their motto and further personalize their profile with an expanded bio. The extended bios will be visible to "Friends Only" or the entire Xbox LIVE community. 
* Expanded Friends List access - A quick and easy way for gamers to expand their personal community on Xbox LIVE, members will be able to see the Friends Lists of other Xbox LIVE members, boosting their social networking experience on the service.

ENHANCED OVERALL EXPERIENCE AND CONTROL:
* Enhanced Parental Controls - Family Timer, a strong and flexible new addition to the Xbox 360 Family Settings, enables parents to set the amount of time their Xbox 360 can be used on a per-day or per-week basis by their children or other members of the household.
* New video features - The convenience of full-screen movie previews and enhanced video codec support further expand the options when it comes to the Xbox 360 entertainment experience.
* Easy-to-use navigation features - With several noteworthy changes in the Xbox LIVE Dashboard, from the new Game Store button to the Video Store button to enhanced visuals and descriptions in the video library, Xbox LIVE members can find what they want, when they want it. 

These features are just some of the new enhancements Xbox 360 owners can expect as part of the Fall Dashboard Update. On December 4th a list of all the new features and improvements will be posted at: http://www.xbox.com/live. 
[/QUOTE]

This will be an awesome update and also much needed. This is for Silver and Gold members alike. So December 4th, UPDATE THOSE CONSOLES.

Graphixbrew's Official Signature Contest - Details

Did you ever make a signature that was breath-taking? Or have you ever wanted to make one?
Well now you can enter that sig and get it judged, At
Graphixbrew's First Official Signature Contest. See below for details

Prizes
1st Place gets

-Custom title (a reasonable one)  **MAYBE**
-mentioned on the front page
-Custom Userbar

2nd Place gets

-mentioned on the front page
-custom userbar

3rd Place gets

-custom userbar
=====OR=====
-Mentioned on the front page



Rules
1. No ripping, you will be disqualified and banned if you do.
2. It has to be your own work
3. Must not exceed 530x150 Pixels
4. This is a freestyle Contest
5. Renders and C4D's May be used
6. All material in the renders must be appropriate for viewers under 18.
7. No racial or sexual content
8. You may ONLY submit ONE signature

Contest starts November 25th, 2007 and ends December 20th.

Enter HERE

We MIGHT be able to issue custom titles, however if we cannot, we will have a different prize for you.

Dont have Photoshop or a decent paint program? if so PM ME.

Well I noticed it was almost Christmas around here and a lot of people want a Xbox 360. So I decided to break everything down for the people who want a 360 but do not understand all the packages.

 Notes:

*** Hard Drive required 

 Zephyr, Falcon, Jasper ... Can you explain all these different chipsets? 

Zephyr is the name giving to the first upgrade of the Xbox 360's motherboard, which started showing up in retail consoles July 2007, and sported an HDMI 1.2 port and an improved heatsink.

The Falcon chipset will sport a smaller, 65nm CPU -- theoretically, this means cooler temperatures and less energy usage. These chips are expected to find their way into consoles by the end of this year. The rumored Jasper chipset isn't expected until August 2008 and will reportedly feature a smaller, 65nm GPU.

Except for checking for an HDMI port (included in all Zephyr and later chipsets), there is no easy way to tell which chipset you have.

  "Microsoft has no intention of telling you which box has 65-nanometer chips on the inside," Dean Takahashi (Mercury News) said. "All Falcon-equipped Xbox 360s have HDMI ports, but not all HDMI-enabled 360s have Falcons. I really don't know how you're going to be able to tell the difference. If you're buying an Xbox 360 without HDMI, then for sure you aren't getting Falcon," he said. 

Why isn't the Core or Arcade model backwards compatible?

A hard drive is required for backwards compatibility, both for holding the emulation software and to act as a storage space for original Xbox games to use (remember, the original Xbox had a hard drive). It's important to remember that if you buy an Arcade or Core SKU and want to be backwards compatible (or just store more than 256 MB), all you need to do is buy an HDD from Microsoft at your local Video Game seller.

So there you have it. Thanks to Joystick for some of the info. 

 

It's awesome how little has actually changed within the internal design of the console, obviously some components have changed but the general layout remains the same after two years.

Here's what's interesting: the CPU, GPU and eDRAM die all seem to have gotten smaller, but at different rates. The CPU sees the biggest reduction in size, the new core being about 75% the size of the old one, while both GPU components are around 85% the size of their predecessors.
It's possible that all three chips are now 65nm, or a mixture of 65nm and 80nm.Needless to say, the chips are all smaller, which should yield some nice power savings.

 This can make a change to the site and we want this site to suit every person's wants and needs. So post a comment and tell us what you want.  

 Also, we are posting new forum rules. So everyone have a look at them and see what you think.

Well, heres two things i never thought i would see together. Seems ESPN and Microsoft have teamed up to provide all Xbox 360 owners (connected to Live) to enjoy ESPN content. This is awesome news.

"ESPN and Microsoft Corp. today announced an agreement that will add high- and standard-definition full-length games, television shows and video game programming to Xbox LIVE, the online games and entertainment network on Xbox 360. Effective immediately, fans of all ages can access a growing catalog of marquee sporting events and timely programming, including full-length NCAA college football and basketball games, Summer X Games 13, "World Series of Poker," "The Contender," "Madden Nation" and much more on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the leading high-definition video download service.
"Establishing this relationship with Microsoft on Xbox 360 provides an innovative way to reach our target demographic through this dynamic next-generation entertainment console," said Matt Murphy, senior vice president, Digital Video Distribution, Disney and ESPN Media Networks. "This agreement embodies our mission to deliver the best sports content to fans, and does it through an exciting and robust platform that reaches millions of people."
Through this agreement, Xbox LIVE users can download a variety of popular events and shows available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace each week, highlighted by the best matchups from the world of college football and basketball.
For video gamers, ESPN content on Xbox LIVE will include the 2006 and 2007 seasons of "Madden Nation," an ESPN reality series taking fans inside the world of Madden NFL football competitive gaming. Additional programming will include the 2007 "World Series of Poker," the 2007 season of "The Contender," the full-length high-definition surfing documentary "Down the Barrel" and some of the best college football bowl games."
     "This is a natural fit for us, as so many Xbox 360 owners are huge sports fans," said Ross Honey, senior director of the media and entertainment group at Microsoft. "We are dedicated to providing our diverse community of Xbox LIVE users the premium entertainment content they want, and partnering with ESPN is a great example of our continued dedication in the video-on-demand space, especially in high definition."
Currently offering more than 3,200 hours of premium entertainment content from more than 30 studios and networks, Xbox LIVE Marketplace is the only online service offering downloadable movies and TV shows in high definition. More information about the great ESPN content being offered on the service is available at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/marketplace/moviestv/?WT.svl=nav."

This is very nice for us sports fans. Just thinking about baseball games, football games, and every other sport on my Live account one day will be nice. Out of area Sports games while traveling will be a breeze now. We will see more in the upcoming months.

This is opening the doors for a lot of other TV companies to bring in their shows.

This was an article written by Slick. That is Halo 3 in the picture!

(This is an example of what I mean. If you want to help out, write an article and I will post it in your name.)

Well if you have or have not read yet, supposedly a few days ago Toshiba mentioned Microsoft was not and WOULD NOT make a built in HD DVD player. But now that may have changed.....

Toshiba supposedly nixed the rumor of a Tosh-branded Xbox 360 with built-in HD DVD? Well, get this: xboxscene was contacted by Nelsom Bostock Communications, Toshiba's PR company (in the UK at least), and asked to take down the post (which they haven't). According to NBC, "The comment that ran initially on stuff.tv in relation to the Xbox 360 was a misquote." The quote that Toshiba's PR company wants us to run says, "Toshiba has no comment to make on this matter. The Xbox 360 is not a Toshiba product."

Wow. This may mix some peoples feelings this Christmas. Should you go and buy a 360 knowing that next Christmas you MIGHT be able to go out and buy one with built in HD DVD? I say, go out and buy one already. HD DVDs won't become really popular until next Christmas anyway and then you can buy the little adapter. Besides this would jack up the 360 by about $200 anyway. Who wants to pay $559 core a premium 360? Not me. Especially not paying all at one time.

We will update this when we get more info.

Yes, you heard right.

In its Q3 2007 call to analysts, Netflix said that it would consider delivering movies to its subscribers via internet-connected HD-DVD players, which include the Xbox 360.

Netflix president said, CEO and Board chairman Reed Hastings as recorded by financial site Seeking Alpha, "In terms of enabling the viewing of online content on the television screen, we are exploring a variety of options, including Internet connected, high definition DVD players, internet connected game consoles, and dedicated internet set tops, with a variety of partners, trying to understand the best ways to provide inexpensive viewing of online content on the television."

This will probably be coming out in the next coming months...So if your 360 is not connected to the internet , which I don't know why since your probably on LIVE 24/7, find a way to connect it.

thanks to xboxscene.com for the article.

Bungie has it in for all who are cheating in Halo 3. They are not gonna take it anymore so now, you all are warned.

The statement from Bungie.

“There are those of you doing things you shouldn’t be in Halo 3. Some of you have gotten a little too famous for your own good. This ain’t a church and there is no redemption or salvation once you have been judged. Apologies are now officially too late to save you.

The storm approaches.
Love, Bungie”

So everyone who has a modded console or any other way of cheating on your 360, get ready to be banned....

"GameStop: Is the IPTV feature going to be a dashboard update?

Chris Satchell: How we're doing it at first is we're working with telecommunication partners who are intending to deliver an IPTV service and saying, "Here's a different kind of box you can use. Instead of just having a standard set-top box, use an Xbox 360. It gives you new services to provide your customers, and for gamers it gives them a really cool combination of next-generation television and next-generation gaming."

I think where you'll first see it will be in partnership with these telco partners who are doing IPTV. Now, later on, we're looking at, "Well, should we do an update to allow people who've got just an Xbox 360 to get to some of the same services rather than having to get it from a telco?" We're looking at both, but first you're going to see it from our partners.

GS: If Microsoft chooses to make IPTV available to all Xbox 360 owners, will upgrading be as simple as a dashboard update?

CS: If we do open it up so that our current users can get to the service, we're not quite sure how we'll deliver it. Of course, we have a great system with [Xbox] Live, so it's entirely possible that we could do it as an upgrade. It's entirely possible we could give it to you on a disc and you could just install it. There are all sorts of ways we can give it to you. Obviously our preference normally is to do everything online because that's where people are at.

GS: This might be too early to ask, but are you guys discussing how much this will cost?

CS: An IPTV and Xbox service, how much would it cost? Really, that's for our partners to define because they're likely going to bundle it in some way, kind of like when you go to Comcast and go, "Hey, I want my Internet phone, I want my Internet, I want my movies," and they do packages. [IPTV and Xbox 360] will probably be the same type of thing--that's really up to our partners and not us to set price. What we're providing is the next generation of technology and giving them something that nobody else is: full gaming with this incredible television service and the Live network as well.

GS: All this cool HD stuff that you're talking about starts to take up space. The 20GB for a lot of people is already starting to fill up. Seeing how Microsoft has been great about responding to customer needs on the Xbox 360, can you speak to larger-capacity hard drives?

CS: That's not really something we're looking at today. We're very open to feedback on it. As we produce these services, if we see an increase in pressure that's something that will be interesting to look at, but there isn't any announcement today about any new configuration that may or may not be happening.

GS: What can you tell us about the HDMI-enabled Xbox 360 rumors that have been going around?

CS: We're always working on prototypes and new technologies and just playing with stuff in Redmond to see what's interesting. I think at the moment we have the widest available connections on the system. If you want to get great HD, I think we've got a good solution for that. In the future it's interesting to see where standards evolve to. I think one of the problems that the whole industry, us and entertainment, are facing at the moment is we're in this world where standards are evolving very quickly.

We have different high-definition standards for discs that we know are competing at the moment. We think HD-DVD is going to be the right way to go, but really it's all about choice in that system so that's why we're offering these sort of services with downloads--skip that whole "format wars" problem. With other standards, audiovideo standards, they're evolving very quickly as well. We're obviously keeping an eye on that and saying, "What are the future standards and how do we give consumers the right choice for that?"

At the moment, everything you might have seen is just looking at our experimentation back in Redmond, not really a product that we're thinking about announcing."

Via [ Gamespot ]