Tag Archives: Microsoft Xbox 360

Xbox 360 price drop is official

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Microsoft is ready to go head-to-head with their arch-rival Sony in the video games business.  The Xbox 360 Elite console will match the PS3 Slim costing $299.99 (from $399.99) this Friday.  The Xbox 360 Pro console (now $249.99) will phase out after inventory gets flushed, making the Elite and Arcade ($199.99) the only Xbox 360 SKUs on the market.  In somewhat related news, Microsoft has stated that the upcoming Project Natal accessory “will work with every Xbox 360 sold today and tomorrow.”  Neat-0.

[Via Engadget]

Xbox Dashboard update–new details

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A bundle of details have emerged concerning the new Xbox Dashboard update.

(1) The first ‘Games on Demand’ game titles have been revealed

The initial 24 games to be made available for download over the Internet via Xbox Live have been announced today.  Some include: Assasin’s Creed, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 2, Fight Night Round 3, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  Look after the break for the entire list of games and a quick video glipse of the ‘Games on Demand’ dashboard in action.

(2) The Netflix update is…disappointing

It was previously announced that the Netflix update will allow Xbox Live Gold members and Netflix subscribers to edit their personal Netflix queues right on the Xbox, without the need for a PC.  While that is nice and dandy, Microsoft has lowered the notch of functionality.  Users are restricted to browsing only the Top 50 videos for each video category, so there is no searching by title and no browsing alphabetically.  Microsoft’s Ben Smith, Director of Program Management for Xbox Live, on the matter: “I think when people come to Xbox they’re not really looking so much for functional, they really want to have fun, they want to be wowed.”  Uhh..I don’t think so.  People want to be able to browse the ENTIRE Netflix database, with capable search features built-in.  It is worthy to mention that Microsoft says it will listen to their user-base, and if the people call for a true Netflix experience on their Xbox, they will provide it in a future update.  *Cue a sigh of relief.

Look out for the new Xbox Dashboard update coming next Tuesday, August 11th.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Joystiq]

Continue reading Xbox Dashboard update–new details →

Halo Legends and Halo Waypoint coming soon

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The Halo universe is about to be expaned in two major ways, first by way of Halo Legends.  Microsoft has teamed up with a bunch of renowned anime studios to create a collection of original short films that will bring the exciting story of Master Chief and the discovery of the mysterious Halo rings to life on the small screen.  The short anime-style films will be produced by Microsoft’s 343 Industries and creative direction will come from anime pioneer Shinji Aramaki.  Aramaki: “Halo and its characters are a very natural fit for anime.”  If you are at all interested in the back story of the world of Halo and its characters, this will be a must see.  All seven short films will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2010.  However, a preview of select episodes debut on Xbox Live this fall.

Also announced is Halo Waypoint, a one-stop destination for all things Halo on Xbox Live.  According to Microsoft, “It will inform fans of the latest Halo news and activities, and grant access to content ranging from podcasts, trailers and screenshots, to exclusive video footage you won’t find anywhere else. It also will provide a new challenge for Halo gamers with a career system and player rankings tied to both in-game and out-of-game accomplishments related to Halo.”  Look out for this new portal on Xbox Live this fall.  Halo fans, rejoice!

[Via IGN; Animation Magazine; Examiner; Xbox.com]

Xbox 360 updates coming soon [Updated]

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Microsoft has announced a slew of exciting updates coming to the Xbox 360 (granted you are connected to Xbox Live). Some of the new features include: Netflix updates, including movie parties (a Netflix Gold member can invite up to seven friends (represented by their avatars) to watch a movie in a virtual theatre); managing your queue (Netflix members can now browse the entire Netflix Instant Stream queue from their console, no PC required); avatar marketplace (there will be a store where clothes and props can be purchased for your personal and customizable avatar); games on demand (full Xbox 360 games can now be purchased right on the console, along with their game manuals (no need to purchase a physical game in a store), and it’s yours to keep (the games are attached to your Xbox Live account, so you can move games from different consoles or delete them if you so choose); and more! Check after the break to see the entire breakdown of updates, and see below for screenshots of the new menus. These updates will only be available as a preview release at first. All updates should be released later in the summer (think late August). Also, keep in mind that these updates DO NOT include the recently announced Facebook and Twitter integration, Zune video store, 1080p Instant On, and Last.fm updates; these will be released at a later date (probably Fall 2009).

Update: The Xbox Live Dashboard update will be available to download on August 11th.

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[Via Engadget]

Continue reading Xbox 360 updates coming soon [Updated] →

Bill Gates on Chrome OS, Natal

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This week Bill Gates sat down with CNET for an engaging interview about physics lectures that Gates is releasing for the public to view for free.  The Richard Feynman lectures are very interesting; they “take notions such as gravity and explain how they work and the broad implications they have in understanding the ways of the universe.”  Although this is quite intriguing, the tech-related goodness forms near the end of the interview when Gates is asked to spill his thoughts on Google’s latest announcement concerning their Chrome OS.

Gates: “…there’s many, many forms of Linux operating systems out there, and packaged in different ways, and booted in different ways. So I don’t know anything in particular about what Google is doing. But, in some ways I’m surprised people are acting like there’s something new. I mean, you’ve got Android running on netbooks; it’s got a browser in it. In any case, you should make them be concrete about what they’re doing. It is kind of a typical thing. When Google is doing anything it gets this–the more vague they are, the more interesting it is.”

Later Gates is asked about his views on the current state of Microsoft, a company he left in the midst of a Vista crisis and a potential Windows 7 comeback.  Gates says he recently visited the MS Cambridge labs and sees a bright future for Project Natal.  Interestly, he lets on that the Natal camera technology will cover more than video games with the Xbox 360; it will evolve the computer interface as well.  Exciting stuff.  Brilliant man.  Click the source link above to read the interview in its entirety.