Xbox
”Xbox 360 Live Dashboard Getting Motion-Controlled 3D Interface
Kotaku's pirate ear to the ground is picking up from sources that the Live dashboard will be updated with a spanky new interface option: what Crecente says is a Minority Report-like 3D interface that'll make use of that long-rumored motion controller. (In addition to those 80 functions that didn't materialize in a Spring Update.) The "motion controls will allow users to sort of slide through the different levels of this floating menu system." Sounds slick, it was taking me too long to flip through all those blades. [Kotaku]
Xbox 360 Price Cut Rumor Round-Up: 20GB Cheaper to Make Room for 60GB Model
First, there was the leaked K-Mart circular revealing a sweet $50 price cut to the Xbox 360 Premium. Since then, the possibility has gotten firmer. Notably the Hollywood Reporter says that a "major retailer" and industry sources have informed them the cut will happen before E3 (though they call it the Pro). And usually reliable Ars Technica says the 20GB model is getting cheaped out to be replaced by that rumored 60GB model. More »Pro First-Person Shooter Xbox 360 Controller Mod Won't Actually Help Your CoD4 Skills
We've seen a couple Xbox 360 controller mods that supposedly make it more first-person shooter friendly by shoving extra buttons on the back. F00 f00 at Acid Mods goes a step further and actually moves the buttons to the back, making for a butter smooth front and action-packed back, the theory being you never have to take your thumb off the joystick. (Still no substitute for a keyboard and mouse.) Yes there's a video of this thing working. No, it won't actually help you beat me in a Domination match in Call of Duty 4. More »Microsoft's J Allard (Xbox 360 and Zune) Gets a Promotion
J Allard, who most recently helped give the Xbox and the Zune a really, really good user experience has gotten a promotion to "Chief Experience Officer" of the Entertainment and Devices devision. The E&D devision, for those of you who don't know, encompasses Xbox, Games for Windows, Mobile Communications (including Windows Mobile), Zune, Connected TV, Microsoft Surface, Mac Office, Microsoft Auto and Windows Embedded. Now that Allard is essentially going to have his fingers in all these pies, you can expect a Zune/Xbox 360-level of UI polish that projects like Windows Mobile haven't seen before. You can't see it, but we're doing a fist pump now. [ZDNet]Xbox 360 Price Cut Leaked By K-Mart Weekly Circular
A forum user High-Def Digest just posted a scan from next week's K-Mart weekly circular ad showing a price drop of $50 on the Xbox 360 Premium. The $299 price still includes a 20GB hard drive, and the timing of this supposed price drop matches up with whatever announcements Microsoft is going to have at E3—some of which which are rumored to either be a price drop or a newer version with slightly bigger storage. Kotaku points out that there's no price drop for either of the other two models, but with the Arcade sitting at $279, it seems more than likely that Microsoft will lower that as well. [High Def Digest via NeoGAF via Kotaku]The Xbox 360 DRM Transfer Tool Is Here
You know that problem of having to be signed into Xbox Live after you transferred your content from your old, broken Xbox 360 to your new, slightly less broken Xbox 360? The one where you can't play your old stuff on your new machine without having an active connection? They've got a fix out now called the DRM Transfer Tool that solves just this issue. The whole thing takes "less than a minute," and transfers your license for the content between machines so you can watch/play it without being signed on. Hit up the link to do it to yours. [Xbox via Gamer Score Blog]Rumor: Microsoft to Allow Third-Party Xbox 360 Consoles
The last time we saw the rumor of Microsoft licensing Xbox 360 technologies to other companies was a few years ago, but EGM's got a fresh update to it. Their rumor column says that Microsoft might be licensing third-party manufacturers to build Xbox 360 hardware that can play off-the-shelf Xbox 360 discs. That's right.
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Lightning Review: Iomega ScreenPlay HD Multimedia Drive
The Gadget: The Iomega ScreenPlay HD upscaling multimedia drive, a 500GB HDD for playing movies, music and slideshows on your TV set. More »Rumor: Trioxide Gadget Lets You Play Xbox 360, PS3, Wii on Your PC
This rumor comes from the same leaky survey site that provided the Xbox 360 Avatar rumor and the WiiFit-like balance board rumor, so it may or may not be legit. Supposedly there's a company working on a device called Trioxide which, according to Kotaku, allows "the ability to play the latest console games (ie Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, etc) on your PC." The only way we can see this as working is on a really powerful PC with really optimized emulation software, which takes years and years to develop. In other words, it seems really unlikely, and could be something someone cooked up for a survey. [Kotaku]Xbox 360, PS3 and PC to Get Balance Boards
A new leak from Activision reveals that the next Tony Hawk skateboarding game will feature a breakthrough gaming peripheral for the 360, PS3 and PC. So what exactly is it? Wait for it...motion controls...wait for it again...through a board controller. For those of you who don't feel like plastic instruments, gamepads for multiple systems and the freakin' consoles themselves have taken over your life enough, there's more crap on the way!! [Kotaku]Microsoft to Release 60GB Xbox 360?
With E3 just around the bend, Trusted Reviews is reporting that Microsoft will announce a new Xbox 360 SKU at the event—a 60GB unit that's been rumored for a while. There's no word on just how Microsoft will incorporate system into its line (which is currently three models offering no hard drive, a 20GB hard drive or a 120GB hard drive), but we're betting that it will outright replace the 20GB Xbox 360 Premium. And hopefully its 60GB drive will be available as a cheaper standalone upgrade than Microsoft's current college-tuition-inhaling 120GB drive. [Trusted Reviews]Xbox 360's Rumored Avatars Might Be Their Nintendo Miis
Xbox 360 Fanboy found this Flash document on Intellisponse's servers, which is an online research and web-survey platform. It shows off a picture of a bunch of Mii-like characters called Avatars, that (according to the text above it) are supposed to be for the Xbox 360 and are used instead of the gamer picture. It's unclear whether or not this picture is a survey, but seeing as Intellisponse is a survey and the picture looks a whole lot like a survey, it's probably a part of a survey.
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State of The Infinite Format War: Get Ready for Five Long Years of Set-Top Battle Royale
One year ago, we predicted that the infinite format war would rise from the ashes of the HD DVD/Blu-ray format war—that a million online services and set-top boxes would suddenly promise to deliver movies and video to your computer or TV. And that each one would essentially be their own format, since none of them are compatible, and each would promise only a fraction of available movies. We were right about our fears, but we also have a solution to a decent download collection.
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Microsoft's $1 Billion Xbox 360 Recall Problems Caused By Chip Cheapness
Microsoft's red ring Xbox 360 problems have cost the company about a billion dollars in warranty repairs, but the research vice president and chief analyst at Gartner said that the hardware problems were caused because Microsoft wanted to be cheap. Instead of using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) vender to make a graphics chip for the 360, Microsoft decided to design it themselves and have Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing create it. This saved "tens of millions of dollars" in design costs. Yes, only tens of millions. More »Robbie Bach Denies Blu-ray Xbox and Zune Phone, But Hints Zune Touch, and Zune Platform May Expand to Other Devices
In an SFGate interview running today, Robbie Bach, Microsoft's president for entertainment and devices, touched on many familiar points: Zune is more than a product, it's a platform, and because of that, we shouldn't be surprised if pieces of it turn up on other devices. However, as for a Zune phone or any other iPhone competitor, Bach stressed that there is a diverse array of Windows Mobile products to choose from, and added, "We don't have any plans to make phones ourselves." As for the old chestnut about a Blu-ray-equipped next-gen Xbox, he said, "That is so far out that there isn't anything to talk about." (He probably won't change his mind by tomorrow.) Update: Apparently there's some hullabaloo over Bach saying, "Just assume that over time where there's a screen, touch will be part of it." Is that a reference to a Zune Touch of some kind? To be honest, it's a fairly un-bold prediction, given the direction of all handhelds everywhere. So yeah, sounds like a touchscreen Zune will happen, but like, duh.
It was all business as usual, but with all due respect, I do have to beat Robbie up over a few other overly precious quotes:
More »Rumor: Microsoft to "Upstage" Apple WWDC With Xbox 360 Blu-Ray Announcement
Microsoft's on-again, off-again relationship with an Xbox 360 Blu-Ray drive looks set to be on again this Monday. As you all know by now, Monday marks the beginning of Apple's annual WWDC, and a little bird told us something is going to be announced by Steve Jobs there during his keynote. Microsoft doesn't care; a tipster told CrunchGear it's going to "upstage" Jobs, Apple and the entire known tech-using world by announcing an Xbox 360 with Blu-Ray drive one hour before the beginning of the conference. More »Nyko's Charge Base 360 Xbox 360 Controller Charger Ships Now
Nyko's Charge Base 360 is finally shipping, acting much like the Charge Base PS3 they released last year. The 360 version is slightly different in that it comes with two special rechargeable battery packs with contacts that charge when docked into the charge base. If the $39 is slightly too expensive, you can go the cheaper route with Nyko's Charge Station 360, which just takes in packs instead of whole controllers. Order on June 2 and you'll be able to get their black and gold model, which looks like a original Star Trek series prop. [Nyko]







