Lawsuit forces Microsoft to stay mum about Xbox Live status

It looks like we won't be seeing another barrage of Xbox Live status updates like we saw in the past few weeks anytime soon, at least as long as that little lawsuit is going on down in Texas. That unfortunate word comes from none other than Major Nelson, who said in his podcast that Microsoft can no longer update gamers on the situation due to "legal issues." Those constraints apparently even extend as far as the Major's Twitter page, leaving gamers in the dark in the event of yet another Xbox Live outage. In case you missed it, the lawsuit in Texas was filed after the outage in December by three disgruntled gamers, who claim that Microsoft knew activity would be at a peak during that time of year but "failed to provide adequate access and service to Xbox Live and its subscribers."

No word on any progress in that suit just yet, but we're guessing that Microsoft and Xbox users alike are hoping it gets wrapped up as soon as possible.

Source- http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/14/lawsuit-forces-microsoft-to-stay-mum-about-xbox-live-status/

WiiWare Launching this March- Developer Says

Nintendo's answer to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Store will launch within 2-3 months, says Netherlands-based Engine Software.

The tentative debut of Wii's original download service was named by Engine while announcing their first WiiWare game on Wednesday, reports Shack News.

Project Bang!, as it is currently called, is described as "a casual game type with very addictive gameplay" for one or two players using the Wii Remote.

Engine Software's previous works include High Scool Musical: Livin' The Dream for GBA, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Circle of Spies on DS, and contributing work on the DS version of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords.

Nintendo previously said WiiWare would launch in "early 2008." The company denied comment when pressed by Shack News for further confirmation.

Source- http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141243-c,gameconsoles/article.html#

Xbox 360 Devil May Cry 4 bundle hitting Japan in January

For all you Devil May Cry fanatics out there (wait -- are there Devil May Cry fanatics out there?) you're about to get a super-special, unicorn explosion from Microsoft. That's right, babies, it's the Devil May Cry special edition Xbox 360. Actually, it's more like a bundle of the boring, old, non-special (though HDMI equipped) Xbox 360, coupled with the brand spaking new Devil May Cry 4, where the Devil, crying, and the possibility of crying meet for a fourth -- but probably not final -- time.

Right now it's looking like a Japanese-only deal, but you never know when something this gooey will drip over to these shores. Available January 31st for ¥37,800 (or about $330).

Source- http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/27/xbox-360-devil-may-cry-4-bundle-hitting-japan-in-january/

Microsoft Slashes Xbox360 Prices This December

Good news for anyone looking to get into next gen gaming, Microsoft has slashed the price of the Xbox 360 significantly this holiday season.

For the month of December only, the Xbox 360 core console will be sold for Rs. 14,990 while the Pro version will set you back by Rs. 23,990. The core console will come bundled with two free games (Forza Motorsport 2 and Viva Piñata) while the Pro version will come bundled with four games (Project Gotham Racing 3, Forza Motorsport 2, Viva Piñata and Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007).

And remember, this offer is available till 31 December 07 and till stocks last.

Source- http://www.tech2.com/india/news/xbox360-games/ms-slashes-xbox360-prices-this-december/23581/0

Wii, "Call of Duty" top U.S. charts in November

Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) Wii held on to its spot as the No. 1 video game console in the United States in November, selling 981,000 units, industry data showed on Thursday.

It was the Wii's best showing for the console since its November 2006 launch, topping last December's sales figure by 60%, according to market research firm NPD.

"Since there is still an evident inventory shortage at retail, it's difficult to say just how high sales could be if you took that issue out of the equation," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said.

Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 console sold 770,000 units while Sony Corp's (6758.T) PlayStation 3 sold 466,000 units, NPD said.

Activision Inc had the top-selling video game, "Call of Duty 4," which sold more than 2.01 million copies for the Xbox 360 and PS3, NPD said.

Nintendo also sold 1.53 million of its DS handheld device while Sony sold 567,000 of its PlayStation Portable, the data showed.

Activision's "Guitar Hero 3" sold 1.9 million copies for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and Sony's older PlayStation 2.

"Assassin's Creed" from France's Ubisoft sold nearly 1.36 million copies for the Xbox 360 and PS3, while Nintendo's "Super Mario Galaxy" for the Wii sold 1.12 million copies.

Source- http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071214/tc_nm/videogames_sales_dc;_ylt=Aj2pjTgOFh7bNBSufpsBKRAjtBAF

Xbox 360 DivX/XviD Playback Tested - It's Almost Perfect

The Xbox 360 supports DivX and XviD as of today, which may make some of you with big file collections (like us) as giddy as a kid in store with puppies made of candy. We threw our entire collection of movies, TV shows and random clips at it and found that the 360 can play back pretty much anything. Here are some notes.

You can play files off of a CD/DVD. This feature wasn't listed on the Xbox Team's website as one of the supported locations for playing back content, but this is fantastic for homes that have wireless networks (or no network at all). In fact, reading off a disc is probably the best way to ensure your movie won't cut out in the middle due to network congestion (unlikely) or someone turning off the computer accidentally (fairly likely).

It supports almost all files. It played back all TV shows we threw at it, including My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Battlestar Galactica, and The Venture Bros.. Most of these, and most TV downloaded TV shows, are encoded in XviD format. As for DivX, that's supported back to version 5.0, but it's unlikely that you're going to find any DivX 3 or DivX 4 online, unless you're talking about old files you've saved for a couple years.

AC3 Audio is supported. Nice! AC3 support was added in the Spring Update, but it's nice to see it working with DivX/XviD. Too bad it's not 5.1 though. 5.1 is supported!

It supports Windows Home Server as well. Along with USB drives and WMP11 streaming, you can also stream DivX/XviD from Windows Home Server too. It makes sense to store all your videos on here, since videos are big and WHS has a lot of room. QED.

Video Stretching is kind of weird. The Xbox will try and auto-fit your video to the screen when it starts playing, but it gets confused easily with different video dimensions. You'll want to manually change the playback mode to either letterbox or stretched, depending on what kind of content (widescreen, fullscreen, PAL) you're playing back.

You can skip through a video with the bumpers. RB and LB let you skip forward and back through the movie, but might not be granular enough to get to the place you want to be. You'll have to use the trigger buttons to FF or RW.

It's fast. If your network connection is fast enough (my network is Gigabit Ethernet enabled, which isn't a huge deal since the 360 is only 10/100), the video should play back without a hitch. It's quite nice to be able to play back stuff on your 360, in HD, without having to transcode it into WMV first.

It doesn't work in Windows Media Center Extender. You're going to have to kick out of WMC and back to the dashboard in order to play your videos. Annoying for people who like to switch between live TV and downloaded content.

It's not entirely perfect. It's 90% of the way there, but 5.1 AC3 support, improved handling of different video dimensions, better playback controls and Windows Media Center Extender support will make this the perfect DivX/Xvid implementation.

Source- http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/xbox-360-divx%5Cxvid-test/xbox-360-divxxvid-playback-tested-verdict-its-almost-perfect-329769.php

Xbox Live Video Coming to Europe Marketplace on December 11

European Xbox 360 owners don't just get the Dashboard update with DivX and XviD playback, they're finally getting Xbox Live Video Marketplace as well! They've been asking for it forever (seriously, they ask almost every time there's Video Marketplace news), but come December 11, they'll be able to pay 380 points for 720p HD video and 250 for SD video. Big list of movies available at launch in the UK after the jump.

300
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
ZODIAC
MATRIX, THE
MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, THE
MATRIX RELOADED, THE
OCEAN'S ELEVEN
PERFECT STORM, THE
SWORDFISH
THREE KINGS
TRAINING DAY
FUGITIVE, THE
RISKY BUSINESS
SPACE COWBOYS
EYES WIDE SHUT
ANALYZE THIS
DEMOLITION MAN
ERASER
EXECUTIVE DECISION
LETHAL WEAPON 3
LETHAL WEAPON 4
LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION
MARS ATTACKS!
CLASH OF THE TITANS
SUPERMAN III
DEAD CALM

Source- http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/xbox-live-video-marketplace-coming-to-europe-on-december-11-329912.php

Xbox 360 fall dashboard update details revealed

Starting December 4, Xbox 360 owners will be able to download the latest dashboard update from Microsoft. While we stated earlier in the month that this update would allow users to download original Xbox titles, this update will also add various additional features to the console's interface. Since dashboard updates are only released bi-yearly, they are usually packed with a hefty amount of changes and this fall update is no different:

• Xbox LIVE Arcade hits: Best-selling Xbox LIVE Arcade games like Marble Blast Ultra and Lumines LIVE will be available at permanently discounted prices.
• New video features: Support for full-screen video previews and, more importantly, support for the DivX video codec (version 5.0 and higher).
• Inside Xbox: A direct newsfeed from Microsoft outlining up-to-the-minute information regarding Xbox LIVE and the Marketplace.
• Enhanced parental controls: New features include a timer that can limit the amount of time a child can play per day or week.
• Enhanced online profile: Allows members to append more information about themselves and limit who can see it on Xbox LIVE.
• Enchanced friends list access: Gamers can now see the friends list of other members of Xbox LIVE.
• Improved navigation: Game Store and Video Store buttons will be added to the interface, further simplifying navigation.

Source- http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9827162-7.html?tag=recentPosts

Xbox 360: Reviews Of Some Great games for holiday Season

Shopping for gamers can always be a bit difficult if the shopper is not familiar with the available platform games and the specific tastes of the individual. However, with this helpful guide, shoppers can deal with to wrangle up a great holiday gift for any Xbox 360 gamer on their list, getting by knowing only the basics about the types of games the individual gift recipient enjoys.

When shopping for Xbox 360 players, it is essential to look at what has happened this year (2007) with Microsoft, since this will help to determine what games are available, how sought after specific games are or have been, and what games are exclusive to the Xbox 360.

After 2 years, Microsoft has made a number of strides with the Xbox 360 console. Not only outselling PS3 games in Japan, but also managing to make a profit for the first time, gamers of the Xbox 360 platform is likely to love game gifts this season.

Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV are some great action games that are doing well with the Xbox 360. Not only that, but Microsoft has managed to nab exclusive rights to the latest installment of the Grand Theft Auto series. If your gift recipient is one who appreciates tactical maneuvers or car chases and action, these are going to be some potential gifts to consider.

Other games that left Sony to partner up with the Xbox team include Ace Combat 6, Final Fantasy XI and the to-be-released games Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 4. If you are looking to buy any of these games, it is important to be aware that the only platform they will be available on is the Xbox 360.

Source- http://www.gadgetell.com/2007/11/xbox-360-year-in-review-great-games-for-the-holidays/

Hot Christmas gadgets: Nintendo Wii, sat nav and iPods

Christmas, of course, comes earlier every year. For retailers it starts earlier than most as they try to identify the year’s 'must have' gifts. In order to give them a bit of a hand, some predictions for what HITWISE think about this year’s hot gadgets, entertainment, toys and fashions.

Search term analysis provides great insight into people's habits and desires, so we analysed the top 2,000 search terms that sent traffic to a Hitwise Custom Category consisting of the top 100 online retail websites in the UK during the four weeks ending 22nd September 2007. Gadgets are up first, and our definition encompasses a range of consumer electronics products including mobile phones, computers and peripherals, games consoles, in car entertainment and navigation systems, and audio-visual equipment.

Nintendo Wii is the most searched for gaming console in the UK, ranking as the sixth most popular gadget heading into Christmas, ahead of the Xbox 360 at number 7 and the Nintendo DS at number 8. There were 5 times as many searches for the Nintendo Wii as the Sony Playstation 3, which did not make the top 10 gadget list.

Top gadgets by share of searches-

Mobile phones are the most popular gadgets in the UK, capturing 46% of all searches, followed by computers, iPods, satellite navigation systems and high definition televisions. The success for the TomTom brand of satellite navigation systems continues with the number of searches for 'tomtom' double that for the generic term 'sat nav'. Searches for 'external hard drive' have increased by 15% year on year, reflecting a desire among UK consumers to back up their precious collections of digital music, photos and videos.

The Nokia N95 multimedia phone captures almost one in ten searches for mobile phone models in the UK, making it the most popular handset. It is followed closely by the stylish Nokia 6300, with 8.7% of searches, and the Samsung G600 5 mega pixel camera phone, with 8.5%.

Top mobile phone models by share of searches-

The top mobile phone manufacturer by share of UK Internet searches is Nokia, which receives 35% of searches across the top 5 brands, followed by Sony Ericsson with 29% and Samsung with 24%. Motorola is at number four with a 6% share, followed by LG with 5%.

There are 14 times as many searches for the Apple iPod as for all the other MP3 players combined. Two thirds of searches are for the generic iPod, while one in five searchers is looking specifically for the iPod Nano, which has seen searches increase by 67% year on year.

Most searched for gadget brands-

The new iPod Touch and the UK release of the iPhone were announced too late to have a significant impact on the retail search data, but there is a massive amount of internet buzz about both products. For example, the volume of searches for ‘iPhone’ sending traffic to News and Media websites has increased 5 fold over the last month. With Apple the most searched for gadget brand in the UK, it seems likely that both products will find eager fans amongst British consumers. Dell is the second most searched for brand, receiving almost four times as many searches as its nearest rival HP.

Source- http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2007/09/hot_christmas_gadgets_nintendo.html

Microsoft UK Offers Ten Free XBLA Games

If you live in the UK, here’s another reason to buy yourself an Xbox 360 – if you purchase one on a friend’s recommendation, both of you will get ten XBLA games absolutely free! All you have to do is fill in a form jointly with that friend of yours, and you’ll have these titles available for free:

Every Extend Extra Extreme, Sonic The Hedgehog, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Bomberman Live, Marble Blast Ultra, Spyglass Boardgames, 3D Mini Golf Adventures, Small Arms, Assault Heroes and Zuma Deluxe.
Here's what Stephen McGill, head of gaming and entertainment, devices division, Microsoft UK had to say -

"Going into this holiday period with one of the greatest line ups in video game history is certainly a compelling reason for a friend to jump into the world of Xbox 360. However, this incredible offer also enforces the fact we’ve got an exceptional online service in Xbox Live, which truly does bring everyone together."

I’m not sure if this offer will ever make it to the Indian market, but my best guess is that it’ll be a while before we see something if this sort around here. After all, XBL has just launched in India and Microsoft wouldn't want to give us free goodies just yet.

Source- http://www.tech2.com/india/news/xbox360-games/microsoft-uk-offers-ten-free-xbla-games/22453/0