XCM Cross Battle Adapter – use Wired 360 Controller on PS3
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, December 04, 2008
XCM announced a new product for the Xbox 360: <BR><I> Dream comes true! Finally an adapter to connect your wired Xbox 360 controller to your PS3 console! Product description : for xbox 360 controllers’ fans, now you can use your 360 wired controller on PS 3 console, plug and play, also built in rapid fire function. 　 For many reasons people really like the Xbox 360 controller. The look and feel are second to none. Now those same controllers can be used on your Playstation 3 console! For the first time you’ll have the use of real triggers on your Playstation 3 console! </I><BR><BR> Official Site:
Xbox 360 Has Biggest Sales Month Ever in Europe
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, December 04, 2008
From the Microsoft press release <BR><I> Xbox today reveals November was its biggest sales month in its six-year European history, with sales up 124% over last November. This strong momentum shows that European consumers are responding to the Xbox 360 mix of value, great games, entertainment, and the recently-launched New Xbox Experience, despite challenging economic conditions. November 2008 saw the largest Xbox sales ever in the six-year history of the brand in Europe. GfK-ChartTrack data shows that the console outsold PlayStation 3 across the entire region and in particular has seen significant gains in markets like France, Spain and Italy, where it has been outselling PlayStation 3 week after week. Xbox 360 has sold more than seven million consoles in Europe since its launch in November 2005 and was the fastest-growing console in Europe for the month of November, with sales up year-over-year 124% versus 43% for Wii and 3% for PlayStation 3. Chris Lewis, Regional Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA, said: “November was a very significant milestone for Xbox – we sold the most consoles ever in our history in Europe, and are outselling PlayStation 3 week-on-week across Europe. Since the reduction in the Xbox 360 ERP in September, bringing the entry-level price point for Xbox 360 down to ?129.99, consumers have responded enthusiastically to the Xbox 360 offering. Our strong partnerships with retail and with publishers have played a big role in this success – we are working closely with retail to ensure a steady supply of consoles throughout the Christmas season, and third-party games have been selling well on the Xbox 360 platform and providing great choice for consumers. “In the current economic conditions, consumers are more cautious than ever and looking for more value for their entertainment spend,” said Lewis. “Xbox 360 delivers that value – we’re now the best-value next-gen console on the market and this positive momentum indicates Xbox 360 is offering the right blend of gaming and entertainment experiences at the right price.” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games analyst at media research company Screen Digest said: “Even under the current economic conditions European consumers are spending strongly on games as we reach the mass adoption phase of this cycle of consoles. This Christmas we expect console game sales to outperform last year by a substantial margin, which is a boost for the whole industry. Consumers recognise that games offer a strong value proposition compared to many other forms of entertainment and this is being reflected at the tills.” </I><BR><BR>
New BenHeck Xbox 360 Portable
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, December 04, 2008
From benheck.com : <BR><I> My latest project is the Xbox 360 Portable. Figured that was a more appropriate name than laptop, because seriously, who’d put this in their lap? It weighs almost as much as my sister’s cat. It differs from my past Xbox 360 laptops in several ways: * Removable standard Xbox 360 hard drive for easy profile/data swapping * Both memory card slots accessible, same reason. * No keyboard! Really, they have those chat pads, what’s the point? (Besides looking cool) * Simplified layout of ports and buttons. * Internal wi-fi module, no external antenna . Antenna is strung out inside unit like other consoles/laptops. * Beveled edges! Countersunk screws! </I><BR><BR> Full Story: benheck.com
Maximus 360 Xtractor Reader v2.7
Xbox Scene :: Monday, December 01, 2008
Maximus released a new version of his Xtractor Reader: <BR><I> WHAT IS IT: * Graphical tool to allow read keys from Lite On / Benq Drives * It supports USB key dumping if using with an 360 Xtractor Tool * Also contains bonus feature as NO-SLAX ModeB command * Can work with 360 xtractor tool or other (homemade max323) adapters, even rival tools are welcome MAIN FEATURES: – Key reading on Liteon Benq Drives – key.bin/identify.bin/inquiry.bin file generation – Allow ORIGINAL / CLONE detection for 360 Xtractor Tool (R.I.P. D.France) – BONUS FEATURE: Send ModeB command to All Hitachi Drives (even 78/79) NO SLAX REQUIRED WHAT’S NEW ON 2.7: * ADDED: Detect button for COM ports so it can locate easier the Virtual com port that windows assigned to the xtractor (if using xtractor usb conection). * FIXED: Inquiry data returned zero on some sata cards. </I><BR><BR> Official Site: (thx to hitman43 for the news) Download: here Buy Maximus 360 Xtractor ($36): gocybershopping.com
Jasper Motherboard in the Wild: 256MB Internal ‘MU’, 150W PSU, …
Xbox Scene :: Monday, December 01, 2008
It looks like the first Jasper motherboards (which should have the new 65nm GPU) are now out in the wild! Moddage posted pictures of his new Jasper 360 on our forums (here and here ) and we also received some pictures from The Dude Z. Both are Arcade SKUs made 10-23-2008 Lot #0843X by Team FDOU. The new power supply is now 150W (25W less than those used with Falcon boards) and the plug has of course been changed so u can’t plugin this PSU into an older motherboard. Other unannounced change … the onboard flash chip has grown from 16MB to 256MB. Microsoft included internal memory storage, so the Arcade SKU now ships without (external) Memory Unit and the new NXE dash will install fully on the flashchip (rather than requiring a HDD or external MU). But the internal memory can also be used to store gamesave data, XBLA games, videos or whatever … u can use it asif it was an external MU. As the flash chip is also used for the kernel/keyvault/dash etc there seems to be about 214MB left according to scoldingice on our forums to store your own stuff (this is prior NXE install, if you install NXE it will take most of the space). I’m guessing the Jasper PRO and Elite SKUs will also come with this internal memory. It’s just cheaper for Microsoft to make 1 type of motherboard for all SKUs rather than making a different version for each SKU. Also seems logic in a way … get the full NXE dash on the internal flash is much ‘cleaner’ than using HDD/MU for it. The motherboard design didn’t change much … besides the bigger flash and what’s probably the new 65nm GPU, we also see a new south bridge model … the rest (videochip, CPU, heatsinks, general board layout, …) seems pretty much similar to falcon boards. It also appears there are RAM chips on the bottom of the board again (without thermal pads even) … Microsoft recently switched to RAM chips with double capacity so they could drop the 4 chips on bottom (and only place 4 on the top) … but apparently they are back (old stock maybe?). However the type of RAM chips they use is not bound to the motherboard revision … there are falcon boards with RAM chips only on the top and falcon boards with RAM chips on both top and bottom. Same can happen for the jasper boards.
Sony ‘Way Ahead’ on Environmental Issues
Xbox Scene :: Monday, December 01, 2008
From edge-online.com : <BR><I> Greenpeace International has told Edge that Sony is a significantly greener videogame company than both Microsoft and Nintendo. And while Microsoft is improving its standards, Nintendo is performing woefully. Sony: 24/45 Microsoft: 15/45 Nintendo: 4/45 And though Microsoft’s score suggests they are not too far from Sony in the broadest sense, the company’s score of fifteen points were largely tallied in three areas; precautionary principles, chemicals management and a timeline for phasing out potentially dangerous chemicals. Microsoft scored nine points in these three areas and failed to impress Greenpeace in a number of other areas, yet Sony accumulated its higher total by a focused effort across the spectrum of green measures. “Microsoft is just getting on board with the environment. They’ve just hired a sustainability team, and we are seeing movement from Microsoft with its 360 console, but the company had started from a very low base.” Kruszewska does praise Microsoft for making its changes, however, especially in its promise to eliminate PVC BFRs [brominated flame retardants – known for their toxic properties, resistance to degradation in the environment and an ability to ‘build’ inside humans and animals] by the end of 2010. “But really, they have it so easy because they only make two core hardware products – the 360 and the Zune – they should really be way ahead. But they are coming on board for sure.” </I><BR><BR> Full Story: edge-online.com (3 pages)
