Microsoft: Exclusives ‘a little less important’
Xbox Scene :: Monday, September 08, 2008
From gamerush.zoomshare.com : <BR><I> Boris Schneider-Johne, product manager for Xbox 360 at Microsoft Germany, explained the company’s stance on the importance of exclusive titles. “That is difficult to assess. In the past, in the eighties and nineties, that was a major issue. I remember the big ‘Mario vs. Sonic’ debates. What we see today is that the influence of exclusive titles on the sales curves becomes ever smaller,” Schneider-Johne told Golem.de in an interview. “In addition, we are in a situation that there is a head-to-head race on several consoles and that nobody is super clear in leadership – especially in matters of the PlayStation 3 against Xbox 360.” </I><BR><BR> Full Story: gamerush.zoomshare.com
XCM Bestilt 2.0
Xbox Scene :: Monday, September 08, 2008
XCM announced a new version of Bestilt – a device that adds tilt sensitivity to the Xbox 360 controller: <BR><I> We just upgrade the XCM Bestilt to 2.0 version, it can be compatible with the current wireless 360 controller now. </I><BR><BR> Official Site:
Maximus 360 Firmware Toolbox v4.8
Xbox Scene :: Monday, September 08, 2008
Maximus released a new version of his 360 Firmware Toolbox(info )(info ). What’s new/fixed (since v4.6): * ADDED: Custom Spoofing Option on “Tools->Spoof Firmware” option (it asks for your 96 bytes inquiry.bin), this could be safer for spoofing drives to Liteon because appears Liteon drives have per-drive specific inquiry response. If you lost you inquiry.bin file and cannot redump it, then go ahead with listed Liteon spoofing option (it will work but you will not have the factory value). * ADDED: You can now open key.bin file from main window instead of manually type the key (will ask for a 16 bytes file). * FIXED: Clicking on firmware file didnt open properly on toolbox. * ADDED: Spoofing drives to Liteon DG model * ADDED: Detect/Remove Hardware (DVD-ROM) (on File Menu) * ADDED: Ixtreme 1.4 No-Check Bit firmware for 79 Drives * FIXED: Several bugs. * Note: The No-check bit option for 79 drives is not set as default firmware on Smart hack patcher option, you need to choose it from the list on the Special Firmwares section, the reason is it could be unsafe and lead to M$ detection. *Note – At this time, it is currently not confirmed safe to use a samsung or hitachi in place of the lite-on. This is due to a specific identification tag that is generated with the SS. There will be firmwares released in the next few weeks to account for the correct values! -Iriez Official Site: (thx to hitman43 for the news) Download: here
Microsoft Japan to cut price of Xbox 360 console by 30 pct
Xbox Scene :: Monday, September 08, 2008
From tradingmarkets.com : <BR><I> The Japanese unit of U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp plans to slash the price of its Xbox 360 home video game console by nearly 30 percent in a move that will undercut the more popular Wii machine from Nintendo Co, the Nikkei reported on Monday, without citing sources. Microsoft will lower the price of the Xbox 360’s Arcade model by 8,000 yen ($73.50) to 19,800 yen, making the device the first among competing consoles to carry a price tag less than 20,000 yen, the business daily said. The company will reduce the prices of the two other models as well by 5,000 yen to 8,000 yen, the report said. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: tradingmarkets.com
GoW2 Producer Talks about Used Xbox360 Potential
Xbox Scene :: Monday, September 08, 2008
From gamasutra.com : <BR><I> Gamasutra: We’re getting a few years into the Xbox 360 lifespan experience; where do you think we are, technologically, in terms of the potential of the system, this generation? * Rod Fergusson: That’s a good question. I mean, I’m not the technical guy, so my ability to speak to where the engine goes is — all I know is that with the two to three more years of optimization that we’ve had, we’re much further along than I think, three years ago, we thought we were going to get. So I think we’re certainly approaching the upper end of it, as far as what developers are able to do with it, but just looking at all the demos we saw today — ours and others — it’s clear that all the games just keep improving, and keep pushing that bar. I think it’s just a matter of, you know, it’s a slow cycle; you only get a kick at it every couple years, and so it takes a while for people to see that progress. There will be games in development that won’t ship until 2010, and I’m sure they’ll look killer, just because, again, they’ll have more time with it, and learn from mistakes and optimizations of others. So, I don’t know; I think we’re getting up there, but I still think there’s room to grow. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: gamasutra.com (6 pages)
DVDKey32 Lite-On Key Retriever
Xbox Scene :: Monday, September 08, 2008
>>A Software/Hardware combination method has been discovered on how to extract your drivekey for a lite-on drive… This exe is a win32 app that extracts the drive key from the Lite-On 360 drive via Serial. Be warned: This win32 program does not use the windows API. The exe writes directly to the ATA controller’s I/O ports (which requires Geek Hideout’s I/O dll, which I have included in the rar). It also requires that you be using an ATA – SATA adapter to connect your 360 drive to your PC, or an SATA controller that has a legacy mode (try the BIOS setup options on your controller). Geremia – initial concept C4eva – the CDB’s and how to send them Podger – for the code Seventhson – for the userspace parallel ATA driver *Please note that this is NOT a firmware hack for a lite-on drive. It is just a way to retrieve the key from the drive for use with another drive (samsung, hitachi, benq) that is capable of being modified. This release is a revision of the original DVDKey released by Geremia for use within a windows operating system. You can find the original DOS based version by Geremia here DeViLs360 has written a thorough tutorial using the DOS based version of DVDKey here , and should be updating shortly to include DVDKey32. The tutorial includes the creation of the RS232 Serial cable to connect to the drive, getting the key from the lite-on and spoofing it to work with another drive. Official Site: n/a (by c4e, podger and Geremia) Download: here News-Source: xbins
SumoSac Sultan Luxury ‘Beanbag’ Chair Review
The Tech Lounge :: Friday, September 05, 2008
“Endurance gamers will love the Sumo Sac Sultan. The huge pillow easily accommodates nearly any size human, and at least two average- sized ones. If you are looking for a man-chair to add to your furniture fold, consider the Sultan. Apartment residents wanting to save space and avoid shoving a couch up three flights of stairs may find a Sumo Sac a suitable alternative. The Sumo Sultan will suffice for basically any application you can think of for a huge bag of comfort… just don’t operate heavy machinery after use.”
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames (X360 & PS3) Review
Gaming Heaven :: Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is set to appeal to the destructive side of everyones nature. You can blow up buildings, destroy tanks and set things on fire. So far it sounds good, but can this game stand out from the pack and grab your attention, long term? We aim to find out.
