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Xbox News is a site that brings you the very latest Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One news, the latest games and releases, Part of the
DCEmu Homebrew & Gaming Network.
THE LATEST NEWS BELOW
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March 20th, 2006, 17:03 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, talking to Fortune Magazine, has professed himself to be pleased with the delay to Sony's PlayStation 3. But, he's admitted that Microsoft is only "Sort-of on track" as far as Xbox 360 shipments are concerned, adding: "Though it would've been nice at Christmas to have one for everyone who wanted one."
Ballmer also revealed that a bottleneck from a component supplier (which he refused to name) continues to affect the manufacture of Xbox 360s, but he insisted that Microsoft should still manage to sell five million units of its next-gen console by June.
Naturally, he was unable to resist the temptation to crow at Sony's belated admission that the PS3 will not launch until November: "In every other generation, the first guy to 10 million consoles was the number one seller in the generation. Did we just get an even better opportunity to be the first guy to 10 million? Yeah, of course we did."
He added that the PS3 announcement made no difference to Microsoft's production plans for the Xbox 360: "We've been saying 'make them faster' before yesterday. We're clearly in the phase where it's about how fast we can make them."
Ballmer singled out Spain, France, Italy and Japan as territories in which Microsoft needs to launch "major pushes" in order to sell more Xbox 360s. And he remained firmly athwart the fence in the Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD debate: "Sony's going to try and define that as a fundamental battleground, but I don't think it is a fundamental battleground. I don't care whether it's Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, there's not going to be a lot of content in either format this year."
Ballmer clearly believes - as well he might - that Microsoft can grab the lead in this console cycle: "I am palpably optimistic. I think we are absolutely in the game for the market position it would be nice to have." Microsoft has currently got the jump over its rivals, but will it sell enough Xbox 360s to garner a sustainable lead in market share terms, once Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Revolution hit the shops at the end of this year? Only time will tell.
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March 20th, 2006, 16:59 Posted By: wraggster
If ever there was a rumour that wouldn't go away, it's the one that suggests Microsoft is working on a handheld games device which would take on the PSP, DS and iPod. Just as we had satisfied ourselves that the Origami handheld PC wasn't that device, The Mercury News - local newspaper for San Jose where the Game Developers Conference is currently taking place - has reported that Microsoft is working on another game-specific handheld.
According to The Mercury News, "sources familiar with the project" have suggested that J Allard is leading the handheld gaming device team, with Xbox system designer Greg Gibson and finance chief Bryan Lee acting as his sidekicks. Those sources suggest the as yet unnamed machine would be closer in spirit to the PSP than the iPod.
The Mercury News also revealed that Microsoft is working on a rival to Apple's iTunes service, codenamed Alexandria, which would clearly require a hardware vehicle of its own. Unsurprisingly, it has no details of a likely launch date, although you would imagine that would be at least a year away, if not two. By which time the PSP and the DS will have both been updated and, surely, several new iPods will have appeared.
May we suggest, Microsoft, that, depending on whether it concentrates on music or games, you could call the handheld either the Xpod or the Xboy? Of course, we'd expect a small fee if you take our advice...
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March 19th, 2006, 20:20 Posted By: wraggster
Divineo now have stock of the XCM 360 Face Plate Pack #2. The pack consists of the following colours: diamond clear, Amethyst, Sky blue, Crystal Lemon and Romantic Pink, the pack costs just $44.99 in total which works out at around $8.99 per face plate. Also coming up from part of the XCM range is a new deluxe Chrome Edition face plate, which will not flake due to the electro paint technique used in production.
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March 19th, 2006, 13:55 Posted By: wraggster
Play Asia have let me know they have a book released called The Encyclopedia of Game.Machines, heres some info:
33 years of onscreen fun and interaction: This book presents almost every game computer and console ever created, from Japan, USA and Europe, along with classic software in its authentic, pixellated glory, and background information as well as key technical facts.
More than 400 dream machines and million sellers, bizarre slip-ups and exotic variants are celebrated in full colour chapters with extensive appendixes. From Atari to Xbox, from the C64 to Nintendo DS: Game.Machines is the reference point for members of the PlayStation generation; whether they’re gamers or collectors.
Originally published in Germany, Game.Machines has been recognized as a `suitable reference´ and `recommended reading´ (by Germany's premier micro monthly C’t), as `very entertaining´ (Gamestar) and `compulsory reading´ (PlayZone) or simply as `Ace´ (ComputerBILD). Two years in the making, this greatly enhanced and revised edition invites you to a time journey across the video game era: From the 4-bit beginnings to the broadband future.
features
• Consoles, handheld & home computers 1972-2005
• First edition: 224 pages in full colour
• From Atari to Sega, from Apple to Nintendo DS: The illustrated history of 450 machines with 600 pictures, history & technical data
• Language: English
For those who are new and old to the world of Game Consoles and Computers this is an excellent way to find out more, more info at Play Asia here --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-14fk.html
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March 18th, 2006, 16:36 Posted By: wraggster
TheSpecialist posted this news:
Months of hard work have come to an end. The 360 FW security details were posted a few days ago already, so why not make it official It's been done.
Respect to all the people on this board who made it possible with their brilliant contributions:
Anita999, Geremia, Nayr, Bluecop, Interestedhacker, MacDennis, Phantasm, Marvin, Tiros, SpenzerX, Team Modfreakz, Fuzzylogic, Takires, loser, jasper, SMO, Groepaz, Zobyone, Jumba, Amadeus, Tser, DjHuevo, oz_paulb, DaveX, darkfly, evestu, Robinsod, Dark_Neo, Gael360, Seventhson, probutus.
Just for fun, here's a little video: http://rapidshare.de/files/15810304/360hack.mpg.html. And no, the team decided not to release a hacked FW. The security details are proof itself. The team advocates hacking, not piracy.
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March 18th, 2006, 12:42 Posted By: wraggster
After Sony announced on Tuesday that the Playstation 3 won't launch until November, the Xbox 360 is in a better position to become the top gaming console, says Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
In every other generation, the first guy to 10 million consoles was the number one seller in the generation, Ballmer told FORTUNE in an interview on Thursday afternoon. Did we just get an even better opportunity to be the first guy to 10 million? Yeah, of course we did.
Ballmer: Did we just get an even better opportunity to be the first guy to 10 million [consoles]? Yeah, of course we did.
But Microsoft will not formally revise its projected market share for the Xbox 360, and it will not speed up production to capitalize on Sony's delay, because it's already producing the Xbox as fast as possible. We've been saying 'make them faster' before yesterday, says Ballmer.
When the Xbox 360 launched last holiday season, Microsoft had its own missteps. Shortages led to sales of only 600,000 systems from the debut on November 22 through December 31, far fewer than Microsoft and market analysts expected.
There is still a production bottleneck because of problems with a component vendor, whom Ballmer declined to name, but he expects Microsoft to sell 5 million systems by June. We're sort-of on track, he says, hough it would've been nice at Christmas to have one for everyone who wanted one.
Previous generations of the Playstation outsold the Xbox by a wide margin. Worldwide in 2005, Sony sold 101 million Playstation 2 units, while Microsoft sold 24 million Xboxes and Nintendo sold 21 million Gamecubes, according to UBS. Even during the 2005 holidays, after Xbox 360 had debuted, Playstation 2 sold 1.4 million units in December, according to The NPD Group, which tracks sales of video games and game platforms.
Microsoft plans major pushes of the Xbox 360 in France, Italy, Spain and Japan -- markets where the first generation Xbox didn't perform as well as Microsoft hoped.
I am palpably optimistic, Ballmer says. I think we are absolutely in the game for the market position it would be nice to have.
Ballmer dismissed Sony's (Research) expectation that Playstation's Blu-Ray DVD player will give it an advantage over the Xbox, which will soon offer an HD-DVD peripheral. Sony's going to try and define that as a fundamental battleground, but I don't think it is a fundamental battleground, he says. I don't care whether it's Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, there's not going to be a lot of content in either format this year.
For now, Ballmer says, the timing advantage is all that matters. It's not going to be that way forever, he says, ut we're clearly in the phase where it's about how fast we can make them.
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March 17th, 2006, 16:47 Posted By: wraggster
Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" available today
Microsoft is bringing free music video downloads to Xbox 360 Marketplace, and plans to let a few randomly selected gamers play against pop stars once a month.
The first "Artist of the Month" will be British singer Natasha Bedingfield, who's been plucked from amongst Epic's ranks thanks to her US success with singles "These Words" and "Unwritten" - the latter is currently flying high in the US charts.
The video for "Unwritten" can be downloaded from Xbox Live from today (it's available in 480p and 720p resolutions - 40 and 220 MB respectively), and there will be a sweepstake later this month to select gamers who will then face off against her online in April - with one also winning an Xbox 360 console, signed CD and game. Video-chat is said to be possibility in future once Microsoft's camera peripheral is available.
It's not the first time Bedingfield's brushed with games either - previously she's been modelled and done voice-acting for the Prime Minister's daughter in EA's semi-decent James Bond effort From Russia With Love.
Her appearance on Xbox 360 is all part of a year-long deal the platform holder has arranged with Epic Records, which will see famous musicians getting involved with Xbox 360 once a month - by releasing a freely downloadable music videos and joining in with Microsoft's "Game With Fame" programme, which in the past has seen celebrities don the Xbox Live headset and take part in public games.
"Our goal has always been to make Xbox Live a cutting-edge entertainment experience," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "This agreement with Epic Records offers our members exclusive artistic content directly from the source. With Artist of the Month we will be providing exactly what music-loving gamers want: brand-new, exclusive music videos that can be downloaded quickly, easily and free of charge."
Microsoft plans to announce further details and participants in the Game With Fame programme soon.
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March 16th, 2006, 18:22 Posted By: wraggster
Play Asia have released a great Xbox360™ Regional Compatibility Guide, heres the details:
Trying to bring light into the darkness, we have compiled this Xbox360™ Regional Compatibility Guide. This list will tell you whether a specific game is suitable to play on your Xbox360™ system or not. It further contains information on each title's language settings as well as Play-Asia's current price and availability status.
Please note that this list has been put together based on either our own test results or information supplied by the publisher and might be incomplete. Play-Asia takes no responsibility for the correctness of this information and in general always recommends only to purchase game software that has been designed for the system you own.
NTSC-U/C implies domestic US & Canadian systems, NTSC-J implies domestic Japanese, Asian or Korean systems and PAL implies domestic European or Australian systems.
Much more info here --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...ide-49-en.html
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March 16th, 2006, 18:18 Posted By: wraggster
Play Asia have posted details of the Launch of the Xbox360 in Asia and a great compatibility list:
Approximately 4 months after Microsoft's launch of their next generation flagship Xbox360™ in the United States, gamers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are now finally able to purchase their official Asia version Xbox360™ hardware and software. Just like every gamer in this region, we at Play-Asia are as excited about the new hardware release as anyone else.
Official Hong Kong hardware releases are traditionally based on the Japanese territory version, which means that Asia version consoles are usually designed to play all NTSC/J encoded games. Microsoft's software sales strategy in Hong Kong can be called very market open and customer friendly. Depending on whatever title from either the US or the Japanese market is considered to be hot, will officially be published as Asia release version at a very attractive and market friendly price. As software supplies from the US is generally steadier, most Asia version Xbox360™ titles are completely in English.
Asia version Xbox360™ (or also Xbox™) games are originally designed to play on any console bearing the NTSC/J mark. This can either be Japanese or Asia version hardware. As already experienced on the Xbox™ before, some titles are even region free and suitable to be played on any common Xbox360™ console. Bringing light into the darkness, Play-Asia has started to compile an Xbox360™ compatibility guide, which will be updated frequently in the future with the latest releases.
More details here --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...9-en-84-n.html
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March 16th, 2006, 17:56 Posted By: wraggster
Viva Piñata to appear on Xbox 360 this Christmas
Microsoft has teamed up with development studio Rare and TV company 4Kids Entertainment to produce a new Xbox 360 game based on the forthcoming animated series, Viva Piñata.
The game is described as a "customisable, social and spontaneous" title that is designed for gamers of all ages and skill levels. Players are tasked with creating and maintaining their own ecosystem, which grows in real time.
To begin with, players have only a few basic tools, but eventually they can create a habitat for more than 60 types of wild piñata and watch them evolve. They will also be able to play, trade and interact with other gamers via Xbox Live. Viva Piñata is being developed by Rare, the studio behind Xbox 360 titles Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo.
The Viva Piñata TV show will be broadcast on Saturday mornings in the US on Fox as part of the channel's 4Kids strand. 4Kids Entertainment already owns various hit children's brands such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, Cabbage Patch Kids and Pokémon.
"The potent combination of Microsoft Game Studios and 4Kids will ensure that the Viva Piñata world, including the videogame, television series and merchandising program, attracts a worldwide audience," said 4Kids CEO Alfred R. Kahn.
Microsoft's Peter Moore added: "With Viva Piñata, we are introducing a revolutionary brand that will entertain, inspire and excite children, families and creative minds around the globe.”
"With Rare and 4Kids Entertainment we will best showcase the vibrant world of Viva Piñata, enabling a mass audience to have an immersive experience via the animated television series, the Xbox 360 title and related merchandise.”
The Viva Piñata TV show will begin broadcasting in the US this autumn, with the game down for a global release in time for Christmas. An additional licensing programme will see a range of merchandising launched in 2007.
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March 16th, 2006, 17:39 Posted By: wraggster
Sony's announcement that the PS3 will launch around the world in November will not divert Microsoft from its strategy to win the next-gen console war, according to General manager of Microsoft Game Studios Shane Kim.
Speaking at the New York unveiling of Rare's Viva Piñata, Kim spoke of how Microsoft was currently leading the next-gen battle and that Sony will have to fulfil a lot of promises before it wins gamers over with PS3.
"I have a philosophy: Leaders don't react," said Kim. "For us, Sony's announcement doesn't change anything. We've had a very clear strategy for a long time now and we're not going to change that. We're not going to react to anything that they do."
And Kim told us how he felt the pressure was on Sony to prove that the hype surrounding PS3 is not all just smoke and mirrors. "I think it's a good thing that they're finally starting to reveal more," he said, referring to Sony's recent silence as the proposed spring release date of the PS3 gave way to November. "They've made a lot of promises and people want to know what's happening with PS3"
Referring to the infamous PS3 'unveiling' at last year's E3, where several concept videos of alleged PS3 footage were shown, Kim stuck the knife in further. "We didn't want to go out to E3 and show a bunch of rendered videos that wouldn't necessarily reflect reality. Sony has created that expectation and we'll have to see if they can deliver on it."
He also feels that the Xbox 360's head start of a full year before the PS3 launches will cause serious problems for Sony. "We'll be in full supply of Xbox 360s shortly, we've got great content on the way, and we've got fantastic third-party support. If Sony happens to stumble - and we know first-hand that there are a lot of challenges in a worldwide launch - then we'll be in an incredibly strong position to take advantage."
And after the Xbox 360's problematic launch, which saw severe stock shortages and shipping problems, Kim feels that it will be difficult for Sony to follow through on a global release. "They said they'll launch worldwide? We'll see if they can pull it off. It's very challenging."
As for the coming E3, Kim told us that Microsoft doesn't feel it has to compete with Sony for the biggest announcement. "We'll have real content at E3, real games that people can go out and get their hands on."
But that doesn't mean that Microsoft won't have anything big to shout about. "Of course, there are strategic announcements in our game plan and if we've done it right they'll have some impact on Sony. But we're not sitting down and thinking, "Okay, what's the best way to hurt PS3?" We'll do things our way, Sony will do it theirs, and the customers will decide."
Shane Kim also talked at length with us about Viva Piñata and Microsoft's desire to go after the younger gaming audience, the possibility that Halo 3 won't be seen until 2007 and some interesting ideas for the future of Xbox Live.
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March 16th, 2006, 17:34 Posted By: wraggster
Halo 3 will not be coming to Xbox 360 before the end of 2006, if comments coming from Microsoft Game Studios' General Manager Shane Kim are to be taken literally.
Speaking at the unveiling of Rare's Viva Piñata today in New York, Kim named the colourful creature title as Microsoft's "most important game of 2006" - potentially dumping Master Chief's next outing into a 2007 berth.
Since Halo 3 is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of all time, we doubt that Microsoft would rate it as less important than Viva Piñata - even though Rare's game is crucial to capturing the younger audience Microsoft is desperate to hook into Xbox 360.
When we challenged Kim on his statement he was elusive. "We're not here to talk about the mythical Halo 3, as I call it," he said.
But he went on to suggest that we may not have to wait very long to hear more about MC's first next-gen adventure, and even got us thinking that there might be additional games coming that are based on the Halo franchise. "We'll be talking about anything we're doing in the Halo universe - whether that's Halo 3 as I call it or anything else - at the right time. That time will be soon."
Kim's comments suggest that Microsoft is planning to speak about Halo 3 in the near future. And what's just over the horizon? Why, it's E3 in May, the world's biggest videogames show and - coincidentally - Sony's stage for the big unveiling of the PS3. Is Microsoft planning the long-rumoured PS3 spoiler mission for Master Chief after all?
And as for other games coming from the 'Halo universe', that's got us very excited. The game certainly has built up a huge body of subject matter outside the Xbox adventures, including top-selling sci-fi novels. Could we soon be seeing Halo squad-based shooter games, or even a Halo RTS where you command legions of Marine or Covenant armies?
Let us know if you've got any thoughts about Halo 3 or any potential spin-off games in the comments below. Plus, keep eyes peeled for a full interview with Shane Kim - coming soon.
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March 14th, 2006, 07:39 Posted By: wraggster
News from Lik Sang:
After Nokia with their cell-phones, after Nintendo with the Gameboy Micro, Microsoft too adopted the "exchangeable cover" concept for their Xbox 360 system. Customizing the machine following your own unique taste is the whole catchy idea behind that product line. We already had here at Lik Sang some Japan-only models of faceplates last Christmas, right after the 360 was launched in Tokyo and other Nipponese cities. We have received in the last couple of weeks some even more exciting designs, after third-party manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon. We now got a whole range of new faceplates for the console, as presented further down below, but also an entire line-up of casing variations for your clinical white Xbox 360 Controllers - if you don't have a phobia for screwdrivers that is.
Stylish Covers for your Xbox 360 Controllers
From the makers of the popular Faceplates for PSP come these groovy coats for Xbox 360 controllers (suitable for both wired and wireless versions). Only the top part can be replaced for now, and you will need to use a screwdriver or two, as you can see from our installation guide. Since the replacement procedure necessitates opening things up, performing it will indeed automatically void the warranty on your joypad. But then again, beauty has a tough price and it doesn't come without effort they say.
There is an array of 7 colors available from kick-off, including bubblegum pink for the girlfriend (also recommended for gay cow-boys and metrosexual men who are so at ease with their sexuality that they are actually comfortable shaving their torso and legs, wearing pink shirts, and engaging in other such weird activities that Cosmopolitan and Vogue editors will regularly encourage or praise). Not so much the ballet type of guy, my personal bestest would be the Metallic Chrome Silver, so shiny that I can see myself in it (before grabbing it for a play at least, or, alternatively, after cleaning out with a cloth the big thumbs' fingerprints I left all over it).
More at the link above:
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March 13th, 2006, 23:55 Posted By: wraggster
Source - Joystiq
A new rumor, stemming from an alleged New Jersey Best Buy employee, claims that the Xbox 360 Premium bundle will ship with a 100 GB hard drive beginning in April. The "tip" reports that Best Buy store managers have been instructed to hold off from selling Premium bundles until next month when the upgraded package will be officially unveiled. However, the tipster was careful to note, "[The] 100 GIG HDD is not 100% offical [sic]."
It's hard to believe that Microsoft would initiate this move at this time. The Premium bundle has been flying off of shelves (at least, in North America and Europe) with a 20 GB HDD. Why make the change? And more importantly, why piss off early adopters just four months after launch? Increasing the size of the bundled HDD is something Microsoft might explore after Sony has made an official announcement regarding the PS3's HDD or if large-scale episodic content starts to jump off. But for now, the releases of games like GRAW, Burnout, and the forthcoming Oblivion are gonna motivate hardware sales next month, not empty space.
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March 13th, 2006, 17:49 Posted By: wraggster
Success HK posted that a new accessory for the Xbox 360 is out:
Communicate, collaborate, and command. Use the headphone set to chat with friends and strategize with teammates over Xbox Live, or in games with voice-command features, chat or leave voice-messages to your friends.
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March 13th, 2006, 17:36 Posted By: wraggster
Source - Gamesradar
A slew of gamers have reported that their Xbox 360s are repeatedly crashing after they downloaded Microsoft's latest software update for the next-gen console over Xbox Live.
Past updates have occasionally caused isolated problems but, within hours of the new update hitting Microsoft's Live service, the official Xbox forums were packed with gamers giving accounts of errors on 360s that had never crashed before.
Microsoft is looking into the problem right now but if your Xbox 360 is crashing you should contact Microsoft's well-regarded support helpline. It's a free call and the number is 0800 587 1102.
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March 13th, 2006, 17:35 Posted By: wraggster
Lifemode Interactive, creators of leading facial animation software technology, will be launching LIFESTUDIO:HEAD 2.7® and Xbox360TM support at the Game Developers Conference 2006 in San Jose, California, between March 20th-24th.
This is the second year in secession that Lifemode will be participating at the Conference with a booth and will be demonstrating their new 2.7 upgrade version and their new Xbox360 support.
Lifemode's marketing and sales director Natalie Polikarpova said, "We are so delighted to be showing off our new products at GDC 2006 and we welcome all the major game developers and 3D artists to booth 548 to try out our tools and see the benefits they bring to their game designs".
Facial animation technology has really come a long way in the past two years for game developers and Lifemode's LIFESTUDIO:HEAD® is one of the most impressive tool packages in the market today. Their multi-platform SDK is a unique high-end software tool that creates innovative heads. It's high performance, reliability and proven technology contains a comprehensive package of features and character libraries that supports Windows®, "PlayStation®2", Xbox® and Xbox 360TM platforms.
Xbox 360 support now takes the benefit of the Xbox 360 multicore architecture to achieve top performance and brings even better realistic facial animation to next-gen games. The technology allows you to create cutting edge sequences in games that combines automated lip-synch with nonlinear facial animation in real-time.
The Lifemode team welcomes everyone to their booth 548 at GDC 2006 to view their new and exciting product range. For more information regarding the conference, please visit www.gdconf.com. For further information regarding LifeStudio:HEAD, please contact Lifemode at sales@lifemi.com or visit www.lifemi.com.
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March 13th, 2006, 17:28 Posted By: wraggster
Lik Sang have done one of thier great Hands On Reviews for the Xbox 360, heres the details:
For those of you who think 64 Megs is just not enough, we have today received stock of the Memory Transfer Kit from Datel for Xbox 360. While the product ships for US$ 14.99 within 24 hours, we took one of them to the test.
Preliminary Scene Developments
Early stage developments started already a couple of months ago in the scene... Before there was a commercial product from Datel, there was already a freeware called Xplorer 360 and some hand-made adapters that allowed you to exchange files back and forth between a PC and a 360 Memory Card. Xplorer 360 is already at beta version 4 and is available from the fine guys at 360GameSaves. Relying on a horde of D.I.Y. users, the popularity of the program grew a lot lately amongst hobbyists circles. We have even witnessed some efforts here and there from people like William Gonzalez, who have been assembling PCBs for those clumsy guys, like myself, who can't get nothing else than a couple of fingerburns out of a soldering iron.
William actually shared a couple of his prototypes with us in the week prior to Datel's announcement of the Transfer Kit, and for the low-price of US$ 5, they do their job quite neatly. Of course, there is no casing on them and that might represent a problem for many of you out there, both cosmetically and because of the risk to damage the pins in which you slot your Xbox 360 Memory Card (since the pins are completely naked and not protected by any kind of plastic connector). That's where the retail-ready Transfer Kit from Datel comes in with perfect timing...
Hands-on with Datel Transfer Kit
The Transfer Kit is the first professionally mass-produced adapter of its kind. It comes in a nice clamshell blister packaging as brick and mortar retailers like them. Out of the box, you'll get the Transfer Kit itself, an installation CD, a professional user's manual freshly baked by Datel's printing factory, and, as a free bonus, a complimentary adapter for Xbox1 Memory Cards.
 
When you plug the Transfer Kit and a Memory Card 360 for the first time into your USB port, Windows will detect it, prompting you to install drivers. Insert the supplied disc into your reader, point to the CD drive as the correct location to get the hardware drivers from and you're ready to go.
From the installation CD, you can furthermore install both Action Replay Xbox (for the complimentary Xbox1 Mem Card Adapter mentioned above) and the Xchange360 software that the UK based peripheral company prepped up for their new Transfer Kit. Xchange 360 allows you to back-up a complete Memory Card image to your PC hard drive, or, going the other way around, to restore an image back to the Memory Unit. Xchange360 does not extract or isolate single files. You will always have to transfer a complete "image" back and forth with the PC, which kinda limits the fun.
Luckily, the Xplorer360 freeware comes to the rescue on this. The latter does let you play around with separate files, be them pictures, game saves or others. This adds a lot of freedom to your data management, not to forget it makes it a whole lot easier for users to share files with one another. This is where the community can exchange their records in order to unlock in one click the games' cars, ammo, lives, eneregy and whatnot. So far, some gamers even successfully extracted screenshots that they took using the Photo Mode in Project Gotham Racing. That's a new cool way for a trendy magazine editor to generate stills [wink]. Tricky software, the Xplorer360 is much more interesting than Datel's Xchange360, even some homebrew scripts and power saves would theoretically work using this interface!
The good news is that Xplorer 360 does function properly with the Transfer Kit from Datel. You just need to make sure you DON'T install the drivers from the Datel disc. Instead, when plugging in your Transfer Kit for the first time and being prompted by Windows about drivers, point it to these INF files (after Unzipping them first - files supplied to us by William Gonzalez again, special thanks for all the help!). Then get Xplorer ready and enjoy. If you had installed the Datel stuff before reading these lines, chances are you are too exciteable, but chances are even greater that there is a way to troubleshoot the mix-up. Just go into the Control Panel of your OS and remove the USB device. Then insert the Transfer Kit to be prompted by Windows about drivers one more time. When you are, install the correct drivers in order to run Xplorer smoothly.
Beware that whether you use Xchange or Xplorer, one thing will not differ: some of your files cannot be used on another Xbox 360 system than yours. Arcade games, downloaded content from the Marketplace, among others, are connected to your Xbox Live account and will therefore not run at your friend's place on another console using another Xbox Live account. Keep this in mind when suddenly something seemingly refuses to run, and keep making your own experiments to find out exactly what and how.
PS: For those of you who are asking themselves, we tried copying Xbox1 saves from Halo 2 to a 360 Memory Card but so far we failed in loading these files back while playing the Bungie hit on the nextgen console from Microsoft. Without playing around with the filename, the file structure and the code, it just didn't work out. That doesn't mean some zealous coders in the wild won't figure it out later on...
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March 13th, 2006, 17:12 Posted By: wraggster
Divineo USA have posted news about the Xecuter 3 IR .
Finally, we got enough Xecuter 3 IR to fill all our back orders. This product can now be shipped within 24h.
Features:
1. Blue status led
2. Compatible with any chip
3. Enable/Disable chip upon boot.
4. Easy to use programming software
5. Learning functionality allows virtually any remote control to be used
6. User programmable buttons for all functions, such as wich button turns on the xbox or turns it off
7. Safety Off makes sure you press the 'OFF' button 3 times before turning off the xbox to prevent unintended xbox shutdown
8. Turn ON and OFF the XBOX with the XBOX Dvd remote control, and any RCA DVD compatible remote (and there are hundreds of these)
9. Perfect-Press - The length of emulated press of front panel 'Power' button can be finely tuned to work with any chips' needs (ie. long press is 100msec - mod on, short press is 10msec - mod off)
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March 13th, 2006, 17:11 Posted By: wraggster
Divineo USA have posted news about the Xenium GOLD SP modchip:
We got the first (small) batch of Xenium GOLD SP. Unfortunately, there is few pre-order that we wont be able to fill. We should receive another (bigger) batch of GOLD SP in 1 or 2 weeks. The GOLD version, without the SP adapter should be available at the same time.
The GOLD SP is based on the Xenium GOLD chip, but with a totally solderless installation on ALL Xbox version, from V1.0 to V1.7! It has all the features of the amazing Xenium GOLD but is so easy to install you will only need minutes to get it running!
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