A US-based research company firmly believes that a move into the handheld market is still a part of Microsoft's long term plan.
The firm, called The Diffusion Group, recently published a report which has the catchy title of On the Future of Portable Game Consoles: Analysis & Forecasts. It outlines how Microsoft is perfectly placed to get involved with the portable gaming market, in which revenues are "expected to reach $3 billion annually by 2008", and how it could be ready to do so in the next couple of years.
The important thing to remember is that this is The Diffusion Group's educated opinion rather than a leaked confirmation, but many maintain such a movie would make perfect sense. Microsoft's strategy to establish itself as the major force in the gaming market has included championing online gaming and beating both Nintendo and Sony to the punch with a next-gen console, so it seems the only thing left for it to do would be to muscle in on the handheld market.
It would also tie in with Microsoft's latest online service, Live Anywhere, which will allow for cross-platform gaming. At the moment, this is intended to unite gamers using consoles, PCs and mobile phones - with only phones providing any portability. But to really get across the 'Anywhere' aspect of the service, a gaming portable like DS or PSP would surely be needed.
Add to this the fact that J Allard, previously the face of everything Xbox, has been conspicuous by his absence recently, leading to further speculation that the Lex Luther look-alike is working on a pocket-sized Xbox.
All speculation of course - and unfortunately the only official line from Microsoft is "we don't have any plans to do anything in the handheld space", which is what Xbox Europe regional vice president Chris Lewis said at this year's E3. But it seems no matter how adamant Microsoft is in its denials, nothing will stop the speculation.
Long lasting colored flourescent bulb glows beautifully inside your case. This unit plugs conveniently right into the internal xbox power. No soldering is required. Standard configuration has light turn on and off with xbox.
Installation requires removal of internal metal shield, clearing of OEM jewel, and cutting a hole underneath the jewel. Complete instructions are included.
What's new/fixed:
* Compiled with the assembler code instead of the C one. Now is 15 fps faster.
* Added support for CD audio tracks (read more here)
* Primary and secondary weapon autoselect ordering option can be changed with the black/white buttons.
This port is based on JFDuke3D and it was possible thanks to the SDLx libs by Lantus, Jonof and Mephisto. Copy duke3d.grp, defs.con, game.con, user.con to the folder where you installed xDuke
This port supports HDTV modes but it you want to use the 720p mode, you must run the default720.xbe or rename it to default.xbe
Known Bugs:
* Polymost renderer has some minor graphic glitches (this is a JFDuke3D bug)
This port is based on JFShadowWarrior and it was possible thanks to the SDLx libs by Lantus, Jonof and Mephisto. Copy sw.grp to the folder where you installed xShadow. This port supports HDTV modes but it you want to use the 720p mode, you must run the default720.xbe or rename it to default.xbe
Known Bugs:
* Polymost renderer has some minor graphic glitches (this is a JFShadowWarrior bug)
Its an adaptor for putting a LG-8164 (PC) drive into your Xbox as a replacement for an old broken/error prone DVD drive, usefull eh? well ok it wont read original discs yet but for those of you running your homebrew from CD or DVD this is a good thing as it'll bring you faster load times and they are working on a firmware to load original discs.
The bad news? well you will have to open the drive & do a little soldering but it doesnt look like too much and since the old LG 8163b (the previous drive that could be modded) isnt made anymore this is the next best thing.
The advantages to using this? I'm glad you asked as here they are:
* The Xbox disc reading ability will greatly improve
* Full support; CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R
* Faster read speeds, which means faster load speeds
* Cheap solution
* Compatible with all Xbox versions v1.0-1.6x
Read more about it & see what soldering is needed at the homepage. If you like the idea you can get them from Yoxbox Europe or patxbox360 Canada & America.
Snes Emulator for the Xbox Updated, heres whats new:
save GUI background audio (v1.6)
FINALLY fixed the bug where supported games would sometimes not start or crash the XBOX.
Added support for HD modes 720p and 1080i. These are only selectable if the correct cables are used and are enabled in the dashboard. 480i/480p is still the default video mode used unless it is changed. These take affect immediately and both the GUI and the in game emulation are rendered in these resolutions. This setting is saved to the ini, so if something doesn't work, you can always delete the ini to have ZsnexBox start in 480i/480p. If you have a problem with the default 480p/480i code and you have support for 720p or 1080i, you can change this line in the ZsnexBox.ini
HDMode=X (X is 1 for 720p or 2 for 1080i)
Removed the width limitation of the ROM browser when the video mode is set to 720p or 1080i.
New video filters added: None - with 25% scanlines ; None - with 50% scanlines ; None - with 100% scanlines ; Interpolation ; Interpolation - with 25% scanlines ; Interpolation - with 50% scanlines ; Interpolation - with 100% scanlines ; High resolution Mode 7 ; Advance MAME 2X with High resolution Mode 7 (very CPU intensive) ; Simple 2X with High resolution Mode 7
Added 3 key combinations. They are: L Trigger + Back = Save State ; R Trigger + Back = Load State ; Back + Start = Exit Emulation
Added option to disable key combinations in the General Options menu.
Lowered the default background music volume.
Added two more sound effects to the GUI
Added support for New Graphics Engine Enabled/Disabled (needed to fix graphics problems in some games like Fatal Fury Special, Super Punchout, and others). This can only be changed after a game is started.
Added option for Old Graphics Mode 2
Added option for greyscale rendering (can only be set before a game is started)
When exiting a game a small screenshot is displayed on the options menu
Screenshot saving added. All previous previews must be copied to the "prev" folder that is created in E:snexBox.
Added option to take low resolution (256x224) or high resolution/filtered (512x448) screenshots. For the fastest rom browsing use low resolution screenshots.
Added option to hide file extensions in the ROM browser
Added option to display zip file contents when ROM browsing. There is a small lag with this feature turned on.
Added reverse stereo to the sound options menu.
MUCH faster screenshot preview loading
Added option to change the max number of Rewind states (0-25 states). Rewind states should be set to 0 if not using the rewind feature. This will increase the emulation speed.
Added option to change the time interval between rewind states (0-40 half seconds).
Added option to disable the in game volume control
Added Pro Action Replay code support. Up to 15 codes per game can be used. These can be entered/edited in the emulator and are saved to the cheat directory (created by ZsnexBox).
Game.par = Name of the cheat file
The contents of Game.par are:
AAAAAAAA:B:Enter Code Description Here (27 characters max)
AAAAAAAA = The Pro Action Replay Code
B = On (1) or Off (0)
15 entries can be added to this file or created in the emulator.
Added Game Genie code support. Up to 15 codes per game can be used. These can be entered/edited in the emulator and are saved to the cheat directory (created by ZsnexBox).
Game.ggn = Name of the cheat file
The contents of Game.ggn are:
AAAAAAAA:B:Enter Code Description Here (27 characters max)
AAAAAAAA = The Game Genie Code (Do not put the "-". i.e. AAAAAAAA is correct but AAAA-AAAA is NOT correct)
B = On (1) or Off (0)
Up to 15 entries can be added to this file or created in the emulator. If
you create the file outside of ZsnexBox, you don't have to type all 15
entries in the file. Make sure you hit "Enter" once after the last cheat
code line.
Added reset game to the options menu
Removed the dimmed screen image used in screen resizing.
When resizing the screen, the left analog moves the screen (with a locked aspect ratio) and the right analog stick resizes it.
Better menu separation.
Added a separate menu for: Video Options, Sound Options, General Options, Controller Options, GUI Options, Cheat Codes (Only available after a game is started)
Pressing "B" on any screen will return to the previous screen.
Most values in the option screens can be increased with "A" and decreased with "X"
Button "Y" is used to access the Options screen from the ROM browser.
Changed the color of the text on the resize screen to make it easier to read.
Added option to disable the ROM information when starting a game.
Added analog stick deadzone calibration. This is a global analog deadzone that will affect all controllers. I had two controllers that seemed to have a mind of their own. It was almost imposiible to resize the screen with the offical controller S I have. This fixes the problem. The default value is 0.24. I found that a value of 0.54 works well for me.
The background music volumne is now saved to the ini.
The initial ROM directory can be changed in the RomPath.ini. For example:
D:Roms (D: is the current directory where default.xbe is)
or E:EmulatorsxSnes9x(info) 1.42Roms
or E:EmulatorssnexBox 1.5Roms
or R:Roms (R: is the directory to use for an XBOX formated (made from an xISO)CDDVD. C: (The backslash must be included here)
Various speedups
I also included the default.xbe (in the just_for_fun folder) that I had when I made the first post announcing ZsnexBox. I thought some people might like to see what I had and compare it to what it is now. I disabled the debug output for this build. Put a game in the folder and name it "rm.zip". This folder can be deleted if not wanted.
T3CH released a new CVS compile of XboxMediaCenter.
* added: Font fallback to "font13" if a requested font isn't available.
* added: create folder in filebrowser when browsing for writable folders.
* added: Canadian region to the english language (Thanks to Midvalley)
* added: MPPA Rating to video information dialog.
* added: Tool to translate language files, sources in Tools/Translator
* added: support for a new format of language files (old format can still be read). new format: <string id="123">String</string>
* added: "Query Info For All Albums" to My Music accessible via the context menu.
* added: Skin.SetNumeric() built in function.
... rest of changelog (including many other changes/fixes): here.
Nes6502 released a new version of ZsnexBox, a port of the Zsnes Super Nintendo emulator for the Xbox:
What's new/fixed:
* Added option to map Controller 1 and 2 to Controller 3 and 4 (only available after a game is started)
* Added various ROM browser filename display options:
-Full (displays the entire filename)
-No Extension (displays the entire filename without the extension)
-Name only (displays the filename without the extension or the (U), (J), (!), (V1.0), etc...)
* Fixed the High Resolution screenshot saving. It was generating a few lines of garbage at the top of the image.
* Added a "Turbo Settings" menu. Turbo can be turned on/off for all controllers. The buttons available are: SNES button A, SNES button B, SNES button X, SNES button Y, SNES button Left, SNES button Right
* Added option to change how many times per second the turbo is used. The choices are 60 or 30. Some games (like Mortal Kombat 2) will require changing this.
* Added GUI Options menu
* The following values can be changed:
-File Color (Choices are White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow)
-File Selection Color (Choices are White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow)
-Full name Color (Choices are White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow)
-Folder Color (Choices are White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow)
-Menu Color (Choices are White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow)
-Menu Selection Color (Choices are White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow)
-Font Size (14 - 30)
-Display the number of games found (On/Off)
-Menu Vertical Spacing
-Japanese Box art Adjust
-Screenshot Preview Adjust
* Made the default GUI font bigger
* Increased the vertical spacing in the option menus
* Added option to show available memory. If you are using very large screenshots (greater than 500K) or replace the GUI files with large images, this will come in handy. If there is not at least ~16 MB of free memory before you start the first game, ZsnexBox will crash.
* Various GUI tweaks
The xbox8164adapter is the cheapest solution for a xbox dvd drive failure. The adapter allow to use a PC DVD Drive LG-8164 to replace a dead XBOX Drive.
