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This week at CES, Microsoft announced plans to release an external HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. The drive will be an add-on and it looks like it will only be able to play HD-DVD movies.
The next-gen dvd format battle is looking to be a brutal one, with Sony supporting Blu-Ray Microsoft has had no choice but to team up with Panasonic, the manufacturer of the HD-DVD format. We respect Microsoft’s decision to manufacture an external HD-DVD drive for the 360 since the PS3 is definitely going to feature a Blu-Ray drive. Had Microsoft decided to sit out of the next-gen dvd format war, consumers who desire high-def movies - along with their games - would rush to the PS3. Now though, Microsoft is giving consumers yet another reason to run out and buy an Xbox 360. Of course, we don’t know how much the HD-DVD drive is going to retail for but it will most likely go for at the minimum two or three hundred dollars at first. Meanwhile, the PS3 will have a Blu-Ray drive already built into it. And finally, recently the Blu-Ray format has been looking like it’ll edge out HD-DVD anyways because more studios support it.
Still, we should sit tight for now and watch things unfold this year. In all honesty, the HD-DVD format does have a chance of winning the war.
Read More 
| Microsoft
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COD2: Call For a Better Xbox Live Experience
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: Activision, First Person Shooters, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
If you’ve played Call Of Duty 2 (Xbox 360) on Xbox Live then you know that the experience is less than stellar as a result of the lack of options. Some gamers decided to do something other than just complain - actually, maybe it’s not much more than complaining at this point, but at least it’s something in writing and directed at the people that can do something about it. Thanks to the ease of making online petitions there is now a petition online that needs your signature and your help promoting. The petition calls for the following additions:
(Thanks Munkyxtc!) Sign The Petition
- 16 player support
- Ability to create custom games
- Host is chosen by person who has best upload speed
- Admin options such as kicking a player out of the game
- Options such as map vote, vote kick player, etc…
Xbox Live Marketplace: Condemned Demo and Outpost Kaloki Fireworks Challenge
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, First Person Shooters, Strategy, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Finally, after a drought of about a week, more new content has been added to the Xbox Live Marketplace. First, is a demo of the Sega thriller Condemned. We have been having a great time playing the retail version of the game, and if you haven’t played it yet, grab the demo quickly. There is also a new Outpost Kaloki X challenge that looks to be free of charge, centered on creating a fireworks station. Probably capitalizing on the New Year season, we like this one. Outpost Kaloki X is like the old-school lemonade stand game on steroids.
Latest Gear Live Videos
Alternate King Kong: The Game Ending
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Nintendo Gamecube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360,
Ubisoft recently announced that its King Kong game has an alternate (happy) ending! Possibly to help boost sales, after already dropping the price of the game, the publisher has revealed that the game contains an alternate ending where Kong survives and is returned to Skull Island. We feel this announcement has been made partly due to all the talk of the game’s low replay value. However, in order to obtain the other ending, players will have to put in a bit more time - and since the game’s only $30, this new announcement may help increase sales.
So what’s the big guy have to say about it? (No not Kong, Peter Jackson!)
“I wanted the game to be able to take the audience a bit further than what the film could,” said Peter Jackson. “And the final climax of the game gave us an opportunity to do something that the film could not do, which was to have an alternate ending - obviously everybody pretty much knows how King Kong ends.”
Read More | GameDailyBiz
J Allard talks about his thoughts on a few different matters in the newest issue of Edge. First off, Allard believes persistent worlds are the future of videogames - where you can log into whether you’re on a home console, a PC, a cell phone, or a portable gaming machine. Secondly, the Microsoft VP discusses why he thinks Sony is too alienating. In closing, he talks about rising game costs and how they could be combated with in-game advertising. We certainly understand that last point and do hope more publishers take advantage of the form of advertising.
Read More | GameDailyBiz
The Wall Street Journal has yet another great front-page article on one of the pitfalls of the videogame industry - the transition period that comes about every five years.
It came in 2001 and it’s hitting again now as the Xbox 360 launched. As new hardware is released, consumers save their money to purchase a new videogame machine. Of course console shortages can limit the number of consumers that receive new videogame machines immediately. Just as the PS2 had a severe shortage in 2000, the Xbox 360 is in very short supply now.
Click to continue reading WSJ Article on Transition Period
Next Generation has put together an interesting feature discussing the five biggest “howlers, blunders and goofs” of 2005.
Here’s the list: (In order from bad to worse)
5. Nintendo’s Revolution Revelations
4. EA and Madden Next Gen
3. Sony’s PSP Launch
2. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Launch
1. Hot Coffee
We knew Hot Coffee would be at the top of the list, and the four other topics do seem in place. The 360 shortages were (and still are) horrible, the PSP’s launch didn’t go over as well as Sony would have liked, and Next Gen Madden really doesn’t do much better than the current gen versions of the game - and that “Madden Next Gen” commercial shown earlier this year was a joke. As for the Nintendo Revolution’s controller, we’re not sure if we completely agree with it being a huge blunder - but then again we haven’t tried it out so who knows, it could be a huge dud. But then again, this is Nintendo we’re talking about and they certainly do know videogames.
If you’d like to read Next Generation’s reasoning behind the blunders, just make the jump.
Read More | Next Generation
So much for Microsoft getting a big head-start. It doesn’t matter if everyone and their mom wants a 360 this Christmas - if they’re not on store shelves, no one’s going to be able to buy them. Microsoft decided to launch so far ahead of the PS3 to get a good head-start but it’s starting to look like when it comes down to it, the company may not have that much of a lead.
EA is apparently upset with the 360 shortages because it isn’t able to sell as many games as projected. After EA issued a price warning, we all knew things aren’t going well for the company this holiday season.
Moving on, the linked story also mentions that Best Buy should be receiving more 360s today - which will go on sale tomorrow.
Read More | GameDaily
New Picture of the PS3 and Xbox 360 Side by Side
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Hardware, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
Makes the Xbox 360 look a lot bigger, huh? And yes, the consoles are shown to scale - see the ethernet ports.
Read More | flickr
Still don’t have an Xbox 360 but want one without having to pay way too much? The guys over at ‘Addicted to Digital Media’ have found a fool proof way to score a machine online at MSRP. Basically, the method involves tracking 360 availability. While we haven’t tried it out since we already have ours, the method looks solid, so check it out if you’re still looking.
Read More | Addicted to Digital Media
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