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Japanese site Game Watch has some UI shots of what looks like an extension to the Xbox Live interface, with something called “Xbox Friends.” From the screenshots, it looks like this is some kind of Macromedia Flash-based interface to finding and matching with friends online. Registration apparently opens on July 7th, in Japan, with users registering before July 10th getting entered in a drawing for Microsoft Points. The preview shots for the application seem to indicate that gamers will be able to search interactively for gamers with similar gamer profiles, with visual mapping indicating how close of a match they are, and then there is a “gamer score” view that allows you to compare your score with others. No word on whether similar functionality will be hitting other territories. Gamers interested in trying to decode more information should hit up their favorite online translation utility to try and find out more.
Read More 
| GameWatch Japan
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Xbox Live Arcade Titles To Be Available In Retail Stores
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Retro, Rumors, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Word on the street is that Peter Moore has been discussing with industry insiders the possibility of bringing Xbox Live Arcade games into a brick-and-mortar store near you. The move is aimed to reach the 50% of Xbox 360 owners who aren’t connected to Live. Moore also hopes to reach the legions of casual gamers who may not yet know about the laid back, retro, puzzle solving side of the Xbox 360. Microsoft isn’t commenting on the plans, so no info on pricing or which titles wil jump to retail is yet available.
Read More | Next Generation
Bungie Announces Podcast
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Corporate News, First Person Shooters, Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
In their weekly update, Bungie, creators of Halo, have announced that they will be starting a podcast. They promise that it will be “Bungie-fied” and chock full of interviews with individuals close to the Halo 3 process. Also in this weeks update are more cries from the Land of the Banned and a new Mister Chief. More quality video game podcasts are always welcome. Do any readers have a video game podcast recommendation? Don’t forget to check out The Bleeding Edge, a technology podcast on our sister site Gear Live.
Read More | Bungie
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Xbox Live Anywhere Screenshots Emerge
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Portable/Mobile, Screenshots, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Xbox Live Anywhere screenshots have surfaced in the TeamXbox forums where Captain Panic was able to post images of Live Anywhere running on BREW. The images show the ability to queue up downloads for both your Xbox 360 and PC, messaging people on your friends list, and downloading an arcade game. Screenshots also show the ability to view your achievement points! It is not yet known if completing an XBLA game on your phone will result in gaining those achievement points on your Gamertag.
One interesting screenshot shows the ability to buy a pass to all games from a certain publisher on a monthly basis for $3.95. Could this signal a subscription plan for XBLA too? I for one would welcome a $3.95 monthly charge for Xbox 360, PC and mobile versions of the same game, especially if this included a subscription to the publisher’s entire library. We’ll keep you up to date as new info emerges.
Read More | TeamXbox via 360updates.com Additional Pictures
More Halo 2 Vista Details
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: First Person Shooters, PC, Xbox Live,
Bungie.net released some more details about how Halo 2 will interact with Windows Vista, from project lead Jo Clowes. Microsoft confirms that Halo 2 will support their new Live Anywhere service, but still will not allow cross-platform play between Xbox and PC users. However, Live Anywhere users on Vista will be able to view people on their Friends lists on Xbox Live. Microsoft offers other improvements in the Live experience on Vista, aligning the game more along the lines of what gamers expect from PC-based gaming. These improvements include the ability to set up dedicated servers, and to define custom online game configurations.
In terms of content, it was confirmed that all the original content from the Xbox version of Halo 2 would be present in the Vista version, plus gamers will get a map editor, and potentially a few new maps. Further, with integration into Windows Vista’s game browser UI will allow management of dedicated servers and favorite game types. It was also mentioned that once Live Anywhere launches for mobile users, friends list and achievements can be accessed, but there are no plans for a mobile Halo 2. While the new gaming features in Windows Vista are interesting, one has to wonder if releasing Halo 2 after 2+ years will really drive the adoption of the Live Anywhere platform. Still, the Xbox game is still dominating the Live charts after all this time, so the game’s popularity could continue while gamers wait for the release of Windows Vista.
Read More | Bungie
Another trailer has been leaked/released for Chrome Hounds, one of the most highly anticipated games for the Xbox 360. Chrome Hounds is a combat game centered around “Hounds” which are huge mechanized fighting machines. Chrome Hounds is set to bring mech. fighting action to the Xbox 360 on July 11th. One of many exciting features of Chrome Hounds is the ability to command your computer teammates with the Xbox 360 headset allowing for better control of your own Hound. The game is a welcome addition to the Xbox 360 for mech. fans, especially since the Original Xbox mech. games have yet to make it into a backwards compatibility update.
Read More 
| Sega
Xbox 360 Backward Compatibility Update Available
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Retro, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Major Nelson reports that the promised backward compatibility update is now available via Xbox Live. The update includes the following new titles:
- 4x4 EVO 2
- Amped 2
- Bad Boys 2
- Big Mutha Truckers
- DOOM 3
- Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
- Fatal Frame
- FlatOut
- Grabbed by the Ghoulies
- Intellivision Lives
- LEGO® Star Wars
- Minority Report
- MLB SlugFest 20-04
- The Punisher
- RalliSport Challenge
- Silent Hill 4: The Room
- Spawn Armageddon
- Spider-Man
- Star Wars Battlefront
- State of Emergency
- Zapper
In addition, the following Japanese-only titles are now supported: Bistro Cupid 1, Flight Academy, Othello Seminar, Igo Seminar, Shogi Seminar, and Mahjong Seminar. The highlights are probably Doom 3, Star Wars Battlefront, and RalliSport Challenge. Its also nice to see a Rare title on the list, but it looks like Conker is still not supported. Other titles still AWOL from the backward compatibility list include both of the MechAssault titles, among others, but it looks like they are making good progress in getting more original Xbox support out there. For those gamers without Xbox Live, a CD-burnable update and physical media should be available soon.
Read More | Major Nelson
Microsoft Clarifies How System Cache Is Cleared
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Mods/Hacks, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
A post on the Xbox Team blog seeks to clarify what exactly the system cache clearing code will and won’t do on an Xbox 360 system. The official Microsoft line on this code is as follows:
The HDD cache clearing feature is a part of the Xbox 360 technical support process and is only supported in those instances. While the cache clearing operation will not harm or render your console inoperable, it should only be used when instructed by the Microsoft customer support staff. As always, any gamers experiencing any issues with their console should contact 800-4-MYXBOX instead of attempting to troubleshoot on their own via this feature.
According to Indiegames, the cache clearing code:
- Will clear out the temporary copies of achievements and gamertiles on Memory Units or Hard Drives (note these get re-downloaded when re-connected to Xbox Live)
- Will clear out Game Updates stored on Memory Units or Hard Drives. (note these will get re-downloaded when launching that Game while connected to Xbox Live)
- Will not clear out system updates.
- Will not clear out the game areas of the hard drive where game titles cache their own information
So, the cache clearing code may help some users in certain circumstances with Xbox Live Marketplace content, but certainly does not seem to be a way to troubleshoot problematic games, since they apparently store their information in a different area of the Xbox 360 hard drive.
Read More | Xbox Team
Halo 2 Matchmaking: Monthly Game Breakdown
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: First Person Shooters, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
If you are a regular reader of Major Nelson’s blog you cannot help but notice that Halo 2 is still topping the “Original Xbox Top Live Games” list. Halo 2 has been seated in the top ten for as long as I can remember and recently has kept the number one position many weeks running. Several factors can contribute to the long lasting success of Halo 2. The lack of any other killer app for the original Xbox has lead many to use the Xbox as simply Halo 2 console. The ease of matchmaking and fun gameplay has also contributed to the long championship rein of Halo 2. Whatever the reason Halo 2 is a lasting force in the Xbox and Xbox 360 world.
Last week Bungie announced that over half a billion games of Halo 2 have been played on Xbox Live. They followed up last weeks announcement with the news that Halo 2 matchmaking is still plowing through roughly 20 million games a month. To put that into context 20 million, is the same number of games being played when Halo 2 was released. Whether you believe Halo 2 is still in the top spot because it is an amazing game or because the Xbox competition was lacking retaining this many players a year and a half later is an amazing accomplishment.
Read More | Bungie
Undocumented Xbox 360 Dashboard Feature Allows Cache Clearing
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Mods/Hacks, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
According to some crafty users on the NeoGAF forums, there’s an undocumented feature in the latest Xbox 360 dashboard update - a cache clear. The instructions are listed from the post below
Go to the system blade and then memory. Press Y on either the HDD or a MU and then press X, X, Left Bumper, Right Bumper, X, X. Once you do this a blade will pop up saying: This will perform maintenance on your Xbox 360 storage devices. Do you want to continue? Pick yes or no.
Of course, Microsoft officially wants you to use this option only when instructed by technical support, so proceed at your own risk. Users on the NeoGAF forum suggest that this may help to fix load time issues that have been encountered by folks after playing many games or playing games that load lots of info to the cache (Oblivion, for one). After clearing your cache and re-running a game, you might notice quicker load times. Best of luck, if you decide to try it.
Read More | NeoGAF Forums via 1up.com
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