faceplates
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Microsoft admits 'failure' with Xbox 360 faceplates, says nobody bought them
This one's strictly for the record, the one that documents failed aesthetic experiments. Microsoft's Albert Penello has been cornered for an interview by the British Official Xbox Magazine -- mostly to discuss the console's five-year anniversary -- and their discourse touched on the ill-fated frontal accessory for the original 360. Penello admitted that although "faceplates were what everybody wanted to do" five years ago, they pretty much fell flat in terms of retail success, which led Microsoft to kill them off pretty quickly. We can't say we ever developed strong feelings either way about these plastic prettifiers, let's just be happy that Microsoft's latest console peripheral probably won't be subject to similar mea culpa admissions five years from now.
Win a custom painted 360 faceplate
Over at what the geek they're in the holiday spirit and giving away a choice of hand painted custom 360 faceplates. All you have to do to enter is write up a comment from now until January 15th, 2007 and you'll be automatically entered in the drawing. One lucky guy (or girl) will get to choose the faceplate of their choice and most of their painted faceplates are game inspired, so anyone would be proud to sport these detailed paintings on their 360. Check out the site, enter, and if you win pick the Assassin's Creed faceplate and be sure to FedEx it over to Fanboy Towers ... for "safe keeping" ... of course.[Via Digg]
Furry 360 faceplate is ... furry
Xbox-Scene got some pictures of Talismoon's new upcoming furry faceplates. Just like their furry controller sisters, the faceplate comes in leopard and sexy cow print. I'm thinking these will be more user friendly then the furry controller's (sweat + germs = disgusting fur controller), but I'm not overly sure these have that "cool" factor. And I love the disclaimer that reads: "Synthetic fur, please note no animals were hurt in the production of the 'evolve Wild Jungle' edition faceplates". You're not buying these ... are you?[Thanks, GP2S]
Mooooo! New animal-themed PSP faceplates coming soon
Talismoon, the same company that brought us the Evolve line of PSP face plates, is gearing up to do something we haven't seen before - fur-themed faceplates. Yeah, you read that right. Cow and leopard-themed PSP faceplates with a fur-like finish will be available soon for $15 a hide."With the Talismoon upcoming range of Evolve 'Wild Jungle' edition for the PSP and Xbox 360, gamers will be treated to extreme levels of comfort thanks to a soft 'like fur' finish, as well as refreshing and unique new look," a press release stated. "Both sets of faceplates for PSP and Xbox 360 will come complete with everything needed for a pain-free install, and each fur faceplate pattern will be unique. Initial stocks will consist of a 'cow' or striking 'leopard' fur finish." I'm not totally sure I want my PSP feeling like a cow when I'm playing a game of Warhammer, but this is just so bizarre, I'm going to have to buy one anyway.[Via PSP-Vault]
Guitar Hero faceplate rocks
Self-described "hockey nut, computer geek, gadget whore and video game junkie" Kevin Murphy add this home-made Guitar Hero faceplate to his fanboy resume. Rock on Murph.
Shoddy faceplates from EA
The clerk at GameStop gave me an NCAA 07 promotional faceplate with the purchase of Dead Rising because no one else wanted it. Now I know why. Although it appears to fit at first glance, the power button doesn't line up properly. It also blocks the DVD tray from opening. I haven't had this problem with third-party faceplates from Pelican, Nyko, etc. I'm guessing this shoddy workmanship applies to the Maddden version as well. With the millions EA makes from their licensed football monopoly, how hard is it to press a decent piece of plastic?
Get your custom hand-painted faceplate
Professional artist Pavel Dolgov is selling custom hand-painted 360 faceplates on eBay. Send him an "inspiration picture" along with $100 and you'll get a one-of-a-kind piece of art to grace your console. Provide the blank faceplate yourself and save $17. Of course, you could always head down to the craft store and make your own masterpiece, but it's tough to enjoy the post-mortem appreciation when you're the one who has to croak.
Xbox 360 faceplate database
Reader TacoHead is building a database of Xbox 360 faceplates. He's got a pretty solid list judged for rarity and value. A useful tool for the collector -- or the copycat. Note that the recently discussed GoW E3 plate is far from the most prized. If you know of something that should be included send it to tacohead@lowdown411.com.
360 rumor roundup: peripheral madness
So our good friends over at Joystiq have apparently buddied up to an "insider" at Xbox manufacturer Microsoft (sorry Bill, it wasn't our idea), plied him/her with some promotional swag and design ideas, and come away with details on all your favorite 360 peripherals, including the highly-anticipated Live Vision cam. Still set to launch on September 19th, the XLV camera will reportedly cost $40.00, and included in that price are a wired headset, the card-game-turned-Live-Arcade-hit UNO, and a free one-month Gold subscription to get you hooked on introduce you to the online service. Joystiq's mole also revealed the following price points for accessories to be released during the "holiday season": $60 for a wireless headset with 30-foot range, another $60 for a 256MB memory module, and $20 each for various game-themed faceplates or a wireless adapter to make 360 gear compatible with your Windows PC. We're still waiting to hear such details as the prices of the wireless racing wheel and HD-DVD add-on, or whether Microsoft will release an un-bundled version of the webcam, so here's to hoping that Joystiq's new friend comes calling again real soon.
$40 XBL Vision camera & UNO bundle detailed by MS source along with prices & dates for other 360 accessories
Our friendly anonymous source at Microsoft has provided us with a few more details concerning the 360 accessories announced back at E3.Perhaps the most important involves the bundling of the Xbox Live Vision camera with a wired headset, the popular Live Arcade title UNO, and a month of Live Gold service for $39.99 when it releases in the States on September 19, 2006.Granted, this is still an unofficial report (based on a leak of "official" info), so understand that you're probably not gonna get much confirmation from MS until they're good and ready to give it. If you'd like information on what other peripherals are coming out "Holiday 2006" (so sometime in the 4th quarter) and at what price, read on for more.
Rumor: 360 wireless gaming receiver $20; wheel $130; headset $60; camera $40; Halo and Forza faceplates $20 [update 1]
Thanks to a reliable source from Microsoft, we've learned some important details about the new peripherals announced for the Xbox 360, including pricing and a few Halo faceplate (non)specifics. Check out the leaked info and prices below: 360 wireless gaming receiver (which enables wireless 360 controllers, headsets, and wheels on your PC): $20 Wireless racing wheel: $130 Wireless headset: $60 Xbox Live Vision Camera (with headset, one month of Live Gold, and one arcade -- presumably Xbox Live Arcade -- game): $40 New faceplates for Halo (with the Master Chief on 'em, but not Halo 3 specific) and Forza (no word on connections to the sequel): $20 each 256 MB portable memory unit (MU): no official price yet, but definitely not four times the cost of the older 64MB MU Besides acknowledging that the PC is "the biggest gaming device of all," MS appears to be setting an agressive price for its most relevant new PC accessory, the wireless gaming receiver (at least in comparison to the outrageously priced 360 wireless networking adapter). Unfortunately, no price was revealed as of yet for the USB-based HD-DVD add-on.We've speculated in our recent podcasts as to what would happen to the various 360 SKUs when price drops inevitably occur. An interesting theory bandied about by prolific Joystiq Contributor epobirs (on our earlier bump-to-256MB-MU post) was that a $20 price drop for the Core system, coupled with a $20 price drop on the 64MB MU, would finally allow folks to pick up a capable non-Premium bundle for the original $300 Core price point. (Not a bad way to undercut PS2 memory card prices, too.) We hope to get official confirmation on this info in the not-too-distant future.[Update: Sorry, had the camera price wrong in the headline; it now matches the price of the bundle listed in the body of the text below.]See also: 360's Mem Unit getting a bump to 256MB? (Comment from epobirs) Use 360 wireless peripherals with a PC Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Microsoft's Xbox 360 E3 event Joystiq / Engadget podcasts from Day One and Day Two of E3 2006
Xbox 360 controller faceplates
Lik-Sang is now offering Xbox 360 controller faceplates in a variety of styles: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 at shaving their torso plus their legs, at wearing pink shirts if not their wife's panties, and at engaging in other such weird activities that Cosmopolitan columnists and Vogue editors will regularly encourage or praise. For those not familiar with the trend, think "David Beckham" or "male fashion models" as illustrating example).Ok, not so sure about the marketing language, but the metallic silver one is cool and a good match for the chrome TeamXtender faceplate we noted earlier. Keep in mind that taking your controller apart voids the warranty, although the installation guide available down the page as a PDF makes the process look pretty painless.
TeamXtender Deluxe Chrome Faceplate
I remember when I used to make fun of people who were into case mods. I mean for God's sake, spend the money on games, or beer, or... beer. Now I'm eager to shell out actual dollars for this deluxe chrome faceplate from TeamXtender. Ah, the slow, steady slide into Xbox 360 fanboy geekdom continues.
GRAW faceplate in action
360Monster has a pic of a sweet looking Ghost Recon 3 faceplate in all it's advanced glory. Not sure if this is the same one certain retailers are giving away with orders. Anybody know?
TeamXtender.com's XCM 360 Faceplates
Xbox-Scene snagged exclusive pre-release pics of TeamXtender.com's Pack 2 XCM 360 Faceplates in a variety of colors (nice bezel). Faceplate fanatics can check back Sunday for a comprehensive review of Pack 1 from Xtender, Madcatz, Pelican, MS, Joytech and more.
Team Xtender faceplates: some assembly required
After hearing about Team Xtender's faceplate series, Tacohead at lowdown411 got a little carried away. He ordered all five of them! Overall, he seems pleased with the one he assembled... wait. Assembled?Apparently, some of the pieces come unassembled. That, in and of itself, isn't so bad, but there's no manual telling you how to proceed: "I put the IR port cover in - simple enough. Then I came up against the USB spring loaded cover. This part was a bit of a pain in the ass but ultimately I think I did it correctly. There are no instructions with the items or on the website so you'll have to use your mind a bit (damn!)."I know gamers are stereotyped as being lazy, and I really wouldn't mind putting this together, but even a little xerox'ed manual is in order. Can I get a harumph?[Thanks, Tacohead]
