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GameStop to start testing game downloads early next year

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 13th 2009 at 2:33AM

GameStop has been dropping hints about its digital download plans for a little while now, but it looks to have done its most extensive and official talking about the matter yet at the recent BMO Capital Management Digital Entertainment conference, where it confirmed that it will start testing the program "early next year" with kiosks in an unspecified number of stores. That program will apparently work in conjunction with services "such as Microsoft Corp's Xbox Live and Sony Corp's PlayStation Network," and will focus primarily on add-on content rather than full game downloads. Why's that, you ask? Well it seems that GameStop thinks "a large market for full game downloads is not imminent, (but) the add-on downloadable market will grow" -- a view that some would obviously beg to differ with.

[Via Joystiq]

Xbox LIVE gets 1080p Zune Video store, Twitter, Facebook and more on November 17th (video)

by Darren Murph posted Nov 12th 2009 at 4:22PM

Remember all those fantastic features that Microsoft promised were in the works for its Xbox 360 back at E3? Get ready folks, because they're all arriving in five days. At an undisclosed time on November 17th, users will be able to login to Xbox LIVE and check out the totally bodacious new portals available to kill time and act social without actually combing your hair. As we'd heard, Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm (US and UK only) modules will all be featured, not to mention on-demand 1080p / 5.1-channel HD video through the Zune Video outlet. In case that's not enough (and be honest, it's never enough), users will also see a new "News and More" section in the "Inside Xbox" channel with streams from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert. Yeah, Dilbert. Hop on past the break for a few video demonstrations, and then get back to your Modern Warfare 2 binge before your teammates see you slacking off.

Gallery: Xbox LIVE gets 1080p Zune Video store, Twitter, Facebook and more on November 17th

Continue reading Xbox LIVE gets 1080p Zune Video store, Twitter, Facebook and more on November 17th (video)

Project Natal launching in November 2010, priced for 'impulse buy'?

by Paul Miller posted Nov 11th 2009 at 9:21AM

A supposed leak from closed-door Microsoft meetings in the UK has made its way to MCV, who has all sorts of new details on Project Natal's launch next year. Rumor is that the device will be released worldwide in November 2010 (we've heard "late next year" before), with 5 million camera units ready for day one, included in solo and console-bundled SKUs. Word varies on the price, with some saying "under £50" (about $84 USD), while others say as low as £30, about $50 USD. Apparently Microsoft is aiming for "impulse buy" territory, and it makes sense to subsidize the unit and make that money back in games sales, like a regular console launch (which Microsoft sort of sees it as, in many ways). There are supposed to be 14 games readied for launch, but no specifics on which developers that've signed up for Natal work will be among those on launch day. It all sounds about right, though we of course won't know for sure until Microsoft goes into tell-all mode, which we expect will be a decent ways down the road if they can't even confirm a silly WiFi adapter for the holidays without months of hand-wringing.

[Via Gizmodo]

Xbox 360 Wireless N adapter is really real, out this week in US for $100

by Ross Miller posted Nov 10th 2009 at 5:24PM

Microsoft's releasing a Wireless N Networking Adapter for the Xbox 360? Get out of town! ... Oh, wait, we've seen it. Constantly. For the last two months. Ah well, let's just all be happy to see it finally appear on US store shelves, putting an end to this sordid saga and supporting 802.11a/b/g/n for a copper Lincoln under $100. As Joystiq reports, the old 802.11b/g model is slowly being shown the curb, with the current stock being discounted at $80 while supplies last.

[Via Joystiq]

Update: Check it -- GameStop has it listed right now in stock. Huzzah!

Elusive Xbox 360 802.11n wireless adapter appears in the UK

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 8th 2009 at 9:34PM

Microsoft might be playing cat-and-mouse with the Xbox 360 802.11n adapter, but it looks like the jig is up in the UK -- we just got this shot of it sitting on an ASDA store shelf. Still no word on Stateside availability, but surely we can't all keep on like this forever, can we?

[Thanks, Daniel]

Xbox 360 802.11n adapter rebirths on Costco site, ships November 10th for $88

by Ross Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 4:54PM

You can't keep a phoenix down and this Xbox 360 wireless n adapter seems to be a bird of similar feather. After discretely showing up on US retail sites and subsequently managing to drop off into internet obscurity, the 802.11n-compliant peripheral has returned to the scene via Costco's site, this time with a November 10th shipping date and a more attractive than before $88 price tag. With only five days until the 10th, will this finally be the price and date that stick? Who knows -- but at least this time we won't have to wait long to find out.

[Thanks, WeakSasco]

Leaked Walmart ad reveals Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card, $300 HP G60 laptop

by Ross Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 at 12:29AM

It's not quite a $99 Xbox 360, but if this apparent Walmart scan via Kotaku is to be believed, that $199 Arcade version is getting a $100 gift card promotion going into effect this Saturday. In real terms, that boils down to a $234 Xbox 360 Pro for first-time buyers, seeing as you'll be needing that $135, 120GB hard drive, too. Also listed are a Sony Blu-ray player for $148 (we're guessing the currently-MSRP'd $199 BDP-S360), and a $298 HP G60-519WM, which touts a 2.2GHz Intel Celeron, 15.6-inch HD display, Windows 7 Home Premium, 3GB RAM, and a 250GB HDD -- not a bad followup at all for that Compaq CQ60. Some interesting spy shots from the Slick Deals forum seem to give credence to the scan, although we're still playing wait-and-see -- that $100 gift card with the Xbox 360 arcade is almost too good to be true, even if it is just a clever tactic to clear shelf space in the lead-up to Black Friday.

Update: Sure as the sun, an official ad has popped up on Yahoo's front page. Screenshot after the break.

[Thanks, just4onepost]

Read - G60-519WM spotted
Read - $199 Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card?

Continue reading Leaked Walmart ad reveals Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card, $300 HP G60 laptop

Xbox 360 Wireless N adapter disappears from the internets

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 7:16AM

Today's the day that a GameStop listing had Microsoft's Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter going live for retail. So how's that $100 worth of throughput treating you? What's that... it's not actually for sale? Indeed: the entry has been pulled from GameStop and a Google Shopping search reveals only a single Buy.com entry showing the adapter as "temporarily sold out." That's wishful thinking. While Microsoft has confirmed the adapters' existence they have not officially announced a street date or price. We'll let you know if that changes.

Update: Amazon.fr lists the adapter for 80 euro bucks with an expected November 20th ship. We'll see.

[Thanks Adam and Tim Ashman for pre-modified photo]

Dog buys 5,000 Microsoft points, says he just wanted to check out the Abbey Road DLC

by Laura June posted Nov 1st 2009 at 7:57PM

Say what you will about dogs being man's best friend -- they sure can get into a lot of trouble. While our dogs have been limited to eating shoes and shedding on our furniture, Greg Strope of Richmond, Virginia has reason to believe his furry friend has gone the extra mile. While he lay in bed sleeping, his dog Oscar, he believes, purchased 5,000 Microsoft points. The only possible culprit, Oscar left some telltale signs (drool and scratches) on the Xbox controller, leading Greg to blame the $63 purchase on him. We have to admit the dog's actions rather impress us, though it also makes us nervous about all those times we left our laptop open and unattended around our own tiny beast. Video featuring damning photographic evidence is after the break.

Continue reading Dog buys 5,000 Microsoft points, says he just wanted to check out the Abbey Road DLC

Datel reportedly looking to 'remedy' Microsoft's lock-out of unauthorized memory units

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 28th 2009 at 3:58PM

This brouhaha isn't officially on just yet, but MaxConsole has what it says is a letter from Datel's UK distributors, which details the company's response to Microsoft's locking-out of unauthorized memory units in the upcoming (and currently previewed) Xbox 360 dashboard update. While it's a bit short on specifics, Datel reportedly says that it is "aware of the changes that are required to remedy this problem and will shortly release a solution in readiness for this potential update." In the meantime, it's apparently telling retailers that they can send back the affected memory units if they like, and promises it will replace them with updated units in time for the dashboard update.

Microsoft temporarily suspends Sky Player for Xbox 360

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 28th 2009 at 9:52AM

"Very fast," "a dream," "fantastic." It looks like you can add "on hiatus" to the list of superlatives -- at least for the time being. That boffo Sky Player that Microsoft debuted for the Xbox 360? "Suspended." Why, you ask? "Due to an unforeseen technical issue." Luckily for Britons and ex-pats, the £15 monthly service should resume tomorrow, barring any further technical issues. In the meantime, it looks like the poor avatar above will be stuck watching Benny Hill on Netflix like the rest of us. Statement after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft temporarily suspends Sky Player for Xbox 360

Sky Player on Xbox 360 receives first eyes-on analysis

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 27th 2009 at 8:12AM

Sky TV has made its arrival on the Xbox 360 today in prompt fashion, with live streaming and on-demand video available, and the keen lads over at Electric Pig already have a preview of the service in action. Their immediate reaction was that the Sky Player interface was "ultra-speedy" and easily navigable using the 360 controller. Streaming at the high-quality setting (alas, there's no HD on offer yet) was also no problem on a 4Mb broadband connection, though they reserve their highest praise for the on-demand content which was pumped through within a couple of seconds of selection and benefits from an "astonishingly well-designed interface." For the full impressions of the subscription-based service, which starts out at £15 per month, hit up the read link below.

Microsoft: 'We have no plans for Blu-ray on Xbox 360'

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 23rd 2009 at 1:49AM

A recent Gizmodo sit down with Steve Ballmer led with a headline exclaiming a Blu-ray add-on for Xbox was coming. See, when Ballmer was asked about making the Xbox a home theater companion of choice and where Blu-ray might fit in, the Windows 7 wild man said, "Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there -- you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories." He then added that on-demand is the future of movies, not physical media. Now our bud Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, has stepped up to lay the conflation to rest. The Major says that Ballmer was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC and reiterated Microsoft's focus of bringing instant-on 1080p streaming movies to the Xbox 360. So... that should end speculation of Blu-ray on Xbox right? Not if history serves, nope.

Xbox Live update preview program now rolling out

by Ross Miller posted Oct 22nd 2009 at 10:28PM

Xbox 360's resident spokesman Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb wants you to know that the Xbox Live update preview program is now officially a go, with the first wave of registered participants getting automatically prompted to update upon sign-in (you should also receive an email, but apparently they're behind on the notifications). More people are said to be getting the update "in the coming days," so don't lose hope yet -- not that waiting for Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm integration, and 1080p instant-on streaming should cause ultimate despair, but we digress. The only thing you don't get is the Halo Waypoint preview, which doesn't join the preview fun until next week.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Forthcoming Xbox 360 update locks out 'unauthorized' memory units

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 18th 2009 at 6:50PM

Using a less than official memory unit with your Xbox 360? Then you'll probably want to get your act together before diving into the upcoming preview program for the latest 360 update, as it will apparently lock out any "unauthorized" memory units as it adds all those nifty Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm features. That word comes straight from none other than Xbox Live's Major Neslon, who also warns anyone using said memory units that they'll basically be flat out of luck if they update before backing things up to an official storage device and then go looking for their saved games -- which, you know, would be a bit of a pain.

[Via Joystiq]