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Xbox 360 with 250GB HDD and Forza 3 spotted on Amazon Germany
Now that the Xbox 360 Elite has officially dropped in price and killed off the Pro, it was only a matter of time before there'd be a new rumor to pin on Microsoft's console. Amazon Germany, who previously listed the PlayStation 3 Slim a good 20 days before the official debut (it still has the same Amazon Stock Identification Number as it did when leaked), has gone ahead and posted a new Xbox 360 model, ASIN in tow, with a 250GB HDD, two wireless controllers, and Forza Motorsport 3. Price is listed at 279 euros ($397), a good 30 euros over the current Elite price. No release date, but Forza 3 isn't due out until at least October 23rd so we'd say you got awhile to wait and see if this pans out. Any chance we can get a built-in WiFi adapter along with that extra storage space? [Thanks, skipper]
This Forza 3 post has been brought to you by Puma
We guess a lot of sneaker lovers also enjoy racing games, because Microsoft has announced that Puma will be an exclusive marketing partner for Forza 3. The result of this partnership ensures you'll be gawking at Puma ads throughout Forza 3 and guarantees Puma driver Natacha Gachnang will be the face of the game across Europe. The partnership will even extend beyond the game, helping to create a Forza 3-branded Puma shoe and enveloping employees who are demonstrating Forza 3 at special promotional events leading up until its October 27 release in – you guessed it! – Puma gear. We think that's kind of good thing though, because the last time we saw the game it was tough to understand the publicists through those big driving helmets they all had on.
Forza 3 out Oct. 27, Collector's Edition and pre-order cars detailed
click to Forza bigger picture Microsoft has announced that Turn 10's Forza Motorsport 3 will be driving onto North American Xbox 360s on October 27. In addition, the company has also revealed the final details of the Limited Collector's Edition of the game, which will be available only at GameStop. The limited edition will grant users VIP status in the Forza community, a keychain, 2GB flash drive and ten exclusive cars. Five of the cars are exclusive to VIP members, while the remaining five were "personally hand-picked, tuned and painted by the team at Turn 10."Finally, Turn 10 has also announced the winner of the Forza 3 community design competition, namely Justin Van Dusen II of Midland, Michigan. His custom-painted Audi R8 V10 will be offered as a pre-order bonus for the game. Check out a list of the cars found in the limited edition after the break, and be sure to peruse images of the limited edition packaging and cars in the gallery below.%Gallery-68814%
Pick Forza 3's pre-order Audi's look, potentially drive the real thing
Xbox.com is hosting a bit of a contest / user feedback survey involving the Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro which those who pre-order Forza 3 will receive as bonus DLC. Five potential paint jobs for the seriously slick ride are posted on the contest page, which instructs vistors to cast their votes via an incresingly popular means: downloading a correspnding (free) Gamer Picture from the Marketplace.The design that has its gamerpic downloaded the most will be the one pre-order holders receive. Speaking of receiving, one contest entrant will be chosen at random to hit the track at the Infineon Raceway in a real Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro (lucky!) as part of the "Audi Sportscar Experience." (Yes, if you win, you actually get to drive the car -- we checked.)
Celebrate Forza 3 by getting a free car in Forza 2
Turn 10 Studios is celebrating the announcement of Forza Motorsport 3 this week by offering up a free car to Forza 2 players who reply to their blog with their Xbox Live gamertag attached. All you have to do is follow the cryptic, Da Vinci code-like instructions buried in their FAQ to link your gamertag, leave a comment on their post, and you'll get a free customized Audi S4 to drive around. At least until the new game comes out in October.
Turn 10 hilariously shows off its new logo: Forza Watersports
You see that image above, friends (#1)? That was the image revealed last week to PortalXbox.com.br during a briefing in São Paulo, Brazil, teasing the assuredly to-be-announced at E3 2009 Forza 3, developed by Turn 10 Studios. It seems as though Turn 10 likes having a little bit of fun with its game reveals though, as the developer has released the full logo (#3), now with more silliness. Through the magic of Twitter, Turn 10 linked its followers to "the logo of the new game [it's] working on," found below in the gallery. What's weirder is a little poking around in Turn 10's conversations with others on Twitter reveals another image (#2), though clearer, and this time sans "watersports." Looks an awful lot like what could be a Forza 3 logo to us. One thing's for sure: If this game ends up to be for real, we're going to have an awful lot of egg on our face to wash off. Let's hope that's not the case!%Gallery-51574%
Rumor: Forza 3 making an appearance at E3 2009
(click to embiggen) At this point, after "supposed" artwork was leaked and the franchise's publisher, Microsoft, circulated a survey inquiring about the game, you'd think the company would just up and announce Forza 3 already. Not so, however, as Microsoft's also notoriously cagey about the game's "possible" existence within its own doors! As you can see in the video embedded after the break (and in the less than beautiful screen grab above), Microsoft hides a logo for Forza even when showing the game to its own employees a group of Xbox community members from PortalXbox.com.br during a recent, camera-laden meeting in Brazil. The crowd audibly cheers "Forza!" when the logo appears and the man in charge goes on to speak about his love for past entries in the franchise -- never mentioning "Forza 3" by name, mind you. All we get after this is a banner marked "AGUARDEM," meaning "coming soon."Will we see more of the game at E3 2009? Our money's on "Yeah, we'll probably see it then." Oh, and hey, Portuguese-speaking readers, feel free to drop us a tip with the fully translated transcript when you get a second. Thanks!UPDATE: Reader Daniel Gomes has informed us that the event was actually the "National Forum on April 25th in São Paulo" for PortalXbox.com.br, "the largest Xbox community in Brazil." Good to know!UPDATE 2: Apparently the YouTube clip we embedded after the break got pulled. Luckily, we had already downloaded the video! Feel free to check it out, still after the break!
Rumor: Design studio leaks Forza 3 artwork
click to embiggen This has been making the rounds for a couple of weeks now, but in case you missed it over the holidays, Kaarbo Design owner Noah Kaarbo allegedly let slip (and then promptly removed, but not before Google cached it) some of the sample work his company had done for Forza developer Turn 10 Studios and -- cue the fake surprise -- Forza 3.Community site Forzacentral managed to grab all four posters, which are said to be samples of what could have appeared on the race selection screen. Of course, this doesn't confirm the existence of another Forza game per se, but should Microsoft Games Studios decide to maybe revisit the successful racing franchise, it looks like it already has a logo to use. Gallery: Forza 3 - Leaked Artwork [Via X3F]
Forza 3 artwork all but confirms game's existence
Kaarbo Designs, a company sub-contract by Microsoft Game Studios to create menu assets for all previous Forza Motorsport titles, has gotten a bit ahead of themselves in terms of revealing the project they just finished. That project being Forza Motorsport 3.Yes sir, listed under their website's clients section are a few Forza 3 posters (now removed, but preserved by Forzacentral) that sorta prove that the yet to be officially announced racing title is real and in development by Turn 10. You can even sneak a peek at the threequel's logo on the upper left of each poster. Interestingly enough, Kaarbo mentions that the asset posters (galleried below) are not their templetes, "are only samples and are not to be used" in any Forza title. They're still pretty, though, so check 'em out below.%Gallery-40595%[Via TeamXbox]
Rumor: PGR5 coming from Forza dev, could be announced next week
There's a rumor making the rounds today that Forza Motorsport studio Turn 10 is developing the next Project Gotham Racing, seeing as how series creator Bizarre Creations is now owned by Activision. This rumor sounds more than just a little familiar, don't cha think?The more rumor-y core of this new rumor is that, according to AddictGaming's "reliable source" at Turn 10, the game will be unveiled as early as next week. Of course, the site also mentions an impending New Xbox Experience announcement scheduled for next week, which sounds like part of the previously busted "360 relaunch" rumor.[Via X3F]
Select Xbox Live DLC discounted until end of October
Microsoft is running an "Extended Play Download Days" promotion between now and the end of October, with select downloadable content discounted for six Xbox 360 titles. Sure, half of the promotion consists of Beautiful Katamari accessories and stages, but we've also got Forza Motorsport 2, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero 3, Lost Odyssey and a deep discount for Oblivion Shivering Isles (from $30 to $20). Not coincidentally, today also marks the first day of the new Xbox 360 price drop.
Rumor: Forza 3 will have 2 discs, 400 cars, more
We know there is a certain section of the readership that hates our guts for posting rumors, but frankly, we really don't much care. We do our best to show exactly where rumors come from, and always leave it to you to make the decision about their truthfulness for yourselves. This next one came from the same survey page that the "Xbox Avatar" rumor came from, and has all sorts of goodies in it. The page states that Forza 3 will ship on two discs, have some sort of "assist system", will be loaded to the brim with content (400 cars, 100 tracks, etc) and will have car deformation. Really though, the biggest news here is the possible hint (if the survey page is to be believed) that the game was constrained by the limitations of the DVD format ...
Microsoft: PGR5 could be driven by Forza dev
When Project Gotham Racing dev Bizarre Creations was scooped up by Activision last year, many 360 owners were left wondering what would become of the system's flagship racing franchise. Speaking to Kikizo, Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim provided one possible (and likely) scenario: put Forza Motorsports 2 team Turn 10 behind the wheel.Kim says that MS is eager for Turn 10 to branch out and "do more creative execution in the racing space." (Read: more than just hardcore racing sims.) Kim expressed a desire to take "a fresh creative approach" to a fifth game in the series, and, to that end, proposed imagining "a future where [Turn 10] would develop a new version of Project Gotham Racing." We humbly suggest that – should they get the gig – Turn 10 replace Kudos with actual MS points.
Forza 2 gets some DLC love, tournament soon
Forza fans out there should take note that the first batch of downloadable content for Forza Motorsport 2 is now available. There are two content packs to download. The first of which is the Nissan Tournament Pack, which includes the 2007 Nissan Altima, 2007 Nissan Sentra, and 2007 Nissan 350Z. Oh, and we should probably mention that the Nissan pack is free. The other pack is the Peugot #8 turbo diesel 908. If you want this ride, however, it's going to cost you 50 MS Points. Still, we don't remember the last time we got a car for less than a buck (virtual or otherwise) so it's not that bad of a deal. Now download, play, and be merry.DCEmu also informs us that a tournament will soon be kicking off on August 18. The tournament will be an all out Nissan Sentra showdown between 256 players, with the finalists competing in Los Angeles. We assume further details on the tournament are forthcoming. In the meantime, you might want to start tuning up those Sentras. Finally, a Nissan Sentra customization contest is also in the works. In the contest, players will compete to create the best custom paint jobs. More details should be available on XboxLiveTournament.com starting August 10.
'Heil Hitler' car auctioned in Forza 2, exposes kink in user-generated gaming
Microsoft and Turn 10 might be determined to seek and destroy acts of hatred and discrimination plastered on Xbox Live, but the publisher and developer of Forza 2 couldn't act fast enough to prevent a 1957 Mercedes 300SL, defaced by pro-Nazi symbols and sentiments, from being offered through the game's online auction mode. 360-gamer recently pointed to the unsettling item, criticizing the moderators for their inability to keep this kind of content off of the Xbox Live servers; or at least promptly remove it (apparently the car's been Live for a while).Whether adolescent mischief or true delusion, a small percentage of user-generated content is always going to incite "discrimination, hate, or violence towards one person or a group." While Microsoft clearly defines the boundaries of condemnable content in its Online User Policy*, the company fails to suggest how it might protect its users from being victimized by such content. Probably because it can't.
Wolfmother challenges you to a race off
Our fellow Guitar Hero II rockers Wolfmother will be playing some Forza 2 this Saturday as part of Xbox.com's Game With Fame. The band will be online playing Forza 2 sometime on June 23rd and to get a chance to race with them simply send gamertag WolfmotherGWF a friend request. That's it, sit back, rinse, repeat (minus the repeat part). We're also nearly certain that they'd be more comfortable rocking out to some Guitar Hero II online if they could, but you know ... a certain developer didn't include such feature in the 360 version. Oh well, Forza 2 will work just fine.
Yippy! More of your custom Forza 2 cars
It has been a while since we've added your custom Forza 2 cars to the official X3F gallery, but it's not like we forgot about them or were purposely avoiding you. Really, we weren't. So, let's get to the vehicular goods. One of our favorite cars we received is Gabriel Acevedo's sequel to his first Spawn vehicle. His new one, as seen above, is down right beautiful. Gold star for you Gabriel, job well done. Our other favorite is Jayman007's X3F inspired car, because it says "X360F FTW" on the back, which is just the right amount of butt kissing to be enjoyed. And if you're feeling really manly and are up for some eye candy, be sure to stare at cade's Jessica Alba Sin City ride. Uhh, yeah ... it's nice. The custom Forza 2 cars gallery is updated, so go take a look and see if your handy work made the cut.%Gallery-3640%
Live Top Ten: Demolicious
This week's live top ten has a third of the list devoted to digitally distributed demonstration content. Of those demos, Shadowrun came all the way in fourth, with Tenchu Z down in 7th, and the Overlord demo rounding out the list in tenth. Without the Halo 3 Beta there to hog the list, Forza moved up all the way to second, behind Gears of War. Crackdown proved it had some staying power without the help of the aforementioned beta, as it maintained the middle ground at fifth. Also, Prince of Persia managed to make the list at ninth. Speaking of the list, you can find that after the break. Enjoy.
VRX's triple-screen racing simulator uses Xbox 360 Elite
Man, talk about leaving the Home Pro Racing Simulator in the proverbial dust. VRX has introduced a swank new racing sim of its own designed with a Forza Motorsports 2 theme and a trio of 37-inch Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD TVs. The frame is constructed from CNC machined polished aluminum, and envelopes the gamer by curiously including just one Sparco seat along with four Xbox 360 Elites, four copies of Forza Motorsport 2, an Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on player, camera / wireless headset, a Zune, force feedback wheel, and surround sound as well. Sure, brush it off as overkill if you please, but those who are sick of draining quarters dollars at the arcade can contact the company to experience the presumed sticker shock for themselves.
Forza 2 bundle available in Canada, eh?
If car enthusiasts are going to be picking up an Xbox 360 solely for Forza Motorsport 2, then they're in luck, provided they reside in the Great White North. Yes, not only do Canadians have the ability to grab the Forza 2 Collector's Edition domestically, but they also have the standard game packed in with Xbox 360s. The bundle comes with your standard Xbox 360 "Premium" or "Pro" set up, wireless controller, 20GB Hard drive etc. If you don't, or didn't have the console already, would the inclusion of Forza 2 sway your purchase?[Thanks, DjDATZ]
