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Week of February 3, 2008
Rumor: Team InFeCtuS Working on XD-Card and LCD Addon
>> We received unconfirmed information that Team InFeCtuS is working on a XD-Card and LCD Xbox360 addon for the Infectus chip:
[QUOTE]
* LCD Screen Addon: when connected to the Infectus chip it can show information from the Xbox360 south bridge IC (like: cpu temperature, fan speed, tray status, etc...).
* XD-Card Addon: add XD Card Memory to the Infectus chip so it can support multi kernel/dashboard loads.
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As soon as official/confirmed information is released about these addons we'll let you know! Remember where you saw it first ;)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Rumor: Yahoo! to Reject Microsoft Bid
>> From yahoo.com:
[QUOTE]
In a bid to remain independent, Yahoo plans to reject Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover offer, according to reports on the Wall Street Journal's web site.
Quoting sources familiar with the situation, the Journal reports that Yahoo's board feels the offer of $31 per share "massively undervalues" the company. A letter spelling out the position is expected to be sent Monday. Yahoo also expressed concern that Microsoft's offer does not account for risks to Yahoo should the deal be overturned by regulators.
The Journal source said the company would be unwilling to consider an offer below $40 per share, which would represent a $12 billion increase over Microsoft's original $44.6 billion bid. It is unclear if Microsoft would be willing to increase its bid by such a significant amount.
Yahoo shares are currently 51 percent above their pre-bid value. In contrast, Microsoft shares have dropped about 13 percent since the bid was announced, far worse than the Standard & Poor's 500's loss of 4 percent.
Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said the software company may issue some debt to finance the cash portion of its 50-50 stock and cash offer for Yahoo, instead of drawing down its entire $21 billion cash pile.
"It's likely we're actually going to borrow for the first time," said Liddell in an annual strategy meeting with analysts before Yahoo's apparent decision. "It's going to be a mixture of the cash we have on hand plus debt."
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Full Story: yahoo.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
IGN FPS Freek Prototype Hands-On
>> From gear.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
Dubbed the FPS Freek, the new add-ons apply a similar concept of extending a standard control pad's analog sticks, though unlike the driving oriented speedfreek's "U" shaped sides, the FPS Freek goes vertical rather than horizontal. The concept immediately reminded us of one of the very first third-party controllers for the Xbox 360, the MadCatz GamePad Pro we reviewed in late 2005. The initial run of the controllers were equipped with analog sticks on extremely long and narrow stalks, a manufacturing error that was later corrected. In reviewing the initial run, however, we noticed that the long analog sticks had a pretty unique feel, in some ways more precise than standard stubby analog sticks. Depressing the MadCatz GamePad Pro's sticks for the R3 and L3 buttons was extremely difficult due to their narrow stalks however, so in the end we didn't keep them around very long.
kontrolfreek's FPS Freek, however, seems to succeed where the MadCatz controller failed. The prototype add-ons snap onto the standard 360 controller analog sticks, making them roughly half an inch taller. Because they still ride on the 360 controller's wide analog stalks however, depressing the sticks for R3 and L3 is easy and accurate. Immediately glad that the FPS Freeks didn't suffer the same big drawbacks as the GamePad Pro, we went to work to see if the longer analog sticks really did offer an advantage in FPS titles.
After a few rounds in CoD4 adapting to this new feel, we realized we rather enjoyed it. The biggest benefit, in our hands, was the ability to make very small aiming adjustments without overshooting the motion. Instead of spraying bullets at people back and forth, the precision of the longer analog sticks made it much easier to draw a bead on running players and input just enough on the analog sticks to keep it on them without leading increasingly too far ahead. Fighting barrel-rise in light machine guns was also easier, as we could maintain a constant down force on the stick at roughly 40% of its throw, just enough to stay on target without overshooting and aiming at the ground.
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Full Story: gear.ign.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Activision Projects 2008 Hardware Sales
>> From xbox360.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
During its Q3 2008 earnings release conference call, Activision discussed its hardware sales estimates for the 2008 calendar year in North America.
The ranges given were 4-5 million units sold for Xbox 360 and 3-4 million for PS3. Still, Activision predicts the Wii to outsell both of its competitors by a substantial margin with greater than 6 million units shifted at retail. Rounding out the projections are the PS2 at 2-3 million in sales and all handhelds combined with over 10 million in sales.
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Full Story: xbox360.ign.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
DICE: Was 2007 Xbox 360's Peak?
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
In a one-on-one interview between Microsoft Game Studios VP Kim and New York Times reporter Seth Schiesel during the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, Schiesel pointed out how Xbox 360's 2008 software lineup pales in comparison to a year that saw BioShock, Mass Effect, Halo 3, The Orange Box and other heavy hitters.
The 2008 games lineup just doesn't seem as "stacked" as last year, Schiesel said.
"I think the pipeline is very stacked. You just don't know about it," Kim laughed coyly.
But at a glance, it would seem that Microsoft's exclusive library has taken a potential hit. Last year, Activision acquired Bizarre Creations, developer of Project Gotham Racing.
There's also the Electronic Arts acquisition of BioWare, which developed the Xbox 360 exclusive Mass Effect, leaving that franchise's exclusivity in question.
And of course there was the much-publicized split between Microsoft and Halo developer Bungie.
Is Microsoft losing control of its gaming library?
"It is a very fluid industry," said Shane. "...When these things happen in rapid succession, we can't control the actions of other publishers."
"I'd say that the generation still has a long way to go. It's way too early to declare a winner here. We still have tremendous momentum here," said Kim.
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Full Story: next-gen.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Limited Edition Halo 3 Xbox 360 For Chinese New Year
>> From dbtechno.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft is getting ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year by releasing a new Halo 3 Xbox 360 bundle in China.
The new bundle Microsoft is putting out for the Chinese New Year includes a 20GB Xbox 360 Pro console. The bundle will also have two wireless controllers packed in, as well as Halo 3.
The total price point in China comes out to $430 roughly in American dollars.
It should be interesting to see how well this bundle performs in China.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: dbtechno.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
HD DVD Addon Officially Drops to 130usd
>> From gamerscoreblog.com (FYI: MS owned blog):
[QUOTE]
We're happy to announce that we're lowering the price of the popular Xbox 360 HD DVD player from $179 to $129 (estimated retail price) in the U.S. and Canada, effective immediately.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
BenHeck's Xbox 360 Elite Laptop
>> From benheck.com:
[QUOTE]
Well after a long process my new Halo 3-inspired Xbox 360 laptop is complete. It has some new features compared to past units:
* 120 gig Elite hard drive.
* HDMI-to-DVI video connection for digitial picture on the LCD (versus VGA on past mods)
* Uses an Xbox with the new 65nm processor die.
In a departure from my usual design aesthetic, this one has a lot of surface detail.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: benheck.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 Gamers To Get FPS Leverage With FPS Freek Add-on
>> From gamingbits.com:
[QUOTE]
The FPS Freek is the newest Xbox 360 thumb stick extension by KontrolFreek. Below is a 3d rendered model of the FPS Freek. Where the SpeedFreek cradles your thumbs on the left and right to prevent slippage, the FPS Freek adds both length and leverage. How does this benefit you? As described on KontrolFreek's site: "More leverage = less force to move. More length = more precise character movement and more precise aiming." We're not sure if these are allowed in MLG competitions, but it sounds like something worth trying out on heated Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4 online matches. The prototype testing by KontrolFreek also noted adjusting controller sensitivity in-game may be needed for precision aiming.
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Official Site: http://kontrolfreek.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
EA expects PS3 to outsell 360 in 2008
>> From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Electronic Arts has released estimates of what it thinks will be the range of hardware sales in North America and Europe through 2008, and while the Wii unsurprisingly leads, it's the PlayStation 3 that will hold a strong second place.
That will, according to the estimates, be particularly true in Europe, where EA expects the PlayStation 3 to sell between 5 and 6 million units across the year, compared to just 1.5-2.5 million for the Xbox 360.
That means that while the company thinks the two will tie in North America on 4.5 to 5.5 million unit sales, the two sets of numbers combined give Sony's flagship console a compelling 3.5 million lead.
Combined console estimates for 2008 are as follows:
Nintendo Wii: 12-14 million
PlayStation 3: 9.5-11.5 million
Xbox 360: 6-8 million
PlayStation 2: 3.9-4.9 million
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamesindustry.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Ballmer outlines Microsoft's eight long-term growth bets
>> From zdnet.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer outlined Microsoft's top eight growth targets during his annual "Strategic Update" for Wall Street analysts in New York on February 4. Ballmer repeated several times during the hour-long presentation that "growth will require investment." He noted that his view of what constitutes "long term" is "five to seven to ten years" out -- most likely a lot longer than the typical three-year timeframe typically envisioned by analysts and shareholders.
1. Windows on new PCs
2. Corporate desktop value
3. Server units
4. SMB (small/midsize business) wares
5. Portals and search
6. Online advertising
7. Xbox: When Microsoft talks about hardware, it mostly is talking about Xbox. Ballmer said to watch for Microsoft to continue to push for broader Xbox acceptance in markets where it has been less popular, like continental Europe and Japan. Also watch for the company to do more outreach to non-classic gamers in order to continue to build Xbox market share.
8. Windows Mobile
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Full Story: zdnet.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Japan to Get Xbox 360 Arcade
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft has announced that a new entry-level Xbox 360 unit will go on sale in Japan next month.
The Xbox 360 Arcade, which was launched in the US last year, will target new gamers when it hits Japanese stores on March 6.
While the unit's 27,800 yen price tag will match that of existing models, the Arcade 360 will sport an HDMI port and come bundled with a wireless controller, a 256MB memory unit and five Xbox Live Arcade titles, including Uno, Boom Boom Rocket and Pac-Man: Championship Edition.
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Full Story: next-gen.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
MS says Elite is just so hot right now, no SKU changes
>> From engadget.com:
[QUOTE]
Naturally curious as to why Xbox 360 Elites are so difficult to find, we went straight to the source -- and Microsoft tells us that demand is simply outstripping supply on the 360 Elite right now, and that no model lineup changes are planned at this time -- especially since the Elite is their hot seller.
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News-Source: engadget.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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