XBox 360 Rally

Over the weekend Sony announced that their underachieving Playstation 3 would be getting a $100 price drop. This begged the question as to whether or not Microsoft or Nintendo would follow suit. Apparently, according to a new report, as well as many analysts, Microsoft may be following suit very shortly with the Xbox 360.

According to analyst Michael Pachter, we should expect Microsoft to slash prices for all three models of their Xbox 360 console:

• Xbox 360 Core from $299 to $249
• Xbox 360 Premium from $349 to $299
• Xbox 360 Elite from $479 to $399

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In an article posted on this very website only a few hours ago (which I’m not even going to bother to link to, since it’s RIGHT BELOW this one you’re reading right now), I made note of how Mass Effect was taken off Xbox.com’s “Coming Soon” list. Well, now we may know why.

GAME, which is basically the Gamestop of the UK, has Mass Effect listed as “Jan-2008″. Now, this should hardly be taken as an absolute. Bioware, more than once has essentially said that all speculated release dates are bogus until THEY give one, which they have not. Bioware has always taken the stance of ‘it’ll be done when it’s done’, which I have no real problem with. It only assures that the game will be polished when it IS finally completed.

For what it’s worth, I’ve sent out two e-mails regarding this: one to Bioware, and one to Microsoft. While I haven’t received a response from Bioware as of the time I wrote this (roughly 12:30pm EST), would anyone care to take a stab at the response I got from Microsoft? …anyone?

“Microsoft does not comment on rumor and speculation.”

…so there you go.

[GAME]

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Over at the official Xbox website, there is a rundown of everything the fine folks over at Xbox.com want to see at this year’s E3 Business Summit… which 451 is NOT sending us to (I swear, you crash Kim’s Ferrari ONE Time…). Included in this run down is news on both Halo 3, and Halo Wars, the Real-Time Strategy based inside the Halo Universe.

Halo 3:

Single-Player Master Chief
The folks at Bungie have crafted the world’s most effective smokescreen with the Halo® 3 multiplayer beta. This remarkable gift to gamers has effectively allowed Bungie to keep mum on the final single-player chapter in the Halo® trilogy, as gamers spend less time hounding them with questions and more time enjoying the beta.

While nothing is confirmed (Bungie is notoriously tight-lipped), we hope that this year’s E3 will be the launch point for unveiling the Halo 3 single-player campaign. It’s time to discover the fate of Cortana, the state of the Covenant, and bring about the resolution of this epic war.

Halo Wars:

Halo Wars Expected
Again, while nothing is confirmed, it seems only natural that E3 will be used to further expand on last year’s E3 bombshell revelation of the real-time strategy game, Halo Wars. While last year’s trailer was a site to behold (available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace), it is high time we get a look at the groundbreaking gameplay and next-gen features.

Now, usually this kind of talk is thrown to the side and never mentioned again. BUT, we have to remember who it is saying all this — this is not some random gaming blog like Kotaku, Joystiq or Xbox 360 Rally. This is the official Xbox website, an arm of Microsoft itself, saying this. It almost sounds like Microsoft’s way of giving us all a wink and a nudge about their plans for the upcoming E3. While it’s not officially official, it certainly warrants us keeping an open eye at this year’s E3 Summit.

[Xbox.com]

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There is a story that has been published on Spanish gaming website La Trifuerza which gives the European release date for the Xbox 360 as August 24th, 2007 with a pricetag of $605.

Microsoft, to no one’s great surprise, refused to comment on the story.

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I swear, sometimes I’m the last to know anything. If you haven’t seen it by now, there is a story floating around the internet that Microsoft’s E3 Line-Up has been leaked, via the Wii360 forums.

…*blink, blink* …I had to put “Xbox” in to the Firefox spell check, but Wii360 is there by default? I hate Mozilla. Moving on! Here’s the list posted on the Wii360 forums by a “Xeoset”:

- Microsoft start first at 6.30pm GMT+0:00. (Fact)
- New Crimson Skies game to be announced.
- Bungie working on new title/series not related to anything in the Halo/Marathon Universe.
- Epic Games to show some gorm of Gears of War 2 Trailer.
- Microsoft have bought the Star Wars Battlefront 3 rights. Trailer/Demo to be shown.
- Rare to show off Banjo Kazooie 3 (Banjo-Theerie).
- Rare to announce 2 new games.
- Rare to announce Kameo 2.
- Lionhead Studios show more of Fable 2.
- Microsoft to fund a new game based on Jason Bourne. It’ll be based on the books and not the film with Matt Damon.
- Team Ninja to show off Ninja Gaiden 2. Labeled 360 Exclusive.
- Apparently there’s news of a MGS Game for the 360. May or may not be the 4th Installment.
- Dead Rising 2 to be shown. May not be ready.

The items that are bold are the ones that I, J.W., personally believe. As for the rest… well, they will be a wonderful addition.

All I can say about this, outside the fact that it’s obviously a rumor, is that if this is true… someone done got fired over this.

UPDATO MAGNIFICO!
Xboxic got word from Microsoft that this is, essentially, a load of shit.

Update: Insiders within Microsoft told us that most of it’s complete bullshit with some obvious educated guesses in there, such as Fable 2 and Banjo. Consider this rumor debunked.

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God I love/hate rumors.

Soul Calibur 4: In next months EGM, they will be breaking the story of the next in the Soul Calibur series. What system, what characters, what anything, have yet to be seen, so keep an eye out on that, as Soul Calibur franchise seemed to do pretty well on consoles it has come out for (C’mon, who didn’t pick Link on Gamecube’s version).

Tekken 6: This has come up before, just interesting to note it has hit the video game blog/news sites once again, as it seems to be a story of old:
“According to “sources within IGN” (the same source who said VF5 would come to Xbox 360) Namco is currently working on a Xbox 360 version of Tekken 6, that would appear winter 2007, just short after the PS3-version.” - N4G.com. The story reappears on what I am guessing is the heels of the stories of new Tekken 6 screenshots released.

I can’t lie, with Xbox users NEEDING a fighter title in any form, to the point that Killer Instinct might be a good horse to bet on, I would gladly take either Tekken or Soul Calibur. With PS3 not doing so well, it not only makes perfect sense for any game that has a high production cost, or their franchise name at stake, to jump into other systems pool of already established user bases, but it almost seems as though they are being forced to make no other choice.

Sorry Sony, but you brought this upon yourself (click here, proof is in the pudding).

[Soul Calibur 4 found Via Destructoid.com | Tekken 6 found via CVG]

Remember, this is not coming from the mouths of Take-Two themselves, however, the analyst looking at the situation brings about some good points. While analyzing Take-Two as a whole, he specifically mentions the biggest (hyped) title coming this year (at the least on the 360):

“We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ‘throw in the towel’ on (Fiscal Year):07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for FY:08,” Pachter explained. “We believe that a two-week delay would provide a reasonable gap between the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of GTA IV, and would actually help sales of both games. In addition, a delay of the ‘normal’ SKU for GTA IV by two or three weeks could allow Take-Two to maximize revenues from the $89.99 Collector’s Edition of the game by shipping that SKU on October 17, and to increase overall profitability.”

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I am forced to file this under ol Rumor Mill for the time being. We could possibly hear more about this in the coming week(s), however, for now, take this for what it is. Over on IGN, they have release dates filled in for Gears on crack:

US: September 3, 2007
Europe: September 28, 2007

[Found via AggrevatedGamers.com | Source is IGN ]

So here’s the deal — Ron Workman, aka “Greybush” over at one of our favorite sites, Destructoid, is claiming that Metal Gear Solid 4 is no longer a PS3 exclusive, and is now headed towards the Xbox 360 around Q4 2008. To quote Ron:

I have been waiting for many months to finally say this, and today is the day. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will not be a PS3 exclusive after all. It has been confirmed that it will make its way to the Xbox 360 in 2008.

Now, I want this to be true. I trust Ron, and the rest of the guys over at Destructoid. But there is no source for this. No press release. No quote from an insider with the team working on MGS4. No nothing. So, take this with a few pounds of salt, and hope for the best.

If this is proven to be a crock of [censored], please, please, PLEASE… send your hate mail to Ron. Not us.

[Destructoid]

UPDATO MAGNIFICO!
Apparently, this mess was started by a Swedish magazine that is making claims that an inside source has confirmed that MGS4 will, eventually, come to the 360. You can read about it, ironically enough, at PS3 Center.

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The game cannot start because all players are set to observer. Too many players for splitscreen. Only 2 players may play splitscreen coop on the same Xbox 360 console. The party size is too large to start the game. Up to 4 players may play coop on Xbox Live or System Link. Loading information from Xbox Live…

Their claims give no doubts that 4 player Co-operative play will be included in in Halo 3. Available both online over Xbox Live and also locally via System link. At the moment, I just want to keep this a rumor and not get all excited over it.

So for now, see the [source] and check for yourself.

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How many people remember “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay”? The Xbox title developed by Starbreeze and Vin Diesel-founded Tigon Studios was one of the highest touted titles on the original Xbox, having an average score of 88.3% on Game Rankings, and winning many awards.

The rumor, first stated in Game Informer magazine, Starbreeze has stated that they are working on a remake of the title, with improved graphics as well as new chapters to be added to the story.

Usually rumors are more juicy than that, but alas, that’s all I got. If you have more info, click my name and send me an e-mail.

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Code has been spread. All we can do is pray that Bungie has been using all this time they have to prepare for such people trying to mess with us honest folks who want to play.

This is just not even a full entry, but just a post saying you should take a sec and read this. Like I said, lets all just pray that Bungie is more so prepared than they were for Halo 2.

Also, I am still extremely pissed at Halo 2 right now, I can’t believe not more people are.

Basically, you go to sign up for their service, and at the point where it asks if you have a coupon code, you put in “emmys” Now I see some debate over this offer should be for everyone. But so far, it seems to be working for everyone. Price breakdown after discount should get you:

1 Out at a Time / $6.75 each month
2 Out at a Time / $9.75 each month
3 Out at a Time / $12.75 each month

This is coming at an odd time in my life, as just this past week I was going to write an article specifically about “Blockbuster vs Gamefly vs Gameznflix” .. and right now, Gameznflix is winning based on price alone (I am poor), however, as I read more into the company, availability of games as well as shipping turn around time isn’t the greatest. So right now, I would take a good search on the net to read more into the company before jumping in, then again, with the price they are offering, maybe you shouldn’t get any better service.

[CAG]

So, in an earlier post I stated my Xbox 360 had a “Red Ring of Death.” As I posted and worried in many forums, Destructoid, hell, even the official Xbox forums. Choices were coming down to ending up selling it off used @ $150 and using the money to get a new Core system, then mention of the towel trick came up. I remember a while ago reading about someone thinking about using the Towel Trick, a great user on DToid named Grim. At this point, I was willing to try anything (it had only been a day without my 360, and already I was getting the shakes)

I get home from work (5:20am or so, I instantly grab some towels, as per the good “FAQ” I read on the subject of the towel trick [source] I did the directions perfectly, so here I shall share with you all. Before starting, take out your hard drive, and controllers, have a nice surface where you can put your 360 down on.

1- Put one towel down, put the 360 on top, add another towel on top, cover all sides/backs/etc. This is key, you have to have that Xbox covered. When you can’t see it, finger around to find the power button and turn it on. Wait 10-15 minutes. I started at 5:22am, and then started to do crap on the computer to kill time.

2- Then I got so into other stuff, I ended up turning the system off at 5:37am, so I did the full 15 minutes, no biggie. Now it was..

3- Cool down time. I waited 15 minutes before turning back on the system as recommended.

Turned back on, I got a chubby when all I seen was green lights. I turned off the system to put back in the hard drive and throw in a game.

For a really great video tuturial, look no further than down. (more…)

I am starting to not care as much as frame per seconds as much as I once was before. I rather have quick gameplay and a lot of crap going on my screen.

An EA developer has called in to let us know that he believes the Xbox 360 will triumph over the PS3 due to its better performance and more rounded support. These claims come on the revelation that development of Army of Two on the Xbox 360 manages to yield a maximum of 60fps while the PS3 version struggles to reach 30fps currently. Army of Two is expected to hit retail shelves during November.

[source]