XBox 360 Rally

Nintendo succeeded, Sony failed, and now Microsoft looks like they want in on the motion sensing market.

According to XboxFamily, Microsoft has contracted a company out of Saratoga, California, Gyration, to develop motion sensor technology for the Xbox 360. Does the company sound familiar? They should – Gyration is the company that developed the prototype for the Nintendo Wiimote, and is currently working on a motion-sensing controller for Microsoft’s Media Center.

Xbox 360 modders have had access to motion sensing for a little while. Devices like the Xilt have given gamers the ability to emulate motion-sensing, albeit if they’re good with a soldering gun. For those of you who aren’t handy with technology (or, like me, scared to death of voiding the warranty) however, the idea of a motion control from Microsoft is sure to make many people happy.

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As picked by CVG. I can’t say that their list is too far off. I think most of the bigger named titles have already come out, and though the list below does have some “AAA” games, it just cannot compete with what has come out this year. CVG’s gives us a ‘top ten’ list of what is going to be available next year, for the most part I think titles we knew were of course coming, but when seen in list form, I can’t say I am greatly excited. I think Lost Odyssey, Condemned 2, Soul Calibur IV, and maybe even Battlefield: Bad Company (if it is going to rip of CoD4 as much as I think it will, it should be good):

Banjo-Kazooie
Too Human
Fallout 3
Grand Theft Auto IV
Ninja Gaiden 2
Splinter Cell Conviction
Fable 2
Devil May Cry 4
Halo Wars
Resident Evil 5

[See ComputerAndVideoGames.com for their full thoughts on each of these games]

“Attack” - 30 Seconds To Mars (from 2005’s A Beautiful Lie)
“The Kill” - 30 Seconds To Mars (from 2005’s A Beautiful Lie)
“Dirty Little Secret” - All-American Rejects (from 2005’s Move Along)
“Move Along” - All-American Rejects (from 2005’s Move Along)
“Song With A Mission” - The Sounds (from 2006’s Dying To Say This To
You)

See after the break for the full break down from MajorNelson with cost and legal info:

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Rare has sent over a Christmas Card to the hard workers over at CVG

(Click to enlarge)

From what we can gather in the stocking with the KI3 is they are teasing like a mother f’r about bringing that series back (which I believe they are, they have to). I am surprised at the lack of Kameo appearance in the picture. Even Grunty gets props. (Big Note: Keep an eye out for possible news of a Banjo game coming to XBLA, it really seems like it could happen)
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Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hann… well, no. Hanukkah is over, but still. I hope you had a good one.

See you all on Wednesday.

Odds are if you’re reading this, you’re not on Xbox LIVE. Not because you’re a fan of the site, but rather because Xbox LIVE won’t let you log in. In fact, Xbox LIVE won’t let a lot of people log in. While Microsoft isn’t explaining what is wrong, when you check the Xbox LIVE Service Status you will see the image to the right acknowledging that there is a problem, and that Microsoft has people working on it right now.

Stoners, Insomniacs and Australians everywhere are heartbroken at the news of Xbox LIVE being offline, I’m sure. Not to fear though, the big M is usually quick to fix these problems.

[1PStart]

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Do you own a pre-HDMI Xbox 360 that HASN’T Red Ringed on you yet? If you do, then listen up — MadCatz is bringing HDMI to you in the form of the HDMI Conversion Kit. Outside of the fact that it it will give you the crystal clear quality of HDMI that we’ve been enjoying for a while (this reminds me, I need to buy a bigger monitor), we also know that it will support 1080p, and it comes with HDMI and optical audio cables.

The entire package will sell for $89.99, and will be available at or shortly after the new year.

[ GameStop]

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I own it. You own it. Odds are your friends own it. There is simply no denying that Halo 3 is an absolute beast of a game. In its first day in the US, Halo 3 made nearly $200 million, and helped Microsoft by being a definite system seller, pushing 527K consoles out the door in September. But just how impressive are the numbers?

Well, according to the NPD numbers through November, 4.1 million copies of Halo 3 have been purchased in the US. Meanwhile, there have been 7.9 million Xbox 360 consoles sold in the US since its launch just over two years ago. Doing the math, a whopping 52% of all Xbox 360 owners own Halo 3.

That’s more than half, people. And with Christmas looming but a week away, you can expect both Halo 3 and the Xbox 360’s numbers to increase.

[GameDaily]

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Tempest is an arcade classic. To say otherwise is to speak blasphemy, and you know this. That’s why I’m so happy to tell you all that Tempest, the game that single-handedly stole several hundreds of dollars from my childhood (rough estimate) is making its way to the Xbox LIVE Arcade!

…oh, and there’s some Sensible World of Soccer game, too. But come on, this is all about the big T, baby! Tempest goes on sale on December 19th, and will retail for 400 MS Points.

If you are by chance a soccer fan (and a big hello to our international readers), Sensible World of Soccer will sell for 800 MS Points, and will also be available on the 19th.

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The Witcher a PC RPG which is in no specific terms contains mass amounts of both “epic” and “awesome”, is making its way to the Xbox 360.

Maybe.

You see, the developer of The Witcher, CD Projekt, has said publically that The Witcher is never, ever going to be on the consoles. However, the developer now has a job opening posting where they state that they are looking for someone who is skilled in “parallel programming” for the Xbox 360.

For those of you who are completely illiterate with computers, I’ll sum it up for you: They’re looking for people who can translate code from one platform to another… okay, I’ll dumb it down a little more: A port! They want to PORT something… make sense now? Good.

Now, unless they intend to port “Football Manager 2008″ to the Xbox 360, odds are we can see The Witcher sometime in the not-so-distant future. Cool, huh?

[CD Projekt]

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Call of Duty 4 Collectors Edition (Xbox 360 Version)
Call of Duty 4 T-Shirt (XL, has a cool design btw)
Call of Duty 4 Hardcover Art book (sweet!)
Call of Duty 4 Official Strategy Guide

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Hey folks, figured I would pop my head in to share something as a new writer for the site here is being figured out (Applications still being accepted!). I love how to this day, KoToR 3 talk still persists and some peoples Xbox 360’s are being wrapped in towels, awesome.

Onto the news, the Halo 3 map pack is out. With it came the news that it will be free at some point. Awesome. Unlike Lost Planet, they never tell you that the things you buy would eventually be free!!! Ahem..apologies for that outburst, that is buyers remorse talking. Well if you want to buy now, it actually seems like a pretty decent set of maps. Want a little preview of them before buying ? Of course you do, so here is the great guys at Red vs Blue showing off the new DLC:

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Fulfilling my mandatory obligations to update this site once in a blue moon because some of you have yet to catch onto the fact that Paco and I take up residence at 1PStart now, I’m going to tell you a little story about a console that could. You see, in 2005 the Xbox 360 launched with much fanfare, and for a good long time was the only player in town.

…and then Nintendo came with it’s souped-up Gamecube with the powerglove controller, and in time surpassed the Xbox 360 in total sales. This still hasn’t deterred people from wanting the little guy, however, as Microsoft is struggling to meet demand for the console in the UK.

We’re struggling to meet the demand from every retailer every week. I think we’ve probably done it better than some of our cohorts out there, but it’s a weekly thing - we’re getting stock in, we’re getting it straight out to the retailers who need it

So things are going well for Microsoft, and it also seems like the UK is turning into a hot bed of gaming shortage. Earlier Nintendo made it clear they would be pulling its television advertisements for the Wii in a ditch effort to try and control demand in what I assume is an attempt to hide their own shortage.

If you get desperate for a 360, and aren’t too… hung-up about this pesky “Region Lock” thing, may I suggest Japan?

[Next-Gen]

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Michael Bay is either incredibly crafty, or phenomenally paranoid, but either way his theory that Microsoft wants to keep HD DVD alive long enough for them to perfect digital downloading seems to be carrying more and more weight. Why do I say this? Because it had appeared that Microsoft had dropped the price of their HD DVD drive yet again.

Toys ‘R’ Us currently is offering the HD DVD drive for the low, low price of $129.98, and according to some reports, Amazon also had this price listed earlier today.

Pretty cool, huh? …yeah, doesn’t matter to me, either. I mean, once you had the one ultimate HD DVD deal, they all fail to compare. The only thing I have that’s HD-ready is my 19″ PC monitor, and really… what’s the point? High Def is meant to be enjoyed on HUGE screens, not computer monitors.

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If you live in the United Kingdom, you have reason to rejoice as Microsoft has announced that the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, which has allowed manu of us stateside to download some of our favorite films for God only knows how long, will finally be available to UK 360 owners on December 11th. Standard Definition films will run UK owners roughly 250 points, and 380 points for High Definition.

The list of films (which you can see in full after the break) includes the likes of 300, Training Day, and Oceans Eleven. Unfortunately, along with the good you have to take the bad, such as Swordfish and Superman III. But hey, you’re finally getting the Video Marketplace so be happy.

…does England love George Clooney or something? Ocean’s Eleven, The Perfect Storm, Three Kings? Good Lord…

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