"GameStrata today announced the results of a survey of "video game enthusiasts" in North America. The study shows that between the ages of 18 – 48, the average gamer spends over $30,500 on game software and hardware.

"With forecasters estimating this year's sales will reach nearly $23 billion, it's clear that gaming is the fastest-growing sector in the entertainment industry," said Barry Dorf, COO of GameStrata. "The best part is that the trend doesn't show any signs of slowing. In spite o..."

"In the second grade, James Silva didn't just play "Mario" and "Zelda" on his Nintendo but drew pictures of new levels and cooked up ideas for future games.

While other kids dreamed of becoming an astronaut or president, he felt destined to be a video game designer.

Conquering space or politics might have been easier.

Besides a good idea, game developers have needed a distribution deal to get their work on consoles like the Xbox or PlayStation.

And over the years, the industry has ..."

"Microsoft's president of entertainment and devices, Robbie Bach, has debunked internet rumours that the company will announce a Blu-ray equipped Xbox 360 later on today.

Speculation mounted over the weekend that Microsoft was planning to upstage Apple at its Worldwide Developers Conference later on today by confirming that the 360 would see Blu-ray by Christmas.

However, when asked by the San Francisco Chronicle whether the next generation Xbox would have Blu-ray, Bach responded: "No. T..."

"In terms of hardware, once again Nintendo is expected to dominate. With the May NPD video game sales data expected this Thursday, analysts are beginning to chime in with their forecasts.

Pachter forecasts 750,000 unit sales for Wii, tripling Xbox 360's 250,000 units. The PS3 is expected to sell slightly less than Xbox 360 with 225,000 units. On the portable side, the DS is forecast to rack up another 550,000 units compared to 200,000 for the PSP. Finally, the aging PS2 is forecast to sell..."

"It looks like Microsoft will be furthering their plans to get a bigger share of the Japanese gaming market this month with an event in Japan called the Xbox 360 RPG Premiere 2008.

As you can guess by the event's name, the RPG Premiere will play host to the announcement of at least one new RPG title for the Xbox 360. This game will most likely be Japan-only, but it's also likely that the unannounced game will be seeing a release outside of Japan.

Updates on RPG titles already in developm..."

"No one can debate that Xbox Live has brought the medium of gaming to unprecedented levels. As the current frontrunner of gaming communities, Microsoft has done wonders with the ability to unite gamers from around the world into a single common goal: play games and enjoy doing so. The current state of Xbox Live has degraded to a racist, hate-fest so fast, that the hardcore gamer is getting a little fed up."

"We’re all aware that the PlayStation 3 is an energy hog, but this is ridiculous: According to Australian consumer agency Choice the PS3 devours five times as much energy as a refrigerator."

"“That’s probably our fault for not explaining that better,” he said. “The reality is we’re not removing any games from the service, if you will. They’ll always be there for purchase. Think about a book on Amazon. It’s not always going to be featured on the front page of the store.”"

"Where and when will these two games be revealed? According to our own Deep Throat, it'll happen at E3 in Los Angeles, probably during Microsoft's pre-event press conference on Monday, July 14.

Our source didn't specify whether the pair of games will be totally new titles, or just missing names from the 360 line-up (Halo Wars or Alan Wake would be fantastic additions to the 360 Christmas list).

One of the games could even utilise the heavily rumoured 360 motion controller, which is soun..."

"Analyst Michael Pachter expects a $50 price drop will be hitting both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 this holiday, but that it will still be hard for the industry to match last year's extraordinary holiday sales.

Speaking at the Electronic Gaming Summit this afternoon, Pachter said that he expects an overall slowdown in video game sales over the next three years.

Pachter expects the industry to see 19 percent growth in the U.S. and 20 percent in Europe this year, with his predicted pric..."

"Consumerist,

I have had a bad morning. Last night when i tried to sign into my xbox live account "thegayergamer" I was told that it had to be changed. I figured that it was just from people reporting it as an offensive name being that the greater Xbox live community isn't exactly welcome to gay people, i spend a lot of time muting people on Halo3. I assumed that once i called Microsoft they would straighten things out.

I talked to a supervisor there, Roxy, who told me that she didn't pe..."

"Meet Jasper. He's a 65nm GPU, coming this August to a 360 near you. His name means "treasurer" in Persian, which -- let's be honest -- squares a little weirdly when you figure the codename for the new version of the 360 in which he'll ship is "Valhalla," i.e. Odin's crib, i.e. the battle hall "for those slain gloriously in battle." Slain gloriously in battle? I dunno about you, but considering the 360's engaged in the holy-holy of console fracas, is it really smart to be naming your baby-bet-..."

"SEC filings have revealed that Electronic Arts borrowed $1 billion from Morgan Stanley and other lenders to help finance a possible acquisition of Take-Two.

"There's no news here," said EA VP of communications Jeff Brown. "This is just a process point on something we announced in February."

With $2.3 billion on hand in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, EA already has the funds available to do the deal as it currently stands. With the deal not contingent on financing, wh..."

"Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg says "the days of Sony snowing the consumers and the press are over," that the company has failed to deliver on numerous promises, and challenges Sony's latest European PS3 sales figures.

"We have been fighting Sony's promises from the day we entered the market," Greenberg told Destructoid. "Three years ago at E3 they showed what PS3 games would supposedly look like with the Killzone 2 video, that we are now learning will ship four years later. That means that w..."

"GTA fan hopes rose today with a report from qj.netsuggesting that GTA 2 was coming to XBLA and/or PSN at the end of May. This was due to a countdown clock found on Rockstar's site. We're sorry to report that this is not the case.

The clock is old and was counting to the release of GTA 2 on PlayStation One. Checking the source code for the site, the page is credited as being designed in 1999. The code includes a date correction for the 1900s, with a note stating, "apply correction for this ..."

"A report from Taiwanese news source Economic Daily News says that Pegatron Technology—a recently formed subsidiary of Asus that shouldn't be confused with the Decepticon leader—has received an order from Microsoft to manufacture a Blu-ray equipped model of the Xbox 360. According to the report, Pegatron says that it plans to begin production on the HD version of the Xbox 360 soon, with plans to ship within the next six months, aiming for a pre-holiday release.

It won't be the first time we..."

"Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games are bringing Smashing Pumpkins’ alternative anthem “Zero” to the Rock Band library. “Zero” is joined by two tracks from the psychedelic rock of The Mother Hips’, “Red Tandy” and “Time Sick Son of a Grizzly,” which round out this coming week’s slate of downloadable content

Release date:
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 (Xbox LIVE® Marketplace)
Thursday, May 1, 2008 (PLAYSTATION®Store)

Tracks:
Mother Hips "Red Tandy"
Mother Hips "Time Sick Son of a Griz..."

"Ever since the Nintendo Wii overtook the 360 as the number one current gen console, Microsoft has been kept busy trying to spurn new interest in its love child. Even with the PS3 gaining momentum as of late, the Xbox has done quite well overall with an estimated 19+ million units sold worldwide since release.

While some figures put both the 360 and the Wii at lower numbers, there still seems to be a considerable gap between both of these consoles and the total installed base for the PlayS..."

"Video game sales prognosticators predict that Grand Theft Auto IV will sell some 9 to 12 million copies this year, lining the pockets of Take-Two execs and Rockstar Games employees. It may also help the PlayStation 3, at least more so than the Xbox 360, says Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. It's not just him, either, as BMO Capital Markets' Edward Williams thinks GTA's PlayStation heritage may inspire some to drop the cash on a new PS3.

Sony probably doesn't have much to worry about..."

"Battlefield: Bad Company drops gamers behind enemy lines with a squad of renegade soldiers who risk it all on a personal quest for gold and revenge. EA/DICE must still be reeling from the fan backlash over its weapon charging debacle as it announced at the EA Studio Showcase in London that a Conquest mode will be made available shortly after the game's release, for free."

""There's definitely the possibility of [Boom Blox] going to other consoles," said EA producer Amir Rahimi, speaking to Video Gamer on Tuesday. Currently, the Jenga-like explosive puzzle game directed by Steven Spielberg is Wii exclusive.

Rahimi went on to praise the game's physics, a feature that was lauded by critics at Nintendo's media summit two weeks ago.

"I haven't really seen another game that uses physics as well and as much as Boom Blox," he said, including Xbox 360 and PS3. "..."

"The phenomenon of the BYOC (bring-your-own-computer) LAN party continues to grow and grow, and this fact is reinforced by the news that one of Europe’s largest regular LAN parties, the i-Series, has sold out its latest event in record time.

What started out as a small group of enthusiasts meeting in a village hall has grown to the point where 2000 seats have been sold in 1 month for the 34th i-Series. This is a relief for the organizers, Multiplay.co.uk, who have taken a big gamble for thi..."

"Soon to be top 10 NFL draft pick and former Boston College QB Matt Ryan has been selected for the PS3 cover of NCAA Football 09. He joins Darren McFadden (360) and Sparty (Wii) as representing the cover of the console specific versions of the game. The PS2 and PSP covers are still to be announced in the future.

quote

Former college football standout Matt Ryan will join former Arkansas All-American Darren McFadden as a spokesman and cover athlete for NCAA Football 09. Ryan will be featured o...

"

"CoD 4: Modern Warfare is a new action-thriller that will arm gamers with the most advanced and powerful arsenal of modern day firepower to fight a new war in the world’s most treacherous hotspots. While a v1.6 patch was due for release soon a critical bug discovered during testing, which broke kill cams when playing with mods among other things, put it back in development."

"Washington (dbTechno) - According to a Japanese gaming magazine, Street Fighter IV may be making the move from the PS3 and Xbox 360, to the Nintendo Wii. The rumor is that the highly-anticipated fighter is in development for the Nintendo Wii as well as the other major consoles.

This has yet to be confirmed as the magazine gives little information on the source of their news.

This builds on past rumors though that Capcom was working on Street Fighter IV for the Wii.

Capcom producer Yo..."

"Washington (eCanadaNow) - According to Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser, the company has no plans or interest to make a feature film based on the Grand Theft Auto series. This comes as rumors continue that a movie will be made based around the upcoming release of GTA IV on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Rockstar cofounder Houser spoke to Variety in an interview, stating that they have no interestin a GTA movie adaptation.

He stated that "We try and protect" the intellectual property.

He stated ..."

"Boston (dbTechno) - According to Rockstar founder Sam Houser, the graphics of Grand Theft Auto IV will be different on the PS3 and Xbox 360. It seems that GTA IV will have a different look to it whether you play it on the Xbox 360 or PS3. There is no word yet as to which version will be superior though in terms of visuals.

Houser stated to 1UP.com that “The 360 games have a certain look to them, PS3 games have a certain look to them.”

He stated that in his mind, they are “neck and neck...."

"Mark Rein of Epic told Eurogamer today the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 could include a special easter egg-style treat for Gears of War fans.

"You might want to keep a close eye on the Unreal Tournament 3 disc. There might be something Gears of War 2 related on that," said Mr Rein, who would not confirm the exact nature of the content.

Mr Rein went on to claim Gears of War 2 would be a "much better" game than the original.

"I think Gears 2 is a much better game than the..."

"Silent Hill V is no longer called Silent Hill V. Konami's just dropped us a line to let us - and now you lot - know that it's carrying a new name. Say hello to Silent Hill: Homecoming. Sounds like the title of a dodgy 'B' horror movie.

Along with the name change, Konami's confirmed a European release date of "end of September" for the survival horror sequel that's planning to scare the casing off Xbox 360 and PS3.

Homecoming follows the tale of Alex Shepherd, returning to his hometown ..."

"Washington (dbTechno) - According to figures released by The NPD Group, Nintendo managed to sell more Wii consoles than the PS3 and Xbox 360 combined in the month of March. This is all well and good, but the numbers also show that Xbox 360 and PS3 owners are buying more games, despite huge sales of releases such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii has managed to sell 2.7 million copies already.

This is only going to grow as Nintendo has ma..."

"Microsoft hasn't returned Tiffany's XBox 360 for four months because they think she is a thief, even though she has her original receipt and a credit card statement proving that she is the console's rightful owner. Microsoft repaired the XBox back in January and tried to return it via FedEx, but a shipping snafu landed the box back at Microsoft's service center. Tiffany has called repeatedly. She even sent a letter to Microsoft's legal department, after sending her receipt and statement, aski..."

"You thought you could walk around listening to your own music on GTAIV? Not anymore.

One of the main features of the new Grand Theft Auto IV was going to be the ability to listen to music on your "Cellphone" while walking the streets. Rockstar has announced that they have removed this capability from the game. So it looks like it's back to stealing cars if you want to have any control over the music you will hear while playing Grand Theft Auto IV. All I can say is bummer."

"Originally licensed by Majesco, but sold off to 2K Games, The Darkness is based on Top Cow's comic book series, and developed by Starbreeze Studios. Knowing its background it comes as no surprise that during the TOP COW discussion panel at this weekend's NY Comic-con, it was revealed that The Darkness 2 is in the works, "We can't say Darkness and video game sequel in the same sentence, so Darkness. Wink. Sequel.""

If there's one thing that can be said, it's that most polls are biased. You always seem to find sites such as PSPfanboy doing a poll where you can be sure that the readers have already got their mind set as to which console they prefer. However when the poll comes from a general Gaming site, where people from all walks of life gather... one thing can be said... the only bias in this is that it's a Poll for gamers.

Well, IGN conducted a survey of this sort, and it seems that amongst Gamers,...

"

Xbox 360

North America:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
2. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games)
3. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Ubisoft)
4. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

Japan:

1. Turok (Touchstone)
2. The Idolm@ster: Live for You! (Namco)
3. Armored Core: For Answer (From Software)
4. Skate (EA Games)
5. Dark Sector (D3 Publisher).

Europe:

1. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Ubisoft)
2. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
3. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
4. Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom)
5. Viking: Bat...

"

"THQ has released a second batch of in-game screenshots from BAJA, the upcoming buggy racer due in stores this August for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Much like the first batch of 5 screens, this second more robust round of 15 shows off exterior views of the BAJA buggies bouncing through a desert southwest course. Colors are still muted and detail a bit lacking compared to Sony's MotorStorm series, but there's still plenty of time for developer 2XL Games to punch up the presentation before ..."

"Despite talks about a takeover of Take2 by EA are still ongoing, 2K Games is not sitting on its ass, waiting for the outcome. 2K Czech has announced that Mafia 2 will be released not only on PC but will also see the light of day on Microsoft's Xbox360 and Sony's PS3

quote

2K Games officially confirmed that Mafia II would be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Previously, the game was slated for unspecified "next-generation platforms."

In related news, the game will be featu..."

"Song pack available on April 24 to feature new single Nine Lives.

Players of Activision's Guitar Hero III on Xbox 360 and PS3 are to have access to Def Leppard's new singe Nine Lives a week before it is released at retail and Online.

The song will form part of a three track Def Leppard song pack, which will also include Rock of Ages and Photograph.

"Being involved with Guitar Hero is very exciting for us and adds a whole new layer of appreciation," said Def Leppard lead singer Joe E..."

"London (dbTechno) - UK retailer Shopto has confirmed that there will be a GTA IV PS3 bundle releasing on April 29. The price tag for the GTA IV PS3 bundle is expected to be £299.

The news from UK retailer Shopto is that the GTA IV PS3 bundle is coming.

The COO of Shopto.com has stated that they know, for a fact, that the GTA IV PS3 bundle is coming.

There has yet to be any confirmation of this from Sony though. Shopto expects Sony to make an official announcement very soon regarding ..."

"A BBC technology journalist says the deal between Nintendo and the BBC is a huge blow to Wii rivals.

In a new blog post, BBC technology news editor Darren Waters has called yesterday's announcement, which saw the BBC iPlayer supported on the Wii, both ironic and something of a mockery regarding the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360's claims to be multimedia machines.

"How ironic that it is the Nintendo Wii, and not the PlayStation 3 nor Xbox 360, that becomes the first of the current generatio..."

"The PS3 Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack DLC is in Sony's hands for certification, developer Infinity Ward has revealed.

Speaking on its official website, the developer said it was "shooting" for a worldwide simultaneous release and working to bring word of a release date as we speak.

Xbox 360 owners have already been enjoying the CoD4 DLC since last week, although Xbox LIVE did experience service issues as a result of the heavy workload.

Infinity Ward does, however, expect the Variet..."

"Harmonix's Rob Kay has responded to criticisms over the European price point for Rock Band, telling Eurogamer: "We're not trying to rip anybody off."

As announced earlier today, Rock Band will launch in Europe on May 23rd for Xbox 360, with PS2, PS3 and Wii versions to follow in the summer. The total cost for the game, drum kit, microphone and guitar will come to GBP 180 / EUR 240 - compared to USD 169 (GBP 85 / EUR 107) in the States.

Speaking to Eurogamer today Kay, who is lead desig..."

"The Top 10 problems reported by you have been fixed, these are:

• PS3 game can crash when a player is taken down and the player that has performed the Takedown leaves the game.
• The game indefinitely displays "Connecting to Paradise City Servers" if it's having problems communicating with the rebroadcast server.
• Disconnecting the controller before a race begins can mean that race timings can be manipulated with players who didn't cross the line first being awarded the win.
• Repeatedly joining...

"

"Rumors of 2K's award-winning FPS, Bioshock, appearing on the PlayStation 3 have died out...only to be replaced by rumors of the sequel coming to Sony's console. We've heard in the past that Microsoft may have dumped a big chunk of change to keep the series exclusive to the Xbox 360, but recent evidence may indicate a multi-console release for Bioshock 2.

Officially, no platforms have been announced by newly formed development house 2K Marin for the sequel, and that only adds fuel to the fi..."

"Following the announcement that Rock Band will be released on May 23 for Xbox 360, a report claims the full package will cost UK buyers around £95 more than the equivalent bundle in the US.

While US gamers can buy Rock Band, complete with bundled instruments, for $169 (around £85), in the UK, EA has decided to split up the US bundle and sell it all separately.

According to Eurogamer, EA plans to charge around £180 for the Rock Band bundle, offering the standalone game for £49.99 and an ..."

"THQ executive Jack Sorenson has branded the hardware battle between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as "totally irrelevant", arguing that the rewards offered by each represent a "win" for games publishers.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz last week at THQ's product showcase in San Francisco, the US publisher's head of worldwide studios said there was "too much of an emphasis on the sports aspect of who's winning and losing", and that his company was focusing on opportunities rather than installe..."

"A survey of 10 Australian retail chains who operate over 2,000 stores Conducted by ChannelNews and SmartHouse the research also revealed that the most crucial component in the gaming market in 2008 will be new software. Overall retailers said that the PS3 was selling well because it had a Blu ray drive and that the Nintendo Wii was appealing to both women and "Kids" because of it's interactive capability.

The retailers claimed that the Xbox 360 as a brand had suffered from their "Ring of D..."

"When you get into the specifics, though, is where things get particularly interesting; for instance, check this out:

quote

Among those who use a video game system for online gaming, Xbox 360 is the top system used, with 50 percent stating they play games online via that system. On average, Xbox 360 owners spend the most time per week using their 360s to play games online, followed by PC and PS3 owners using these respective systems for online game play.

Not satisfied with that small nugget, ..."

"The big news of April centers squarely on Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV, but let's not forget about a relatively new series that was inspired by GTA: Saints Row. The original was great and the sequel could be even better, as THQ has revealed that Saints Row 2 will release for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on August 26.

According to IGN, THQ handed over the date at their Gamers Day event in San Francisco, and lucky for all you eager beavers out there, SR2's official website is already up ..."

"Hardware Chart
Sony’s PSP has topped the Japanese hardware chart for the week ending the 30th of March. It was predicted that the PSP hardware sales would increase due to the release of the hugely popular Monster Hunter Portable 2G on the 27th of March, which topped the software chart with 880 000 units sold in its opening week. However, the latest Media Create figures show that the PSP sold an impressive 129 986 units, roughly 70 000 units more than last week’s 59 833 units."

"Haze script writer Rob Yescombe has dismissed all speculation that Haze would become anything but a PlayStation 3 exclusive, running contrary to earlier reports by Ubisoft that Haze was a PS3 exclusive just "for now".

"Those other versions aren't being worked upon," Yescombe responded when queried about the possibility of future PC and Xbox 360 versions.

"It's PS3 exclusive," he added.

Yescombe also stated that he wasn't worried about the limitations of a single-platform release an..."

"Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit on June 6 with Legendary set for Q3 2008.

Atari UK has issued an updated release schedule confirming release dates for DBZ: Burst Limit amongst others.

Burst Limit, the first DBZ title for Xbox 360 and PS3, is set for release across Europe on June 6, followed later that month by Alone in the Dark (Xbox 360, PC, Wii, PS2).

Atari's next big release will arrive in Q3 2008 in the shape of Legendary on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, with the PS3 version of Alone in the ..."

"Jon Hicks, editor on Official Xbox 360 news told us earlier: "I'm not surprised. If they were going to announce something like this then they would certainly not do it right now. As I've said in the past, they haven't ruled out Blu-ray on 360 and if we ever were to see anything, then I would imagine it would be announced much nearer to Christmas.""

"DigiTimes is feeling pretty confident about the rumors they started yesterday regarding the Xbox 360 with integrated Blu-ray. They are so confident that they're predicting a price war as Microsoft takes on Sony's PS3 at its own game. Their sources claim that the Blu-ray Disc drive will cost Microsoft between $95 and $100 -- much higher than the $18 to $20 DVD drives already found in the Xbox 360."

"Lite-On's shipments of the BD ROMs to Microsoft will start in the second half of 2008, the sources added. Lite-On is currently one of the suppliers of Xbox 360-use internal DVD-ROM drives.

Microsoft has decided to switch to BD for its Xbox 360 game consoles after Toshiba announced to discontinue HD DVD, the sources said. The BD-ROM drives that Lite-On is developing for Microsoft are for the next-generation Xbox 360 game consoles, the sources said.

Power supply makers also revealed that ..."

"Boston (dbTechno) - According to a French retailer, the highly-anticipated Rockstar game Grand Theft Auto IV may be coming to the Nintendo DS. GTA IV is already scheduled to release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 at the end of April.

There has been no confirmation other than a few pictures which have popped up on the internet.

The pictures show the release schedule of the French retailer.

On the release schedule, you can clearly see that it does say GTA IV as coming out on the Nintendo DS.
..."

"There we all are debating whose console is better, and engaging in “mine is bigger than yours” type arguments, but it seems it could all soon be a pointless argument. Some in the gaming industry are looking in to their crystal balls and predicting the end of home consoles after this current generation.

Sandy Duncan, the man who set up and ran the European Xbox business for Microsoft, and now CEO of his own games company, YoYo, recently gave an interview to That Video Game Blog, and was ask..."

"Players of the PlayStation 3 version of Condemned 2: Bloodshot are reporting that the game's audio has a tendency to drop out or "snap," particularly during the first level.

According to a post on Sega's forums, Sega is currently investigating the cause of the problem, but suggests that using a standard AV cable, instead of an HDMI cable, should fix things in the mean time.

The audio is an integral part of Condemned 2's gloomy and creepy atmosphere. Having it drop out every thirty secon..."

"If you've hacked your Xbox 360 save files in order to falsely inflate your Gamerscore, standby to see your Xbox Live profile sullied for good. If you care at all about Microsoft's meta-scoring system that tracks player achievements in games and assigns them a summary number that cumulatively boasts player prowess, that's good news for the presumably honest majority who've been knocked down the leaderboards by your not-so-average hoodwinking prima donnas.

The director of programming for Xbo..."

""As we’ve long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. Market data shows that HD movie playback is not a primary purchase driver for consumers buying video game consoles," said Greenberg."

"I have once again have attained from a rock solid source that Microsoft WILL be replacing the 20GB hard drive on the standard Xbox 360 with a larger 60GB version. Dates are not nailed down, but my source says Microsoft wants it done and dusted before the end of its financial year which translates as our Q2."

"A Blu-ray drive in a 360 would make Microsoft more competitive with the PS3, but it would also mean extra revenues for Sony’s electronics division. It would also add further cost to the 360, meaning a premium edition of the console could be necessary."

"I’ve been waiting for something like this for a long time now, as I’m sure many others have.

Xbox Live Community Games is as exactly as it sounds, games created by the community for release on Xbox Live. Using a creator identity (much like gamertags), anybody can submit in their created games. After creating the game and writing a description for it, the game is submitted for Peer Review, to make sure no copyrights have been violated and to make sure it is appropriate for release. After a ..."

""Want to be involved in the next release of Xbox? Join the server-backed games team, part of the Xbox Live team that's responsible for creating a completely new way for mainstream audiences to enjoy the Xbox and Live," says the ad."

"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 will double its installed base this year, posting the strongest growth of any video game console and narrowing the gap with rivals, research firm iSuppli said on Thursday.

Worldwide sales of the PS3 are expected to be 10 million units this year, compared with 12.2 million units for Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) Wii and 7.5 million units for Microsoft Corp's(MSFT.O: Quote, Profile,..."

"There's been a lot of press about Microsoft's red ring problem. Estimates of the problem have been all over the map, and when he was working for Microsoft, Peter Moore referred to them as a moving target. Company estimates pinned it at a fairly normal 3%, while some retailers have put the percentage as high as 1/3 of all systems.

A new report claims the truth is somewhere in the middle. SquareTrade deals in selling warranties for electronics, and has amassed their over 1000 warranty purcha..."

"- November 2007: Kevin's XBOX 360 is replaced, causing his content to lose full functionality. He calls Microsoft.
- Microsoft keeps Kevin on the phone for an hour trying different methods of restoring functionality to his content. Nothing works. They say they will call him back in two weeks.
- They do not call him back, so he calls them. Microsoft makes him repeat the steps he tried the first time he called. They tell him they will call him back in two weeks.
- This cycle repeats twice mo..."

"The Nintendo Wii and its motion-sensing gameplay might be hogging the media limelight when it comes to helping prize the sedentary and rotund from their pits of inactivity, but UK-based Gamercize is hoping its GZ Pro-Sport will help Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sloths to rise up and shed a few pounds in the name of fun.


Whether Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners warmly embrace the GZ Pro-Sport remains to be seen however, not least because all of the products available through Gamercize com..."

"“If you make a joystick longer, it adds leverage to that joystick, thus making it easier to move. Also, by adding length to the joystick, you add more travel distance to the outer tip of this joystick,” explain the creative boffins at Kontrol Freek, who have previously created the Speed Freek attachment to assist race fans.

“If you add some travel to the analog, you slow down the aiming slightly in the game, thus allowing you to aim more precisely and more accurately,” they continue, “More..."

Now before I begin, I'll let you all know that all the numbers contained within this article are from OFFICIAL sources, namely Microsoft and Sony themselves. So with the numbers and links courtesy of GameBlews.... here goes nothing:

In Jan 07, Microsoft said they sold 10.4m XBOX360 Consoles (skip to the 6:30 mark)
In Jan 08, Microsoft said they sold 17.7m XBOX360 Consoles (Confirmed by Major Nelson)

This gives a year on year sales figure for XBOX360 of 7.3m Consoles sold in 2007.

No...

"According to games.blogo.nl, a reliable source closely associated with Microsoft has revealed that the Xbox 360 Arcade (which recently replaced the base Core unit) will be reduced to €199 Euros, which, while a drop of €50 Euros, would also position the Arcade unit at a lower price than the hugely popular Nintendo Wii.

The (unnamed) source offers that Microsoft’s sudden move to hack a chunk from the price of the Arcade unit comes on the back of Sony (and also EA) outlining that the PlayStat..."

"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.

The report predicts the Nintendo Wii will win the year, with a combined total..."

"And, as the Game Developers Conference (Feb 18-22) heaves into view, it’s unsurprising to see the gaming community cranking up the rumour mill’s well-used churn meter with regard to exactly how the Redmond-based behemoth is planning to continue its software drive.

Today that responsibility falls to independent videogame print magazine XboxWorld 360 - which is directly affiliated with prominent online magazine CVG.

According to online scans taken from its provocatively-titled article ‘T..."

"For our tests, we cleaved to the following criteria: We only used out-of-the box hardware -- that means no charger packs for 360 and Wii, which must be purchased separately. We played a wide variety of games on each console, including lengthy single-player adventures and shallow down loadable games, both online and off. We played for varying time intervals, from fifteen minutes to upwards of eight hours (Hello weekends!). We used Duracell CopperTops for 360 and Wii testing. And we deemed all ..."

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Game developers are a dedicated bunch. When we made a request to talk with someone at Deadline Games regarding its work in progress, Faith and a .45, we shortly had Game Director Søren Lundgaard on the phone. The catch is that he lives on the other side of the world where the local time was pushing midnight. We offered to speak at a more convenient time but were brushed off -- working this late was normal. We're not complaining as the short phone conversation revealed a wealth of informat..."

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Firstly lets deal with the bad news, namely, there was no "XBOX360 Ultimate" announced as rumoured previously. The good news however... although not great, was still 'good'.

It seems that both Disney and MGM have agreed to offer content on the Marketplace later this month. These contents will take the form of downloadable movies and tv shows including:

1. Rocky
2. Dances with Wolvew
3. Agent Cody Banks
4. Hannah Montana

"The 17-year-old boy reportedly wanted his father, James Stanley Niedosik, 60, to look at his Xbox 360 Friday night.

However, when the father didn’t want to, an argument ensued. During the dispute, the boy handed his father a rifle and told him to shoot him, and he did."

"Microsoft has contracted an outside firm that will be producing a first-party motion-control peripheral by the end of next year, according to a news post this week at XboxFamily.com.

The young website said that motion control experts at Saratoga, Calif.-based Gyration are currently working on a prototype for a motion-sensing add-on for existing Xbox 360 controllers. XboxFamily.com did not name the source of the information.

A Microsoft rep offered Next-Gen the expected response, “Micros..."