Xbox 360
Toshiba & Microsoft working on new entertainment Xbox
Oct 21st
The XBOX360 is already an attractive media center extender, but it indeed lacks the built-in high-definition player and a more voluminous hard drive. Not having a native wireless interface (instead, one would need to buy a pricey add-on that plugs into the Ethernet port) is also a pain, since more and more people integrate Wi-Fi networks, more than they used to and have come to expect this functionality in everything. Righteously, too. Another thing to look forward to, imho.
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Games for Windows LIVE
Oct 11th
I’ve always thought this to be an extremely interesting feature, the ability to interchange online gaming experiences between Windows games and the console based games for the XBOX 360 (provided you’ve got a Gold subscription). More concretely, one can play online regardless of the platform. The current games supporting this is surprisingly small, though, which pretty much nullifies the effect. I’d expected a more spectacular launch/marketing of this (actually) killer-feature for both Vista and XBOX360. Pity.
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New low-cost Xbox360 approaching?
Oct 7th
From CNet News:
“Recent weeks have seen a flurry of rumors that the Xbox360 Core is about to be replaced by something called the Xbox 360 Arcade. For the same $280 price tag, the Arcade bundle will include a wireless controller, HDMI output, and a 256MB memory card preloaded with five Xbox Live Arcade titles.
The release date remains fluid, but October 23 seems to be the consensus.”
This is obviously a gaming system for the $$$-conscious gamer, with it barely being more expensive than the Wii, it’s definitely a feasible platform. Fanatics will most definitely dismiss this gig as silly, but I think it’ll convince more people to opt for this console as their main gaming system. Hard-core gamers will unlikely stick with the Elite or the PC, but that’s a different story entirely.