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Week of March 22, 2009
XCM Black Knight Case with HDMI port
>> XCM announced they now also released their 'Black Knight' replacement case for Xbox360s with a HDMI port (zephyr, falcon and jasper revisions). This case will come with the pre-cut window, clear plastic plate and built in blue LED light, blue air tube. Will be available in April.
Official Site: http://www.teamxcm.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
PDP unveils the motion sensing Gametrak Freedom controller
>> From gamespot.com:
[QUOTE]
Motion-based control is coming to the Xbox 360. We initially thought Microsoft would be the first to the table but PDP beat them to the punch. The Gametrak Freedom from PDP will offer wireless motion-based controls using Microsoft's proprietary wireless protocol. The Gametrak uses a 3D ultrasonic transducer and a three axis accelerometer to detect motion. You'll also find a trigger on the under side, as well as the 360's familiar four button configuration and a D-pad.
Unlike Nintendo's solution, which uses one point of detection, the Gametrak uses two sensor bars that sit on opposite sides of the TV.
We got to briefly try out the Gametrak Freedom with Squeeballs, a game that PDP will bundle with the controller. PDP says we should expect the controller out in the fall bundled with Squeeballs for about $70 to $75.
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Full Story: gamespot.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
MS Already Talking with Developers about Next-Gen Xbox
>> From pocket-lint.com:
[QUOTE]
Exciting news for gamers - Microsoft is deep in the development process for the successor to the Xbox 360 games console, it's been revealed.
One of the first credible reports on the topic, Blizzard's Rob Pardo has confirmed that his company has taken part in talks with Microsoft about the next-next-gen console.
Speaking at a lunch at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Pardo did not provide hardware details - only that Blizzard is "actively in discussions with Microsoft" about the new gaming hardware.
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Full Story: pocket-lint.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
LiteOn flash tool for Linux
>> ddl released tools to flash the FW on the Xbox360 LiteOn drive under Linux on xboxhacker.net:
[QUOTE]
I made a release build. I still want to do some more work on the code before I release it.
Anyway... Feel free to try it out! If you try it I would be glad if you could leave me some feedback. Thanks!
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Official Site: n/a, by ddl (#xbox360tools @EFnet)
Download: Statically linked 32-bit | Statically linked 64-bit
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xecuter CK3 XT Adapter
X-Scene BlackOut
>> As you might or might not have noticed all X-Scene/Scenyx services were offline for the last 28h or so. Together with the help of some great people we did everything we could to restore normal operation as soon as possible.
News posts will restore shortly.
Njoy your stay and we'll do our best to avoid another outage like this.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
BBC Watchdog about Xbox 360 disc scratching
>> From bbc.co.uk:
[QUOTE]
We decided to set up an experiment with two Xboxes, a brand new console and one that we knew had already caused a scratch. We placed them both on level, stable surfaces. We arranged vases of water to indicate any movements, sealed off a secure space and inserted brand new games. Watchdog researchers then played solidly for six hours a day for three days, with neither Xbox being moved once.
After three days, the team hadn't had a single scratch. The conditions, however, weren't exactly what you'd find in an average teenager's bedroom, so we decided to take the test a little further and this time the result was quite different.
Boxes subjected to simulated vibrations
We sent the same Xbox 360s to a lab in Hampshire, where special testing equipment replicated the vibrations you'd find in a typical home. The first test simulated walking and caused the consoles no problem at all. Then the boxes were subjected to shock vibration testing, which simulated vibrations equivalent to that of someone putting a book down on the table near the Xbox. The newer console passed with flying colours; however, the older console caused a scratch similar to those experienced by the previous owner.
Our testers told us that the console had failed "very, very quickly" and that these are the kinds of vibrations you'd expect any household to have - particularly when playing games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero that encourage you to get physically involved.
Microsoft unwilling to admit there's a problem
The US lawyers have had similar test results to Watchdog's and they're likely to be a key part of their case against Microsoft. In the meantime, it seems Microsoft is unwilling to admit there's any such problem with the consoles.
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Full Story: bbc.co.uk
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft opens 3rd annual Dream-Build-Play game design competition
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
Kicking off the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Microsoft today announced the third annual Dream-Build-Play global game development competition that encourages aspiring and hobbyist developers to create new and innovative games for Xbox 360.
Beginning Monday, April 6 developers from all over the world will have an opportunity to submit their unique game creations to the Dream-Build-Play 2009 competition for a chance to win a cash prize and an opportunity to sign an Xbox LIVE Arcade publishing contract. Winners will be announced this fall. Last year, more than 10,000 members of the community enrolled in Dream-Build-Play, yielding more than 350 completed games from all over the world developed using Microsoft's free XNA Game Studio tools.
Several of last year's winners, including Team GAMBIT for "CarneyVale: Showtime" and Mommy's Best Games for "Weapon of Choice," collectively took home more than $70,000 in prizes and have since become top sellers on the Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel. Winners from 2007, "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai," "Blazing Birds" and "YoHo Kablammo!" from the United States, Canada and UK respectively, are all slated for release on Xbox LIVE Arcade in the coming months.
Microsoft also announced new updates to its free XNA Game Studio development tools, available to professional and hobbyist developers this spring, which will allow developers at any level to take advantage of new partner additions and Xbox LIVE features. Both Xbox LIVE Arcade and Community Games developers will be able to include customized Avatars, which have quickly become one of the most popular features on Xbox LIVE, and LIVE Party functionality, which makes playing games a social experience by letting gamers seamlessly play and chat with their friends online. Professional Xbox LIVE Arcade developers will be able to release game add-ons like episodic content.
"The level of innovation and the number of submissions we receive each year to Dream-Build-Play has increased exponentially because the development community is becoming increasingly familiar with the XNA Game Studio," XNA General Manager Boyd Multerer said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what developers are able to create with the latest LIVE features and updated tools at their disposal."
The XNA Game Studio update, which will also include improvements like video playback and new audio APIs, means that more games featuring Avatars and LIVE Party could start appearing on Xbox LIVE as early as this fall.
Additionally, Microsoft reinforced its commitment to professional developers with the preview of new Xbox 360 Development and Test Kit hardware. This hardware includes additional debugging memory that allows developers to more efficiently produce games, push the console to its maximum capabilities, and ensure the best titles continue to be created for Xbox 360.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
abgx360 v1.0.1
>> Seacrest released a new version of abgx360(info) - the ultimate tool for Xbox 360 ISOs and Stealth files.
Changes affecting all platforms:
* Added PFI/Video exceptions for "Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3 - Senior Year" and "Monsters vs. Aliens"
* Added support for new PFI/Video exceptions to be quickly added (and existing ones removed if necessary) via updates to abgx360.dat
* Fixed a bug which caused a blank or incomplete .dvd file to be considered valid
* GUI font size is now adjusted at runtime to prevent cut off text on some systems
Changes affecting Linux/BSD:
* Fixed a bug on 64 bit systems which made it impossible to add SplitVid
* GUI "Maximize it" option now works with latest xterm
* Numerous small changes to eliminate errors and warnings on latest gcc/g++
Official Site: http://abgx360.net
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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