There is so much that one can do with their XBox 360. But everybody doesn’t know about these tricks and secrets about their Xbo 360. Here is an article by Alec Meer of Tech Radar listing the 10 secrets and tricks that Microsoft won’t tell you about.

10 Xbox 360 tricks Microsoft won’t tell you

1. Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once

If you’ve got one of the component/composite dual video cables – the one that comes in the box with most 360s – you can have your console display its gamey goodness on two TVs simultaneously. The trick is to flick the cable’s switch to Standard Definition but hook up the composite (yellow) cable to one screen and the component (the red, green, blue) cables to another. It won’t be high-def, but it could be handy if you’re staging a mini LAN party and want to set up a display for bored spectators to point their eyes at. Read the rest of this entry »

According to Microsoft, their Xbox sales are well on track for another record breacking holiday season. This is due to a combination of lower Xbox pricing and the expected launch of the “New Xbox Experience” this fall. With many great games in the lineup such as Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 (which are each expected to sell over a million units each, Microsoft is confident in their own strong performance.

According to NPD data, in August alone, Microsoft sold 195,000 Xbox units which have only added to their over 10 million units in the U.S alone. The number one selling game was Madden 09 which sold over one million copies.

A very interesting article of why Microsoft’s Xbox 360 should win the console war. Written by Don Reisinger of CNET, its a very good read. Check it out.

For a while, I’ve said that Microsoft needs to find a way to attract more customers and bring more people on board. The first step, I said, was to lower the price of the Xbox 360 all over the world to increase its value to consumers and finally make it an ideal solution for customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Are Xbox games going the way of Hollywood blockbusters these days? Trilogy after trilogy before the first in the series is even released. Starwars, Indiana Jones, The Godfather, Jurassic Park and more recently; Spiderman, Transformers etc etc, Hollywood has been making trilogies since forever. Xbox has its own share of trilogies as well though which started with Halo and the Prince of Persia series. Here is a short list of the planned or likely trilogies for the Xbox 360.

Confirmed

• Assassin’s Creed
• Mass Effect

Likely

• Gears of War
• Grand Theft Auto
• Condemned
• Saint’s Row

I guess who can blame em? Everybody is out to make money and when you have a winning idea like Gears of War, you make as many sequels as you can to get as much profit as possible. I just wonder if a little of bit of originality isn’t lost in the process? Is the video game industry going to end up stagnant like mainstream hip hop? Will all Xbox games eventually become trilogies or more which limit the number of original IP’s to just a few?

If those 2D gamercard pictures just ain’t cutting it anymore, Microsoft announced at E3 their new Avatars system. Inspired by Nintendo’s Mii, Players will now be able to have their own Xbox Live avatars. The avatars are customizable from their clothes to their hair and facial features. It will be a part of the “New Xbox Experience” system update which will be available for Download on Xbox Live some time soon. If gamers do not wish to use their 3D avatars, they still have the option of going back to the original setup. New accessories for avatars can also be unlocked through achievements.

10) Tomb Raider Underworld – Lara Croft will be returning on November 18th 2008. This time, her movements will be captured by Gymnastics champion Heidi Moneymaker.

9) Mirror’s Edge – Expect to begin your virtual parkour November 11th 2008. Don’t try this at home… Read the rest of this entry »

Because the way the videogame industry is set up, companies offer tantalizing demonstrations of their videogames months or even years before its scheduled release. Personally, I have been looking forward to the release of Prizefighter ever since it’s announcement back in January. I had been playing Fight Night Round 3 for over 2 years now and was ready for a new boxing game.  Prizefighter as it turned out, was not the answer. While it did have a great story mode, the sluggish controls, recycled characters, extremely weak sound effects and a brutally punishing/cheap AI serve to make Prizefighter one of the first letdowns of 2008. FaceBreaker on the other hand, had a cartoony charm of its own which I couldn’t resist. It’s unique characters coupled with a more wacky take on the boxing genre might have made for a fun party game, had the gameplay been a little better. In many ways, Facebreaker is the opposite of Prizefighter. While Prizefighter encourages slow calculated punches (apparently your boxers cant throw a punch without passing out from exhaustion), FaceBreaker requires furious button mashing . In the end, I traded both games back in and got my Fight Night Round 3 back, you’re better off doing the same.

Here is a list of the games that will be releasing this week, week of September 8, 2008, for the various gaming platforms. Check it out.

PC

• American McGee’s Grimm: The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs
  
• CSI Super Pack
• FlatOut: Head On

Nintendo DS

• Lock’s Quest
• Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise
• Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir
• Hell’s Kitchen
• Mazes of Fate
• The Price is Right
• Rain Drops
• Air Traffic Chaos

Wii

• NHL 2K9
• Cabela’s Legendary Adventures
• Hell’s Kitchen
• The Price is Right
• Active Life Outdoor Challenge
• Ten Pin Alley 2

PlayStation Portable

• Cabela’s Legendary Adventures

PlayStation 2

• Yakuza 2
• TNA Impact!
• Dance Dance Revolution X Bundle
  
• Dragon Ball Z Trilogy
• Cabela’s Legendary Adventures

PlayStation 3

• NHL 2K9
• NHL 2009
  
• TNA Impact!

Xbox 360

• Rock Band 2
  
• NHL 2K9
• NHL 2009
  
• Zoids Assault
• TNA Impact!

- Geoff

[Source: ArsTechnica]

As if we needed more music game peripherals. Mad Catz has just introduced the first ever bass guitar peripheral for a music game. Mad Catz’ Fender Precision Bass guitar for Rock Band is different from other guitar peripherals in which it no longer has a whammy bar and it is replace with a volume knob. Also, it incorporates a new Split Strum Bar, which is guaranteed to let gamers strum and pluck notes faster. As of the moment, it is only available for the Xbox 360 with a $70 price tag, which is cheaper than most musical instrument peripherals.

- Geoff

[Source: BusinessWire]

Microsoft posted a job listing this morning looking for someone to help create a “Connected Entertainment experience, realized through the Zune service, that spans multiple devices such as Zune, Xbox, PC and Mobile phones.” Rumors of such a device have been all over the Internet for sometime but now it seems like Microsoft is really pushing to make it a reality. Having the features or the ability to control your PC and Xbox 360 with a Zune like mobile phone would amazing, and if done right could give the iPhone 3G a run for its money! Check out the Microsoft job posting for more details.

-Ray

[Source: zunerama]