With Grand Theft Auto 4, Rockstar promised exclusive downloadable content with the Xbox 360. The first downloadable content pack known as “The Lost and Damned” is listed at $19.99 or roughly 1600 Microsoft points. Peter Moore, once the head of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment division had stated that this is more than just a few additional cars, it will be an epic release with a completely new storyline centered around Johnny Klebitz of the Lost Boys biker gang that Niko had some interaction with during the campaign for GTA4. Look for the expansion to appear on Xbox Live around mid February.

[Source: Ehottv]

The price of the Microsoft Xbox Hard Drive 120 GB has dropped to to half of its original price. The 120 GB hard drive debuted with the Xbox 360 Elite system and the price for the hard drive alone was $150 but now Circuit City (probably in a move of grave desperation) has lowered it to $79.96. In case you still don’t know, Circuit City has been on the brink of bankruptcy for a while now and even with the loan from Bank of America has not been doing too well through this holiday season. The Xbox 360 hard drive is probably one of the best deals the store currently offers so if you’re looking to add to your 360, now is a great chance.

[Source: punchjump]

Microsoft has been under some heat ever since documents revealed that the company was aware of the Xbox 360 design flaw that made game disks susceptible to scratches during play. Microsoft Xbox users often complain about the console’s tendency to put the ring like scratches (picture above) in their games and so far Microsoft has been very elusive on the subject. Microsoft has just recently responded to the allegations by stating that they have put a warning that the console should not be moved during play and that such a move would make any console put scratches in a disk. Microsoft has further stated that they did put a clear warning label that must be removed before play.

[Source: Edge]

Gears of War 2 might have sold very well after release but it was quickly toppled from its initial first place on Xbox Live as people went back to Halo 3. Apparently the fall didn’t stop there as Gears of War 2 has further slipped past World at War and Call of Duty 4 to the 4th place. There might be a small boost in playtime from the downloadable pack Combustible (seen above) release but overall things are looking a little disappointing for Epic. It remains very unlikely that Gears of War 2 will be able to reclaim the number one spot again from Halo 3 save for the right hand of god himself.

[Source: Xbox360fanboy]

A grim reminder of the power of video games, Daniel Petric, a boy from Wellington is currently going through a trial for the murder of his parents. Back in 2007, Petric who was 16 at the time had sneaked out of his house to purchase a copy of Halo 3. When his parents found out, they took it away from him and locked the game in a box along with his father’s handgun. Petric eventually gained access to the box and took the game along with the handgun. He then walked into the living room and told his parents to close their eyes as he had a surprise for him at which point he shot them both. His mother was killed while his father was only saved because Petric’s sister and husband had come to the house to watch the Indians’ game. Prosecutors are saying that they will not seek the death penalty due to the boy’s age but if convicted he will spend a good portion of his life behind bars.

[Source: Blog.Cleveland]

A couple in Florida are going to be having a Halo themed wedding. The wedding will be backed up by Full Sail University and will probably draw the world’s biggest crowd of nerdy wedding crashers. When Desirai met John, she probably knew John’s Halo obsession would prompt some changes in her life. She once took dramamine so she wouldn’t get motion sickness from Halo 3 Campaign binges. This wedding would definitely be unique but Desirai comes from a very traditional Cuban family and has not brought up the plans with them yet. The couple is currently deciding on a fixed date (the school wants them to have the wedding during a gaming convention while the couple wants it on a Halo themed date.) Stay tuned for more updates.

[Source:multiplayerblog.mtv]

The Rock Band series took the success of Guitar hero one step further and it has been a huge cashcow for Viacom. Not only do they have an excuse to sell you a game, they also have an excuse to sell you accessories! Viacom has rewarded Rock Band creator Harmonix with a hefty bonus of $300 million (I know what you’re thinking, that’s a LOT of tacos…). Keep in mind that this is on top of the $150 million bonus from last quarter. I guess we’ll see quite a few more incarnations of this popular franchise. Perhaps they can integrade DDR mats so you can have backup dancers too!

[Source: wired blog]

We all knew Gears of War 2 was going to be a huge seller. The news that Gears of War 2 has just hit the 3 million units sold mark should come as no surprise. After all, the game had already sold 2 million on its launch weekend. 1.5 million users signed on to Xbox Live to play the game. However, Gears of War 2’s Xbox Live run was cut short by the old reigning champ Halo 3 which quickly regained the lead a mere week later. To put the success into perspective, the original Gears of War took over 10 weeks to sell the same number of units.

[source: Xboxfanboy]

Fable 2 was a pretty good game, but it did have a few small issues. There is a Fable 2 Patch that is currently being reviewed by Microsoft for release. While there has been no details on when it will be released, the makers of Fable 2 have been kind enough to release to details of the patch. No huge changes or additions are made but the fixes should make the gameplay experience more enjoyable. One update that stands out is the removal of child assassination. You can no longer rely on assassins to kill your kid (I know you let it happen sometimes you sick person…)You can find the rest of the details of the Fable 2 patch below.

[Source: Xbox360fanboy]

Check out this insane xbox mod from console mod guru Benjamin J Heckendorn! I’m not sure about taking this thing on a road trip like I would a DS though since it is so heavy but it would be a very good idea for lan parties! Heck refers to it as a Xbox laptop. The heavy aluminum contained in the casing would almost steer it towards a Xbox Macbook title but hey its his creation he can call it whatever he likes. The unit comes with many non-standard xbox accessories such as a chatpad and a vision cam as well. Hopefully Microsoft catches wind of this and decides that there is definitely a market for an Xbox packaged in this manner!

[Source:Benheck]