November 2006 - Posts
The next time you sign into Xbox Live, you’ll be prompted for a dashboard update. The update contains:
- Improved support for HD video output over VGA, including 1080p resolution
- Improved plug and play performance for wired headsets when being used with wireless controllers
- Changes made to recently played games list to improve accuracy
This update is being rolled out across the world, so you may not get it exactly at this moment, so be patient.
I told you we'd fix it ;)
Edit: Apparantly some people have displays that are having issues with this update. This is being investigated.
Name: Small Arms - Picture Pack 1
Price: 100 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This package contains gamer pictures for the characters Fox Claw, Marky Kat, Tyrone, and Lord Peet, as well as the ‘Glazed Ham’ health item.
Name: Small Arms - Theme Pack 1
Price: 150 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This theme contains backgrounds of the characters Fox Claw, Marky Kat, Tyrone, and Lord Peet. Download it now!
Name: Video Blog - Flight Mechanics
Price: Free
Available in: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom and the U.S.
Dash Details: Download this Superman Returns: The Videogame Developer Video Blog for an inside look at how the revolutionary flight mechanics in the game were designed and developed.
A recent security change to the Xbox Live service may have impacted users online purchase experience. Currently the video marketplace service and related content is only available to consumers in the United States. Although we will continue to work on providing content and rolling out the service in other markets, US Marketplace offers will be restricted to the US only. This means that the credit card associated with your account is required to match the billing address and country your account is set up in. Note that we are not banning any of these Xbox Live accounts, as they can continue to use pre-paid subscription cards and Microsoft Points cards.
Customers wanting to check the billing information on their account can do this on their console or by signing into Xbox.com with your account and then go to
MY XBOX-> MY PROFILE then to
BILLING AND CONTACT INFORMATION.
We also realize that there may be a small number of international users that were impacted by this change that have a legitimate reason for why their billing location does not match their account location. We are working to deal with these exceptions on a case by case basis and are working on a solution for these consumers.
Tomorrow’s arcade action will consist of the long awaited update for Texas Hold 'em. Below is the list of some of the new features and changes in the free update. You will be prompted for the update when you play the game after 0800 GMT (check what time that is for you) on Wednesday (11/29.) This update incorporates much of the feedback that we have heard from the community over the past couple of months. In addition to the update, the leaderboards will also be reset so everyone can start fresh. Also, early next year the team is adding Vision camera support. Here is the official list of features and fixes:
Game-play has been sped up.
Post the blind and play right away! – Players can now, if they wish, start playing immediately when joining a table by posting the big blind, rather than having to wait for the blind to come to them.
New ‘Away’ mode – Players can now set their status to ‘Away’. Hands will be auto-folded and blinds auto-posted until the player returns.
New ‘Auto-boot’ mode – Players who continuously let the timer expire (more than three times in a game) will be booted from the table
Faster overall pacing – Timers and messaging durations have been adjusted to speed up game-play among experienced players, but still allow novice players plenty of time to play.
Improved blind structure – Initial blinds, as well as blind increases, are now more proportional to table stakes, ensuring more meaningful increases during game-play.
Matchmaking improvements – Players are no longer matched into games they cannot afford
Improved interface controls – Improvements to controls, such as increasing/decreasing stake amounts
Leaderboard display – A player’s full winnings and rank are now properly displayed
Art and text improvements – Game art and spelling issues have been addressed
Online exploits addressed – Certain known exploits that enabled cheating have been addressed. As a result, the online multi-player leaderboards will be reset to eliminate inflated scores as a result of these exploits.
Do you live in the LA area? Then you need to head to the World's Largest Piñata Party. It’s this Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier in California and it’s FREE! John over at the Gamerscore blog will be there, so look for him and the 35–foot tall Horstachio Piñata. Have fun.
[Details here]
Did you pick one up yet? The Gizmodo guys did and they
posted their review.
Engadget posted details last week, but I wanted to bring it to your attention in case a the 1 or 2 of you don’t read Engadget missed it. Let’s have fun and play some Gears for a good cause. I can’t speak to any smack talk that may or may not happen during the event, but I can almost guarantee that with the number of geeks in the session that we’ll be talking all sorts of gadget talk.
Name: BIONICLE Heroes Trailer ( 480p and 720p)
Price: Free
Available in: All regions
Dash Details: Download the awesome BIONICLE Heroes trailer! BIONICLE Heroes takes you to the island of Voya Nui, a world filled with heroes and villains, past and present. Take control of six heroes, the Toa Inika and battle the villainous Piraka who have enslaved the inhabitants of the island and stolen the all-powerful “Mask of Life”. Do you have what it takes to become a hero.
The following content is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace:
Name: Scarface Theme
Price: 150 Points
NOT Available in: Asia
Dash Details: "The World is Yours" with this theme pack featuring images from the film Scarface. There are no refunds for this item
Name: Scarface Picture Pack
Price: 80 Points
NOT Available in: Asia .
Dash Details: Be the Original. Be Tony Montana with this set of gamer pictures featuring Scarface. This pack contains four pictures.
The following ‘Need for Speed Carbon’ in game content is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace:
Name: Autosculpt Roof, Spoiler and Exhaust Kit
Price: 300 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Shape your roofs, spoilers, and exhaust parts to your unique specifications unlocking this Autosculpting kit to use all the roof scoop, spoiler and exhaust Autosculpt parts. Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career, Challenge Series and Reward Card. Visual upgrades apply only to cars in My Cars and can be used in Career.
Name: Autosculpt Wheels Kit
Price: 300 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Shape your wheels to your unique specifications by unlocking this Autosculpting kit. Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career, Challenge Series and Reward Card. Visual upgrades apply only to cars in My Cars and can be used in Career.
Name: Paints Style Bundle
Price: 100 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Give your car a paint job that sets it apart from the competition with this upgrade kit featuring these six different paint styles: Metallic, Matte, Pearl, Chrome, Candy, Iridescent. Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career, Challenge Series and Reward Card. Visual upgrades apply only to cars in My Cars and can be used in Career.
Name: Flame Vinyls
Price: 200 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: If you think your car’s hot, prove it. Customize your car’s exterior by unlocking these vinyls featuring the Flame Vinyls and Flame Body Vinyls. Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career, Challenge Series and Reward Card. Visual upgrades apply only to cars in My Cars and can be used in Career.
Name: Tribal Vinyls
Price: 100 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: It’s a jungle out there. Customize your car’s exterior by unlocking these Tribal Vinyls and Tribal Body Vinyls. Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career, Challenge Series and Reward Card. Visual upgrades apply only to cars in My Cars and can be used in Career.
Name: Flags and 2-Tone Vinyls
Price: 200 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Show your style on the road by unlocking the following vinyls: Race Flag, Basic Body and Two-Tone vinyls. Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career, Challenge Series and Reward Card. Visual upgrades apply only to cars in My Cars and can be used in Career. .
Name: Stripe Vinyls
Price: 200 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Bring out the inner zebra in you by unlocking these striped sets of vinyls for your car. Many of the items in this bundle can be achieved without purchase by progressing through Career, Challenge Series and Reward Card. Visual upgrades apply only to cars in My Cars and can be used in Career.
The fine folks over at FASA Studios have just opened up a public beta for ‘Shadowrun’ and they asked me to spread the word.
This is for the Xbox 360 version, and since it is a Multiplayer Beta you will need to be a Gold member subscriber to participate.
Ready to apply? Here ya go:
1. Visit the beta Web site at http://connect.microsoft.com.
2. Click on "Invitations" on the left-side menu.
3. You will need to sign in using a valid Windows Live ID before you can continue to the "Invitations" page. (If you have already registered for the Connect site, skip to Step 5.)
4. Please read and accept the Terms of Use Agreement then follow the instructions to register for the Connect site.
5. Enter your Invitation ID in the blank field. Your invitation ID is: SHBS-6YMT-YKHC
6. Click "Go."
7. Complete and submit the short questionnaire. Please enter MAJOR1 for the beta code when asked at the beginning of the questionnaire.
8. If you are not redirected immediately to the Shadowrun Beta Selection homepage after completing the questionnaire, click the My Participations link on the left hand navigation bar and then click the Shadowrun program link. This will redirect you to the Shadowrun Beta Selection Homepage.
9. Once you are on the Shadowrun Beta Selection Homepage, you will need to complete the rest of the registration process by signing up for the forums by clicking the Join the Forums button then click the Welcome to the Official Shadowrun Community Forum Sign In button.
10. Wait patiently for us to contact you with further instructions. Check back at http://connect.microsoft.com for further beta announcements.
Please direct all questions to gbetasup@microsoft.com.
The following content is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for members in Canada and the US.
Name: Burger King Games Picture Pack
Price: Free
Available in: Canada and the U.S.
Dash Details: Download this picture pack
The following Marketplace content is now available for all Xbox Live members:
Name: Rainbow Six Vegas Developer Diary #1–3
Price: Free
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Varies
Note: There are three different Developer Diary videos (1–3) each available in 480p and 720p.
while i can’t seem to get j on for one of my shows, he did sit down with business week recently to talk about zune (and more.) the story is part of a larger business week cover story (12/4) on microsoft.
you'll have to read the article to find out why i made this post in all lower case.
These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. If the Xbox 360 list and the original Xbox list were combined, then Gears of War would be the top Xbox Live title.
Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Gears of War
2 Call Of Duty 3
3 SUPERMAN DEMO
4 Small Arms
5 Rainbow Six Vegas MP Demo
6 Madden NFL 07
7 LOST PLANET MP Demo
8 Call of Duty 2
9 Tony Hawk's Project 8 Demo
10 Ghost Recon 3
Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Small Arms
2 Contra
3 UNO
4 Defender
5 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
6 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
7 Geometry Wars Evolved
8 DOOM
9 PAC-MAN
10 Texas Hold 'em
Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Counter-Strike
5 Call of Duty 3
6 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
7 Forza Motorsport
8 Rainbow Six 3 BA
9 Call of Duty 2
10 Ghost Recon 2
Also, due to the American Holiday this past week, I will be unable to produce a show today.
No new show until next Sunday, Dec. 03.
Edit: Corrected date
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