HDTV Xbox 360 Gaming

E3 news: HD DVD via USB confirmed for Xbox 360

As we reported back in April, this is now official:

This new accessory will connect to the Xbox 360 console with a USB cable, enabling it to harness the power of the Xbox 360 console for the HD video outputs and digital surround sound. As an accessory, it becomes another shining example of the flexibility of Xbox 360 designed into the console in order to grow and add new features. It’s also just one of several new accessories being announced at E3.

“There aren’t any Blu-ray players available to test, but if you compare the requirements on paper it’s going to be a wash in terms of video quality,” said Albert Penello, Director of Global Marketing at Xbox. “At Microsoft, we’ve known that for some time. But the major difference is going to be price, and all the leading indicators point to HD DVD winning.”

Let’s hope the footprint of this external drive isn’t too significant. You can read the full Microsoft announcement here

Technorati Tags: xbox360, hd-dvd

del.icio.us E3 news: HD DVD via USB confirmed for Xbox 360

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Add comment May 8th, 2006

MLB 2K6 on XBox 360 not HD friendly ?

We haven’t had a chance to test this game yet, but according to several of our readers and hardwaregeeks.com the wide aspect ratio is not properly supported in the Xbox 360 version of MLB 2K6. Hardwaregeeks.com reports that:

“HDTV users beware this game is not an HD Game and there for when played in widescreen there are stretched logos, jaggy’s and frame lag.”

If this is true, and it appears to be, it will really fly in the face of what the Xbox 360 is all about — next generation games on next generation hardware … and for our money, next generation means HD.

Technorati Tags: MLB2K6

del.icio.us MLB 2K6 on XBox 360 not HD friendly ?

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Add comment April 20th, 2006

Paramount now offering free HD Trailers On Xbox 360

Not a surprise to anyone browsing the Live marketplace recently — tons of movie trailers being promoted.

Paramount has decided to join the party - and many are speculating that this effort is two-fold. 1) marketing a movie today means reaching 18-34 yr olds, and gaming is a great place to get those eyeballs, 2) it’s a marketing effort to promote future HD-DVD releases.

Item 1 makes perfect sense and is compounded by cable/tv ratings that continue to slide, especially in this younger demo.

“It hits the audience in a big way - the 12- to 34-year-old audience. That’s the sweet spot of frequent moviegoers,” said Gerry Rich, Paramount’s president of worldwide marketing. “They’re the early adopters. We think they impact and influence a lot of folks. They’re gatekeepers of what’s cool and what’s not.”

Item 2 makes some sense — although I still hold out that people rather download HD content, or rent it ( think NetFlix ), but don’t really want to own a bunch of plastic. The value is not in owning a physical good anymore, it’s in having instant access to the content, sharing with friends, tagging. mixing, etc. If anything these HD trailers will create even a greater demand for instant HD content — and microsoft should be pushing that the way iTunes did for music.

del.icio.us Paramount now offering free HD Trailers On Xbox 360

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Add comment April 18th, 2006

Microsoft re: a HD-DVD-drive for Xbox360: “Absolutely, yes.”

Chris Lewis — Microsot’s regional vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Xbox 360 gaming console business in Europe — gave a very revealing interview to SPIEGEL ONLINE.

In the interview he spoke very openly about the forthcoming plans for an HD-DVD drive:

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is the HD-DVD-drive for the Xbox 360 still in the pipeline?

Lewis: Absolutely, yes. We’ll say a little bit more about it at E3. It will give people access to HD DVD.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But the 360 doesn’t have an HDMI-Interface — so you won’t actually be able to watch any HD DVD Movies on it because the obligatory copy protection mechanisms are missing.

Lewis: All I can say to you is — there are interesting developments in the pipeline. We will make sure that the HD-DVD-peripheral device will meet all the requirements for consumers to enjoy high-definition DVD playback.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Meaning, you will be able to watch Hollywood movies in HD through your Xbox?

Lewis: Yes.

Lewis kept referring to E3, which will be in May, as the time and the place where microsoft will make their announcements.

The HDMI issue is very real, so I’m sure everyone is curious as to what microsoft will come up with. But overall this is great news for those who plan on jumping on the HD-DVD format.

HD-DVD, E3

del.icio.us Microsoft re: a HD-DVD-drive for Xbox360: “Absolutely, yes.”

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Add comment April 18th, 2006

Back from the Dead

no this blog isn’t dead !

some RealLife issues forced a short break — but we are back. Look for new updates this week on how to get the best HD experience from your Xbox 360.

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Add comment April 17th, 2006

Rumor: DirecTV blade to offer HDTV and movies to Xbox360 Dashboard?

Still trying to figure this one out. The rumor appeared in the official March Xbox360 magazine — so you would think it was not so much a rumor but a way to announce a new PS3 like feature, no ?

According to this scan from the March 2006 issue:

“a DirecTV blade might be added to your Xbox 360 Dashboard to accompany the Xbox Live, Games, Media, and System blades. In that blade, you could download TV episodes in high definition, HD movies on demand, and standard-definition streaming DVR (i.e., TiVo) functions.”

Sounds interesting — and definitely a feature that the PS3 was rumored to have. Also makes sense as Microsoft begins to position the Xbox Live marketplace as a true competitor to iTunes, and downloadable TV episodes is a great space for msft to compete in.

Technorati Tags: direct tv

del.icio.us Rumor: DirecTV blade to offer HDTV and movies to Xbox360 Dashboard?

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Add comment February 20th, 2006

Update on Lara Croft: model chosen

Hot on the heels of the xbox360 game news, Edios today unveiled the real life model for their upcoming series, a 20 year old Londoner whose current employment is that of a sales clerk. Karima Adebibe, pictured below, was selected from thousands of hopefuls.

more photos here and here

Technorati Tags: lara croft

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Add comment February 15th, 2006

Microsoft’s Peter Moore predicts end to Xbox360 shortage and gives out Live details

“Within the next four to six weeks, anybody will be able to walk into a store and buy an Xbox 360.”

- Peter Moore @ DICE convention

RE: the global launch he adds:

“Was it controversial? Yes. But it’s what we needed to do to bring next-gen gaming to a global audience. There have been short-term shortages, but we’re driving a clear advantage as we go forward. It was the right decision. There were component shortages, but they’ve been fixed. Now we’re starting to cook. We’re building a vibrant, rich and profitable business model for the future.”

RE: Xbox Live usage among Xbox360 owners — Moore announced that 54% of Xbox 360 owners use Live. This is a huge increase compared to the original xbox Live usage rate of 10%.

Overall, Moore, who is the Xbox chief at Microsoft, told the audience that there have been 4 million pieces of content downloaded from Xbox Live since launch.

RE: the try-before-you-buy model (first used by shareware developer Apogee back in the day). Geometry Wars was given as an example, where 36 percent of all people who downloaded the demo went on to download and purchase the full version of the game. According to Moore, the average Xbox Live Arcade conversion is 20 percent — with the worst performing game coming in around 10 percent.

He bosted that “Nothing normally converts from sample to purchase at a rate of 35 percent. It’s proof positive that we are dragging gaming into the online era.”

As I’ve mentioned earlier on this blog, the future is an on-demand, all digital distribution system, and Xbox Live is definitely pushing the envelope in the right direction.

del.icio.us Microsoft’s Peter Moore predicts end to Xbox360 shortage and gives out Live details

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Add comment February 12th, 2006

Quick review of FIFA 2006: Road to FIFA World Cup for Xbox360

Let me first preface this quick review by saying that I love soccer — or ‘football’ as it really should be called. I played football growing up, it was my first sport, and I watch about an hour of week of various games/highlights etc. I also follow the world cup very closely, and will even purchase some football jerseys when I am travelling in a new city.

OK, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get in to the game.

The good: Stadium details are strong, uniforms look very real, and the FIFA franchise has always had the best commentary — and this version is no exception.

The bad: What happened to improving on prior efforts ? The gamepaly is a step backwards. The physics seem off — as if the ball is guessing where it should be, and the camera angles reveal all kinds of visual problems - ghosting and strange player models.

The ugly: I think the PS2 and Xbox versions were better, and visually on the same level. This game was rushed out, or simply neglected by the EA folks. Online play is also poorly setup, using their own EA lobby method instead of the superior microsoft default one.

Conclusion: Stay away from this title. Major step backwards, and a worrisome pattern with EA rushing out sports titles for Xbox360 — which in my mind includes Madden 2006.