This holiday season Microsoft has a special surprise in store for “naughty” Xbox 360 hackers — a particular sweeping ban that relies on spotting modified drive firmware. Rolled out starting last week, the ban, according to sources, blocks the installation of games on the Xbox hard drive, blocks the Windows Media Player media extender, corrupts saves/Gamertags used on the machine, and most significantly prevents the console from accessing Xbox Live.
Tag Archive: Xbox 360
Update: Potential Fix for Banned Xbox 360s
Sony Says PlayStation 3 Sales Up 70 Pct from Last Year
The PlayStation 3 has been on the market for three years—and for most of that time, the console has been pulling up the rear amongst so-called next-generation game console sales, regularly trounced by the Xbox 360 and (of course) the Nintendo Wii—and for a while even struggling to stay ahead of the decade-old PlayStation 2. But the introduction of the PS3 Slim coupled with substantial price cuts seem to have translated into sales momentum for the PS3—in fact, Sony claims PS3 sales this October were 70 percent higher than sales in October 2008.
Microsoft: No Plans for Blu-ray on Xbox 360
During an interview supporting Microsoft’s launch of Windows 7, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made a comment about folks being able to buy external Blu-ray players…but Microsoft’s own all-things-Xbox spokesperson Major Nelson is scrambling to clarify that Ballmer was referring to external Blu-ray players for personal computers, not for the Xbox 360 system. According to Nelson, nothing has changed: Microsoft has no plans to bring a Blu-ray player to the Xbox 360. 
Mad Catz Ships Relic Guitar Controllers for Rock Band
There’s no denying that rhythm-based game franchises like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have struck a big power chord in the video game industry…of course, one reason more mature players sometimes don’t adopt the games is that the standard instrument controllers look so…well, toy-like. Gaming accessory maker Mad Catz coming to the rescue by offering a new set of Rock Band guitar controllers for the Xbox 360—and they’ve got the looks, stains, and chrome to come off like real read-worn instruments…except they aren’t actually instruments at all.
Xbox Exec Shane Kim to Retire After 19 Years
Shane Kim, the Microsoft Corp. executive who oversaw the growth of its video game business from the original Xbox and through such hits as “Halo” and “Gears of War,” is retiring after 19 years with the software maker.
Kim, 47, spent 14 of those years with Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment business. In a memo to staff Monday, Don Mattrick, the unit’s senior vice president, called Kim an “instrumental leader” in the evolution of the company’s games business.
Before leaving at the end of the year, Kim will transfer his duties to Dennis Durkin, who was named to the new post of chief operating officer of the company’s video game unit. Another executive, Phil Spencer, will oversee Microsoft Game Studios.
Microsoft cuts Japan price for Xbox
Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it is cutting the price in Japan for its high-end Xbox 360 game console by 25 percent in a bid to lift demand ahead of the critical year-end shopping season.
The Xbox 360 Elite will now cost 29,800 yen ($320), down from 39,800 yen. The move was in line with Microsoft’s announcement last week that it was slashing the U.S. price for the Xbox 360 Elite by $100 to $299.
“With the price cut, we hope to boost demand for the Xbox game console. The Christmas and year-end shopping season is very important for us,” said Joji Sakaguchi, director of Xbox marketing in Japan.
And The Award for Least Reliable Console Goes To…The Xbox 360
A year and a half ago, independent warranty provider SquareTrade ruffled some features by publishing figures that showed failure rates for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console as high as 16.4 percent. Now SquareTrade is back with more failure numbers for leading video game consoles (PDF), and guess what? The Xbox 360 is still bringing up the rear, with 23.7 percent Xbox 360 owners reporting failures within the first two years of ownership. That’s four times more likely to fail than Sony’s PlayStation 3 (which saw failure rates around 10 percent), and nine times more likely to fail than the Nintendo Wii (with failure rates around 2.7 percent).
Microsoft Drops Xbox 360 Elite Price to $299
Xbox 360 Elite
Hot on the heels of Sony dropping prices on its PlayStation 3 console (and introducing the PlayStation 3 Slim), Microsoft has indicated it’s willing to engage in a price war with Sony: today the company dropped $100 off the price of its Xbox 360 Elite game console, dropping it to $299.99. The price cut represents a 25 percent discount, and goes into effect August 28.
“With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s already time to start looking for entertainment and gifts that everyone will enjoy,” said Microsoft’s corporate VP Shane Kim, in a statement. “If you’re looking for deep experiences that don’t require deep pockets, now is the time to purchase an Xbox 360.”
Media Center Showdown: Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3
Whether you’re desperate to get Hulu and YouTube on the big screen, or just need a box to access your terabyte and a half of ripped DVDs without tethering a laptop to your TV, home media centers just make sense. But for the price of a high-end set-top box like Netgear’s rather disappointing EVA 9150, most savvy buyers can’t help but notice that you can get a far more functional Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 – both of which make fine media centers in themselves. Fans of both systems routinely debate which is the better box for fragging aliens and racing Ferraris, but what about if you’re primarily looking to watch video, play music, and view pictures? We’ve taken the latest versions of both systems and compared them head to head to determine which really belongs in your home theater.
