Xbox 360 Live Update Addresses Bugs, Hacks

By Geoff Duncan January 31, 2006

Microsoft has released a free, mandatory update to the Xbox 360 gaming console via its Xbox Live service. The software patch does not offer new features, but instead corrects a number of minor issues with the Xbox and closes a potential security opening being investigated by the so-called “modder” community as a possible way to circumvent the Xbox 360’s copy protection technology.

The update now enables users to choose to retain saved games when deleting a user profile and improved synchronization of games between the Web and the console itself. The update also includes unspecified improvements to the Xbox Guide, network configuration improvements for Xbox Live users in the Netherlands, and more detailed error messages when the system encounters a disk that is unreadable or produces a region error.

The update also seems to close a mechanism being investigated by the so-called “modder” community which may have pointed a way around the (as yet uncompromised) Xbox 360’s copy-protection technologies. A demo disk originally produced for Xbox 360 retail kiosks was found in mid-December to be copyable

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Your Xbox Live Gold subscription will turn into Xbox Game Pass Core this September

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An Xbox Live subscription tied to online play has existed in some form since Xbox Live launched in 2002, but Xbox Live Gold as we now know it truly came into form in July 2013 when Microsoft started the Games with Gold program that gave subscribers free games each month in addition to that online access. Although Microsoft rolled back some online restrictions in 2021, Games with Gold continues to this day. That will all end when Game Pass Core launches.

Gaming

Meta Quest+ subscription is the VR version of PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold

Key art for Meta Quest+

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Introducing Meta Quest+ | VR Title Subscription
Meta Quest+ will cost $8 a month or $60 a year, although Meta is running a launch promotion where those who subscribe before July 31 will get their first month for $1. With that subscription, you'll get two games each month, which will stay in your library as long as you're subscribed to Meta Quest+. We've already learned which games will be coming to the service in July and August.
In July, Meta Quest+ subscribers will gain access to Pistol Whip and Pixel Ripped 1995. Pistol Whip is a pretty iconic VR game that mixes FPS and rhythm game mechanics, tasking players to shoot enemies and dodge bullets to beats of a variety of songs. Meanwhile, Pixel Ripped 1995 is a retro-inspired VR game that will have you playing a bunch of fake 16 and 32-bit games within VR as you follow the story of a kid growing up in the 90s.

In August, the two Meta Quest+ games are Walkabout Mini Golf and Mothergunship: Forge. Walkabout Mini Golf is a VR mini golf simulator that features multiplayer as well as a lot of DLC that features courses based on things like Labyrinth and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Mothergunship: Forge is an FPS roguelike where players must build their own weapons as they fight through the titular ship.
Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro users can now subscribe to Meta Quest+; the Quest 3 will also support it when the headset launches later this year.

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom first update fixes bugged Closed Door quest

Link soon after awakening in Tears of the Kingdom.

Compared to some other recent AAA releases like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom isn't bogged down by tons of bugs. That said, no game is immune to having issues, and one of Tears of the Kingdom's main quests was bugged for some players. Thankfully, the game's first post-launch update, Ver 1.1.1, fixed that issue.

The mission in question is The Closed Door, which takes place on the Great Sky Island. To complete it and access the Temple of Time, players must explore the four Shrines, gaining abilities like Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Rewind in the process. Some players did all of that, but the questline wasn't cleared and they couldn't advance the story. According to the Ver. 1.1.1. patch notes, which you can see below, this should no longer be an issue for players.