Microsoft Extends 360 Warranty

Merry Christmas, Xbox 360 gamers.

Effective immediately, Microsoft has extended the Xbox 360's inadequate 90-day warranty to a full-year for units purchased in the US and Canada. If you experience hardware issues (it happens) within the first year of ownership, you can have it repaired at no cost.

This warranty will also apply to those who have already purchased a 360 and are within the first year of the warranty period; good to know because I bought my 360 two weeks ago. What's more, this policy is retroactive--if you've paid Microsoft for repairs within the warranty period, you will be eligible for reimbursement of the repair charges. Customers who have paid for repairs within the first year can expect reimbursement cheques for the amount of their console repair in approximately 10 weeks.

Contest: Xbox Live Multiplayer Mayhem Month

Want to win free stuff? Maybe some Microsoft points or some Xbox 360 accessories? How about an HD TV and an Xbox 360 HD-DVD player or even a trip to Ubisoft Montreal to see how its all done? Most likely in an effort to take over the gaming world or destroy sales for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3, Xbox Canada is launching Multiplayer Mayhem Month starting Dec 26th. Every day for a month 10 Xbox Live Gold members will win prizes just for playing multiplayer games online. Since every Xbox 360 Premium package sold in Canada around this time is a holiday bundle, it comes with Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged which offers 1 free month on Xbox Live with a gold membership. Microsoft might be hoping that the contest will encourage gamers to sign-on with that free membership and give their Xbox Live service a try, as if the sale increases from Gears of War hasn't already been enough. But who can blame them for trying, we Canadians love free stuff!

There is a catch it, based on the contest website only Canadian gamers are being targeted. Also, it seems that specific games have been selected that you SHOULD be playing if you want to win, and Gears of War is not one of them. This is a smart move by Microsoft as it will encourage players to play some of the other titles online however people who bought the holiday bundle in Canada won't be able to participate heavily as most of the games listed are not sold with the bundle. So either rent them or buy them if you want to increase your chances of winning.

Good Luck!

Halo 3 ViDoc on Brutes now on Live Marketplace

The Halo 3 video documentary Bungie promised us this week arrived on Xbox Live Marketplace at 2am PST running approximately 7 minutes in length. The video showcased work-in-progress and the basic production process behind the Brutes in Halo 3. From this video it is obvious that the Brutes will play a strong, aggressive, and more realistic role in the third installment. The video basically goes over the concept artist discovering an appropriate look for the Brutes and the animators working towards movements that portray appropriate Brute behavior. At the moment the video is only available on the Xbox Live Marketplace but Bungie claims that a non-marketplace version will be coming shortly so hold onto you pants.

Update: The documentary can be viewed online here.

Halo 3 Campaign footage this week

The recent weekly update on Bungie.net indicates that there is yet another treat for Halo 3 fans coming this season. Sometime this week, no actual date mentioned, there will be documentary footage on Halo 3's campaign mode released on Xbox Live on 720p resolution. The video will also be released online so non-Xbox users will not be singled out. Frankie, who made the update also confirmed a rumor surfacing around that Brutes will be playable in Halo 3, this rumor has been confirmed as false. Sigh...

[Source: Bungie via Joystiq]

Gears of War, 2 Million copies sold and still going

Who would have thought that in 6 weeks there would be 2 million or so players around the world fragging the daylights out of the Locust horde. Microsoft and Epic games today confirmed that since release 2 million copies of Gears of War have been sold, 1 million in North America alone. And no Gears of War is not another Halo game if that's what you think after living under a rock for a year. It's a third person shooter that takes you into an epic futuristic battle against an ugly, horrendous, and nightmarish race, the Locust, that you have to beat-the-daylights out of to save mankind. Sounds fun doesn't it? Hell yeeeah, it is!

How fun could it be? Very! Microsoft claims that it increased subscriptions to their Xbox Live service by over 50% since emergence day. Approximately a million users are online battling in 10 million online gameplay sessions. Can you spell FUN in any other way? I'm sure that the game itself is going to drive up sales of the Xbox 360 console this holiday season. What do you think, is Gears of War the next Halo killer?

Mass Effect X06 footage released, all in-game!

BioWare recently released some amazing gameplay footage of their upcoming sci-fi role-playing game Mass Effect for the Xbox 360. If you thought that Gears of War looked great, this will blow you away. This game has won Best RPG and Best Xbox 360 game at E3. The story pulls us into a very different futuristic universe. The legend is that every 50,000 years an ancient machine race invades the galaxy and they are at it again. You must above all odds defend this galaxy for the sake of humanity without remorse, without hesitation, and outside the limits of the law. Yes, great heartwarming story. But just look at those in-game graphics, they claim to be all generated in real-time. If that is true then this game will be momentous achievement for the Xbox 360. Still want a PS3?

Source: [ Digg ]

Why not get an Xbox 360, seriously?

I have been to all the launch events; Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3. I’ve seen what each has offered from day 1. I even gave the Xbox 360 a year to see what Microsoft would come up with. So I waited and now I’ve decided.

When I first saw the Xbox 360 I was definitely wowed by the graphics but I had faith Sony would show something better after their demonstrations at E3. I was not even considering Nintendo until the Wii-mote was unveiled. Going to the Nintendo Wii event, I discovered how much fun the Wii was, the graphics were shitty but the remote won my heart. Sadly I walked into the Playstation 3 launch expecting something really great and walked out very bored and disappointed. All I saw was an Xbox 360 wrapped in black with a label saying Playstation 3. It was the same damn thing, nothing superior in graphics. I’m sorry fan boys, you love Sony, but the launch titles sucked and the graphics were just okay after seeing what the Xbox 360 had at launch. If Sony really wanted to wow people they would have tried just a little harder at making a game with graphics showing the true potential of the PS3, instead they coupled the same GUI found on the PSP and threw out crappy first titles with boring gameplay. I think Sony has forgotten that great graphics only take you so far, it’s the games that matter most. If it feels like shit playing it, why bother with graphics. Oh and since you can already get the third party games for the PS3 on the Xbox 360, why cough out your money for the PS3 if it looks the same anyway. For the Blu-ray player, enforcing the Blu-ray format? Seriously HD-DVD and Blu-ray look the exact same, it doesn’t even matter! I’ve tested them both.

As for the Nintendo Wii, it’s great! But the selection of choices on it are still limited and I would like to see what more innovative and original games Nintendo throws out in the next year. Wii Sports isn’t enough for me to buy the console yet.

Now we come back to the Xbox 360; 1 year out with a strong established online community. A lot of great titles, more specifically Gears of War and the upcoming Too Human and Halo 3 games. If anything it’s the continuous blockbuster games Microsoft is dishing out each year that have won me over to the Xbox 360. These games look fantastic in graphics, but tend to be even greater in gameplay. They are just so damn fun to play, and they are only on the Xbox 360! And they make great use of cinematic elements. Yes I’m sure Sony will throw out some cool looking games with decent gameplay later, but it’s too late. I want to play great games now; I don’t want to wait anymore. If you're tired of waiting, get an Xbox 360, I know I am.

Update:
Here is a performance comparison of the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 - guess which one is better (source: IGN)

Thanks Kevin.

A first, Unreal 3 Engine used for Xbox Live Arcade game

The Unreal 3 Engine developed by Epic Games is a game development framework used in next-gen consoles as well as PC's running DirectX9. According to Unreal Technology, this powerful game engine is being used for Unreal Tournament 2007 and was used on the recently released and very popular Gears of War. Of course the engine can be licensed out. Which brings us back to Xbox Live Arcade. RoboBlitz (released today for 1200 MS points) is the first game on Xbox Live Arcade developed with the Unreal 3 engine. In it you are Blitz "a multi-talented robot who must activate an aging Space Cannon to save his world from a band of maladjusted space pirates." Now we all know how great Gears of War turned out, and UT3 is going to be no disappointment either, so this may be one arcade title worth checking out, simply to see how well such a successful game engine was put to use. If that's not enough to jump start your imagination, check-out the game details below:

• 19 levels of puzzle-solving and high intensity action set in seven distinct environments
• Free trial version consists of three engaging levels
• A new breed of game blending fast paced action, puzzle solving, and a playground of interactive physics
• Advanced physics simulation gives the player real freedom to solve problems in creative and unexpected ways
• Unique weapons including Fire-Cracker Rocket and Point-to-Point Tractor Beam
• Gamers may choose their difficulty level for ease of use and high reparability
• Two different levels of difficulty (Normal and Master Technician)
• Master Technician mode allows players to unlock new achievements and bonus content
• Expect premium downloadable content for this title in the future – providing new game play elements and unique challenges for RoboBlitz fans

Market Analyst: Amazon's Xbox 360 Deal Topped Next-Gen Launch Interest

Just a little while ago, Amazon asked their customers to vote on which deal they would offer on Thanksgiving Day. The people spoke, and it was 1,000 Xbox 360 Core units for the low, low price of $100. Not only did Amazon sell out of the 1,000 Core units, they sold out, apparently, in 60 seconds.

Market analyst Complete tells us in their blog that Amazon may have helped spike interest in Microsoft's year-old console:

On a pure traffic volume basis, the 360 generated more online interest on the 23rd, than either the Playstation 3 or Wii commanded on their respective launch days, making one thing clear — the Amazon promotion was the Xbox 360’s Launch 2.0.

It turns out Microsoft has still got a few tricks up its sleeve despite all the hoopla about PlayStation 3 and Wii. Might we see some more of this before the end of the year?

Full charts from Complete can be seen here.

Halo 3 HD Trailer Now Online, Chief Looks Amazing

You want Master Chief, you want Halo 3? You got it! The 2nd trailer for Halo 3 just went online moments ago, above is a YouTube version, but you can view the HD version at GameTrailers.com. I had to watch the beginning a few times to realize the two kids were not made in CG, no biggie. I loved every millisecond of it from when Master Chief grabs his helmet and snaps it on. Of course we still don't see his face. What I really loved was how he smacked that shield gernade or what ever it is officially called, into the ground and then ran over the cliff into Covenant forces.

Give it a look and be awed beyond belief, and you thought the Wii had some awesome moves.

By the way, the animation and effects are beyond amazing!

Update:
The CG was done by Digital Domain, a hollywood FX house. Microsoft's Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends' CG work was also partially outsourced to Blur Studios.

Instead of buying a PS3...

If you're thinking of getting one of your kids a PS3 for the holiday season maybe you should think of presenting them with a few other options that will run about the same price.

Things you could do instead of buying a PS3:
- Fly to London (and get a cheap hotel room)
- Pay your rent for a month
- Buy 300 big macs
- Buy 4 Nintendo DS lite's
- Buy 3000 bandages
- Order 60 Large cheese pizza's
- Buy 250 gallons of gas
- Get a laptop
- Get some books from the library and return them really, REALLY late
- Buy 4 Ipod Nanos
- Buy a 1988 Mazda 323
- Pick up 3 flat panel monitors
- Buy 15 shares of Sony Corp (judging from PS3 sales I would NOT recommend this)
- Take a skydiving course and do 4 jumps
- Hire a personal trainer and have 17 sessions at the gym
- Pay for two months worth of groceries
- Buy 30 years worth of toothpaste
- Buy 210.8 gallons of soda
- Pick up 225 pounds of tuna (canned)
- Buy a 360 AND a Wii (and a couple of games)

Or...you could do the right thing:

Provide food, shelter, and clothing for two children for AN ENTIRE YEAR and still have $150 left over for something nice for yourself.

In North America alone, about 200 000 PS3's have been sold. That's 400 000 children fed, clothed and sheltered for an entire year. Maybe we should all take a break from video games and put our money to some real use this holiday season.

360 to benefit from console shortages?

You can't help but wonder how long before people become totally fed up with waiting to get their hands on PS3's and Wii's and opt for picking up a 360. Sometimes companies ship fewer systems in order to increase hype around the release, however, I'd question the intelligence behind the decision (especially by Sony) to ship so few. It seems Microsoft may have been prepared for this and are quite happy with the console shortage in North America. Recently Microsoft executives let it be known that they intend to try and have 10 million Xbox 360s sold wordwide by the end of the holiday season.

As if losing potential sales isn't bad enough, if quantities remain low, it is most likely that potential PS3'ers will pick up a 360 this holiday season (simply because they target the same audience). This is even worse news for Sony, as Microsoft's Xbox HD-DVD add on for $200 is definitely a much easier alternative to purchasing a bluray player- especially for those who have already picked up an Xbox for the holidays.

Though this sounds like bad news for Sony, Nintendo caters to a different audience, and from the looks of their sales, they seem to have everything under control (outselling the PS3 2-1). It remains to be seen however how both Sony and Nintendo put up with the upcoming holiday demand. If you want to make sure you get your hands on a console this holiday season, the 360 will definitely be your best bet - which may have been Microsoft's strategy all along.

Upcoming games on the PS3 will KICK ASS!...right?

A lot of people have been complaining about the titles that were released with the launch of the PS3. A few died hard Sony fans however have stood firm, arguing that in a few months, the company will release much better content. I began wondering if these predictions held any merit, and what possible difficulties game companies may be having with releasing content designed for the PS3. After doing a bit of digging, I ran into a great article on hardcoreware.net that talked about game development from a developers perspective. To put it plainly, development for the PS3 is a pain. For starters, developers can use Visual Studio and other popular tools (that have an enormous amount of existing documentation) to create content for the 360. The PS3 however requires the use of a proprietary compiler that is buggy and has little documentation. Needless to say, this slows the process to a crawl. Furthermore, the 360 architecture is much easier to understand (general purpose CPUs) as opposed to the
specialized processors used in the PS3.

So for all you die hard Sony fans, before you shell out $500 for a PS3, there's a few things you should consider. Many of the games for the PS3 will be ports of the xbox versions, and since there is already a large customer base of 360 users, their primary focus may be on xbox customers in the near future (especially since the adoption rate of the console is yet to be determined). It's also important to understand that developers are currently having a hard time creating games using the existing tools, and should they see a lull in sales, they may not see the PS3 as a product that is worth shifting their primary focus towards.

Halo 3 is HERE, with 1600 Xbox Live Points

This is the holiest of all that is holy, the holy grail for the Xbox 360 gamer. This is Halo 3, the most anticipated, most long-awaited, most "OMG I'm gonna dump my girlfriend to play this" game ever brought into existence. Well at least for a plenty some.

Don't get your pants wet and soggy just yet, the game isn't out and the wait is still going to be long and extremely painful. Until then just sink yourself into the recently released Gears of War.

If you really REALLY want this game, so bad that you would skip your high school prom or your own wedding to get it then consider pre-ordering it at Best Buy. Yes Best Buy the nicer and friendlier version of Future Shop. They are holding a special offer to pre-order Halo 3 simply because they know how bad you want it. Even though you won't get to touch the game for a year you can feel at ease knowing your copy is secure.

Yes I know it sounds stupid and beyond all reason, insane! But the real incentive is that you get to buy a card loaded with 1600 Xbox Live points for only $4.99 if you pre-order right now. It's a great deal and it may even pay off later if you hold onto those points. I'm sure there will be Halo 3 goodies that those points could be used towards.

Go pre-order now! Have 60 bucks ready...

Found via Xbox 360 Fanboy

Is Sony mired by their own inventiveness?

Do you remember the Betamax format? It's okay if you're not familiar with it; I wasn't even born when Sony released this videocassette format back in 1975. Technically superior to the VHS, Beta just never caught on, and that's why VHS became the choice medium for videotaping your most embarrassing childhood memories, and subsequently, playing them back in front of your present-day boy/girlfriend.

How about the MiniDisc? Another Sony-pioneered format launched in 1992 with ambitions to take over the portable music player market. That didn't happen either. Portable CD players won that game, and the introduction of the MP3 player made the MD a thing of the past--now only used by reporters trying to catch the next big soundbite.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell that Sony has trouble with winning format wars.

An article in the UK's Independent caught my attention. Heading into the holiday season, Sony is really pushing to get their new PlayStation 3 under as many trees as possible. But once again, Sony is being held back by the technology they've developed. The Independent reports that the Blu-ray is in part, responsible for the PS3 shortages, citing problems with the Blu-ray laser diodes as restricting production of the scarce black boxes.

Microsoft has recently released an HD DVD player add-on for their Xbox 360 console. The bigwigs at MS are also insisting that HD DVD-games are not in the works--a good thing for Xbox 360 owners who don't see the need to tack on a superfluous HD DVD player to their console. What this also means is that Microsoft isn't throwing the 360 headfirst into this format war--this may be a good decision.

This brings up another question. Are we ready for Blu-ray, or even HD DVD for that matter? Blu-ray boasts its higher data capacity, but HD DVD players are ostensibly cheaper than Blu-ray players. But we might be getting ahead of ourselves--I know I still haven't chucked my DVD player out yet.

The High-Definition medium format war has yet to play out, but will HD DVD's victory mark the downfall of the Blu-ray format, and subsequently, the Blu-ray-equipped PS3? Conversely, will Blu-ray, championed by the PlayStation 3, lead Sony out of the format war-doghouse and into millions, or perhaps billions of homes worldwide? Only time will tell.

What we do know now is that Blu-ray technology is holding Sony back from bursting out of the gates in this generation of the Console Wars. And that can't be good news.

"Gears of War" sold 1 million copies in two weeks

When I first layed eyes on Gears of War at X'06 Canada I nearly pissed my pants. The game looked so incredible in detail on the Xbox 360 and the gameplay was very impressive. I tend to play very few first-person shooters, Halo 2 being the last one I was very hooked on. Gears of War is one title in a long while that I think has a lot to offer to the player in a very fresh way that would bring back the "Halo" experience and ease the wait time for Halo 3.

This game is doing so well that Microsoft has reported 1 million units being sold in it's first 2 weeks since release. According to a press release, this game is "the fastest-selling title of 2006 and fastest-selling original Xbox game of all time. " That's incredible! But that's not it,

On top of being the #1 title on Xbox Live, "Gears of War" has also driven new members to the network, as paid registrations per day have skyrocketed more than 50 per cent since the game's launch.

All this has happened as the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii came out which shows that support for the Xbox 360 is holding strong.

Gears of War has received an overall score of 95% from various publications, damn I have to buy am Xbox 360 and get me this game.

"Small Arms" Hits Xbox Live for 800 points

This Wednesday Nov 22nd at 1 am PST you can download Small Arms developed by Gastronaut Studios from the Xbox Live Arcade. From the screen shot above (courtesy of Gamespot) this game looks like a free-for-all smashing battle that can be played with up to 4 players. Here's a press release tid-but,

"In Small Arms, up to four players can join in the battles across many dynamic and richly detailed levels. Gamers can choose from a cast of outrageous fighters like the cyborg tabby cat, assassin truffle pig and mutant chimney sweep. While jumping from platform to platform shooting with 360° aim, gamers of all skill levels will be able to pick up and play this innovative side-scrolling action title."

A list of game features:

• 12 characters, each with their own weapon
• 8 unique levels
• 12 Achievements, including the innovative “Six Degrees of Small Arms” viral achievement
• Up to 4-player multiplayer offline and on Xbox Live
• Local Multiplayer / Xbox Live Swap – allows players to swap out a local friend with a friend over Live without leaving the game!
• Three single player game modes (Story, Challenge, and Shooting Range)
• Colorful 3D graphics with classic side-scrolling run and gun action
• Expect premium downloadable content for this title in the future – providing new game play elements and unique challenges for Small Arms fans

Download Small Arms beginning Wednesday, November 22, at 1 a.m. PST on Xbox Live Arcade

Read Gamespot preview | More Screen-shots here