Xbox 360 Hacks - News, Hacks, Cracks, Mods.

On Tuesday April 1st from 0200-0500 PT Xbox Live will be offline for maintenance. As a result, the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won’t be able to post.) The remainder of Xbox.com will be available.  Find out what time the maintenance will begin in your time zone

This is for maintenance, there are no new features on your that will appear on your Xbox 360 console or Xbox.com when the service comes back online. This is server maintenance only.

You have the External HD-DVD unit? Well, read this:

I went to Best Buy Today to see what they had in stock. They’ve been offering 30% off all HD-DVD software; that includes movies. I go to the “Next Generation” section to find nothing but Blu-Ray movie discs. So, I think to myself, hmm, they must have them on clearance somewhere. So, I ask the salesman; “Where are your HD-DVD Movies?” He replies; “They’re right here. They’re being shipped back to the studios, so this is your last day to purchase any HD-DVD software, or Hardware, it’s all going back.”

He continued to explain the 50.00 gift card refund program, and they (Best Buy) need all the funds they can get to FUND the gift card program. So, they’re basically selling all HD-DVD related items back to their supplier.

If I would have known that I can’t even buy left over stock, I would have taken the HD-DVD player back within the 30-day period, because the announcement was made three weeks after I bought a Set-Top player. The salesperson told me at that time, that I should bring it back. So, anyone who bought the 360s’ external unit for 49.99, and had no movies to begin with, is going to be a little upset about that.

So, where to purchase HD-DVDs? Ebay, Half, and wherever else. This is a big disappointment. Maybe someday, HD-DVDs will be like gold, hard to find, and expensive to buy; since it will be scarce. I hope not, I still have my 5-free HD movie rebate out there!

It’s not that simple: it’s not even a question of which is the better console as it certainly looks like the Xbox 360 version will be the superior buy. It’s because a large proportion of GTA’s fans aren’t traditional gamers. They’re casual gamers who couldn’t resist the style, flair and gameplay offered by Rockstar, and added a GTA to their library of Need for Speed, SingStar and FIFA.  So as it is, millions of GTA fans are not up to speed on the console war thing. They don’t care which format has the best games, offers the superior online service, or has the more proficient hardware. They see GTA, and they think PlayStation.  All the GTA series were original Sony platform releases, till now.

A line of dialogue was said; and that must scare Microsoft to death. It came from the mouth of a twenty something year old electrician as he installed a car stereo for a mate. He said “I bought my PS3 to play GTA IV”.   (Well, so what; I bought my PS3 for the Ace Combat series, and that backfired on me, Konami didn’t make any for PS3.)

That wasn’t the comment of a fanboy, or an educated decision by a gaming enthusiast who had weighed up all the pros and cons of the two systems: it was simply all he knew. There was a GTA coming out, so he went and bought a PlayStation. Microsoft is desperate to change that mentality, but what started as a broad plan has seemingly deteriorated into panic.

Great News! 

Best Buy today said that it will be sending out $50 gift cards to more than 200,000 of its U.S. customers who purchased HD DVD players and Xbox 360 HD DVD units before February 23 of this year.

In case you are wondering why Saturday, February 23 is the cut-off date: It is the end of the week, in which Toshiba announced to cancel HD DVD (February 19).

I was one of the lucky ones (if you call it that) to buy a Toshiba HDA30 in January of  this year, so I should be getting one of these cards!   If you bought the 360 external unit at 49.99, and you do happen to get one?  You got a free player!

8bitjoystick.com Writes:

The internal distribution of reports in the xbox unit has been severely restricted since postings started in Feb. There have also been emails from top management about “serious” concerns regarding leaks. So information has become a little harder to come by, but not impossible. Supply constraints are due to supply chain issues regarding the quality of ODDs (optical disc drive) and GPUs (graphics chips). It didn’t help that no one in China works for 2 weeks during CNY (Chinese New Year).  The original Xbox also had GPU issues with nVidia, they were production problems as well.  

It has been confirmed 100% that the XB360 is moving to a 60g HDD standard. Those configurations are in design verification testing right now.  It is said that this changeover also contributed to the lack of units. When M$ changes major sub-assemblies like this, they try not to over produce the old configurations.

As usual, this is a case of poor planning, supply chain, and quality issues restricting production.  Not demand out stripping capacity (supply).

DISCUSS IN FORUM

Comments here will remain closed due to the issues with spam, and hate posts.

Bbox’s quest to become the console of choice for families will be given a huge boost by becoming the first system to offer a library of 1,000 games this summer.

That’s according to Xbox VP for Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Europe Chris Lewis (of course), who this week told MCV that Xbox Live will be a key weapon in tempting mainstream consumers away from PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii in the coming months.
“We’ll have north of 1,000 games on 360 by the summer, across Live and boxed product,” VP of Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Europe Chris Lewis told MCV.
“Titles such as our sports games, Scene It! and Guitar Hero – which has become a preferential experience on Xbox 360 – has already proved that, and we have lot more coming in that space this year.

It is misleading until you read it’s marketplace AND store bought games…

FORUM DISCUSSION HERE

Sony did say they were talking with Microsoft to bring Blu-ray to the Xbox360, followed by Microsoft denying their plans to introduce a Blu-ray player for the 360. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer admitted that the company is working on ways to support Blu-ray, but he didn’t specify the 360 just yet.

Ballmer Said; “We’ve already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on;” said Ballmer at the Mix ’08 conference.

“Toshiba has moved on. We’ve moved on, and we’ll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense,” he said.

FORUM DISCUSSION

An external BR-D player?  That’s the only way to make it available to everyone and be fair about it.  I would also go as far to say that an XB360 with an internal BR-D player will not happen.

So, it is an overall good thing that the XB360 did not have built in HD-DVD drives, why? Because after about a year (Toshiba’s estimate to stop overall HD-DVD support)  the parts would eventually become scarce, because they will not longer be in production.

The Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator is now available as a free download on Xbox Live Marketplace when you request a token at here (Email request)

Why is it free now? This decision was made in light of Toshiba’s recent announcement that they are discontinuing their HD DVD business. The reasons for offering the emulator for free are two-fold.

Microsoft is committed to interactivity and giving content authors the ability to create more compelling entertainment experiences. The specification for HDi was developed with significant input from studios like Warner Bros. and Disney based on scenarios they desired in the next generation format. Offering the emulator for free allows a greater audience to experiment with interactivity with little to no cost.
Second, the emulator beta program had approximately 80 participants across the industry who relied on the emulator for testing HDi content. Continued access to the emulator will assist those post houses and developers in completing their outstanding HD DVD projects.

What can I do with this? The Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator allows you to run complete HD DVD projects – video, audio, and advanced interactivity – on your Xbox 360 from an external USB drive or networked PC. If you’re interested in learning more about HDi and how to create your first HDi application, start in the April 2007 section of this blog and work your way forward.
If you’re interested in a tool for muxing video to test on the emulator, be sure to check out NetBlender’s DoStudio MX. They also have a demo project that you can run on the emulator.

Note that you do not need to have video in your project, though. Your playlist may contain titles without PrimaryAudioVideoClip(s). Once you have your project looking just the way you want, you can burn it to a DVD-9 and share it. More info on burning DVD-9s can be found here. FYI, I use a Pioneer DVD burner, Gear Pro Professional software, and Verbatim discs.

The guys over at thinkgeek.com received the Halo3 Laser Command toys from Jasman Toys: 

They are the most unbelievable toys you’ll ever have the pleasure to hold. Each one feels like you plucked them straight out of Halo 3. Words cannot convey how awesome it is to hold your own Plasma Pistol or Plasma Rifle, with all its lights and sounds, palpable recoil, and overheating sounds and action (parts literally pop out). Clip the target/shield generator (one included with each weapon) to your belt and just like in the game, if you stay safe, your shields will regenerate. Because remember, these weapons just aren’t pretty – they are functional, too, for the most awesome laser tag-esque battle you could ever hope for. Prepare yourself for the ultimate Halo 3 experience with your very own Plasma Pistol and Plasma Rifle. Master Chief would be jealous.

* Plasma Rifle ($130)
o Features: Laser tag battle action; game accurate lights and sounds; overheat function with pop out panel; rapid fire shooting; LCD ammo counter; force feedback recoil with each shot fired; separate target/shield generator unit with belt clip
o Batteries Rifle: 4 C (included); Target/Shield Generator: 3 AA (not included)
o Dimensions: approx. 21″ x 12″ x 5″

More Info/Buy Now: ThinkGeek.com

FORUM DISCUSSION