June 30, 2008Multiple Ads Reflect 20GB Price Drop
Posted by The Ori
From kotaku.com:
Another retailer has shown that Microsoft is planning to drop the price of the Xbox 360 20GB model — formerly known as the “Pro” — to $299, as a Best Buy employee has forwarded us (obligatorily blurry) cell phone pics of an upcoming weekly ad.
From mcvuk.com:
The Xbox 360 has become the cheapest home console on the Australian market after Microsoft slashed the price of the entry level Arcade model from [AUD] $399 (£191) to $349 (£167).
The mid-range 360 console, with a 20GB hard drive, now sells for $499 (£239). Before the cuts it was $579 (£277). The high-end black Xbox 360 Elite, which adds a 120GB hard drive, HDMI cables and a free 30-day Xbox Live Gold membership, was slashed from $729 (£349) to $649 (£310).
More fuel for the Xbox 360 price cut fire as Joystiq has gotten its greasy little hands on what appears to be a full-page version of the Kmart Xbox 360 price cut ad discovered yesterday. Again we see an Xbox 360 Pro console offered for the “new low price” of $299. One interesting new wrinkle, Joystiq’s tipster says that the ad is for the week of July 13, not July 6.
From joystiq.com:
The beans may already have been spilled by Kmart, but now another store has briefly emerged from retail obsolescence to spread the legend of the $50 Xbox 360 price cut. A Radio Shack employee recently mailed us the evidence, some scans of what they claim is an upcoming ad set to take effect on July 13 (same as the Kmart ad).
From arstechnica.com:
A leaked scan of an upcoming K-mart ad that shows the 20GB 360 Pro model selling for $299.99 has led many to believe that the system will see a price drop at E3. I have since received an e-mail with a copy of a communication from a usually trustworthy source that claims that the price drop is not only pending, but a 60GB Xbox 360 is coming as well.
“At E3 Microsoft will make an official announcement that we are dropping the 20GB pro console to $299… As we launch the 60GB SKU throughout July, the 20GB SKU will DISCONTINUE. You will see the new SKU on your 7/1 price list,” the communication reads.
June 26, 2008DRM Transfer Tool Launches!
Posted by The Ori
From the Xbox PR Blog:
We have all eagerly been awaiting the DRM tool that will allow you to transfer licenses from one console to another and guess what? Today, it has finally arrived!
I’m posting some of the key information that you need to know regarding this tool. To find out more, please go to http://www.xbox.com/drm
Key Points:
* The DRM tool allows you to transfer licenses from one console to another. For instance, if you bought a console a year ago and downloaded a bunch of content but then bought a new console this year and downloaded more content, you couldn’t play all of the content on both 360s without being signed into LIVE. With this tool, you can consolidate all of the downloaded content licenses to your preferred console. This way, you don’t have to be signed into LIVE to play.
* The process takes less than a minute. There is no content being transferred, only licenses.
* This process will work on any console so if you had to trade an Xbox 360 at a local retailer, you can still use the tool to migrate your information. However, you can only do this once every year (365 Days). If you send the console to Microsoft to be repaired, they will automatically update all of your licenses. For more information on console repair, visit: http://www.xbox.com/support.
* If you bought a larger hard drive and are re-downloading your licensed content for the same console, then you should not need the DRM tool. However, if you used the Migration cable to transfer your content from an older console to a newer one, you will need to use the tool to update the licenses. Again, you can only do this once a year.
* You will still be able to play all of the games you own on all of your consoles as long as you’re signed-in to LIVE. The console you transferred your licenses to will be the one that you can use without having to be signed-in.
* The tool will work with all content except movies. Movies are not “download-to-own” so the licenses are not transferrable.
I hope this helped answer some of those questions you had about the tool.
Again, to find out more about it, check the xbox.com page at http://www.xbox.com/drm.
June 24, 2008Mr. Modchips Official Court Ruling Released
Posted by The Ori
The court ruling for the Mr Modchips victory in the UK high court has been officially released to the public.
Points of note are:
“The prosecution contended that Mr Higgs was providing devices which enabled the circumvention of ETMs. But it is very important to understand the factual basis of the contention. It was not that the use of a modified console to play a game from an infringing CD-ROM itself involved any infringement of copyright. No attempt was made to prove that when such a CD-ROM is placed in a console, the console reads into its memory (particularly its random access memory, its “RAM”) the program and copyright material included with it such as images and sound.”
In the end, therefore, one comes back to the UK Act. Is it enough if the technological measure is a discouragement or general commercial hindrance to copyright infringement or must it be a measure which physically prevents it? To our minds the position is clear – it is the latter. Neither the Directive nor the Act would have been drafted in the way that they are if such a general form of hindrance was enough.
It is for those reasons we quashed the convictions. Mr Higgs is a fortunate man in that it may well be that if the legislation had been less complex and/or the Crown had had greater opportunity to consider the details of copyright law the case would have been proved on the basis that merely playing a pirated game involves making a copy in the console and thus involves infringement. He may also be fortunate that, at least this far, he has not been sued in the civil courts. There the procedure is apt to be much faster, technical slip-ups in evidence can generally be readily cured before final judgment and the remedies of damages, an account of profits, injunction and legal costs are readily obtainable. Breach of an injunction, if serious, can of course itself lead to imprisonment.
We were asked to certify that this case involves a question of law of general public importance. We are willing so to do. The question (agreed by Counsel) which we certify is: Do the provisions of section 296ZF of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 in relation to “effective technological measures” apply to devices incorporated into computer games consoles and computer games which do not prevent counterfeit copies being made of such games but which do prevent the counterfeit copies from being played on games consoles?
Full Court Ruling: bailii.org
June 23, 2008A “PC” Style Case For The XB360 Mainboard
Posted by The Ori
The Details:
XB01 was first shown at the 2008 CES show in USA, and this concept got a lot of feedback and user suggestions. At the 2008 Computex in Taipei, the final vision of the PC-XB01 Xbox 360 modding case was ready for shipping.
Lian Li wants to make the 360 even better! So, their designers made this case around the Xbox360′s main board (of course), and created the XB01 case, for those who want an Xbox 360 with better cooling performance and that works silently.
Not only does it work silently and with better cooling, it is all aluminum, in metallic finishing.
Rounded edge, in brushed aluminum with anodized finishing, it can be place up-right or flat-down on the table top. The high quality finishing will fit in most user’s living environments.
XB01 will help Xbox 360 to have better cooling performance, and running silently. User don’t need to worry about overheating problems anymore.
Some Features:
* There is a 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the XB01 to replace the original two 70mm cooling fans. The 120mm fan can move the heat faster at lower speed, and with less noise.
* XB01 has a 12cm fan, with high airflow but it only needs to run at 1500RPM to cool down the Xbox 360 effectively.
* The Xbox 360 DVD-drive has been relocated to the side, allowing maximum opening for the graphics chipset heatsink and it will also allow users to change the heatsink.
* There are sound insulation foam sheets around the DVD drive to reduce the noise.
* Huge aluminum airduct that covers the Xbox 360 heatsinks, the cold air will pass through the cooler to remove the heat.
* There are water tube openings at the rear of the case, allowing users to upgrade their Xbox 360 to liquid cooling solutions.
* The XB01 includes two fan converters for the different versions of the Xbox 360.
* There are aluminum flippers to cover and protect the front connectors.
See more at: http://lian-li.com.tw
June 19, 2008AMD Graphics Chip More Powerful Than Every Game Console Combined
Posted by The Ori
AMD has invested heavily into hyperbole research, proudly proclaiming that its new graphics chip, the RV770, is “more powerful than every generation of video game console ever brought to market combined.” The RV770, demoed Monday, is capable of processing one trillion floating operations per second on a single chip, a feat that AMD says “punches a sizeable hole in the sensory barrier.”
If the specs and information on this chip are correct? The next gaming console will have graphics that will look like you just transitioned from a Dreamcast console to the Xbox 360… It is a very powerful chip, with close to real looking graphics. We all await the details!
June 16, 2008Microsoft Will Announce The 60GB Xbox360 at E3
Posted by The Ori
The title basically says it all, but the blurb is: Microsoft has decided that it will announce the long overdue upgrade at E3 next month (the event runs from 15 – 17 July), with a release date scheduled for August…
June 13, 2008Video game Avangelist Jack Thompson; DISBARED!
Posted by The Ori
Jack Thompson, the US attorney and frequent critic of video games, has been disbarred from practicing law for a minimum of ten years! It’s about time! Hypocrite; He is against inappropriate and violent conduct in video games, but apparently it’s he believes it’s ok in the court-room?
The transcript of the hearing, where the Florida Bar recommended the disbarring for professional misconduct, has now been released and is available here from GamePolitics.
The disciplinary hearing, held last week, saw Thompson behave erratically and finally walk out after being refused the chance to read a prepared objection. It followed Thompson being accused of 27 violations of misconduct and a series of increasingly bizarre allegations from the US attorney against the game industry. There is hope for Thompson yet, with the final report of the hearing being made to the Florida Supreme Court on September 3rd.
One of Thompson’s more bizarre recent rants saw him write to the mother of Take Two’s chairman, accusing him of “unleashing porn and violence.”
June 11, 2008MrModchips Wins Appeal in 1M GBP UK Modchip Case
Posted by The Ori
In a landmark historic occasion today 11 June 2008 at the court of appeal criminal division the legal argument that modchips do not circumvent copyright protection was upheld by Judge Justice Jacobs.
The granting of this appeal based on the argument that the copyright infringement has already taken place before the use of a modchip has resulted in the squashing of all 26 counts against MrModchips
The defendant MrModchips was awarded full costs as a result of his successful appeal and offered his most sincerest thanks to his legal team and his many well wishers who had supported his fight for justice in the face of what are now no more than corporate public bullies.
The normally very vocal Michael Rawlinson from ELSPA was strangely unavailable for comment today.
Mr Rawlinson was originally quoted as saying: “It marks a milestone in the fight against piracy.”
What it does now is mark a milestone in the fight against overzealous independent agencies who have their strings pulled by corporations as opposed to the genuine concerns of the electorate.
What will these mean for modchips in the UK ?????? Truly a disaster for the likes of ELSPA and Trading Standards.
June 9, 2008More Blu-Ray Rumors and shot down…
Posted by The Ori
First there was a rumor that M$ was going to announce a BR-D to one up Apple WWDC:
Microsoft’s on-again, off-again relationship with an Xbox 360 Blu-Ray drive looks set to be on again this Monday. As you all know by now, Monday marks the beginning of Apple’s annual WWDC, and a little bird told us something is going to be announced by Steve Jobs there during his keynote. Microsoft doesn’t care; a tipster told CrunchGear it’s going to “upstage” Jobs, Apple and the entire known tech-using world by announcing an Xbox 360 with Blu-Ray drive one hour before [9am PDT] the beginning of the conference.
Then there was a comment from Robbie Batch, and he said, NO Zune phone, and no BR-D for 360. This means that there will be no BR-D for the current platform, and who knows about the next one. I would just advise everyone to stay in “see it to believe it” mode, so you’re all not disappointed when no BR-D comes out for XB360. The 360 is a game console, so they may as well just leave it at that.