According to sources,Harmonix, the developer of Rock Band and Rock Band 2, are pushing back the release date for their special Rock Band 2 bundle pack! Originally set to be released on the 14th of September for the 360, Harmonix have pushed it back all the way to October 19th, the date that the bundle comes out on all platforms. Unfortunately this means a longer wait for all the 360 Rock Band 2 fans.
In the standard Xbox 360 Pack there has always been a 20 GB Hard Drive,but that will change. Microsoft has recently confirmed a rumor that has been going around since early March, Microsoft is scrapping the 20GB Hard Drive and replacing it with a 60 GB one. The new system will remain at the same price and will be launched this Friday. This is great news for fans and people looking to buy the 360, but the real question is that will it be appealing enough to attract more people? Only time will tell.
No one knows how this happened, but somehow the new Xbox Experience interface has been leaked on to the internet and is making its way to us in video format (see video below). One of the great interesting new features is the ability to install games onto your console's hard drive. As you can see in the video below, the person in it demos the new hard drive game installation process using GTA IV and as you can see, it took a while for him/her to install the game. The bad news about this is that you have to have the actual game disc to load the game. I know what you're thinking. What's the point in downloading the game when we have to have the actual game disc to load it?
David Gosen, Xbox Europe's VP of strategic marketing, says downloading games will be the dominant force in a few years, and will take over the sales in the retail market. They believe this is proved by the successes of Xbox Live Arcade and premium downloadable content for games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
Although we already knew that Microsoft Game Studios and Lionhead Studios announced that Fable 2 will arrive sometime in October, but they have revealed that the awaited title will hit the US store shelves on October 21. European gamers will be expecting to get this game days later on October 24. What's new about Fable 2 is the new combat system. The new combat system is designed to allow players to truly master their hand weapons. It will also allow players to master their ranged combat weapons and magic. For those of you who want to try this game out already, the Xbox LIVE Arcade title made exclusively for Fable 2 will land on August 13. Gamers who pre-order a copy of Fable 2 will be able to download the Fable 2 Pub Games for free, or it can be downloaded without pre-order on Xbox Live for 800 MS points. For more info on Fable 2, visit Lionhead Studios.
Major Nelson, Xbox Live Director of Programming, tells us there is going to be a new system update for the Xbox 360. He has released a statement saying, "Sometime over the next few hours when you sign in to Xbox LIVE you'll receive a prompt to accept this mandatory update." But, he adds, that this update does absolutely nothing other than prepare for future growth of the service, which is planned for the Fall.
As Microsoft figures out how they're going to implement their 360 Avatars into the Xbox 360 community this Fall, there's a steady trickle of news surrounding their decisions on the avatar. Yesterday, Xbox Live GM Eric Kilgore confirmed with DevelopMag that the 360 avatars will only be allowed to feature in an ESRB rated E10+ context (the ratings in the image above) which the Xbox 360 community sees as non-violent games or family friendly games. So I guess we won't be seeing these avatars in games like Gears of War or even in Halo. That's okay with me, but I don't know what you gamers out there might think of it. The Xbox 360 community thinks of the avatars being "E10+ material". However, Kilgore did say that this policy could change in the future if everything works out, but they're not sure yet because they're still trying to plan things out.
In case some of you guys were wondering how a selection of you received free MS points, I can gladly confirm that it's not an error. There has been rumors around the internet that some Xbox Live users have been receiving 500 MS points on their accounts unexpectedly. There has also been some confusion going on since there hasn't been an official word on this issue. Well, Microsoft seems to be handing out a gift of 500 MS points to various Xbox Live users. Apparently, if you gamers out there pre-ordered a copy of Grand theft Auto IV, you received a special offer, granting you 500 free MS points. But, it turns out that this offer had an expiry date and Xbox Live users were no longer able to redeem their points. However, it has been confirmed that some of the users that received points didn't pre-order GTA IV and have never played it before. Even more bizarre, there has been gamers complaining that there's been points deducted from their accounts for no reason, so something needs to be done about this. Microsoft has been doing unreasonable things lately. I guess we'll just have to wait for an official announcement from them.
I came across this while browsing VGChartz.com, this is a follow up on the Rumored Xbox 360 Price Cuts in September that was posted yesterday by NeoGen. The image above is from a retailer's computer data base showing that on the 7th of September Microsoft will be cutting the price of Xbox 360 to $199.99 for the Core, $299.99 for the 60GB model, and $399.99 for the 120GB Elite model. This picture seems very accurate, but we will have to be patient and wait until next month for official news by Microsoft.
According to an unknown source, above is an image of the Xbox 360 avatar creator that NeoGen posted about yesterday. This image has been circulating its way around the internet. Apparently, it was taken from the creator's interface and showcases the icons that will be used for customizing your avatar. This includes the ability to change clothing, skin color, hair style and even height and weight.
We can't promise that these images are real, or if they have been created in PhotoShop. What are your thoughts? It's certainly interesting to see what Microsoft will come up with to rival Home for the PS3.
In an interview with VentureBeat, Xbox Live chief John Schappert confirmed that Microsoft considers charging users for accessories to customize their avatar. When asked about these plans, Schappert replied that it may be in the future. He also said that they're thinking of launching these with great customization and a great library of accessories this fall. Microsoft might also charge for more "exotic" extras, which doesn't really surprise us. Another thing that wouldn't surprise us is if we see free accessories created to promote upcoming films, games and events.
I know what you all are thinking. A price cut again? That's what I said to myself too. It seems that this mole guy from Ars Technica lets us in on the industry's secret, but no one can tell us who he is due to a blinding contract. The latest piece o' dirt the mole found out is that the Xbox 360 is going to have its price reduction in September. He said that there is going to be a price reduction to the following Xbox 360 hardware's: the Elite, the Pro and the Arcade. The Elite will be $399, the Pro will be $299 and the Arcade will be $199. The mole was right when he said that the 60GB model of the hardware was having a price cut here and it was confirmed here, so this rumor may be true. We'll just wait and see.
