Survey says Xbox 360 failure rate falls to 10 percent
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Xbox 360,
Improvements to the Xbox 360 have apparently cut down on the number of "red ring of death" reports, but the console still requires more repairs than its competitors, according to data from PCMag's Readers' Choice Awards.
Approximately 10 percent of those polled for the survey reported having to take their Xbox 360 in for repairs over the last year, which was twice the rate of its competitors. However, that was a significant improvement over last year, when that number was 23 percent.
Many Xbox users are familiar with the console's "red ring of death," which replaced the glowing green center on the device's power button when the Xbox was on its last legs. Last year, former PCMag Editor Lance Ulanoff experienced the phenomenon after his son completed a Red Dead Redemption marathon on his Xbox 360. Though some Twitter users helpfully suggested that placing it in the freezer for a few minutes would solve the problem (really), he opted to send it in for repairs.
Last year, Microsoft unveiled a "slim" version of its Xbox 360 console at E3, which featured a redesigned case with a bit more ventilation than the original console. It included built-in 802.11n networking and a 250GB hard drive for $299.
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Xbox Live will store your profile and game saves to the cloud this fall
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Microsoft didn't have enough time to cover everything that's coming down the pike for Xbox Live with the fall dashboard update, but they sent us an email detailing some of the new hotness that they didn't talk about on stage, and we're super excited to hear that profiles will be able to be saved to the cloud. What does that mean for the average Joe? Well, this means that instead of saving your games to your hard drive or USB stick, you can instead save them to the web. Same goes for your Xbox Live profile, along with achievements, friend list, etc. One thing I've always hated about having two Xbox 360 units in the home is that I need to remember to grab my USB stick and bring it upstairs and down if I want to log into Live. Now, I just enter a username and password on any Xbox 360, from any location, and I am logged in. The days of recovering a Gamertag will be history come this fall!
Gallery: Xbox Live will store your profile and game saves to the cloud this fall
YouTube coming to Xbox Live
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: E3, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
This morning at its E3 2011 Xbox Media Briefing, Microsoft announced that YouTube will be coming to Xbox Live this fall. They didn't go into too much detail about it, but you'll obviously be able to search and view videos from the YouTube service, and we're gonna go out on a limb and guess that you'll also be able to upload gameplay videos taken with Kinect directly to the service as well. Even without that last part though, adding YouTube is just another step Microsoft is taking in their hopes of making the Xbox 360 the ultimate living room hub.
Gallery: YouTube coming to Xbox Live
The 5 Most Memorable Video Game Experiences
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Action, Adventure, Bungie, Culture, Editorial, Features, Fighting, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Nintendo, Xbox,
Once in awhile there comes along an experience that shapes the way that we look at things. A video game experience that makes something in your brain tingle. A game where simply a mere melody from its title screen sends nostalgia crawling up your spine. There are a few video games with these kinds of experience that stick out in our minds; not just for being great games, but for their “wow” factors. Sometimes these experiences are shaped by our personal interpretations; i.e. revolving around what was going on in our lives at the time. Therefore, you may have a different top five list, but we can all agree that the following five games helped to shape the way video games are made even to this day.
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Xbox 360 S 250GB Hard Drive available for $129.99
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Accessories, Hardware, Microsoft, Xbox 360,
If you’re like me and were really looking forward to purchasing the cheaper, less hard drive-y Xbox 360 S for $200, then you may want to think twice. While the price tag is very attractive, purchasing one with a hard drive from the get go will cost you $30 less than buying the low end model and then upgrading to hard drive space later. Having a lot of hard drive space is essential for those looking to purchase many of their games and movies through games on demand and the Zune marketplace. Things can get messy quickly when you have to think out of the box to fit all your favorite downloads onto your memory impaired console. But if your’re content with only having 4GB of internal memory, and constantly switching out flash drives, then by all means don’t pass up the $200 console. The 250GB hard drive is currently on the Gamestop website, and is popping up in Gamestop stores around the country.
Read More 
| Gamestop
Gallery: Xbox 360 S 250GB Hard Drive available for $129.99
Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Release Dates, Xbox 360,
Even with companies like Amazon, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart all listing Kinect at $150, Microsoft decided they’d wait it out on naming the price officially, for whatever reason. Today, however, they’ve announced that Kinect for Xbox 360 will launch on November 4th at $149.99, and it’ll come bundled with Kinect Adventures. Adventures is gonna be like their Wii Sports, a collection of minigames that are fun and highlight what Kinect can do.
For buyers who want to get Kinect with an Xbox 360 console, there will be a $300 bundle that will include one of the new Xbox 360 consoles (with 4GB built-in storage,) the Kinect sensor, and Kinect Adventures.
Aside from Kinect hardware pricing, Microsoft has also said that Kinect games will sell for $50 each, which is $10 less than the normal $60 price. However, Microsoft sold all their first-party Xbox 360 titles for $50 before, and quickly stopped that practice. Also, it’s a shame to see that Joy Ride will now sell for $50, when originally it was supposed to be free.
You can pre-order Kinect on Amazon.
Gallery: Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Xbox Live expands to nine new countries this fall
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox Live,
It’s hard to imagine that, with over 20 million members worldwide, that Xbox Live isn’t available in all Xbox 360 territories, but it’s true. However, we just got word that later this fall nine countries will be granted access to Microsoft’s online gaming community. Gamers in Brazil, Russia, Poland, Chile, Columbia, Greece, Hungary, South Africa, and Czech Republic will all be able to jump in. That potentially means there’ll be a lot of new people available to play against, and you just know that we’ll be seeing a marked increase in Zangief usage in Super Street Fighter IV. Better start prepping now.
Gallery: Xbox Live expands to nine new countries this fall
Xbox scores Call of Duty add-on exclusivity through 2012
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, E3, First Person Shooters, Xbox 360,
At their E3 2010 Media Briefing, Microsoft announced that they’d signed a deal with Activision that would give them a window of exclusivity over all Call of Duty downloadable add-on content through 2012. In other words, if you are a big Call of Duty fan, and you want access to the game add-ons as quickly as they become publicly available, you’ll want to be playing on the Xbox 360. If you are on PS3, you’ll likely need to wait a month or two before you can download the add-ons. Interestingly enough, they said this was an Xbox exclusive, and not an Xbox 360 exclusive. Of course, there is a high probability that Microsoft will have announced and launched a new Xbox before the end of 2012, and if that is the case, the agreement will carry over.
Gallery: Xbox scores Call of Duty add-on exclusivity through 2012
Original Xbox games lose Xbox Live access on April 15
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Check it out, Microsoft just announced that all games made for the original Xbox will no longer be able to access the Xbox Live service as of April 15, 2010, and we couldn’t be happier with the news. No, we don’t hate classics like Halo 2, but the thing is, those titles are many years old, and they’ve been holding back the full potential of Xbox Live for far too long. As an example, it’s no secret that we hate the Xbox Live friend limit, and the major reason it exists is because of Halo 2. With Halo 2, and all the rest of the original Xbox games, being denied access to Live, Microsoft will be able to stop worrying about those original Xbox restrictions - and that means, among other things, that we should finally see that friend limit jacked up, if not removed entirely.
It should be noted that, even if you downloaded original Xbox games on your Xbox 360 using Games on Demand, even those won’t work when you try to connect to Xbox Live. It’s just the nature of the beast, and it’s all in the name of progress.
Read More | Gamerscore Blog
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Pew Study Finds Most Teens Play Games
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: MMORPG, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox,
A recent study by Pew finds that 97% of American teens of the age 12 to 17 play computer, portable, console or online video games. When asked, half of them claimed they played yesterday and the ones who admitted to daily playing say they did so for at least an hour. Here are some of the other statistics:
- 86% of teens play on a console like the Xbox, PlayStation, or Wii.
- 73% play games on a desktop or a laptop computer.
- 60% use a portable gaming device like a Sony PlayStation Portable, a Nintendo DS, or a Game Boy.
- 48% use a cell phone or handheld organizer to play games.
- 80% of teens play five or more different game genres, and 40% play eight or more types.
- Girls play an average of 6 different game genres; boys average 8 different types.
We expect that if Pew queried adults, they would find at least the same statistics, or more for those who play MMORPGs like WOW. As for the good news, another study last September found that, for the most part, teens playing games resulted in positive social action.
Read More | Pew
Gallery: Pew Study Finds Most Teens Play Games
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