How much would you pay for a hand-made Xbox 360 wireless arcade joystick, with heavy-duty metal casings, rechargeable batteries and millimeter-for-millimeter Street Fighter II arcade cabinet control layout accuracy? If your response is “well, Chris, I’d pay $190″ then keep on reading; the rest of you, move on.
Video demo after the cut
Invitations to Microsoft’s Xbox Live Preview have begun to hit Xbox 360 owners, and rather than sit hunched over their consoles rubbing their hands and gloating about having access two weeks ahead of everyone else, some are sharing video of the new enhancements. Dave Zatz has shot a video demo focusing on one of the most eagerly anticipated changes, the 10-foot interface for Netflix Instant Viewing.
Video after the cut
A launch in the second half of 2010 for Microsoft’s Project Natal looks even more likely, as THQ CEO Brian Farrell inadvertently confirmed the launch schedule during his company’s recent earnings call. Asked about market changes in the upcoming cycle, Farrell told investors “With respect to the cycle itself, if you look at what’s happening in the industry, the fact that we have for example, Natal from Microsoft, a platform addition coming late next year.”
With Toshiba slipping out of their mourning clothes and readying a Blu-ray player, it seemed as good a time as any to check whether their erstwhile HD-DVD partner Microsoft had reconsidered their “no Blu-ray for Xbox 360!” attitude. Unfortunately, when TeamXBox asked them if such a peripheral might be in the works, the response was a definite no; according to Microsoft, instant downloads and streaming content are far preferable to a physical disc.
Full Microsoft Blu-ray statement after the cut
According to the latest rumors coming out of Taiwan, Aptina have won the contract to supply the CMOS image sensors for Microsoft’s upcoming Project Natal motion-control gaming system. The company will exclusively provide 1.3-megapixel CIS for Project Natal, which DigiTimes claims will begin shipping in the second half of 2010.
Logitech have announced their latest Guitar Hero peripheral, a wireless controller for the Xbox 360. Like the company’s existing guitar controller for PS2 and PS3, the new Xbox 360 version has a wood neck, rosewood fingerboard and metal frets.
Video demo after the cut
The Xbox 360 will be receiving some scheduled maintenance on June 16th. Xbox.com and Xbox Live will be shut down for a bit, but this will also make Netflix streaming to your Xbox 360 unusable for a period.
The maintenance period will start on June 16th at 12:01 a.m. and last until 11:59 p.m. PDT. Since you won’t be able to access Xbox LIVE or Xbox.com, the Netflix streaming function will be disabled as well.
Specifically, you won’t be able to log into your My Xbox section of the website. Plus, the Xbox forums will be locked for that period of time, meaning you can only read posts, not make new ones. This is merely a maintenance effort. No upgrades are expected.
Presented, seemingly, as almost an aside to their full E3 keynote, Microsoft’s last revelation might in fact make the biggest difference to Xbox 360 gamers. “Games on Demand” is launching in August, initially offering a range of 30 titles that can be bought with a credit card and downloaded directly to the console.
In addition to the Xbox LIVE updates, Microsoft also announced their much-rumored motion controller at E3. Named the Microsoft Xbox 360 Project Natal – pronounced “nuh-tall” – it combines an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor all in one compact bar, which can track gamers’ movements in 3D space as well as respond to verbal commands.
Update: Video after the cut
Microsoft have announced updates for the Xbox LIVE service, including 1080p high-definition downloads in the Video Marketplace, Facebook and Last.fm integration and even Twitter. Netflix has also received a usability boost, with full catalog browsing now possible instead of merely viewing your existing movie queue, and Movie Party - which allows you to collaboratively watch the same title, and chat either through IM or voice, with friends in different locations – is now confirmed.
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