Halo 3 News from Europe

The Bungie team is in Europe, doing some interviews for the press there. One bit of news was just announced.

Confirmed: 4 player co-op over Xbox LIVE or system link.

More details, including how it works, and which players you control (including two brand new characters) at "The Tru7h About Co-Op in Halo 3" at Bungie.net.

from Gamerscore Blog

Heroes: Season 1 seven-disc HD DVD set previewed at Comic-Con

The HD DVD Promotional Group is on the ground at Comic-Con, with the price drop of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on and accompanying 5 free disc promotional offer, with more details of content to expect this holiday season. The Heroes: Season 1 HD DVD boxed set will be available August 28, including HDi features exclusive to the high def release, like a web enabled download center, Heroes Abilities Test, picture-in-picture commentary and others. This is Universal's first release to take advantage of HD-DVD's online capabilities, but it won't be the last. The seven disc package has an SRP of $99.98, and as mentioned earlier, Xbox Live members will be able to download the pilot episode for free before its release.

from Engadget HD

MGS4 dated; might go multiplatform, says Konami President

When Konami and Kojima Studios held a party last week in honor of Metal Gear Solid's 20th anniversary, video game journalists spotted Xbox Japan General Manager Takahashi Sensui at the event. Fans immediately speculated that this could be a hint that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is heading to the Xbox 360.

If we are to believe the following insider scoop sent to gaming site Kotaku, then we just might see Solid Snake stealthily prowling outside PlayStation borders. Reportedly, Konami had an analyst meeting today to talk about the following:

• Metal Gear Solid 4's exact release date will be announced at the Tokyo Game Show.
• President Fumiaki Tanaka of Konami Digital Entertainment stated that release is likely Q4 March 2008.
• President Tanaka also stated, "As we are aware of the popularity and hardware-driving power of this software franchise, going forwards we are open to taking this franchise across to other platforms".

Like we said, the meeting just transpired hours ago and there's no way of verifying the said information. You could take this rumor with as much credibility as you want. Or, we could all just wait and see what happens.

from X360 QJ.NET

Rockstar: Only GTA IV on Xbox has 'complete experience'

A Rockstar representative tells GamesRadar that there is no advantage to owning the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV over Xbox 360. He says they are identical games, and then you can almost hear the slap, "But I guess if you want the complete experience with the episodes, then yeah, you should buy the 360, I suppose." See what $50 million will get those Xbox kids? But remember, Microsoft is still going to charge for the extra content, so it's not like the core game is any different.

"Will the episodes ever see the light of day on the PS3?" is the real question. The word "exclusive" in the video game industry is almost as flexible as Alanis Morissette's use of the word "ironic." Exclusive, timed exclusive ... ironic, coincidence -- who knows what words mean anymore. As long as Sony offers up some cash, we think they could get the episodes too -- you know, if they did that sort of thing.

from Joystiq

Xbox 360 Elite designed not to be prone to Red Ring of Death?

Amidst the helter-skelter of Microsoft rushing to fix the Xbox 360's chronic design problems (even allocating US 1 billion for the cause), the company has hinted that the more expensive console, the Xbox 360 Elite, is designed not to fall prey to the Red Ring of Death.

Robbie Bach, president of Entertainment and Devices division, acknowledged that the problem lies in the design itself, not a manufacturing problem or manufacturing partner problem. Microsoft found a way of going around the design problem, and has better-designed units out in the market right now.

SPOnG supposes that the better-designed units Microsoft is referring to are the Xbox 360 Elite, which had a different design, such as the HDMI. While it's no surprise that the Elite is built differently compared to the standard units, SPOnG emphasized one strange point: The Xbox 360 Elite, released earlier this year, was deliberately designed to avoid the Red Ring of Death pitfall.

We'll leave the thinking to you, folks. Bach was also a bit vocal with cost reduction, saying, "We are, and have been since the beginning, right on track with where we expected to be with cost reduction."

from X360 QJ.NET

HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on July 31st, 2007

This week's hottest title is without a doubt 300, not only is it one of the biggest releases of the year, but it's also available on every format -- and it's released in an otherwise boring month for titles. The HD DVD version has the edge, 'cause while the Blu-ray camp waits for profile 1.1, Warner pulls out all the stops with PIP and web-content. It's not all bad for Blu-ray, as their version does include both a PCM and TrueHD soundtrack. HD DVD continues to catch up to Blu-ray and is now within seven, but looking forward a few months, it doesn't look like HD DVD is going to catch up any time soon.

HD DVD 265 vs Blu-ray 272.

Blu-ray

• 300 (Warner)
• IMAX: Blue Planet (Warner)
• IMAX: Roving Mars (Disney)
• Planet Earth (US Version) (Discovery Channel)
• Shooter (Paramount)

HD DVD

• 300 (Warner)
• Darkman (Universal)
• Hot Fuzz (Universal)
• IMAX: Blue Planet (Warner)
• Planet Earth (US Version) (Discovery Channel)
• Sea of Love (Universal)
• Shaun of the Dead (Universal)
• Shooter (Paramount)

from Engadget HD

Circuit City ad confirms 360 price drop on all models

Alright kids, it's probably safe to put the term "rumor" to bed now. Tipster ToeFurB sends us (and Joystiq) images of an upcoming Circuit City ad which reconfirms the 360 price drops we've seen in the Wal-Mart and Toys R' Us ads. The 360 Premium will see a $50 price break, the Elite will be reduced by $30, and the Core slims down by $20. For the Premium, Elite, and Core, this results in prices of $349, $449, and $279 respectively. Not only that, but those who purchase the newly discounted Premium console from Circuit City will also receive a free copy of Rockstar's Table Tennis. The ad is dated for August 12, so mark your calendars.

from Xbox 360 Fanboy

It's Official: Halo 3 has four player, online co-op

Speaking at a Microsoft press conference in Amsterdam earlier today, Bungie has confirmed, once and for all, that Halo 3 will feature two to four player online co-operative play over Xbox Live. This news comes after months of rumors and slip-ups, but is extremely appreciated nonetheless.

Details are extremely sparse at the moment (chugging a Mountain Dew while snowboarding with a live bear extreme) but we can tell you this: we have Bungie's word. Bungie will be issuing an update themselves on this matter over at their website later today, so be patient and we'll have further information for you as soon as it rolls in.

from Joystiq

Xbox HD DVD player now $179, includes 5 free movies

Microsoft's first announcement to come out of Comic Con is an Xbox 360 HD DVD player price drop. Beginning August 1st (in the US), the Xbox 360 HD DVD player add on will receive a $20 price cut, retail for $179 and include five free HD DVD movies as part of the "Perfect Offer". The five free movie deal runs from August 1st through September 30th, full list of free HD DVDs to choose from posted after the break.

Also announced was Microsoft's partnership with Warner Bros. to feature 300 in HD on the XBLM starting August 14th and offer exclusive Heroes Marketplace downloads prior to its season one release to HD DVD. The free Heroes content will include trailers, episode teasers, promotional materials and a free Marketplace download of the pilot episode in HD.

With today's HD DVD player price drop it makes it one of the cheapest ways to experience HD content and is quite the tempting offer. We just might end up caving in this August and splurging to experience the look and sound of perfect. HD content FTW!

Free HD DVDs to Choose From:
Apollo 13
Blazing Saddles
Casablanca
The Chronicles of Riddick
Constantine
The Dukes of Hazzard
Four Brothers
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
The Perfect Storm
The Rundown
Seabiscuit
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
U2: Rattle and Hum
U-571
We Were Soldiers

Denon's first Blu-ray player stuns with features and $2k pricetag

Denon has announced its first real Blu-ray player, with an appropriate assortment of never-before-seen features and price tag to match. The DVD-3800BCI will launch this fall as the first high definition player to include Silicon Optix's 10-bit Realta HQV video processor, recently seen in Syntax-Brillian's $10k LCD and the big brother to the Toshiba HD-XA2's Reon. The first Profile 1.1 Blu-ray player we've seen, it supports separate picture-in-picture audio and video streams. Unfortunately, $1,999 isn't enough to provide an Ethernet port, so any online content will need to be downloaded on a PC and sneakernetted to the player via SD card. Finally, internal decoding for all Blu-ray surround sound formats is included, and it's the first player with an HDMI 1.3a output, providing enough bandwidth to pass sound natively to a receiver for decoding. Announced but unfortunately unpriced is the DVD-2500BTCI Blu-ray Transport, dropping the advanced audio and video processing for those with their own receivers and scalers. Coming from a company that sells a $3,800 DVD player, the price isn't too surprising, but we hope there are cheaper (& network-enabled) new Blu-ray options forthcoming.

from Engadget HD