Peter Jackson: Halo 3 May Help Revive Halo Movie

In an interview with New Zealand magazine Onfilm, director Peter Jackson has expressed his hopes that the release of Halo 3 may renew interest from Hollywood studios in the Halo movie, which is currently on hiatus.

Last year, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, which previously acquired the rights for the Halo movie, abruptly backed out of the project. The studios claimed the reason for stepping out was the movie’s budget, but the filmmakers revealed that the reason the studios exited was a discrepancy over the profit participation of Microsoft and the filmmakers.

The director of The Lord of The Rings trilogy and King Kong also said in the interview with Onfilm that he and partner Fran Walsh would work on the Halo movie only if Blomkamp is the director.

From Team Xbox

H3 beta gets Double Team and ranked BTB

Bungie has been kind enough to spice up our creamy Halo 3 beta by adding two new matchmaking playlists for everyone to enjoy. Big Team Battle has been added to the ranked matches and the social matches playlist gets a little Double Team Training. Which, interestingly enough, was hinted at on this past Friday's Bungie Weekly Update. The two new playlists are live right now, so get in on the action, find a partner, and ride your Mongoose to victory!

Via Xbox 360 Fanboy

Today's HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Releases!

The Frighteners (Peter Jackson Directors Cut) is released today along with The Big Lebowski and Dragon Heart on HD-DVD. Can someone tell me why Lost in Translation is being released on HD-DVD? Lost in Translation already sucked enough and will probably suck even more in HD. :confused:

HD-DVD Releases

Dragonheart
Lost in Translation
Midnight Run
The Big Lebowski
The Frighteners: Director's Cut
The River


Blu-Ray Releases

Curse of the Golden Flower
Live: With Orchestra and Special Guests
Weeds

New Grand Theft Auto IV screens, illustrations

Rockstar just sent over four new screens of Grand Theft Auto IV, which we've added to our gallery for the game. Included in this latest batch is this picture of Niko rollin' in a (stolen?) late 80s Chrysler, this African guy's underwear, Chinatown, and this incredible shot of what we imagine is "BOABO" (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass. But that's not all, they've included some logo treatments (no big surprises here) and illustrations (check out these shady dudes) to keep you hooked.

Gallery: Grand Theft Auto IV

from Joystiq

Forza 2 Coming Next Week

To celebrate the 91st Indy 500, we are announcing the US release of Forza Motorsport 2 on May 29, and we're dropping the price for the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel to $129.99 ERP.

In addition, gamers in the U.S. will be able to participate in the “Forza Motorsport 2” Race Weekend, running June 1 through June 3. Visit http://forzamotorsport.net for more information, screen shots and videos.

More information in the press release that just went out.

from Gamerscore Blog by johnporcaro

ESA announces E3 Conference schedule

The ESA has officially revealed this year's schedule for the revamped Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). What's nice is that it reveals that the big three - Nintendo Company Ltd., Microsoft, and Sony - will be in attendance this year. Here, ogle the schedule yourself:

Tuesday, July 10

• 8:30 - 9:30pm - Microsoft

Wednesday, July 11

• 9:00 - 10:00am - Nintendo
• 11:30am - 12:30pm - Sony
• 2:00 - 3:00pm - EA
• 3:15 - 4:15pm - Activision
• 4:30 - 5:30pm - Midway
• 5:45 - 6:45pm - Konami

Thursday July 12

• 8:00 - 9:00am - Take Two Interactive
• 9:15 - 10:15am - THQ
• 10:30 - 11:30am - Ubisoft
• 1:00 - 2:00pm - Namco Bandai
• 3:30 - 4:30pm - Disney Interactive

JVC Victor announces three new 120Hz 1080p LCDs

JVC is adding to the Victor line of LCDs with three new models, all of which include Clear Motion Drive 120Hz technology for the Full HD 1080p displays, and 10-bit panels for increased color reproduction capability. The LH805 series will also sport two HDMI 1.3 ports, JVC's 32-bit Genessa image processing chipset, and DLNA compatibility for home networking. The 47-inch LT-47LH805 will be available in late June, and the 42-inch and 37-inch LT42LH805 and LT-37LH805 will drop in early August, for an estimated price range of €2,140 to 2,840 ($2,800 to 3,800 US). Continue on for more pics of the panels.

[Via Akihabara News]

Panel without 10-bit color:

Panel with 10-bit color:

from Engadget HD

Sony's world's first 16.7 million color flexible OLED

Oh boy, another bendy display we won't likely see on the market any time soon. This time it's Sony's turn to tout with this, their 2.5-inch, 160 x 120 pixel OLED display on a flexible plastic film. Better yet, this organic TFT delivers a relatively stellar 16.7 million colors compared to the 262k and 16k colors Samsung and LG.Philips, respectively, were showing off last week. That's a world's first 24-bit color depth for these types of displays. Take that Samsung. The display also measures a mere 0.3-mm thin which easily bests the hapless Korean (and Dutch) giants. The only downside (if you call it that) is the display's "greater than" 1000:1 contrast ratio compared to Samsung's 10,000:1 rating. But by now you've learned to take contrast measurements with a grain of salt, right

from Engadget

Samsung and PureDepth show off 46-inch Multi-Layer Display LCD

It's been a tick since we'd heard anything out of PureDepth, but apparently, the company and its Multi-Layer Display technology are still livin' it up. Making a comeback with Samsung, the two firms are jointly debuting the "world's largest" MLD LCD TV, which rings up at 46-inches diagonally. The actual monitor is being showcased at the Society for Information Display conference in Long Beach, California, and blew past the previous champion which was holding strong at 30-inches. PureDepth is describing its technology as a "a layered, multi-dimensional (using real depth between two or more LCD panels) viewing innovation that enables users to simultaneously view two separate fields of data on one monitor," which is simply a fancy way of suggesting that users can experience "3D-like images" sans unsightly goggles. Unfortunately, there's no word on whether this unit is actually slated for commercialization, but considering the somewhat sour reputation that other 3D devices already have, it's got a rough road to hoe.

Via Engadget HD

Sony's big little DAV-IS10 home theater system

Yeah, that satellite is freaky small and just a part of Sony's micro DAV-IS10 home theater system. Their 5.1 channel home-theater-in-a-box features 5 of the tiny speakers matched with a sub offering 450 watts of total system power (satellite speakers 50W x 5, plus 2-way subwoofer 100W x 2). The system features Sony's new BRAVIA Theater Sync technology for communicating with BRAVIA panels over HDMI and should be easy to setup with the help of Sony's Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (DCAC) optimization tech. The systems' 720p/1080i upscaling DVD/CD player features touch-sensitive controls and a Digital Media Port for attaching accessories such as the TDM-NC1 WiFi audio streamer, TDM-BT1 for Bluetooth streaming, and TDM-IP1 iPod dock. A pretty swank little system when it hits in July for $800.



Via Engadget HD

Philips' 42-, 47-, and 52-inch Ambilight LCDs go 1080p, 120Hz, LED backlighting

Has it really been 10 years since the first Ambilight television? Does anyone care? After all, the press release was issued back in January at CES and missed by nearly everyone, including us. Well, Philips certainly cares and aims to celebrate by dishing out a triplet of Ambilight LCDs ranging size from 42-, 47-, and 52-inches. As you'd expect, they've got all the sweetest buzzwords covered: 1080p, 120Hz, LED backlighting. They also feature Philips' Perfect Pixel HD processing engine, plenty of HDMI inputs (3x on the 52-incher) and of course, Philips' Ambilight glow for a more immersive experience with reduced eye strain -- or so says Philips. Priced at $2,999 for the Ambilight Full Surround (independent lighting on all four sides) 42-inch 42PFL9832D (pictured) or $2,799 for the 47-inch 47PFL9732D and $3,599 for the big 52-inch 52PFL7432D with Ambilight 2 for that left and right glow. All are expected to roll Stateside as early as June.

Via Engadget HD

Splinter Cell Conviction trailer Bournes it up

Hot on the heels of a new Assassin's Creed trailer comes this new Splinter Cell Conviction trailer from Ubisoft's Ubidays event. The trailer shows off the new social stealth system that will be employed in Conviction, as well as Sam Fisher's new combat capabilities. We've noted before that Sam Fisher now possesses some kick ass maneuvers akin to those seen in the Bourne films and this trailer confirms it. In fact, the whole atmosphere of the trailer seems to take a page from the modern spy franchise, which isn't a bad thing at all. After all, how many times can you play as a guy in a rubber suit? Check out an extended look at the game after the break. Be warned though, the video is a little dark.

from Xbox 360 Fanboy by Richard Mitchell

Grand Theft Auto IV special editions

It seems like every major release -- and even some not-so-major releases -- gets a special edition these days. Grand Theft Auto IV special editions for the bargain basement price of $90, you get a metal safety deposit box, an art book, a soundtrack CD, a keychain for holding the keys to the deposit box, and a Rockstar duffel bag. Oh, and you get a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV as well.

What do YOU want to see on Xbox Live Arcade?

Do you have a favorite game that you just can’t wait to see on Xbox LIVE Arcade? Is there some feature that you wish more Xbox LIVE Arcade games offered? (i.e. a specific game-play mode?) Are there non-game features that you’d like XBLA (the destination) to implement? Lastly, are there events or promotions that you wish were a regular occurrence on XBLA? We want to hear your ideas! Please share your thoughts in the comments of this entry.

Don’t limit yourself to past console games, current game-play features, or events/promotions you’ve seen elsewhere. Think of games that fit the “pick-up-and-play” promise of XBLA. Think of non-game features that make XBLA a more enjoyable place to download and play those games, in general.

Fun disclaimers we have to mention: There are many moving parts and groups involved in conceiving, approving, developing, and releasing XBLA games. We can’t commit to any of these games being brought to XBLA, or even being considered. Also, assume anything discussed becomes public knowledge – if you are working on a game or have an idea that you want to keep private, don’t discuss it here. The same applies to all other feedback (non-game features, events, promotions, etc.)

Outside of that, we are excited to hear your thoughts and tap into the creativity and passion of our community!

Thanks from the Xbox LIVE Arcade Team,

-Jeremy

Via Gamerscore Blog

New Xbox Live Arcade Games

Rush ‘n Attack will be available worldwide for 400 Microsoft Points and is rated E10+.

Game Features

• Fight through 4 stages to free the prisoners of war
• Up to two players can play together locally or over Xbox LIVE in either Versus or Co-op mode
• Local multiplayer features split screen action with results captured on Leaderboards
• Players can chose to play with either the authentic, original graphics or with enhanced graphics which features fully rendered 3-D models
• All music and sound effects have been digitally enhanced
• Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

Xevious will be available worldwide for 400 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone.

Game Features

• Play the 100% arcade accurate reproduction of “Xevious” for the first time anywhere
• Test your memory: uncover hidden bonuses that are scattered throughout the levels just like in the arcade version, where shots to the ground uncover power-ups like Sol towers and 1UPs
• Compare your high score against other “Xevious” players from around the world on the Leaderboards
• Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/games/livearcade.

Via Gamerscore blog

Bungie wants your Halo 3 beta questions

The Banshee flier was recently unlocked in Valhalla. Does this mean we might see other vehicles unlocked? What about weapons, or equipment? If you have questions you'd like answered, Bungie want's 'em. All you have to do is submit them to this forum thread on Bungie.net. Bungie will then select some questions to answer in the forthcoming weekly update. So, ask...

Why HD DVD is more technically advanced than Blu-ray

Since forever it seems that there is this idea that Blu-ray is "more technically advanced" than HD DVD. This was based on Sony's PR as far as I can tell, so now I feel it is necessary to call out the gaping holes in Blu-ray to prove how much more technically advanced HD DVD is in fact. . There is of course one way where BD is more advanced: disc capacity. 50G BD discs can now be made, and a few movies are using these (though for no good reason: the extra capacity isn't being used for anything terribly useful, its just wasted with uncompressed audio, or two copies of the movie, or huge bitrate MPEG2 video. Ug). BD Missing Features What many folks don't realize is that there are different Levels for BD, and all of today's BD players only support the lowest level (1.0). This means that these players do not support these features: * Advanced audio codecs (Dolby Digital Plus, DTS Master Audio, DD TrueHD) * Network hardware * Secondary video decoder * Persistant storage * Reliable interactivity Why are these good features? Advanced audio codecs get you kick-ass sound, but without wasting all your disc space doing it (like PCM does). I mean you could in theory rip your CDs to uncompressed WAV files, but who does? You use a lossless format if you have the space or demand maximum audio quality, or a lossy format to save space. BD doesn't have those choices: audio is either DVD-quality DTS/DD or WAV-equivalent files. Network hardware is very handy for firmware updates. However very soon the first network-aware HD DVD titles will be released (starting with Blood Diamond ), and we'll start to see the potential this adds to the high definition experience. A secondary video decoder allows for two simultanous video streams, i.e. Picture in Picture. This has been often used on HD DVD titles for Directors Commentaries that you can actually watch the director (and how scenes were shot etc) at the same time as the movie itself. Elephants Dream uses it to show the difference between HD and SD side-by-side. Persistant storage allows titles to save information in the player, and the most common usage right now is Bookmarks. I find this great for recording those classic demo scenes to show off the format (e.g. King Kong meeting the Dinos). It can also be used to remember user preferences (e.g. language choice). With networking, a whole lot more use can be made of it in the near future. Reliable interactivity means a lot: it means nice menus; it means PIP; it means games; Blu-ray's interactivity is Java-based (BD-J) and is simply not up to the task: try running the Disney title Gauntlet on the Samsung player for example: there is a great video on YouTube of how embarassingly bad BD-J is. "Chicken Little" is another deeply inconsistent and flaky BD-J title, though it appears to work on the PS3 at least. As it should: the PS3 has way more horsepower than any stand-alone player, and is probably the only current player that stands a chance of being software upgradable to Level 1.1 and maybe beyond. All of these features are mandatory for HD DVD players. As every player has them, title authors can confidently use them on their discs and know they will work for everyone. The BD folks have often talked about "Level 1.1" and "Level 2 Players" which have these features, and that they would be coming in July 2007. However that date recently got moved back to October 2007 , and note that this is the date for new players to be released: titles that use these new features will be later still, plus the old players will still be available for sale. This also assumes that title creators will be willing to put in the time to add Level 1.1 or 2 features, despite the fact that most of the user base won't be able to use them for an unknown amount of time. BD-Live, which is BD's networking support, remains an optional feature even on the October-timeframe players. The PS3 Factor It is my personal opinion that without the PS3, Blu-ray would have died by now. With almost every BD player costing over a grand and selling in low volumes, BD support would have collapsed had the PS3 not come along at a low-ish price point and offering the best BD performance. If the PS3 remains the only mass-market BD player, is that enough to keep BD going? (UMD anyone?) Player Support Ah but the BD folks say, there's all those BD player manufacturers. Samsung, Pioneer and Panasonic are it right now (the other players are ODMed versions of those). BD players are still strangely expensive (considering they have less hardware in them than HD DVD players: no ethernet, no storage, no secondary video decoder etc). Pioneer just proudly announced a "next generation BD player" which is exactly the same as the original one, except it has TrueHD and DTS-HD audio support and a cheaper price: features HD DVD has had from the get-go. Still no networking, PIP, Level 1.1 etc. Studio Support Here BD does have a theoretical advantage right now. However Fox don't seem terribly interested in actually releasing very much, and Disney who have a great back catalog don't seem to be doing as much as you might expect: Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean are coming soon, but still no classic Disney movies on the horizon. Why not? Also some studios who support both formats choose not to release some titles at all on Blu-ray as it cannot handle them (e.g. Batman Begins, Matrix Trilogy, Constantine) or they release the Blu-ray version with dumbed down features compared to HD DVD (e.g. Blood Diamond, V for Vendetta). For the titles that are ostensibly the same on both formats, the HD DVD version still offers features Blu-ray can't, like bookmarks, zoom, TrueHD audio and Tivo-style time bar. Despite the theoretical studio difference, the total number of available titles on both formats worldwide is almost identical. Conclusion HD DVD is clearly the more technically advanced format. It has had features for over a year now that BD still doesn't have, and isn't likely to have anytime soon. Time to call FUD on BD's "technical advantages". As the old adage says, size is not everything...

rom AVS Forum - HD DVD Players by MidnightWatcher

Colin McRae: DiRT demo available on May 24

Codemasters' Colin McRae: DiRT, the latest muddy, filthy, bent, and punished installment in the rally series is set to grace Xbox Live as a demo come May 24. The video game's demo is reported to be huge as it will feature three different types of rallying in order to showcase DiRT's career mode.

Speaking to gaming site Tekfront, the game's producer Alex Grimbley had this to say about the upcoming demo:

We think the demo is really going to wow a lot of people. It ll have a Super Stage crossover rally with Colin as your opponent, it s got buggy racing against 9 opponents which is absolute carnage and really shows off the car models, and then we have a hill climb with fantastic scenery and a Travis Pastrana time to beat. It s a great little package and it s out on May 24.

Great demo or not, at the very least the the game's name absolutely got what Rally-racing is all about: Dirt. Collin McRae: DiRT is set to be released for the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, and the PC, and should be available come summer.

from X360 QJ.NET

Possible Halo 3 beta weirdness Today

Filed under: News, Halo 3, Xbox Live, Multiplayer

Frankie gave us a heads up that today, May 23rd between the hours of 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM PDT, the monkeys over at Bungie are going to be collecting data on any game crashes that take place in the Halo 3 beta during that time. A warning will come up and it will upload logs to the Bungie servers for their testing purposes.

Those who participated in the Shadowrun beta should understand, as we would upload game logs after each match for a minute or so. Frankie reassures us that the upload should take somewhere from 10-20 seconds. Upon completion a message will pop up saying "File upload complete. Visit http://www.bungie.net/forums/halo3beta for more information (safe to reboot)." After 1:00 PM, they'll turn things back to normal, and upload time will be reduced greatly. Moral of the story? Be good fanboys and let the logs upload.

From Xbox 360 Fanboy

Banshee in Halo 3

In addition to updating the playlists for the Halo 3 beta, Bungie has dropped in another little surprise as well. Log on to the Halo 3 beta and start up a game of Big Team Training, and you will now find a Banshee in Valhalla. Specifically, there is one Banshee at each base. Someone is bound to pick one up at the beginning of each match, so we suggest you keep the missile pod handy. Of course, there are already players using the Banshee to find a way out of the map

Halo Beta Update

BUNGIE has made some changes to the training modes. Team training (limited to only 4) has been replaced by Big Team Training (6v6 on High Ground and Valhalla).

Quote:

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Halo 3 Beta Matchmaking Playlist Updated
Posted by lukems at 5/21/2007 12:07 PM PDT
Like any good chef we're making some changes to the recipe in the Public tastetest we call the Halo 3 Beta. This week we're making our first change to the Matchmaking Playlist . We're swapping out Team Training and adding in Big Team Training. In Big Team Training players will play 6v6 on High Ground and Valhalla. In addition to some existing modes look for some new modes in Big Team Training, like Multi Flag CTF on Valhalla. Additionally, we've made some slight tweaks to the Team Skirmish playlist that should add greater variety in the opponents you'll face.

Zune Halo 3 Edition

That special edition Halo 3 Zune is real, out, and up for pre-order exclusively through GameStop. Available June 15th (pre-order now), the $249 promotional Zune comes packin' a 30GB disk loaded with a flood of Halorific music, video and artwork.

Music
•Halo Original Soundtrack
•Halo 2 Original Soundtrack, Vol. 1
•Halo 2 Original Soundtrack, Vol. 2

Videos
•Halo 2: Theatrical Trailer, 45 sec
•Halo 3 ViDoc, 7 Min (documentary)
•Halo 3 ViDoc, 7 Min (part 2)
•Halo 3 ViDoc, 7 Min (part 3)
•Halo 3: e3 2006 Announcement Trailer, 2 Min
•Halo 3: Starry Night, 45 sec
•Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles (Parts 1-6)
•Red vs. Blue: Turn On, Tune In, Zune Out (Zune welcome video by RvB characters)

Photos
•Halo Brand Imagery, 4 Photos
•Halo Concept Art, 33 Photos
•Halo Graphic Novel, 13 Photos (Not the entire novel)
•Halo Marketing Concepts by Concept Arts, 45 Photos
•Halo Paintings, 27 Photos
•Halo Storyboards, 10 Photos

Gallery: Zune Halo 3 Edition Engadget hands-on

HD DVD Movie Releases: May 22nd

• The 40-Year-Old Virgin
• Flags of Our Fathers
• Freedom Writers
• Letters from Iwo Jima
• The Complete Matrix Trilogy
• The Ultimate Matrix Collection
• Mission: Impossible
• Mission: Impossible II
• The Skeleton Key
• Smokey and the Bandit

• 
  

Halo 3 Beta Code Confirms 4 Player Co-Op Over Xbox Live

Many of the 300,000 users that are currently playing the Halo 3 beta are skillful modders who over the last few days have been examining the beta's code. They have found references to unannounced weapons, new vehicles and game types but probably their most precious finding is the fact that Halo 3 will support up to four players co-op on Xbox Live and System Link.

Scrolling through the list of on-screen text for party menus, one sentence revealed the following:

The game cannot start because all players are set to observer. Too many players for splitscreen. Only 2 players may play splitscreen coop on the same Xbox 360 console. The party size is too large to start the game. Up to 4 players may play coop on Xbox Live or System Link. Loading information from Xbox Live…

For more info use this link ; Team Xbox

Video Marketplace no longer supports Puerto Rico?

Please check this link and post your comment; Xbox Live Video Marketplace official forum

Halo 3 "Three Ways to Play" Update

Bungie posted a note for those that won the "Three Ways to Play" contest for the Halo 3 beta, but didn't get their code. They are going to re-send the email to the winners with the unique codes, so if you're expecting the email, check you spam folders. It'll come from halo3beta@microsoft.com. If you still don't get the code you were promised in the next few hours, check with Xbox Support

Microsoft finally brought down the hammer on modded Xbox 360s

Microsoft finally brought down the hammer on modded Xbox 360s. With the release of the Halo 3 beta and as part of Microsoft's efforts to make Xbox Live a fair, fun, and unified community they are actively banning any Xbox Live connection from a 360 that has been hacked or modded. So, as such, the Live account isn't actually banned, just any connection to Xbox Live from the console is banned. As a result, some people may be finding that they can't connect to Xbox Live and get an error message similar to the one above.

Xbox 360 Marketplace Territory Controls

From Gamerscore Blog;

Some Xbox LIVE members may experience some changes when downloading Marketplace content, as we strengthen the territory controls on the service with the Spring Update coming next week.

As you may have noticed over the past few months, Xbox LIVE Marketplace has seen tremendous growth with tons of additional gaming and entertainment content, as well as a number of new partners. We are committed to providing great content to all of our users, however not all content is available for use in all countries. For example, as indicated in our Terms of Use, the movies and TV shows available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace are currently available only for use in the United States.

Some of our contracts and agreements with content partners, particularly in the area of entertainment, restrict in which countries we may make certain content available. There are a number of reasons for these restrictions, including legal rights and regulations. In addition, various countries such as Germany have regulations when it comes to what content is acceptable for distribution to their residents. As a digital distributor of content, we are responsible and accountable to comply with those government regulations and the licensing agreements we have with our partners. As a general policy we try to get global rights to content, but in some cases, it's not possible because of legal restrictions. In other instances, we have to get legal rights on a country-by-country basis, which unfortunately results with us having content on the service that has to be filtered based on geographical location.

The first time I read this, I don't pay the attention needed because I live in Puerto Rico (territory of the US), place where every tv channel, movies are the same we have here, with the same release date. Today when I try to download the HD trailer of The Matrix and some other clips from the movie in the marketplace, in preparation for the release of The Ultimate Matrix Collection in HD DVD, I receive an error message because of my location. So I start looking for changes in the Xbox Live policy in my reader and found this post from Gamerscore Blog.

I understand everything about the legal issue, but that stay true when someone from Europe or Asia create an US account to get the content of other region. but what really happen to those in Puerto Rico like me, our account are from the US, as indicated in the Terms of Use, the movies and TV shows available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace are currently available only for use in the United States, Puerto Rico is part of the United State. Everything we have here came from the US, all the movie theater practically receive the same release date, all the DVD's, HD DVD , BLUE RAY, games from all the systems receive the same launch date of US here in Puerto Rico. Another thing is, where is my Xbox Customer Service? what is the number I have to call if I have any problem? 1-800-4MY-XBOX right, this is the one in the US, that was the number of the customer service I call in January, 2007 when my Xbox 360 fail, and was repaired for free, including the shipment for a system purchased in Puerto Rico the launch day (November 22, 2005).

In April 29, 2007 I buy the Xbox 360 Elite because of the HDMI and most importantly the bigger hard drive, something I always have full with the 20g hard drive. What I going to do with this bigger hard drive of the Elite.

Xbox LIVE Brings You Even More Matrix Content

When you purchase The Complete Matrix Trilogy, you will also receive a token in the box to download the entire Animatrix series from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace.

There will also be great content available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace from The Complete Matrix Trilogy and Animatrix.

From May 15 through May 25, download free content like HD trailers from all three Matrix movies and some of your favorite scenes in HD like "Bullet Time in the Subway" and "Morpheus fighting Agent Smith." You can also purchase and download themes for all three films plus Animatrix.

Don't forget, you can still rent the original Matrix movie in standard definition as a download from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

So if you want to find out the difference between knowing the path and walking the path, get The Complete Matrix Trilogy—and get on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

The Ultimate Matrix Collection Arrives on HD DVD May 22

What better way to enjoy your Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player than watching all three Matrix films for the first time in breathtaking high-definition?

If ever a film series was meant to be seen in HD DVD, that series is now here. The Matrix, the legendary, groundbreaking sci-fi film, and its visually dazzling second and third installments, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were produced with future technology execution in mind.

The Complete Matrix Trilogy contains the exclusive HD DVD versions of the three Matrix films in a three-disc set and presents the complete adventures of machine battling truth-seekers Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne).

Via Xbox.com

Microsoft firmly behind the HD DVD

Well, Moore was overridden a year ago, and in light of Niel Thompson's comments last March and Peter Moore's "Xbox 360 flexibility" comments at CES in January of this year, it seems that Blu-ray support is again, getting the boot. Microsoft notes in it's Gamerscore marketing blog:

We firmly stand behind the HD DVD format as the best choice for consumers. Current reports indicating that Microsoft has a back-up plan, which includes Blu-ray support are incorrect. We re fully committed to HD DVD and have absolutely no plans to support other optical formats.

Xbox 360 HD DVD Update

A software update released May 15 by Microsoft solves several disc-specific playback issues and provides a series of new audio playback options to the console's HD DVD add-on, check out the full list:

• Fix DD being stuck in "Night Mode" which is essentially Dynamic Range Compression leading to the sound sounding very flat
• Option to output ALL HD DVD audio as DTS 1.5Mbps (list includes DD , TrueHD, DTS, and any other audio option offered on HD DVD discs I may have missed)
• Option to output ALL HD DVD audio as DD 640Kbps, (which it currently does, but will be fixed from the Night Mode bug), list includes DD , TrueHD, DTS, and any other audio option offered on HD DVD discs that I may have missed.
• Option to output ALL HD DVD audio as WMAPro 1.5Mbps, (list includes DD , TrueHD, DTS, and any other audio option offered on HD DVD discs I may have missed) for those receivers that support WMA.
• Option to enable/disable Night Mode (with the default set to off)
• Fix a number of disc incompatibilities (including DVD Essentials) as well as a number of Lip Sync issues.

Toshiba HD- DVD Promotion

From a Toshiba Press Release (12:02 PM) WAYNE, NJ – May 16, 2007 – Just in time for Father’s Day, Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. (“Toshiba”) announces two new HD DVD promotions to help make shopping for dad easy. NEW – Instant Rebates: From May 20 through June 9, movie enthusiasts that purchase an HD-A2 HD DVD player will receive a $100 in-store instant rebate. From June 10 through June 16, consumers that purchase any Toshiba HD DVD player will receive a $100 in-store instant rebate. For individuals seeking the complete home theater package, an HD DVD player can be purchased with any Toshiba 42" (measured diagonally) or larger HDTV for a $200 in-store instant rebate. Five Free HD DVDs: Toshiba continues to offer its well accepted five free HD DVD movie mail-in offer promotion. Running through July 31, 2007, consumers who purchase any Toshiba HD DVD player can get five HD DVD titles for free. Consumers can choose the five free HD DVD movies from a selection of 15. This offer is available in conjunction with the previously listed promotions and rebates – full offer details are available at www.toshibahddvd.com.

Halo 3 Beta fixed

Bungie.net -

It's been a long day for a lot of people but we're happy to announce that effective immediately, a title update for Crackdown is available on Xbox Live that will fix the issue that previously prevented you from downloading the beta. The Microsoft team just deployed this fix and when you launch Crackdown you should receive a prompt to download the update.

Please note that it could take up to four hours for your console to receive this update based on various factors. However, the good news is that we're in the clear and Halo 3 gameplay is just over the horizon.

We realize this has been a pain for many and an inconvenience at the very least. Given the circumstances, we've decided to extend the duration of the Halo 3 Beta from June 6th to June 10th at 11:59 PM PDT. So, you lost almost a full day of play today but to make up for it we're tacking on four more days (and a weekend at that).

We apologize for the delay and hardships this issue has caused and hope that it quickly becomes a distant memory clouded by good times playing Halo 3 with your friends.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. We'll see you online!

Note : A rare bug has been discovered that sometimes results in improper text display in the game UI. Basically, you won't see any text at all. If you encounter this issue, you can fix it yourself by doing the following:

1. Restart your Xbox 360
2. Boot up the Halo 3 Beta
3. While the Halo 3 Beta is loading, immediately press up on the D-Pad and hold the A button until you see the Bungie logo. If you perform this correctly a dialog box will appear confirming maintenance has been done to your system.
4. Resume the Halo 3 Beta!

Halo 3 Beta

The Xbox team found out more about the issue with with downloading the Halo 3 beta through Crackdown. The Microsoft team working on it has created a solution (it will come in the form of a Crackdown title update), and it's in final phases of testing. Remember, those not accessing the beta through Crackdown aren’t affected.

Halo 3

The biggest launch in entertainment history is coming in just 133 days. Halo 3 will be launched worldwide on Tuesday, September 25.

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Welcome everyone, bienvenidos a todos!

Soon I’ll be posting about what is going to be this blog. In the mean time I will start with news about the gaming industry, specially about Xbox 360. Enjoy ...