XBOX360 USB Pro
Archive for the ‘Industry News’ Category
September 15th, 2010 | 
Author: From eurogamer.net:
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Microsoft has reassured Halo: Reach fans that it’s trying to fix an issue that prevents 4GB Xbox 360 owners from playing Reach’s campaign cooperatively, Eurogamer has been told.
Owners of the 4GB Xbox 360 (that 4GB is internal memory) who try to join a co-op campaign are greeted by this message: “One or more players do not have the hard drive required for this game type.”
This morning Microsoft insisted the limitation is “temporary”, but could not say when it will be fixed.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer: “We are aware of the issue and are quickly working to resolve it.”
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Full Story: eurogamer.net
Posted in 
From eurogamer.net:
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EA Sports president Peter Moore doubts Microsoft and Sony will invest in new consoles for at least three years.
The ex-Microsoft and SEGA executive described the launch of Kinect and PlayStation Move as “tantamount to new platform launches”, and insisted “we’re nowhere near mass market pricing”.
“If you look at the history of the pricing, we’re in mid-cycle,” Moore told Eurogamer in a new interview published today.
“Chronologically, this is the last few years of previous cycles, but when you look at pricing, we’re mid-cycle.
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Full Story: eurogamer.net
From businessinsider.com:
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Now that Xbox is a profitable, established brand, why not spin it out as its own company, where it has to fend for itself and it can innovate without worrying about the bureaucracy of a massive parent corporation?
We put the question to one of Xbox’s founders, Kevin Bachus. His response: Xbox is a really good fit for Microsoft, now more than ever, as tech companies start fighting for the living room, and expanding their mobile gaming on smartphones.
Today, Xbox has earned its own spot in the world of gaming. It doesn’t need Microsoft to gain consumer trust.
But, in a slightly ironic twist, Microsoft needs Xbox more than ever before.
While Xbox might look like an odd duck from the outside, it’s quickly becoming an integral part of the business. Spinning it out now, when it’s about to be more important than ever makes no sense.
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Full Story: businessinsider.com
Here are the US hardware sales for the month of August:
* Xbox 360: 356,700
* Nintendo DS: 342,700
* Wii: 244,300
* PlayStation 3: 226,000
* PSP: 79,400
From vgchartz.com:
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The two HD consoles, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, have both released a new slimmer model in the last year. The PS3 Slim released in 2009, September 1 in America, September 3 in Japan, and September 11 in Europe. The Xbox 360S was released in 2010, June 14 in America, June 24 in Japan, and July 16 in Europe. It won’t be a perfect comparison as they were released at different times of the year, however they both did launch at the same price.
Taking a look at worldwide numbers with each region aligned, it shows the PS3 Slim had a much bigger opening than the X360S, with sales of 585,000 compared to 356,000. However the PS3 Slim with the much bigger opening had a much bigger drop off in its second week as sales become equal between the two, both selling 322,000. The PS3 Slim did pull ahead slightly after the second week and has increased to 75,000 in week seven. The gap looks like it will grow as PS3 sales increased each week and as the X360 will decrease for a couple more weeks, before the release of Halo Reach.
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Full Story: vgchartz.com
From computerandvideogames.com:
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Speaking exclusively to CVG, the trade body [BDA] dismissed Microsoft’s claims that the de facto gaming storage format to follow DVD will be online downloads and/or streaming.
Despite the trash talking, however, the Blu-ray Association said it would have no qualms accepting Microsoft into its ranks – in a kind of ‘discreet service available’ way.
“Any company willing to join [and adopt Blu-ray] would be welcome,” added Heaton.
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Full Story: computerandvideogames.com
From nexus404.com:
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Ever wonder why Sony and Microsoft don’t have the ‘traditional’ D-pads on their consoles? Microsoft has (had) the infamous disc and Sony has just the four buttons arranged like a D-Pad. Nintendo actually has the traditional cross-shaped D-Pad patented. (See US Patent 4,687,200). That’s why Nintendo products use it and others don’t.
So, everybody hates the “disc” D-Pad that the Xbox 360 controller uses. And video game hardware is such a low-margin segment of the industry to begin with, so licensing the patent from Nintendo is out of the question. So they come up with this brilliant rotating disc thing that lets you use a “traditional” D-Pad without infringing on the Nintendo patent. Major Nelson confirmed in his online YouTube video that Microsoft has this “hybrid” D-Pad patented, so don’t expect others to use it.
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Full Story: nexus404.com
From eurogamer.net:
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Microsoft has told Eurogamer Spain that Kinect voice recognition will be disabled for mainland Europe until spring 2011.
The company confirmed rumours that the voice-recognition software will only accept American English, British English, Japanese and Mexican Spanish at launch this November. Even Canadians will have to wait until spring 2011 to be able to control the system via voice.
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Full Story: eurogamer.net
From industrygamers.com:
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This week Microsoft officially announced a $10 increase to the annual Xbox Live Gold subscription. In a special Pachter’s Podium last year, Wedbush Morgan Securities’ Michael Pachter correctly predicted the $10 increase.
As for Xbox Live’s future, the great thing about the $10 increase is that it will enable Microsoft to reinvest in the service to then offer even more enhancements. “The extra $10 translates to around $100 – 150 million per year in additional revenue for Microsoft. I think that they will reinvest at least this much in developing other new applications, and will roll out a premium service with $100 – 200 million worth of enhancements,” Pachter told IndustryGamers. “If they can get 2 million users to switch from the $60 plan to the $100 plan, they’ll make an extra $80 million a year, and can keep investing to try to grow that business.”
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Full Story: industrygamers.com
Microsoft announced the price of the Xbox LIVE Gold subscription will increase for users in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States starting November 1st 2010:
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Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same. We’re confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox LIVE Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry.
However, we do want to thank our loyal members and give you the opportunity to lock in your current price with an additional discount, so now would be a good time to renew your subscription.
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The prices change as follow (unlisted packages do not change in price):
* USA
1M Gold: $7.99 (now) – $9.99 (starting Nov 1, 2010)
3M Gold: $19.99 (now) – $24.99 (starting Nov 1, 2010)
12M Gold: $49.99 (now) – $59.99 (starting Nov 1, 2010)
* UK
1M Gold: 4.99 GBP (now) – 5.99 GBP (starting Nov 1, 2010)
* Canada
1M Gold: $8.99 CAD (now) – $9.99 CAD (starting Nov 1, 2010)
* Mexico
12M Gold: 499 Pesos (now) – 599 Pesos (starting Nov 1, 2010)
News-Source: majornelson.com
