Expand Your Xbox LIVE Network of Pals by browsing the Friends lists of other Xbox LIVE members. New Experience to be made available on December 4th with the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update
Microsoft is making it even easier to expand your Friends network on Xbox LIVE, starting with the Fall Dashboard Update on December 4th. Members will now be able to check out the friends lists of fellow Xbox LIVE members right from the Dashboard. With this new feature, members can find old friends or connect with new ones within the community of more than 8 million people on Xbox LIVE around the globe and send messages and game invites, as well as compare games and Achievements.
With the prevalence of social media websites such as MySpace and FaceBook, this type of capability has largely come to be expected from consumers as a means to relate in an online community. Xbox LIVE continually seeks new ways to better serve the expectations of its members, which often result in enhancements made available for free through the bi-annual Dashboard updates.
When the Fall Dashboard update is distributed on December 4th, the new default setting on Xbox LIVE will be active enabling members to see the Friends lists of other Xbox LIVE members. Members who would like to keep their friends list private can take the following steps to change their settings beginning today:
Log in to http://www.xbox.com/fof and select one of the three options available for your Gamertag:
- Everyone (only available to members 18 and older)
- Friends only (available to members 13 and older)
- Blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13)
Stay tuned for more information about the Xbox 360 Dashboard Update later this month.
Microsoft is being sued by consumers who are upset about the Halo 3 video game frying while they're playing it on the Xbox. Heaven help us!
TMZ obtained a class action lawsuit filed in Federal Court, which claims Halo 3 is causing major problems when played by people using Xbox systems. Randy Nunez alleges that when he used the nearly $60 game on Xbox it would "crash, freeze, or lock up" while running.
According to the suit, Microsoft and Bungie, the company who makes Halo 3, raked in close to $300 million in the first week. Nerds!
The class action suit seeks over $5 million in damages.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Wireless Guitar Controllers Hitting Retail Shelves in Early 2008
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov 26, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI) today announced that standalone wireless guitar controllers for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will be available at retail stores nationwide by early 2008.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock lets fans thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform, including exclusive Gibson Guitar's Les Paul model for the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii(TM) home video game system from Nintendo, and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. PlayStation(R)2 gamers will also get to shred on an exclusive shape, Gibson's Kramer guitar, popularized by hard rockers and known for its body design, pickups, electronics and construction for furious finger fretting.
Given the publicity surrounding Nintendo's supply problems with the Wii, it is not surprising that Nintendo's competitors -- Sony and Microsoft -- are trying to take advantage of the Wii's woes in the weeks leading up to the holidays.
Sony has been the most aggressive by far, slashing the prices of PlayStation 3 and its developer kit.
The smoke has barely cleared from the Nintendo Wii's first birthday candles, and already the next big challenge is looming: the 2007 holiday season. For Nintendo, the critical question is whether the revolutionary gaming platform will continue to be a consumer favorite or a lingering manufacturing hangover will stifle sales.
According to industry analyst Video Game Chartz, it was a stellar first year for the Wii, which passed the PS3 in total worldwide sales at Thanksgiving last year, and then passed the Xbox 360 at the end this past summer. VG Chartz compiles its figures by sampling sales data from retailers around the globe.
The Xbox 360 has fared better in head-to-head sales in the U.S. VG Chartz reported that as of this week, Microsoft has sold nearly 8.5 million Xbox 360 consoles in the past year, compared to just over 6 million Wiis and 2.3 million PS3s.
A Wii Manufacturing Problem
Given the robust sales and continued demand for the Wii, the upcoming holiday season should be a good one for Nintendo, but the company has been hampered by manufacturing delays.
"Here's the good news," Roger Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo America, said in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. "The good news is we're flowing more and more product into the marketplace, and the amount of Wii hardware that will be in North American stores will be unprecedented. Substantially more than the launch, substantially more than has been seen to date."
The New World Assembly (TNWA) Group has released its proprietary anti-cheat platform, X-ray, to anybody that wants to use it for regulation of online games - for free.
The software, which cost over USD 1 million to develop, is currently used by the company's own tournament site Enemydown.
X-ray works by monitoring an individual's PC during play, and if it detects any irregularities it then sends a report and screenshot - anybody caught cheating will then be held in a database and prevented from taking part in future games using the software.
TNWA CEO Paul Sulyok explained the decision to GamesIndustry.biz.
"The reason why this came about is because we had a number of smaller leagues and tournaments in the UK, the States and in Australia who approached us asking to borrow the anti-cheat software that we had.
"We're not in the game of saying 'no, you can't have it, everyone's got to play in our tournaments,' so we sat down and tried to come up with a solution whereby people could use the anti-cheat technology that we built, and are updating an improving on an ongoing basis.
"It's about community, it's about nurturing and helping the community - and the community helps each other. We've had a number of companies help us out in the past, and there's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't feed that back in to help other communities grow as well."
Sensible World Of Soccer was first announced for XBLA back in September of 2006 for a release date in the first quarter of 2007.
We all know how that one turned out.
However, there are strong indications that the title will finally surface on Wednesday. Codemasters Online Gaming's Jim Brown said the following earlier this month: "We are currently targeting a release at the end of November. Of course this is all subject to passing the usual internal and Microsoft submissions."
Well, CVG noticed that there's only one more Wednesday before December rolls around, so it's do or die time for a November release for Sensible World Of Soccer.
Naturally, after months and months of being burned, we're excited for the title -- but we're not going to hold our breath
Delta Force: Hawk Ops gets a brand new trailer Delta Force: Hawk Ops (@DeltaForce_Game), the free-to-play first-person shooter (FPS) from TiMi Studio Group and Level Infinite just dropped a brand new cinematic trailer! The game will feature cross-..
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According to the suit, Microsoft and Bungie, the company who makes Halo 3, raked in close to $300 million in the first week. Nerds!
According to industry analyst Video Game Chartz, it was a stellar first year for the Wii, which passed the PS3 in total worldwide sales at Thanksgiving last year, and then passed the Xbox 360 at the end this past summer. VG Chartz compiles its figures by sampling sales data from retailers around the globe.
X-ray works by monitoring an individual's PC during play, and if it detects any irregularities it then sends a report and screenshot - anybody caught cheating will then be held in a database and prevented from taking part in future games using the software.
Well, CVG noticed that there's only one more Wednesday before December rolls around, so it's do or die time for a November release for 
