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Wal-Mart offering $100 gift card with purchase of Xbox 360 Arcade

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 4th 2009 at 1:15PM }

Black Friday isn't the only day in November where prices are eviscerated and sweet deals are distributed like confetti at a Flaming Lips concert. Wal-Mart has begun posting ads for a batch of sales being offered this coming Saturday morning -- one of which will be particularly intriguing to the prospective holiday console buyers among you. While supplies last (and we assume they won't last long), anyone who purchases a $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle will receive a $100 gift card to boot.

A free Benjamin's worth of Wal-Mart products? That's enough to buy a couple of games for your new system! And it's only $35 short of the price of an Xbox 360 120GB hard drive! Or, you could buy two Xbox 360 Arcade bundles, and then have enough in gift card money to get a third one -- plus another $100 gift card -- for free! It seems we've beaten the system, as it were. Wal-Mart, consider yourself outfoxed.

[Via Engadget]

Pitchford: Easy Achievements boost sales by up to 40,000 units

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 7th 2009 at 6:00PM }

We knew that there was contingency of Xbox 360 owners who place a remarkable amount of importance on their largely unimportant Gamerscore -- however, a recent Official Xbox Magazine interview with Gearbox president Randy Pitchford has got us worried about our fellow man. According to Pitchford, developers who tweak their game's Achievements to make them a tad easier to obtain can boost sales of said game "by something like 10 and 40 thousand units."

Yes, Pitchford claims that there are 10 to 40 thousand people out there who purchase games based on their capacity to bolster their e-peen. That represents around $2.4 million being spent on making an inconsequential number slightly larger. Our faith in humanity wasn't just shaken by Pitchford's report -- it was absolutely obliterated. We're gonna go watch Rudy a few times until that faith is restored.

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Xbox 360 being used to detect heart defects

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 25th 2009 at 4:00AM }

We've suffered our fair share of broken hearts at the hands of the Red Ring of Death -- now, the Xbox 360 is being used to mend our ailing blood-pumpers. A computer scientist at the University of Warwick in England recently did some sweet console modification to allow his 360 to calculate heart rhythms using a complex algorithm. Microsoft's console is capable of performing these calculations five times faster (and 10 times cheaper) than a lab computer, and has the added benefit of letting its users play Madden in between bursts of scientific study.

To sum up, the 360 is now being used to cure heart disease, and the PS3 is being used to cure cancer. Ball's in your court, Nintendo.

Spotted: Popcorn box o' Xbox 360 peripherals

by James Ransom-Wiley { Sep 23rd 2009 at 1:44PM }

Click to jump in!

Joystiq has obtained official box art for an apparent Xbox 360 peripheral bundle. Diving a hand into the "popcorn" box (warning: contents inedible), one looks to pull out the following:

(1) Mini Universal Media Remote (the original Pro pack-in!)
(1) Wireless Network Adapter (apparently not the 802.11n version)
(1) Xbox Live 3-Month Gold Card
(1) 800 Microsoft Points Card
(0) No actual popcorn

While pricing and release details have yet to surface (though box art has been created for various European territories), we expect this package of dusty inventory -- hey, it's called "flexibility" people! -- to coincide with the release of the remote-less, WiFi-less Elite Holiday Bundle in the coming months.

Gallery: Xbox 360 Popcorn Box

First pics of Xbox 360 Holiday 2009 Bundle

by Justin McElroy { Sep 23rd 2009 at 9:02AM }

While our mole may not be as prolific or mysterious as some others' we do have an inside man/woman who sent us these images of the rumored Xbox 360 Elite Holiday 2009 Bundle. With the inclusion of Pure and Lego Batman the bundle certainly looks legit, and we think it's a safe bet this is what you'll be seeing on shelves this holiday season.

Also: "It's More Fun Time on Xbox 360" is a very bad slogan. That is all.

Gallery: Xbox 360 Elite Holiday 2009 Bundle

Xbox chief Shane Kim steps down, Spencer and Durkin promoted

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 14th 2009 at 7:50PM }

After 19 years of working for gaming/computing software juggernaut Microsoft, Shane Kim will step down at the end of this year, according to a report from Gamasutra. His duties as vice president of strategy and business development for the company's Interactive Entertainment Business sector will be filled by Phil Spencer, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, and Dennis Durkin, chief financial officer for the IEB division.

When asked for his reasons for stepping down, Kim replied, "Well, the JoBro (ed: Jonas Brothers) are about to go on tour again, and, well, you know. You only live once, and that one life should be spent seeing as many JoBro (ed: Jonas Brothers) concerts as humanly possible."

Okay, he didn't really say that. However, a Microsoft representative reportedly told Gamasutra that Kim "expressed a desire to spend more time with family, so that's why he's making his retirement." More details about the two-decade Microsoft veteran's departure should be coming in a press release soon. We wish Mr. Kim the best of luck with his newly acquired free time.

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Crackdown shows up in Psych, writers obviously not familiar with video games

by Xav de Matos { Sep 10th 2009 at 8:45PM }

Video games often find their way into other forms of media, with cameos of upcoming software in vampire shows or how our consoles will one day rise up and destroy us all. In nearly every instance, TV show and film writers prove they aren't familiar with how games work or ditch logic for a silly premise. During the August 28 episode of Psych, we saw it happen again.

When faux psychic detective Shawn Spencer (James Roday) visits his father (played by Corbin Bernsen, above) for advice, we find the retired officer red-eyed and fixated on the console, waving a plastic toy gun as the game's controller. Although the game isn't named, we can see it's Crackdown, which Bernsen's character claims "lets you feel like a cop, without all the guilt after you shoot someone."

It's a funny cameo that weaves itself nicely into the episode's story, but goes a little crazy with the wacky video game accessory. Besides, everyone knows Crackdown 2 uses no controller and will be completely mapped to a player's body when Natal hits stores* in 2010. Check out a clip of all the episode's video game related gags after the break.

*We kid. We hope.

[Thanks, PsychOut]

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PS3 vs. Xbox 360: European install base tiff muddled by murky borders

by James Ransom-Wiley { Sep 3rd 2009 at 3:00PM }

Speaking to MCV, Microsoft EMEA VP Chris Lewis has proclaimed that Xbox 360's 9-million-plus European install base trumps PS3's recently projected 10-million-and-counting base. How is that possible, you ask? Simple. "We count installed base differently," Lewis explains. Of course!

In fact, Lewis takes the counting contention one step further. "We're confident we are actually around a million units ahead," he claims. While we're fairly certain both parties stick to the traditional "1, 2, 3" ... and so on convention, we suspect Lewis is arguing over just which "European" territories are at stake in this numbers game. SCEE pools its population from Europe, Australiasia and other territories outside of Japan, the rest of Asia and North America. Microsoft EMEA combines figures from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Kinda hard to wage a console war when the opposing sides are scurrying about different maps. So then, stalemate?

250 GB 'Super Elite' 360 spotted in South Africa too

by Justin McElroy { Aug 28th 2009 at 10:30AM }

Now that the prices have been slashed on the Xbox 360 Elite, it would seem that the "Super Elite" is rising to take its pricey place. After yesterday's reveal of the 250GB beast on Amazon Germany, XboxGaming.co.za is reporting that the "Super Elite" console (with two wireless controllers and a copy of Forza 3) has been confirmed by local distributors as coming to South Africa, this October, for R4,999 ($644). XG's report also included an ad from local retailer BT Games, which touts a standard Super Elite bundle for R4699.

The recently ordained South African distributor, Comztek, noted that HD cables would not be included in the box. Presumably, they're being saved for the Super Duper Elite.

Microsoft: 360 'only console to show growth this year'

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 14th 2009 at 4:58PM }

Despite the fact that every console saw month-to-month losses in July, Microsoft has issued its own take on the somewhat depressing NPD numbers, claiming that the Xbox 360 is "the only console to show growth this year" and "the industry's sole bright spot in 2009". Readers will recall that Aaron Greeberg made similar statements last month, after which it was revealed that the Xbox 360 sales had grown by 21 percent since last June.

Microsoft now reports that number is down to 17 percent growth over the first seven months in 2009, as compared to the same period last year. Granted, the number isn't quite as remarkable, but given that the Xbox 360 is the only console to achieve any growth at all -- as long as you don't count those pesky handhelds -- it's impressive nonetheless.

Microsoft also touts that the Xbox 360 is the number one platform for third-party titles. The company claims that third-party game sales totaled $101 million in July, which "maintains the streak of leading third-party games sales for every month of 2009." See, little red arrows aren't all bad.

Interview: Netflix on Xbox Live

by Kevin Kelly { Aug 10th 2009 at 3:29PM }

Last month we spoke with Last.fm about the service coming to the Xbox 360, and what it would mean for users. Then we turned around to get the Xbox side of things as well. We've decided to talk to all of the social media that's making the leap to the Xbox: Last.fm, Netflix, Facebook, and Twitter.

In this interview, we speak with Steve Swasey, vice president of marketing for Netflix. Although Netflix isn't in the business of releasing stats on individual devices, an industry source told us that the Xbox has been the biggest of all, over the Roku Box and other options. Over one million Xbox gold members have used the Netflix service on their consoles. Neither Roku nor the LG Blu-ray players with Netflix built-in have hit that number.

With the new Netflix experience increasing the functionality by letting users add movies from the Xbox, and providing a new party mode, it will most likely continue to grow in popularity. We spoke with Swasey recently about the new experience on the Xbox 360, what other devices they're looking into, and the future of Netflix in both physical and streaming media. Read on for the full interview after the break.

Gallery: New Netflix Experience

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Xbox 360 wedding cake unlocks Achievement

by Richard Mitchell { Jul 27th 2009 at 11:45AM }

Joystiq reader Charles was married recently, and he sent us word that his new wife surprised him with a very special groom's cake. We have dubbed it the XCake 360. It comes complete with 120SB (sprinkle-bite) hard drive and a wireless cake-troller. We're also guessing it's not a launch cake, as it clearly hasn't yet suffered the Red Ring of Death. Still, we get the feeling it probably didn't last much longer than moments after this picture was taken.

The cake also has an Achievement pop-up on top which reads: "Achievement Unlocked: Until Death Do Us Part." Now, Charles, comes one of the most important decisions for a newly married couple: Separate or joint Xbox Live accounts?

A fashionable look at the new Avatar Marketplace

by Dustin Burg { Jul 24th 2009 at 2:00PM }

Seeing as we just got our mitts on the new Xbox 360 dashboard, we figured we'd share the dash love with a preview of the upcoming Avatar Marketplace. Click through the gallery to experience Avatar shopping, view the stylish pirate apparel and, if you're daring enough, take a peek after the break for a look at Avatar cotton swabbing. Yes ... cotton swabbing.

Gallery: Avatar Marketplace Preview

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Xbox Live Dashboard update preview goes live

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 24th 2009 at 12:45PM }

The preview of the upcoming update for the Xbox 360 Dashboard is now live, giving a few lucky Xbox owners -- for now, mostly press outlets -- a chance to place their eyes upon many of the new features, such as Games on Demand, improved Netflix functionality, unlockable Avatar items, purchasable Avatar items, a community-controlled games rating system, and other minor improvements.

We'll have a video preview and some additional image galleries of these new features up later today. Fear not, non-chosen ones -- you'll get your hands on the preview shortly, and everyone will be able to install the update when it goes public on August 11.

Update: We've edited this post to clarify that while the preview is technically live, its access is currently limited to press and a select few "MVPs." Those of you lowly commoners chosen for the preview should be granted access in the next several days.

Gallery: Xbox Live Dashboard Update (2009)

Xbox 360 and rhinestones, how can this go wrong?

by Xav de Matos { Jul 23rd 2009 at 2:15PM }

Stop us if you've heard this before: You get home, stare at your Xbox 360 console and, through the corner of your eye, spot your sister's Bedazzler and think, "Yes. Yes, I can." Apparently that's what happened with deviantART user ricepuppet when creating the above piece of work for "a client." Don't get us wrong, we dig the paint job, but the faux gems look completely out of place. Somewhere, a little girl's jean jacket sits cold and alone without the word "Princess" strung across the back in precious rhinestones (for the sake of this joke, pretend it's 1987).