Filed under: Deals and Bargains

Let's face it, 360 accessories are expensive. In the case of hard drives, 360 accessories are ridiculously expensive. As a service to our readers, we bring you the news that you can snag a 20GB 360 HDD for the tempting price of $49.90 from GoGamer.com (for now at least). Add $2.59 for shipping and you've got a brand new hard drive for $52.49. Not bad. But wait! there's more. Why grab a measly 20GB HDD when you can get a 120GB HDD for the bargain price of $144.99 ($35 off retail)? Head over to Newegg.com and you can purchase one for $164.99. Just slap on the promo code "Paypal20" and pay with PayPal and you'll get an additional $20 off. After shipping, you'll pay somewhere in the range of $150. Again, not bad.
Read -- 20GB deal at GoGamer
Read -- 120GB deal at Newegg
[Via TechBargains. Thanks, djphatjive]

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...and we're just getting started!

We just released an announcement that one million of you have already pre-ordered your copy of the game. Retailers have told us that the presales for Halo 3 are the fastest in video game history. In fact, demand has been so strong for the Legendary Edition that it is expected to be sold out by the time the game launches on Sept. 25. Surprised even us.

We're also unveiling details of upcoming promotions in the US, from brands like Mountain Dew, 7-Eleven, Pontiac, Comcast and Burger King. Check it out:

• Mountain Dew will unveil the first beverage co-branded with a video game, Mountain Dew Game Fuel. Game Fuel has the same great taste of Mountain Dew with an invigorating blast of citrus cherry flavor and added caffeine for maximum intensity. Game Fuel will come in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and will be available nationwide for a limited time starting Aug. 13, 2007.
• In a few select markets, Mountain Dew will offer a special-edition aluminum bottle of Mountain Dew Game Fuel with an exclusive design created by Bungie Studios, the developers of Halo 3. This bottle will be available in very limited quantities, making it a highly sought-after collector’s item.
• 7-Eleven today confirmed its plans to support the launch of Halo 3 through a variety of in-store promotions, including three Halo 3-branded collectible Slurpee cups. In addition,7-Eleven will run a Halo 3 promotion with Mountain Dew Game Fuel and Doritos, with thousands of Halo 3-themed prizes, including, as grand prize, a chance to win a minor role as a voice actor in the upcoming Xbox 360 video game, Halo Wars, by Ensemble Studios.
• Pontiac will host Pontiac Gamers Garage events in select locations, providing consumers with a chance to play the game for the first time before its release. In addition, in support of the launch of its upcoming high-performance G6 GXP Street, Pontiac is offering 1,000 consumers a chance to win a copy of the game; one lucky gamer will win a limited-edition Halo 3 G6 GXP Street car.
• Burger King Corp. will continue its sponsorship of Xbox 360 with national, in-restaurant support from Sept. 24 through Oct. 22. Halo 3-themed packaging will offer customers access to exclusive content by logging on to http://www.bk.com/halo3 beginning Sept. 23. Graphics will be featured on select packaging, including the 42-ounce cup and King FRYPOD.
• Comcast has also joined the Halo 3 campaign and will host exclusive video content, including user-generated movies and machinima, on its Web sites http://gameinvasion.net and http://www.ziddio.com. Comcast will also feature standard- and high-definition Halo 3 videos on its signature ON DEMAND service.
• Halo 3 is also the official sponsor of the Projekt Revolution tour this summer, which includes bands Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance. Exclusive Halo 3 VIP events will take place in select cities on the tour, where attendees will receive Halo 3-themed merchandise and have an opportunity to meet the members of Linkin Park.

We'll try to bring you more info for the curious among you. For now, you can find pictures of some of the upcoming items from our friends at XboxFamily.com, one of our favorite new Xbox sites (thanks again for your help, guys).

For more information, check out the press release. I'm hungry. When's lunch?

When I was at E3 I had a chance to get a look at the new Halo-edition 360 hardware, and I asked about the HDMI connection. "HDMI will probably be standard moving forward," I was told. I pushed for more information, but was rebuffed. Now, after the price drop announcement, a mole sent us some interesting information about Microsoft's upcoming hardware plans. If you're thinking of buying, you may want to hold off.

First, a few caveats. This is rumor. I won't name the source, but the information she/he provided me matches up with everything I've been told and understand about Microsoft's future hardware plans. I think it sounds solid, but I'm not willing to say this will definitely happen.

According to my source, Microsoft wants to cut through all their existing inventory of hardware. They will then quietly "soft launch" a new version of the Core and Premium hardware in late August or September that will include an HDMI port. It's also expected that this new hardware will feature the 65nm process for the CPU and quieter DVD drives. The new hardware will ship in boxes very similar to what we saw on store shelves now, but there will be a small "call out" on the box so you know you're getting a system with the HDMI connection.
Continue At Source

Continue to this article at Bink.nu

Filed under: Gaming

Remember way back when we broke the big news on the Xbox 360 Elite -- and one of the bits we mentioned was that after a while Microsoft was going to burn through its Premium SKU stock and eventually add HDMI to the mid-range model? Or that again, recently, another source of ours confirmed the same? Well it seems Ars heard the same thing from one of its sources, and has it that Microsoft will have an HDMI enabled Premium system (with cooler 65nm chips and quieter drives) coming later this month or early September. We don't know about that bit, but we'll certainly be waiting and watching this one.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

We just issued a press release tonight, announcing a price drop of $50 on the Xbox 360 console, beginning Wednesday, August 8.

We're also announcing the price of the upcoming Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Console, going on sale in September, for $399.99 (all prices ERP US).

• Xbox 360: $349.99
• Xbox 360 Core System: $279.99
• Xbox 360 Elite: $449.99
• Xbox 360 Halo^® 3 Special Edition Console: $399.99

More information can be found in the press release, or on Xbox.com.

Hello again fellow Madden fans, I'm back with a new blog installment this week, and I really wanted this week to focus on a few of the smaller features that rarely get mentioned by the press. This is just a fraction of some of the new gameplay improvements we've made for Madden NFL 08, but it's also the stuff that will likely never make the back of the box. I really like that this blog gives me the chance to let the community know about some of these things that you might never have known about until you saw it in your game at home.
We have a ton of other small features, changes, and other additions that I've pushed out to some of the other producers to write blogs on, so look for those in the coming days and weeks.
On to the features!
Click here for the new Team Celebration video
Team Specific Celebrations
We've had player specific celebrations in Madden since Madden NFL 2003, but since we've implemented our "No Post Play Celebration Cut Scene" policy, we really wanted to extend the functionality outside of just players, but to teams. Plus in the example of the Giants, it would not have been very efficient to just tag every player on the Giants with a special animation set. Then also if you had traded that player he would still do the animation on another team, and we didn't want that either.
In the video you can see the immediate reaction from Strahan - doing the jump shot "ballin" celebration that nearly every defensive player on the Giants would do last year. We've got team-specific celebrations for Atlanta (A-Town stomp), Denver (Mile High salute), Philadelphia (Eagle flap), and a few other teams as well.
On an added note, we've even got some special surprises in store for create-a-teams too. I'd encourage you to experiment with scoring touchdowns with some different teams with different logos when you get your hands on the game.
Bad Weather Jukes
This one has been a hotly debated topic around Tiburon...do we want players to slip and fall? It takes control away from the gamer...which is kind of against our mantra this year. We decided to make an exception and have slip and fall jukes in rain or snow games. This is a part of football...so we finally got it in. It doesn't ruin the gameplay experience by any stretch (i.e. you can keep running if no one touches you while you're down), and it's tuned for the player's agility rating. So for the example in the video I used Lorenzo Neal (don't worry - I turned on a debug option to make him slip every time just so I could show it in a video easily - and I froze the defense as well), but the point is that a guy like him will be more at risk to slip and fall when juking than a guy like Tomlinson. I think it is tuned perfectly too...my whole goal with this one was just to put it in the back of your head that you might slip and to keep you wary of it. It's not even close to happening every time (or even every other time) you juke, but it's just enough to get you thinking about it. "I probably shouldn't juke with my fullback right now...but maybe I'll give it a shot". It's also scaled based on the amount of precipitation. If it's a light drizzle you'll rarely see it, if at all, but in a heavy downpour you might run across it every now and then.
I'm really looking forward to expanding this in the coming years. Rain and snow games should really start feeling more and more different. This is something I definitely want opinions from the community on though:
Jukes seem more acceptable to slip because you are controlling the player. If you juke with a non-agile guy in the rain, and you slip and fall, that makes sense. But what about the following...would you want to see things like this in Madden NFL 09?

Receivers and defenders slip and fall on cut moves based on their ratings. This one is totally out of your control, but can be realistic.

Ball slips out of QB's hand while passing based on ratings (maybe the Carrying rating? Should we make a new rating for this?). Again, pretty much out of your control...you have to pass whether it's raining or not right?

Holders and punters missing snaps. Man this would infuriate me if it happened in a clutch situation. But look at Romo and the Cowboys...it happens! If it's in the game...should it be in the game?

Kickers slip and fall on kicks...though I bet this would look pretty funny, what if you missed a game winner because of it? I am assuming a few TV's and controllers would get shattered if we put that in.
Play Action with Short Yardage to go
This is one of my favorites because I actually implemented it. You got it...I've taken up a little programming (a.k.a. hacking away until it somehow works correctly). This was one of the first things I tried, and it caused all kinds of bugs at first, but my engineers were helpful enough to take some time out and help me fix them. Basically the idea is that your RB will fake a dive over the top if you are in a very short yardage situation (i.e. at the goal line on the 1). With our improved camera fakes too this can really throw off your opponent...and it's really a great moment when you see it. I find myself calling PA plays a lot more now just to see it happen. There are a few caveats - your RB has to be heading toward the goal line (i.e. you won't see it on a toss play or a Shotgun option choice), and your RB can't have a run-route assignment after the PA (we did this so it wouldn't ruin your play). So knowing those...make sure you try this one out!
Defender Fakeout Logic
In the grand scheme of things this one is pretty minor, but to me it was extremely important. If you've been keeping up, a big push for this year was to really bring the twitch back and bring user control back to the forefront. With better user control brings back the ability for all of us to pull off what we call "d-pad jukes", which are basically just twitch moves with the stick that don't require hitting a special move button. That's all well and good, but our pursuit AI had gotten so advanced that once we got the control to where we wanted it, the defense was still shutting us down. A solution to this (after more accurately tuning pursuit based on our new pursuit rating) was to implement fakeout animations for defenders if they've over-pursued the play. We've had these animations in Madden and NCAA for a few years now, but they always were triggered off of special moves. This is no longer the case...now if you really work a guy and fake him out with the stick, he'll actually play the animation and truly be out of position.
The video shows just one example - we have tons of different fakeouts that differ between the player types (big guys, medium size guys, and agile guys), and we even have granularity between fatigued players and non-fatigued players.
Luigi Running fixes
I've been so sick of having Mario Running in Madden for the past 15 years that I had to call it something different - hence Luigi running. If you don't know what Mario Running is, it's a reference to any Mario game - if you take Mario up to a wall and just keep running, he'll keep running in place which is what our players often did when they ran into the back of the line. I wonder who coined this phrase...does anyone know?
But what a great moment to say that it's finally gone. No longer do your players get stuck on the back of linemen or teammates. We first had to change a lot of collision code to make players a bit more "slippery" in terms of physics, and then after that we added all kinds of special animations to take care of the instances that were problem areas. The video example shows a nice push-the-pile animation...if you're using a guy like LJ you'll see animations more like that. If you're using a guy like Warrick Dunn though, you'll see much more of the get-skinny and "slip by" animations. We used our new Ballcarrier Vision rating to really differentiate the players in how they react in that situation...I think you'll be very pleased with the results.
So that's all for now - please send your comments on the weather issue...I really would like that feedback as we start planning for next year.
Hope you enjoy the vid - please comment on that too!
-Madden08.com

EA_Madden's Blog - Things You Won’t See on the Back of the Box

The Xbox LIVE Arcade team just published a list of titles coming up in the next several weeks, just in time to finish up summer.

From the media alert that just went out:

Hot August games also releasing this month:

• “Ecco the Dolphin” (Sega) Cool off with this fun, whimsical update of the classic undersea exploration game featuring everyone’s favorite bottlenose dolphin, Ecco!
• “Hexic 2” (Carbonated Games) The highly anticipated sequel to the popular puzzle game “Hexic HD” will have gamers racing to solve brand new challenges, including an all new two player Battle mode.
• “War World” (Ubisoft) A pure adrenaline rush, War World features powerful armored mechanoids battling head-to-head in all-out savage single and multiplayer battles that combine action and strategy.

Sizzling summer launches hitting in the coming weeks:

• “Geon: Emotions” (Eidos) Engage in the unique sport of Geon, where you must master a diverse range of emotions to best your opponents.
• “Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords” (D3Publisher of America, Inc.) Addictive and easy-to-learn, this game integrates story and character progression elements found in RPGs delivering a brand new type of game that pushes the puzzle genre to a whole new level.
• “Space Giraffe” (Llamasoft) Created by genre-defining game designer Jeff Minter, “Space Giraffe” is a psychedelic shooter that spans 100 levels, all set against vivid, pulsating backgrounds that synchronize with any custom music selection.
• “Streets of Rage 2” (Sega) One of the most popular side-scrolling beat ‘em ups of the 90’s gets the Xbox LIVE Arcade treatment, complete with enhanced graphics, sound, Achievements and multiplayer modes.
• “Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix” (Capcom) This game combines addictive puzzle action with favorite Capcom fighting characters including Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Morrigan.

There have been over 45 million Xbox LIVE Arcade game downloads as of July, and the popularity of the service continues to grow. Over 100 games will launch on Xbox LIVE Arcade by year’s end, including dozens of original IPs and classic titles updated for this generation.

Look for specific game information surrounding each title on Xbox.com in the coming weeks.

 EA has announced that it will be shutting down the servers for a number of its older sports titles, starting September 1st. And by "older" they mean "not actually that old at all, really," as games like Madden 06 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 will no longer have online support.

Games for PC, 360, Xbox, PS2, and PSP will all be affected, with a second group being shut off as of November 1st. Guess that's one way for EA to persuade you to buy the newer version, huh? Keep reading for the full list of affected titles.

September 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown
Arena Football for PlayStation 2
Arena Football for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox 360
FIFA Soccer 06 for PC
FIFA06 for PC
FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation 2
FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation Portable
FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PC
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation 2
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation Portable
FIFA World Cup 2006 for Xbox
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation Portable
Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox
Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360
Madden NFL 06 for PC
Madden NFL 06 for PlayStation 2
Madden NFL 06 for PlayStation Portable
Madden NFL 06 for Xbox
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects for PlayStation 2
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects for Xbox
MVP 07 NCAA Baseball for PlayStation 2
MVP 07 NCAA Baseball for Xbox
NASCAR 06 Total Team Control for PlayStation 2
NASCAR 06 Total Team Control for Xbox
NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360
NBA Live 06 for PC
NBA Live 06 for PlayStation 2
NBA Live 06 for PlayStation Portable
NCAA Football 2005 for Xbox
NCAA Football 2006 for PlayStation 2
NCAA Football 2006 for Xbox
NCAA March Madness 06 for PlayStation 2
NCAA March Madness 06 for Xbox
NFL Head Coach for PC
NFL Head Coach for Xbox
NFL Head Coach for PlayStation 2
NHL 06 for PC
NHL 06 for PlayStation 2
NHL 06 for Xbox
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 for Xbox 360
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 for Xbox

November 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown
Burnout Revenge for Xbox
Burnout Revenge for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Underground for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PC
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Most Wanted for PlayStation Portable
Need for Speed Most Wanted for Xbox

There are 50 achievements with a total of 1000 points.

Chapter 1 Training
10

Complete Chapter 1 Training.

Chapter 2 Training
10

Complete Chapter 2 Training.

Chapter 3 Training
10

Complete Chapter 3 Training.

Chapter 4 Training
10

Complete Chapter 4 Training.

Chapter 5 Training
10

Complete Chapter 5 Training.

Chapter 6 Training
10

Complete Chapter 6 Training.

That's One Frustrated Sniper.
10

Block ten sniper shots with Wired Reflexes.

Brother From Another Mother
20

Perform a cross-platform Resurrection.

Mine Is The Superior Platform
50

Kill 100 players on the opposite platform.

Healer
10

Save your allies with the Tree of Life.

Runner
10

Carry the Artifact all the way to the delivery point.

Unstoppable
50

Kill ten enemies in a row without being killed.

BFF
20

Play Public Match in a Party with players on both XBox 360 and Windows Vista.

Elf Player
10

Play as an Elf for one hundred games.

Dwarf Player
10

Play as a Dwarf for one hundred games.

Troll Player
10

Play as a Troll for one hundred games.

Human Player
10

Play as a Human for one hundred games.

Heavy Smoker
10

Ignore a great deal of damage using Smoke.

Summoner
10

Kill one hundred enemies with your Minions.

Teleporter
10

Teleport one hundred times.

Blowhard
10

Gust 5 enemies to their deaths.

Resurrector
10

Bring back one hundred allies from the dead.

Target Lock
10

Kill one hundred enemies with SmartLink active.

Trollhammer
10

Kill one hundred enemy Trolls.

Elf Bane
10

Kill one hundred enemy Elves.

Dwarf Scourge
10

Kill one hundred enemy Dwarves.

Street Samurai
20

Kill one hundred enemies with the Katana.

Popgun
20

Kill one hundred enemies with the Pistol.

Lead Hose
20

Kill one hundred enemies with the Minigun.

Tatter Tatter
20

Kill one hundred enemies with the Rifle.

Sniper
20

Kill one hundred enemies with the Sniper Rifle.

Shotty
20

Kill one hundred enemies with the Shotgun.

Special Delivery
20

Kill one hundred enemies with Grenades.

Master Blaster
10

Kill one hundred enemies with the Rocket Launcher.

100 Wins
100

Win 100 games during your Shadowrun career.

Well-Rounded
20

Win a Public Match game as each race.

Well-Traveled
20

Play a Public Match on each map.

3 for the Price of 1
25

Kill three enemies with one grenade.

Zombie Scores!
20

Deliver the Artifact while bleeding out.

Assistant
20

Get a 5:1 damage-to-kill ratio.

That Was Close
20

Kill the Artifact carrier less than ten meters from the delivery point, and win the round.

Small World
20

Play Public Match with players on both XBox 360 and Windows Vista.

Master Thief
25

Deliver the Artifact untouched despite heavy defense.

You're Coming With Me
25

Avenge your own death!

Secret Achievements

Master Ninja
100

Inflict one hundred mortal wounds with the Katana.

Triple Rez!
10

Resurrect three allies at once.

Shadowrun Fever
25

Catch it!

Master Gardener
25

Kill 5 enemies with Strangle.

Winning Streak
10

Win ten consecutive rounds.

Godlike
25

Kill all enemy players while taking no damage yourself.

Box Art