Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Even though Microsoft has “officially” stated that a Blu-ray drive would be sold for the Xbox 360, this rumor just does not want to die. The latest information is coming courtesy of the Chinese newspaper, Economic Daily News, and it seems to indicate that Microsoft is still interested in utilizing the apparent winner of the HD disc war for their game console.

The Economic Daily News is reporting that Pegatron Technology, a subsidiary of Asus, has orders, from Microsoft, to assemble Xbox 360 consoles that are equipped with a Blu-ray drive. This purported assembly is set to begin in the Q3 of this year. Microsoft has yet to comment on this latest chapter in the Blu-ray/Xbox rumor, so more as it happens.

Read [Digitimes]

We saw the drive change to an officially dead product and now it seems Microsoft is just trying to get rid of them. For anyone still willing to purchase a drive that belongs to the now dead HD DVD format, Best Buy is currently selling the Xbox 360 drive for just $50.

While it may not be a good next generation disc player, for $50 this could still make a nice addition to an Xbox, depending on where the game system lives. In a room with little space such as a college dorm, this could still make a nice replacement to a regular sized DVD player.

Via [Wired]

With the recent demise of HD DVD and all things that surround it, this news from Microsoft comes as no real surprise, they have officially discontinued the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. Current owners need not worry though, because although discontinued the support and warranty will remain in effect.

Actually the only real surprise here is that it took Microsoft this long to make it official. A nice follow up would have been the announcement of a Blu-ray player add-on, but that still has not been mentioned. It would make sense though.

Via [Gizmodo]

The German site, Xbox-Archiv, has reason to believe Microsoft will be making a few changes to the Xbox 360 line according to “good sources”. According the sources, the first item on the list of events is the tossing of the Core System, second is a price drop on the premium system (down to 299 Euros, or the price of a Core System), and a new model being pushed into the lineup.

The new model, codenamed Zephyr, will include a 120gb hard drive and HDMI port (as well as the possibility of being painted black). Zephyr is said to cost around 399 euros and is said to be released sometime in May. We think May is a little too early for Microsoft to unveil a large Xbox 360 upgrade, we believe a late 2007/early 2008 release is a lot more probable.

Well whether this rumor will hold up or not will only be determined with time, I can say assured that I will definitely be getting myself a Premium Xbox 360 in the near future, a price drop wouldn’t hurt.

Read [Xbox-Archiv] via [Xboxic] via [Gizmodo]

Sponsored Links:
Get the latest and greatest information on Nintendo Gamecube here. Find out how the game system was created and its place in video game history. On certain college campuses, there are even Gamecube clubs that you can join! If you do not already own a Gamecube, go online and get yours today! Video games are so great because they provide hours of family fun.

Are you tired of listening to the loud whirring noises that come from your Xbox 360? Have money to spend? Well, then you’re in luck, for Microsoft will be releasing an updated, quieter version of the most popular gaming console.

What did they fix? The hard drive. The old Hitachi-LG and Toshiba-Samsung hard drives are being replaced by a new, quieter hard drive manufactured by BenQ-LiteON-Phillips.

Read [CrunchGear] Via [X-Box Scene Forums]

We may have led you astray when we said that Halo 3 would possibly go live before the end of 2006. I guess we didn’t completely go wrong…

On December 4, yup, yesterday (you we are already late), Bungie and Microsoft launched a public beta signup for you to play the game before anyone else. The Beta is only available to American Microsoft Xbox 360 owners and I am sure the offers will not come in the hundreds of thousands. It is not too often that you see open beta testing for a game, let alone one of the most anticipated games of all time. It should be interesting to see how this all works out before the release in 2007.

Read [Halo 3] VIa [CrunchGear]

In an effort to better display the content available on Xbox Live Marketplace (XBLM), Microsoft has just launched Xbox Live Pipeline.  The usability of the new Pipeline is far better than that of XBLM.  It’s sort of confusing what the actual point of the new site is.  Are they expecting gamers to sit on their computer, browse for something they want to download, then go through a process to get to it on XBLM so they can actually download it?  I’d say this is a first step towards Xbox Live Anywhere which Microsoft showed off at this year’s E3 - where you can download content to your Xbox from any of your connected devices: phone, web browser, etc.  Hopefully by the end of the year Microsoft will make a big announcement in this area.

Read [Xbox Live Pipeline] Via [Gizmodo]

If you’re still playing your old school PS2, Xbox, or GameCube, you probably need a way to spice it up a little.  A company called Glow Gaming is coming out with glow-in-the-dark controllers for those systems in time for the holiday season.  The glowing “charge” will last users for about 30 minutes in the dark.  Additionally, controllers have a few other features that the company is touting - including longer data cables for connecting them to the console, and a soft-touch “ivory” feel.

According to the company, there are plans for next-gen console (Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PS3) versions as well.

Update: The units will cost about $20 and according to the company are “coming soon to a retailer near you!”

Package shot after the break.

Who doesn’t love a rumor?  The latest is one from a Best Buy ad found on GameSpot that sports a black Xbox 360.  There’s much speculation about what this means, if anything.  I’m going to rule out a coloring-mishap since that’s a near impossible mistake to make.  So the finger points back to Microsoft and their plans for this holiday season.  Will they be launching a refreshed black Xbox to get the holiday shoppers going crazy again?  I have to say… it would look rather sexy in black.

Read [GameSpot] Via [Xboxic]

According to Kotaku, Microsoft will announce tomorrow that the Xbox 360 HD DVD player will reach the shores of Japan on November the 22nd.

It will be priced at 19800 yen (thats around $168 USD). It is also rumored that it will feature 1080p capabilities and Windows XP Media Center Edition compatability.

More details [Kotaku]