THIS WEEKS LIVE LIST

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 Call of Duty 4
2 Halo 33 Guitar Hero III
4 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
5 Gears of War
6 Rock Band
7 Iron Man Demo8 FIFA 08
9 Forza Motorsport 2
10 Madden NFL 08

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Lost Cities
2 Ikaruga
3 DOOM
4 UNO
5 Brain Challenge
6 N+
7 Worms
8 Bomberman LIVE
9 Battlezone
10 Sonic The Hedgehog 2
The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 Halo 2
2 Splinter Cell Chaos
3 Battlefield 2: MC
4 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
5 Splinter Cell Chaos
6 Counter-Strike
7 Call of Duty 3
8 Street Fighter Anniv
9 Madden NFL 08
10 Fable
These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased that week

PS3 vs. Wii

funny watch this, i need to play with this wii lol

I know its not war but it's good fun!!!!!

BURNOUT NEW THINGS COMING!!!!!

Burnout Paradise v1.3 - Cagney (End of June, currently in alpha?)
New title screen showing off a new car with new Paradise logo and new title music- New cars available:
+ Dust Storm (see http://youtube.com/watch?v=mWFjq4-CV-M)
+ Hunter Olympus (see http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/5916/tv01hz1.jpg)
+ GT Tiger (see http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/771/tv03tm0.jpg)
+ Tempesta Dreamer (see http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/2580/tv02oc0.jpg)-
Real-life time/weather (unsure of if this means the weather and day/night cycle will match where you live or what...)
Geometry issues at the Airfield have been fixed
Searching for online games returns more information than before
All cars online now show damage instead of just your own
Player called out for being ahead in all of Today's Best categories
Various bad respawns have been fixed
Issue with checkpoints not being placed properly on the map have been fixed
Ability to invert the camera controls
EasyDrive now closes after 20 seconds of inactivity
Ability to view challenge and leaderboard lists without leaving online games-
User-created liveries for the Kitano Hydros, Hunter Oval Champ and Carson Inferno Van
Sirens on Police vehicles
Classical music from Picture Paradise now in the regular game playlist
Improved sound effects
40 total Paradise Drives for Ranked Races consisting of:
7 user-created races (see http://criteriongames.com/article.php?artID=72 for more info)
10 checkpoint races (see http://www.criteriongames.com/article.php?artID=121 for more info)23 point A to point B races
Players leaving will no longer cancel the current freeburn challenge and the game will just act as if the player that left had completed his part, allowing the rest of the players to attempt to finish the challenge (except for the new Timed Challenges)
70 new Multipart Challenges
70 new Timed Challenges with Leaderboards

Live frontpage/"game calendars":
Specific events on certain days and exclusive cars for use in them
Live frontpage as you start the game shows Criterion news as well as what you've done recently and what's popular online
Mute specific players at will from the Show Players screen
Global Paradise News page shown with daily news on login
Game calendars will be used to unlock new liveries and other things
New Freeburn game modes (see http://criteriongames.com/article.php?artID=114):
Freeburn Stunt Run (team version might be included as well, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsUCjKzZB4M)
Freeburn Marked Man (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO3sUTor_M8)
Freeburn Road Rage (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThdipywMNLE)
Turn signal/road sign navigation is much more accurate
Fixes, changes and balancing for Ranked Races consisting of:
A reset of the leaderboards on Cagney's release
Traffic always on
No custom routes allowed
All sanctioned routes have their own time leaderboards
Starting grid order based upon Ranking, better ranks start out towards the back of the pack
Car limits based on Boost levels instead of licenses to encourage more diverse car selection
Car selection screen comes up after the race is shown allowing everyone to see the race before car selection
Additional tuning to how Boost is earned while racing
Hosts no longer allowed to kick other players
Quitters will no longer be penalized only 100 points, but will be treated as if they came in 8th place
New map icons for the start and finish of races on map and minimap
Rounds no longer exist, all ranked races consist of just one race
All players start ranked races with full boost bars
Amount of time before race is terminated after the winner crosses the line has been increased from 20 seconds
Specific traffic density per Paradise Drive
A potential fix for the streaming bug that causes you to stop in place during a race
A potential fix for the bug causing people to join the newest rooms by default, leaving yours empty and lonely
A potential fix for the invincibility glitch and other glitches related to the junkyard (unconfirmed)
Rankings and points properly updated between each series of races- A potential fix for the impossible Road Rules times

v1.4 - Davis (End of July/August, pre-alpha status, paid update, price unannounced)

Playable motorcycles, including driver (which disappears during a crash), very detailed animations, no boost bar
New challenges, game modes and locations specifically tailored to the motorcycles
Nighttime reduces traffic density in the city

Additional challengesBurnout Paradise v1.5 - Eastwood (Fall 2008)
"The other side of the bridge", additional islands/gameplay (see http://criteriongames.com/article.php?artID=82)

Future Burnout Paradise Updates/Downloadable "Game Changing Content"All DLC and future changes without a known date/release yet.

Bi-plane currently in prototype stages, may never be released- Other vehicles alluded to by the team - date/price unannounced- Additional liveries/skins for existing cars - date/price unannounced- Additional livery/skin competitions

look what i got !!!!!

Sat morning the posti arrives and look what OXM Monobrow has sent me, Thanks m8

Console Update

You'll notice as you log into Xbox LIVE that there is an console update. The flash contains a minor code change to prepare for future growth of the service. There will be no immediate or noticeable changes to the interface or services for Xbox LIVE or the Xbox 360.

CoD4 sells over 9 million copies and breaks DLC Records

According to the NPD figures which were released today, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has officially sold over 9 Million copies worldwide since it’s release!

In addition, the Variety Map Pack we recently released on Xbox Live; has broke Xbox Live Marketplace records pulling down over 1 Million downloads within it’s first 9 days.

Not to mention pulling down Xbox Live Marketplace in the process when it launched.

Some cool numbers we pulled recently to see just how much gameplay that actually is, shows that Xbox LIVE members played more than 30 million sessions and logged over 30 million hours of gameplay!! We’re talking 1.9 billion minutes logged in the first 9 days!!

Travel in Style

Shame I'm not coming this year, you could have all had a lift in my jet....

Warfighters Pictures

Don't forget to look at the list of 'labels' in the right hand column on the site, click the "warfighters" link to see even more pictures from last year.

Laters, The Dude

The Boys!!!!

Remember last year, hope the weather is as good!!!!

And now for something completely different...

check this video out from Warfighters

http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=7541

OK WARDAY 2008 ALL BOOKED

Hi all the warday is all booked and paid for, just thought i would re post what the day will include:

Combat Induction

- Book- In -

Health & Safety Guidelines -

Mission Objectives Explained -

Weapons Skills Training -

Kit-Up for Action -

Kill House Operations -

Missions Tactical Skills

The first part of the day involves the group being split. One group will use the projectile range and the other will use the CQB house. Each group will learn how to sight aim and fire a pistol and assault rifle. A number of dynamic skills are demonstrated including learning how to fire from both left and right handed positions. The CQB skills include learning how to sweep and search a series of rooms and walkways learning the best way to tactically enter and clear a hostile area.

Stage 1

Each member of your team will be coached through the CQB section on an instructor to player basis. After the first sweep of the arena the player will repeat the circuit again this time using their machine gun to hit a number of targets. This is repeated until all members have completed the arena in pairs and finally a team of four. After the team is familiar with the procedures you will learn how to clear a room and perform a dynamic entry using a flash grenade.

Stage 2

After stage 1has been completed we switch your weapons to .43 tactical markers. Your team will then be set a number of time sensitive scenarios to complete against live attackers who will shoot at you until taken down. These include:- Rescue a hostage - Search and Clear - Locate and disarm an explosive device- Team on Team - Escort a VIP

Airsoft AEG weapons are great for drills, they hold a very large capacity of ammunition and look very and feel very real.The range is very limited due to the 6mm plastic BB rounds being susceptible to the elements. They have their place in any simulated weapon arsenal and are great fun. During our events we restrict the amount of rounds allocated to each weapon, it's totally unrealistic to do otherwise

this is just one of the guns we will be playing with.

Benon SP1 HAS BEEN PLAYING

nice one mate, any one else been busy let us know.

Points mean prizes!!!!

Come celebrate the release of the new Variety Map Pack and the Game of the Year Edition during LIVE Fire Weekend 2008, a 72-hour play and win sweepstakes full of games and prizes beginning on Friday, April 18 at 12:01 EDT through Sunday, April 20 at 11:59 EDT.

Hourly prizes will be awarded throughout the weekend, including Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare shirts, Infinity Ward autographed posters and Xbox LIVE® point cards. One Grand Prize winner will also receive an Infinity Ward autographed Xbox 360 Elite console and a limited edition Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare faceplate, among other items.

On Friday, April 18 from 6-9 P.M./EDT, gamers can play with more than a dozen developers from Infinity Ward and then on Saturday night from 9-11 P.M./EDT Mixed Martial Arts phenom Jens "Lil Evil" Pulver will join the online action.

Add these gamertags to your friends list:

fourzerotwo
COD4Neel
COD4Ryan
COD4Chance
COD4Geoffrey
COD4Todd
COD4Justin
COD4Jon
COD4Joel
COD4David

COD4Drew


Visit www.xbox.com/livefire for more details on LIVE Fire Weekend 2008 and to register to play. You only have from now through April 17, 2008 to register so sign up now.

See you online!

Thanks to Charlieoscardelta.com for the info....

One Free with every 360

I wish

Microsoft working on Wii remote ripoff for Xbox 360

The Nintendo Wii's remote, with its motion sensing abilities, have made the console a breakout success, with it still difficult to come by in stores well over a year after its launch.
So is it really any surprise that Microsoft is looking to pretty much rip the Wiimote off completely for its Xbox 360 controller? According to MTV News, a source within Microsoft alleges that a motion-sensitive controller and Mii-like avatar system are being developed for release at the end of the year. Will these things help the Xbox destroy the Wii in the battle of the consoles, or will it just feel like a cheap ripoff? Time will tell.

MTV, via Kotaku

Oh dear!

Xbox 360 Version Of Wii Remote Has Been In Development Since Summer, Source Exclusively Tells MTV News
Source provides sketch of prototype controller.
By Patrick Klepek

Del.icio.us Digg Newsvine Send to Friend Print You Tell Us

If everything gresponse to Nintendo's Wii will appear before the end of the year, a developer who has been briefed on the project told MTV News. The Xbox 360 manufacturer has been working on its own version of the motion-controlled Wii remote since last summer, the developer said.

Since Nintendo's Wii became a global sensation and Sony launched a PS3 controller that is also motion-sensitive, rumors have reverberated through the gaming industry that Microsoft would create a motion-controller of its own.

While nothing has been officially announced, MTV News' source was able to provide us with details on one such 360 controller in the making: a controller designed to do all the Wii remote does, and more. Our source chose to remain anonymous in the interest of not compromising business relationships, but MTV News has confirmed Microsoft's active interest in developing a motion-sensitive controller with other industry sources.

The project has been in active development at Microsoft since last August, the source said. Rare, the Microsoft-owned studio behind Xbox 360's launch first-person shooter "Perfect Dark Zero" and the upcoming installment of the "Banjo-Kazooie" franchise, has been tasked with creating a unified interface and look for the controller. Rare has had trouble hitting its deadlines, according to the source.

When MTV News contacted Microsoft for confirmation, a spokesperson said that "Microsoft does not comment on rumors and speculation."

Our development source sketched out a reproduction of the last prototype he'd seen, although the final product — if it is indeed released — may vary from this design. A key difference between the Wii remote and the prototype is the lack of a companion controller to be placed in the other hand, like Wii's Nunchuck.

The controller itself isn't much different in functionality or design from Nintendo's Wii remote, but comes with four face buttons, an analog stick and microphone. There are also plans for the controller to interact with the Xbox Live Vision Camera, the source said.

Microsoft's controller isn't just a response to "Wii Sports"; it's slightly more ambitious. "They want the usual assortment of 'Halo'/ 'Gears'/ 'Forza'/ whatever, just in waggle form," our source told us. Such idea-generation has not gone smoothly. "The whole thing is a colossal clusterf---," the source said. "[Microsoft] marketing just want it so they can match the Wii point for point. The biggest parts of their marketing materials outline how easy it would be for third parties to port their Wii games to the 360."

In addition to designing the interface for the controller, Rare has also fleshed out Microsoft's take on Nintendo's Mii avatar concept, the source said. Microsoft's Miis are designed to be associated with any game that incorporates the controller and create a standard "look" for the games. The avatars aren't tied to a controller when in use, as Xbox Live profiles currently are.

The avatars are more detailed than what Nintendo has allowed (i.e. they have limbs), the source said, but pushing the avatars into every controller title means they "dictate the entire look and feel of every game they're in, so they have to be generic as all hell."

Rare's difficulty in hitting development milestones has produced problems, however. "Microsoft is trying to decide how to get something out by the end of the year," said MTV News' source.

While MTV News' source presented full details of the project, several developers, speaking on background, could only confirm rumors that a planned motion-controlled Xbox 360 controller is in the works. If the project is more than a prototype initiative, it's been kept quiet from some major developers.

Microsoft has previously maintained a public message that motion controllers are a compelling idea, but avoided saying they would be moving into the space themselves.

"There's room for innovation here, but moving that controller around — it's something that's not mainstream for most games," Microsoft chief Bill Gates told MTV News in May 2006. "People aren't that good at totally standing still. Even pilots actually sit in a chair when they do their flying. So there's a lot to be learned about these controllers."

Last year, former Xbox executive Peter Moore was more upbeat about the prospects, but equally coy, in a February 2007 interview with GameInformer.com. "Since the day I saw Iwata-san [Nintendo president Satoru Iwata] pull the [Wii remote] controller out from under his podium a few years ago at [the Tokyo Game Show], I've always realized that was the right thing for Nintendo to have to do for what they needed to do to be successful in this next generation," Moore said. "And it was always going to be a challenge for us. So, we have plans. This does not come as a surprise."

MTV News' source maintained that development kits for Microsoft's new controller have been distributed to certain developers. If the project comes to fruition, and when Microsoft will actually reveal its plans, remain to be seen.

CoD4 Variety Map Pack DLC

Looks like the official release time for the new Variety Map Pack DLC for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is going to be 6:30 AM PST Friday morning. It’s currently 11:47 PM Thursday night at the time of this posting, so only 6 more hours to go before we can jump on the new maps. To go along with the news of the exact release time, Gametrailers has posted up two new videos that we shot yesterday at the Infinity Ward studios about the map pack. There should be one more in the pipeline for Chinatown, meanwhile enjoy the new Broadcast and Creek videos where I lay out some of my favorite strategies for the new maps as well as a general overview of what you can expect after 6:30 AM when the maps are available for download via Xbox Live!

In addition to the map packs hitting, I hear there may be a little extra XP up for grabs this weekend when playing on the new maps. So I’ll definitely be online this weekend to play the new maps.

Warday 2008

If ya going to Warday 2008 and have been playing R6V2. Don't forget to take this with ya!

CoD4: Map Pack - Not Delayed

Despite what the internet might tell you (including some “official” sources), the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare variety map pack has NOT been delayed until the 10th. As of right now we’re pushing certification for an on-time release for April 3rd or 4th. As of right now though, I’m being told that it’s a good chance it will be released worldwide (except for Japan) tomorrow night / early-Friday morning.

With that said, we also have a new video up on Gametrailers that show off the new maps in action, so check it out above.

For those of you asking when you should take off work, I’d take off Friday, as it looks like they should be available late Thursday night / early Friday morning, which means Friday you should be able to play all day. Also, those of you who have tokens already (either from Game of the Year edition or won them at the Gamestop event we held) you’ll be able to use them as soon as the Map packs are available on Xbox Live.

Update for those of you who bought the Game of the Year Editions:

I see a lot of questions for those of you who have the Game of the Year Editions and visited http://gameoftheyear.callofduty.com/ where all the April 10th delay date rumors spawned from. However, I wanted to let you know that I am currently working to get that changed so that it reflects the correct release date of the maps (April 4th) as well as allows users who buy the GOTY edition to redeem their code for a token as soon as the maps are available (on April 4th) instead of April 10th. I hope that clears up any confusion and I will keep you updated if anything changes, but I wanted to let you know I’m working to make sure you’re taken care of.

FROM "http://iamfourzerotwo.com/2008/04/02/call-of-duty-4-variety-map-pack-re-cap/"

Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360 still in the works

The word out of Digi Times today is that the Taiwanese manufacturerLite-On landed a contract to supply Microsoft with Blu-Ray disc drives to be used in the Xbox 360 product line and the first major shipment is to be in late 2008. Microsoft is currently not commenting on it but I am inclined to believe it for a number of reasons.

This is quite believable to me since Lite-On are already a supplier of optical disc drives to the Xbox 360 and Microsoft has always kept their options open technically and politically regarding bringing a Blu-Ray player to the Xbox 360. There are some media outlets that are going to far as to conclude that there is going to be an internal Blu-Ray drive in a future Xbox 360 and I am not likely to believe that as much as I believe that there is an external Blu-Ray player in the works.

Here are the main reasons why I think the eventual Blu-Ray player for the Xbox 360 is going to be external. The Jasper Xbox 360 motherboard is already well in the testing phase and they are putting on the final touches before ramping up manufacturing. I don't see the timing working out for it to be internal.

An internal Blu-ray drive would dramatically increase the cost of the Xbox 360 system and Microsoft is working hard to make the cost of the hardware as low as possible to reach a wide market. The phenomenal success of the Wii has them spooked and they want the cost of the Xbox 360 systems to go down as low as possible. They have never done a complete separate motherboard design and they would need to have extra hardware for Blu-Ray playback. Technically there is no difference between the Xbox 360 Arcade and the Xbox 360 Elite once you take all the external accessories off it. They made money off every external HD-DVD player sold and that business model would work out perfectly for a Blu-ray player. The cost of the a Blu-Ray drive is about $80 more than a DVD drive and I think it would be extremely unlikely that they would want to increase the cost of the 360. However an external Blu-Ray drive priced the same as a HD-DVD drive before the clearance would work great.

I do know that here are several external accessories are in the works for the Xbox line and external accessories has been a very monetarily successful market for Microsoft. A external Blu-ray drive would mean a new accessory on the store shelves in time for the holiday shopping season 2008. They already have millions of existing Xbox 360 in the hands of paying customers and I think there is a greater market opportunity for an external product. I have not had much faith in the past declarations that movies over Xbox Live marketplace were going to be the only option for movies on the Xbox. There is just not the bandwidth, storage space or content licensing opportunities for that to be a viable alternative to movies on an optical disc.

I also don't think Sony is going to go out of their way to prevent this since they are not the only company in the Blu-Ray group and they have a lot to gain if their competitors over at Microsoft started to use the movie disc format that they risked the Playstation brand to promote. Blu-Ray is a huge risk for Sony and they want EVERYBODY to use it, even Xbox owners.

I am about 95% certain that we will see an external Blu-Ray player for the Xbox 360 before Christmas 2008. We will never ever see Xbox games on a Blu-Ray disc format and Microsoft has been very clear about that. Microsoft does not want fans to choose a PlayStation 3 over an Xbox 360 just to get a Blu-Ray player. By offering an external Blu-Ray accessory there would have an alternative on the market when Joe Blow consumer eventually wants to get a Blu-Ray player this Winter.

"http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/digitaljoystick/archives/135590.asp"