Unlimited Xbox Live 1 month trial ... twah?

We received the above YouTube video via a tip and it will have Microsoft scratching their collective heads. It looks like thedalmeny was able to make their 1 month Xbox Live gold trial last ... forever. The video above shows their Xbox account with an "enabled" status even though the trial period ended December 1st, 2006. So, in theory, their trial has expired, but the account status is enabled meaning they still have access to gold features. We're a little curious to how this was exploited, whether it was done through a browser, through their 360, or a combination of both. No matter, someone is always trying to beat the system and stick it to the man!

Xbox 360 Fanboy

Gears of War Multiplayer Map Pack 1 Theme (FREE)

Name: Gears of War Multiplayer Map Pack 1 Theme Price: Free

Xbox Live's Major Nelson

IGN: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 Preview

The swing tracking is very accurate for drives and approach shots, and I found myself interlocking my fingers on the Wiimote, trying to get a traditional golf grip. Here's how the controls break down:

To swing, hold down B and make a golf swing. It's that simple. Like in other versions of Tiger, if you don't take the club back all the way, you will have less power on your shot. Unlike in other version, power is controlled by the speed of your downswing. The faster you swing, the farther it goes. Of course, if you push your downswing left or right, you're very likely to dig your Nike ball out of the bushes.

Once the ball is in the air, you induce spin by tapping the D-pad and shaking the Wiimote. The wrist strap is recommended here. To fade or draw the ball, you simply open or close the club face, respectively. Since the club face is really the Wiimote, you rotate it so the A button is facing the screen or facing away from the screen. Then take a natural swing and admire your physics-defying spin.

IGN: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 Preview

Why Gears of War is the best video game of the year.

The closest thing video games have to the Oscars are the annual "Game of the Year" awards handed out by the gaming press. This year, there's a rough consensus that three games deserve the nod. The first two are predictable, worthy selections: Wii Sports and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, games for Nintendo's innovative, you've-never-played-like-this-before Wii console. The third choice, however, is something of a surprise—a derivative piece of genre work for the Xbox 360 called Gears of War that somehow still manages to astonish and keep you up late into the evening.

Slate Magazine

Battlestations: Midway Demo Arrives Tomorrow

We just got word from Eidos that a multiplayer demo of Battlestations: Midway for Xbox 360 will launch tomorrow on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Battlestations: Midway immerses players in massive air, sea, and undersea battles comprising key historical locations such as Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Java, the Coral Sea and the infamous Midway Atoll, scene of the historic Battle of Midway.

Online multiplayer combat offers an entirely new online battle experience and features head-to-head and co-operative fleet battles featuring over 60 Allied and Japanese units.

The demo includes a multiplayer map entitled Island of Solomon

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Achievement Points: Why Players are Crazy for Them?

What makes people so crazy for these Achievement Points? Paul Hyman discussed it in his article in the Hollywood Reporter. It’s different from any other rewarding point accumulation system. You can never cash them for anything, and it’s only shown on your Gametag, along with your most recent games. Rather than any real-world reward, it’s the sense of achievement and pride in the virtual community that drives people to unlock those points in the games. What’s more, it allows people to exchange ideas and opinions on the games they like with other community members easily.

Achievement Points are not a new idea, but they were wisely implemented by Microsoft. In quite a lot of MMORPGs, people show their status by their score or the equipment their virtual characters have. The most popular instant messaging platform in China, Tencent’s QQ, implemented a similar system in late 2005, as the longer you use QQ, the more icons will be added to your tag, such as a moon, a star or a sun, each with a different status. You can also access different features for your avatar, and thousands of people leave their computer on to run QQ just to have those icons.

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Analyst cuts PS3 sales predictions

According to analyst Nomura Securities, Sony will miss its sales target of 6 million PS3 consoles by the end of March 2007 by 25%. This would lower the total sales to 4.5 million by the end of the Sony's fiscal year. The analyst blames poor sales of the console over the holiday period (caused by several supply problems) for the new predictions.

To emphasize how it believes this will affect sales in the long-term the analyst also gave predictions for the year ending March 2008, with a reduction from the predicted 16 million figure to 10 million. Then to go one year further to the year ending March 2009, it predicts a reduction from the 18 million figure to 11 million.

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50% of Retailers Holding PS3 Stock

Over 50% of U.S retailers have PlayStation 3’s in stock, while Wii is still almost impossible to find, according to a new report from American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy (pictured). His research read, “Our channel checks of 52 retail stores, from boutiques to big-box retailers, showed that 28 of the 52 stores had PS3 consoles in stock, while none had Wii consoles in stock.” One retailer had more than 60 units in stock, while most had only a few.

Sony denied that the availability of PS3 means demand for the machine is softening. Spokesman Dave Karraker told Reuters, "It isn't because demand has weakened, it is because we have kept the supply pipeline moving.” The company is airlifting 100,000 machines into the country every week.

Next Generation

chrome your xbox 360

Think Microsoft’s white Xbox 360 case is a bit bland? While you could pick up one of Microsoft’s not so exciting faceplates for the 360, or stick on some sort of cheap-looking vinyl decal, why not go all out and replace the whole case with something a little less dull?

[technabob]