Truth in Advertising: PS3 Blu-ray player

Hmmm. Somehow we doubt this came from Sony's HQ but perception is reality. Apparently someone agrees with the vast majority of Blu-ray supporters everywhere that the PS3 is Blu-ray's saving grace - or sinking anchor.
Truth in Advertising: PS3 Blu-ray player - Engadget HD

Xbox 360 Guitar Hero 2 Kiosk Picture !!

Play Guitar Hero 2 at select retailers across the nation. Check out this shot of the kiosk unit.Release date: 4/3/07



read more | digg story

Xbox 360 Elite with IPTV announcement coming next week

The new Xbox 360 Elite will be announced next week with a bigger harddrive, smaller chip, HDMI and IPTV.



read more | digg story

NASCAR pulls in for another race

As if EA have suddenly remembered they have exclusive rights to the sport of NASCAR (it got lost in their bulging closet), they have announced NASCAR 08, which is set to be released later this year. Great news to fans of the sport, and don’t let the EA tag put you off, because the game will be sporting Tony Stewart’s mug on the packshot!

EA are promising that this will be the most realistic NASCAR game to date. The career mode starts you out as a rookie driver, and you have to develop your driving skills and pick up licences and contracts that will help further your career, which in turn will unlock bigger and better cars for your usage. Every race you participate in will gain you experience, and you can modify your car’s handling with over forty tuning possibilities. You can even share your setup with the community, or go head to head over Xbox Live, with the game supporting up to sixteen drivers.

For those that have never heard of Tony Stewart, he is a rather successful driver in the world of NASCAR. He has finished in the top ten in 59% of all races he has competed in. Quite impressive, and not something many could brag about. He has also never finished below 11th in the final point standings at the end of the season. Again, not many people can say that. The guy also isn’t afraid of controversy. He has been involved in several incidents of, in partcular he once deliberately smashed into an opponents car after the opponent got too tight to Stewart. The opponent went spinning into another opposition driver. Quite amusing towatch I’m sure! Stewart had the following to say about the game:

“Being on the cover of NASCAR 08 is an honor for me and my team. I am really impressed with the next generation game features and graphics - the realism and authenticity are amazing.”

Xboxic » NASCAR pulls in for another race

Should the 360 support Folding@Home?

Over at Gizmodo they've pitched an interesting question, why not allow Xbox Live members to participate in the Folding@Home project like the PS3 has? If you aren't familiar, the PS3 allows users to use their PS3's horsepower to aid in disease research when they aren't gaming online. So, with Gizmodo's plan, 360 and PS3 users could take the console war into the science lab by keeping track of which console completes the most work units each week or the fastest. It'd be a mini competition that helps keep the (not so) friendly console war alive while helping disease research. Sounds like a win-win solution to us. So, what do you think? Should Microsoft give us the option to donate our 360's computing power in the Folding@Home project or any other charitable cause?
Should the 360 support Folding@Home? - Xbox 360 Fanboy

Xbox Live Security Update

Earlier this week when I first heard about the "Xbox Live network hacked" story, I checked with the people on our end, and then posted about it. As originally posted, Xbox Live has not been hacked. That is still true. A security researcher, Kevin Finisterre, discovered not a hack, but the fact that some accounts may have been compromised as a result of 'social engineering', also known as ‘pre-texting’, through our support center. Kevin gave me a call directly and once I realized what he was talking about (he sent me some painful-to-listen-to audio files) I confirmed that the team is fully aware of this issue. They are examining the policies, and have already begun re-training the support staff and partners to help make sure we reduce this type of social engineering attack.

There's no other way to say it; this situation shouldn't have happened. Our customers deserve better.

The Xbox team takes what happened and the resolution of it very seriously. I also wanted to let you know that we've posted a page on Xbox.com 'Troubleshooting Access to your Xbox Live Account' that can help you if you have questions. Finally, I chatted with Kevin earlier today and thanked him for bringing this issue to our attention. I also let him know that we have a much better understanding of this issue and that we are reviewing the processes in place to help prevent this in the future.

Xbox Live's Major Nelson : Xbox Live Security Update

Rumor: Xbox 360 Elite IPTV Capable Out of the Box

While old school Xbox 360s will probably require a firmware update of some sort to get its IPTV on, Dean Takahashi at Mercury News says that the totally unconfirmed but widely expected Xbox 360 Elite will come IPTV-ready right out of the box.

This jives with what I was told back in January when I asked Microsoft reps during the IPTV demo about a souped-up 360 to more adequately handle the demands of IPTV—namely a high-def output (HDMI) and a larger hard drive, which was to "stay tuned." With VOD (which is built into the IPTV setup, along with Live Marketplace, obviously) and DVR, 20 GB just doesn't cut it, regardless of how good the compression is.

VOD? IPTV? DVR? Media streaming? The 360 is looking more and more like the best convergence box of its generation. I'm all over that Elite, whenever it drops. Of course, it helps I didn't already spend $400 on the soon-to-be lame-o regular 360. Suckers. — Matt Buchanan

Rumor: Xbox 360 Elite IPTV Capable Out of the Box - Gizmodo