The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Shivering Isles (Now Available)

Name: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Shivering Isles
Price: 2400 Points
Availability: Not Available in Japan
Dash Details: Play the official expansion for Oblivion – the 2006 RPG and Game of the Year. Shivering Isles features more than 30 hours of new gameplay as you are sent to explore the realm of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. Shivering Isles adds to the existing world of Oblivion, so you can continue playing with your existing save game/character, or create an all-new character just to explore the new content in Shivering Isles. New quests, creatures, weapons, armor, ingredients, and more await in the land of Mania and Dementia.
Size: 993.75 MB (approx.)

Details over at ElderScrolls.com

Why a $100 XBox can be better than the Apple TV

Apple TV certainly has its uses, but the original XBox is easier to hack, cheaper, and has much more support from the hacking community right now than Apple TV. If you've not looked into XBMC, it's absolutely worth it.



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Dead Rising and Lost Planet to remain Xbox 360 exclusives

Just days after explaining how "allowing more people access to our content pleases far more people than it displeases," Capcom's Christian Svensson rules out PS3 and Wii versions of the Xbox 360's Dead Rising and Lost Planet.



read more | digg story

Xbox 360 120 GB Ad Appears!

The first ad for the upcoming 120 GB hard drive for the Xbox 360 has been spotted at Gamestop! The Xbox 360 Elite is due next month, after all. Expect plenty more ads to come.



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How To Sell Xbox 360s In India

SO great. Singing, dancing, mad Indian skateboarding skillz...this ad has EVERYTHING. Except subtitles.



read more | digg story

Reminder: Xbox Live Maintenance

Yup, when I break out the hamster photo its Maintenance time!
I posted about this last week, but in case you missed it: tonight at midnight PT, Xbox Live, Xbox.com and the Xbox forums will be unavailable due to maintenance. You can read the official posting on Xbox.com that explains what to expect…and more importantly what NOT to expect (plus it give you some things to do to pass the time.)

I have said this a couple of times over the past week, so apologies for repeating this but (and let’s all say it together): when the service comes back online you will NOT have a dashboard update.

Reading this post during the maintenance? See the screen shot of the Xbox.com official posting I uploaded to Flickr.

Feel free to pass the time by posting in the comments here on my site, or by listening to one of my old shows, or finishing up the campaign modes of your favorite Xbox 360 games. During the downtime, I may post small updates on my Twitter site.
Xbox Live's Major Nelson : Reminder: Xbox Live Maintenance

Wistron to Discontinue Production of Xbox 360?

According to an Economic Daily News (EDN) report, Winstron is likely to gradually discontinue the production of Xbox 360 games consoles for Microsoft in 2008, partly due to declining profits on production the hardware for the software giant. DigiTimes.com got access to the report and translated the following:

The phase-out of Xbox 360 orders would not have significant impact on Wistron's revenues since the production of the games console currently accounts for about 10% of Wistron's total revenues, the paper said, citing analysts at Taiwan securities houses. Wistron is expected to record revenues of NT$280 billion (US$8.5 billion) in 2007, with a new EPS (earnings per share) of NT$5.45, the paper indicated.

Wistron is one of three manufacturing houses that produce the Xbox 360 system for Microsoft. The other two are Flextronics and Celestica.

Wistron, as well as Flextronics, were partners from the first iteration of Xbox, while the relationship between Celestica and Microsoft is newly formed.
Wistron to Discontinue Production of Xbox 360? - Xbox

Xbox 360 Elite production shots

We've got a couple spy shots hot off the production line in China of the Xbox 360 Elite. They were taken with a cellphone so the shots aren't of the highest quality, but they get the job done. The site hosting the thread is TGFCer, which stands for "TV Game Fans Club", and according to our tipster, is one of the biggest Chinese bbs for video game enthusiasts. A later shot was provided of the top of the hard drive, and you can barely make out the "12" in "120G HDD" due to over exposure, but with some Photoshop wizardry (Command+I, or Control+I for PC users) we were able to get the text to become more apparent. More pictures (including aforementioned inverted color shot) after the break.
Xbox 360 Elite production shots - Xbox 360 Fanboy

8 out of 10 Review: Virtua Tennis 3

Virtua Tennis 3 is a thoroughly enjoyable experience and although it’s unlikely to blow you away in any particular aspect, it is always a joy to play and will continue to be for many months to come. Sega have by no means revolutionised the genre but they have successfully brought a much loved series to the next gen and it is as lovable as ever. It has the playability, the fun and competitive edge that any sports title should have and is a highly recommended title. Virtua Tennis 3 ranks up there alongside Rockstar’s Table Tennis as one of the 360’s best and most enjoyable sports titles.

Final Score: 8 out of 10 - Good
Xboxic » Review: Virtua Tennis 3

Expensive (but nice) custom Halo 3 themed 360

Up for sale on eBay is one super fine custom Halo 3 themed Xbox 360. Complete with airbrushed Halo 3 logo, portrait of Master Chief, water droplets and dirty embellishments, this is one sexy custom case. And you're ever so lucky, because if you want this little guy all you have to do is drop $925 and you'll have her with matching controllers to boot. Though, no real Halo 3 fan could put a price on custom Halo 3 Xbox 360 perfection. Yup, spend $925 on this custom wonder and an additional $130 on the Legendary Edition and we'll (possibly) crown you richest, silliest, craziest, Halo 3 fan on the planet. Happy bidding!
Expensive (but nice) custom Halo 3 themed 360 - Xbox 360 Fanboy

Microsoft accidentally confirms HDMI?

With Microsoft staying hush-hush about the Xbox 360 Elite, people are looking for information anywhere they can get it. It seems the latest source of information is the official XNA Game Studio Express forum on the Microsoft Developer Network. An innocent XNA coder looking for answers seems to have confirmed more than the press could with calls and email directly to MS. The question, from forum user PAPutzback1, was simple: "Will the HDMI output on the revised 360 require any code changes? I am hoping some developers have a beta unit and can answer this question." A Microsoft employee by the name of Shawn Hargreaves responded, "No changes required." Obviously, Hargreaves' answer points to the Xbox 360 actually integrating HDMI at some point in the future, possibly confirming the existence of the Xbox 360 Elite. Our buddies at Xbox-Scene also report that their Microsoft sources have informed them that the HDMI port could be worked into Core and Premium 360s by June.

Granted, Game Informer has already stated that it doesn't print false stories in its April issue, but this is the closest we've gotten to official confirmation from Microsoft. Take it for what you will.
Microsoft accidentally confirms HDMI? - Xbox 360 Fanboy