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GamerAndy Live! Episode 79: Sony Happy Goat Time

Posted by Edie Sellers Categories: Corporate News, Culture, E3, Editorial, First Person Shooters, Nintendo, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Role Playing Games, Rumors, Square Enix, Take2, Third Person Shooters, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace, GamerAndy

GamerAndy LiveWe are back with another episode of GamerAndy Live! This week GamerAndy, GamerEdie, and Gear Live‘s Andru Edwards are behind the mic, bringing you a fresh dose of this week’s gaming news. Be sure to hit us up on the forums and let us know what you think.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 79:

  • A recent ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board threatens Internet radio and independent musicians by increasing costs to webcasters by 1,200 percent retroactively…and even for non-RIAA music. Please send a letter to your representatives to help reevaluate this Draconian and dangerous decision!
  • Sony throws party to celebrate God of War II. Great. The centerpiece of this event? A partially decapitated goat—and guests are invited to reach into the still-warm body, grab handfuls of offal and eat it. Good lord, what were they thinking?!? (Warning: Photo slightly NSFW in the United States for slight nippleage.)
  • Edie discusses the relative difference of “titties,” “boobies,” “boobs,” and “tits.” Andy defines “gazongas.”
  • The Xbox 360 Elite: Does Andru care? Does Edie?
  • Hironobu Sakaguchi (Red Racer, Final Fantasy) + Ken Kutaragi = BFF? Apparently not.
  • Speaking of Krazy Ken: He’s gone. Sony doesn’t want him, and neither does Nintendo, apparently. Sayonara, Sony! Konnichiwa, Mickey-Dees!
  • Andy goes into more detail about his recent PS3 purchase… and it’s not pretty. Andru and Edie also discuss the possibilities for Playstation Home, both pros and cons.
  • Edie still hearts her PS2, and Bully.
  • Andy rails about Kotaku’s recent habit of using countless internal search links in their stories—frustrating as hell, he says.

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Amazon Sells Out of Elite 360’s in Hours

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Release Dates, Rumors, Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Elite PackPersonally, it seemed like a strange move to me when Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 “elite” edition. For a console that had really carved out a position for itself in the current-gen competition, it seemed like the Elite was just M$ trying to make their console look more like a PS3. Well, color me wrong, because it seems like the Elite may be selling like hotcakes.

According to videogame news site Punch-Jump, the Xbox 360 Elite edition was posted on Amazon.com yesterday for pre-orders (good luck getting it on Sunday!), and sold out “within hours” of being listed. Of course, it’s not clear whether or not this actually represents M$ increasing their market share… are these truly *new* gamers, or just folks upgrading from their Platinum edition 360’s? We’ll be keeping a close eye on the NPD numbers next month… could this be the edge that Microsoft needs to beat out Sony in this round?

P.S. For those of you that weren’t madly refreshing the Amazon.com homepage on Thursday, you could always try your luck getting a Wii or Elite 360 at Target this week!

Read More | Punch-Jump.com

Gamestop Offering 360 Elite Trade-In, Hasn’t Thought It Through

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Culture, Rumors, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace

Duh!Gamestop, always looking to keep their inventory of used systems and games well-stocked, will be taking the Xbox 360 Core, Xbox 360 Platinum, and original Xbox as trade-in credit towards purchase of a new Xbox 360 Elite (or other purchase). Thus sayeth Kotaku.com and other games websites in the area.

According to Kotaku, you’ll also be able to get a better trade-in deal on your used console… the Xbox 360 Platinum will get you $250 (normally $190), Core packs get you $200 (normally $140), and the lowly original black Xbox will get you $50. That all sounds like a pretty good trade-in deal for a new 360 ‘l33t, but we’ve gotta wonder how exactly Gamestop is hoping to help the droves of Premium owners that want to transfer their data from the 20GB drive to the Elite’s 120GB drive… will you have to sit there and wait for them to do it in-store? Or will they let you keep your 20GB drive for a deposit? Or will they somehow use the magic of the internets’ pipes to get your 20GB worth of Elder Scrolls saves and Xbox Marketplace purchases to you? What’s the deal here? So far, we’re waiting for details on how exactly this operation is going to work. My money is on “not smoothly”.

Read More | Kotaku.com

Xbox 360 Mini-Keyboard Official, Not Rendered

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Accessories, Internet, Mods/Hacks, Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Thumboard

If you were wondering when Microsoft would recant on their position and re-introduce the era of gargantuan controllers, you’re in luck. No, MS won’t be releasing a larger controller for the Xbox 360, but they WILL be releasing this mini-keyboard that attaches to the bottom of your current 360 controller, increasing its button-count to above-Lynx size!

As previously speculated, the keyboard attachment will allow for easier text-messaging via Windows Live Messenger and will feature fancy-schmancy back-lighting. We’re wondering (but not getting our hopes up) whether a web browser can be far off. The release date is “summer 2007”, with no price set yet. Hopefully it won’t follow the ridiculous pricing of the wireless adaptor. And hey while we’re at it, given how l33t this thing looks, maybe it should be included with the Elite 360 (hint hint!). I know, it’ll never happen…but a boy can dream, can’t he?

Read More | Flickr via Gear Live


Let the Xbox 360 Pre-Orders Begin!

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Accessories, Hot Deals, Internet, Mods/Hacks, Release Dates, Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Elite PicWell THAT didn’t take long. Just days ago , we reported on M$‘s new SKU, the Xbox 360, which will feature a slick black exterior, 120GB HDD, and HDMI ports. And now, 6 days later, Circuit City is ready to take your money. We won’t be seeing the 360 elite in consumers’ hands for at least the next 4 weeks, but already you can head over to Circuit City’s store and hand over $479.99 to guarantee yourself one of the updated boxes.

So what do you say, gamers? For the 360 owners out there, is it worth the upgrade? Or will you just be picking up a 120 GB drive seperately? And for all of you out there that haven’t already decided to get a 360, does this change your mind at all? Personally, I’m not looking forward to this bundle so much as I am the emminent price drop that we’ll probably see in the “Premium” bundle.

Read More | CircuitCity.com

Xbox 360 Elite Finally Official

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Elite

Microsoft finally confirmed the rumors; the Xbox 360 Elite will be available on April 29th for $479.99. As previously leaked, the new black console will feature an upgraded 120 GB hard drive and HDMI port, finally giving Microsoft’s console a true digital output for those with digital HDTV displays. The 120 GB hard drive will also sell separately for $179.99, while seems somewhat high, and would only seem reasonable next to Microsoft’s $100 price tag for the 20 GB drive. It is also somewhat disappointing that Microsoft’s “Elite” console only comes bundled with a month of their Xbox Live Gold service; it would seem an inexpensive way to increase the value of the bundle to include a full year. At least the bundle includes an HDMI cable, something Sony decided not to include with the PlayStation 3. In addition to the new bundle and hard drive, Microsoft will also be selling black versions of their accessories to go with the new console, so that gamers don’t have to worry about their wireless controller clashing with their game system. While this bundle offers a lot to new purchasers of the Xbox 360, it seems hard to justify to existing owners. It also seems disappointing that when Microsoft promised that they would make an HDMI connection available when the time was right, it kind of seems hollow that the connection requires a whole new console.

Microsoft’s full press release continues after the jump.

 

Click to continue reading Xbox 360 Elite Finally Official


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