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Gear of War 3 Title Update 4 details

Gears of War 3 Title Update 4

Gears of War 3 Title Update 4 drops tomorrow morning at 2:00am PDT, and brings with it a bunch of improvements and bug fixes. To get it, just load up the game and you'll be automatically prompted to download it if you're connected to Xbox LIVE. We've got the full list of changes for you after the jump.

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Microsoft Xbox Live House Party to Launch February 15, incudes Alan Wake, Warp, and more

Alan Wake American Nightmare

Xbox Live house party is looking to start this year off with a bang. Four Xbox Live Arcade titles are set to be released in the weeks between February 15 and March 13, and we've got the list here for you to take a gander at. Warp, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Nexuiz, and I Am Alive, in that respective order, with Warp kicking things off on February 15. Warp and Nexuiz will be 800 MS Points ($10) right out of the gate, however Alan Wake and I am Alive will be 1200 MS Points ($15.)

All of the information about the order of which the games would be released as well as the pricing was only recently unveiled by the ever popular Xbox Live celebrity, Major Nelson. Larry also goes on to tell us that if you purchase all 4 games within the allotted 1 month time period, you'll receive 800 Microsoft Points back as a bonus. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Gallery: Microsoft Xbox Live House Party to Launch February 15, incudes Alan Wake, Warp, and more


Xbox Live Gamertags and passwords purportedly leak

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox Live,

Xbox Live hack

UPDATE: Microsoft responded to our request for comment with the following statement from a spokesperson, which indicates that the company regards the "xbox dump" user information as a minor phishing incident, not a major network breach:

"We do not have any evidence the Xbox Live service has been compromised. We take the security of our service seriously and work on an ongoing basis to improve it against evolving threats. However, we are aware that phishing attackers will occasionally post small lists of victims on public channels, and we will work directly with the impacted members to resolve any unauthorized changes to their accounts. As always, we highly recommend our members follow the Xbox Live Account Security guidance provided at www.xbox.com/security to protect your account."

Microsoft may be sweating out a possible rehash of Sony's PlayStation Network nightmare from earlier this year if an anonymous posting of dozens of purported Xbox Live Gamertags and passwords is what it claims to be.

We've seen an anonymous Pastebin.com data dump called "xbox dump" posted Monday that contains more than 90 supposed gamertags, most with associated email addresses and passwords.

Microsoft had yet to respond to a request for more information and it couldn't be confirmed Tuesday if the Pastebin document contained real Xbox Live user information. Even if a number of Xbox Live members had their private information compromised somehow, it obviously would remain to be seen if the "xbox dump" document was part of a larger security breach or just a one-off affair.

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Leaked video shows new Xbox 360 fall 2011 dashboard update

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Kinect, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

What's not new: The Xbox 360 is likely getting a Fall update that contains significant graphical updates and a few new features, like enchanted Kinect motion and voice navigation, Bing integration, and, ultimately, live television streaming.

What is new: A freshly leaked video that shows just how some of the different components of the new Xbox interface are shaping up.

An unknown source has leaked a full video that shows off a lot of the simple menu navigation and new user interface elements allegedly arriving on November 15 as a part of Microsft's fall Xbox 360 dashboard update. What's missing, however, are all the juicy bits: A preview of the voice-activated search, for example, or any kind of mention of an integrated live TV service or promised social connectivity, like the ability to fire off news of one's achievements to a connected Facebook account.

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Avatar Kinect now available, Kinect Sparkler arrives this Thursday

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Kinect, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Avatar Kinect

Avatar Kinect, the Xbox 360 app that captures your facial expressions and maps them right onto your avatar, is now available as the newest gadget in Kinect Fun Labs. You can invite friends into a session, and communicate using your avatars in one of 24 different virtual stages. Things like a performance stage, talk show, and even a tailgate party. The sessions are recorded so that you can upload them to KinectShare.com, where you can download them and send them to the Twitters, Facebooks, and YouTubes of the world. You need an Xbox LIVE Gold membership to use Avatar Kinect, but Microsoft is opening it up to all members from now through September 8th.

On July 28th, Kinect Sparkler will appear in Kinect Fun Labs as well, showcasing the Kinect's new ability to do finger tracking. You use your body as a stencil and paintbrush, creating works of art in 3D, and uploading them to KinectShare.com. This one will cost 240 Microsoft Points.

Gallery: Avatar Kinect now available, Kinect Sparkler arrives this Thursday


Xbox Live will store your profile and game saves to the cloud this fall

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Xbox Live cloud syncing

Microsoft didn't have enough time to cover everything that's coming down the pike for Xbox Live with the fall dashboard update, but they sent us an email detailing some of the new hotness that they didn't talk about on stage, and we're super excited to hear that profiles will be able to be saved to the cloud. What does that mean for the average Joe? Well, this means that instead of saving your games to your hard drive or USB stick, you can instead save them to the web. Same goes for your Xbox Live profile, along with achievements, friend list, etc. One thing I've always hated about having two Xbox 360 units in the home is that I need to remember to grab my USB stick and bring it upstairs and down if I want to log into Live. Now, I just enter a username and password on any Xbox 360, from any location, and I am logged in. The days of recovering a Gamertag will be history come this fall!

Gallery: Xbox Live will store your profile and game saves to the cloud this fall


YouTube coming to Xbox Live

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: E3, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

YouTube on Xbox 360

This morning at its E3 2011 Xbox Media Briefing, Microsoft announced that YouTube will be coming to Xbox Live this fall. They didn't go into too much detail about it, but you'll obviously be able to search and view videos from the YouTube service, and we're gonna go out on a limb and guess that you'll also be able to upload gameplay videos taken with Kinect directly to the service as well. Even without that last part though, adding YouTube is just another step Microsoft is taking in their hopes of making the Xbox 360 the ultimate living room hub.

Gallery: YouTube coming to Xbox Live


Microsoft sending upgraded Xbox 360 consoles to users with disc issues

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Xbox 360 replacement

Microsoft is offering a small number of Xbox 360 owners replacement consoles and a free year of Xbox Live as compensation for a firmware glitch, according to a report.

According to Kotaku, some customers have received emails stating that consumers can trade in their defective consoles in return for an upgrade.

Microsoft also confirmed the report via Twitter, in response to the posting of a screenshot of the letter by user Avery Penn.

However, the email from Microsoft appears to anticipate problems with the console, as Penn told Kotaku that his console is still able to read the discs. "The email was most likely referring to the Xbox LIVE update which is being phased in between May 19 and May 30 – an update which reflashes the DVD drives to a new stock firmware, and adds support for new XGD3 disk format," Kotaku added. "It's this update that allows an extra GB of usable storage on game discs."

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Microsoft looking for testers for next Xbox 360 system update

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Xbox 360 system update preview

Microsoft is looking for "multiple thousands" of Xbox Live members to test a new Xbox 360 disc format; in exchange, Microsoft will send you a free copy of the best-selling Halo: Reach and other branded freebies.

"We are conducting an open call for US based participants for a public preview to help us prepare for an updated Xbox 360 disc format," Major Nelson, the gamertag for Microsoft Xbox Live's programming director Larry Hryb, announced on his blog.

"We're looking for multiple thousands of participants, so your chances of making it in are good," he wrote.

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Xbox Live Gold Family Pack now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

xbox live family packA couple of days ago, Microsoft raised the price of an annual Xbox Live Gold suscription by $10, to $59.99 per year. However, realizing that there are people out there with multiple accounts in a family setting, the company has finally incorporated an Xbox Live Family subscription into their offerings, and it's a great deal. For $99.99 per year--$20 less than the cost of two Xbox Live Gold subscriptions--you get a pack of four Xbox Live Gold accounts. Even cooler, though, is if you have young children, you get details on their activity and can set up preferences and allowances, and even get activity reports. Here's a look at the features that are exclusive fo the Family Pack:

  • Family Center: It’s a single easy-to-use destination to manage your family’s memberships and online settings.
  • Activity reports: Sign in to Xbox.com to view reports on your family’s activities on Xbox LIVE, and encourage discussions with your family about safer, healthier, and more balanced gaming.
  • Microsoft Points Allowances: Parents and caregivers can purchase and gift Microsoft Points to their children.
  • Family Pack Deal: Get exclusive discounts on family-friendly content.

You can convert over to the Family Pack from any existing Xbox Live account. If you're already a Gold member, then you get $5 towards the purchase of the Family Pack for each month of Gold that you have remaining on your account. Even better, if other accounts that you want to add to your Family Pack have time left on a Gold subscription, the entire family will get another month of Gold added for every two months remaining on each account.

The Xbox Live Gold Family Pack is available now, and you can set it up online, or from the Xbox 360 dashboard.

Read More | Xbox Live Family Pack FAQ

Gallery: Xbox Live Gold Family Pack now available


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