November Console Sales Numbers

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interview of Jack Tretton (Sony U.S. bossman). Decent read overall, despite the bias statements on both ends of the interview. Tretton did make a confusing statement concerning the movie studio support (for some reason said 7 of 8 major studios distribute on BR when it's actually 6 of 8).

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/200...d_version.html

[SirFozzie]

In non-propaganda news.. (Ok, non SYSTEM propoganda news)

EA has oficially been taken over by the pod people, as they announced to the world the free game they would be offering folks whose Rock Band Guitar needed work. Everyone thought it would be old sports titles (NFL Head Coach, anyone?) and everything that they needed to clear out. instead, they're offering.. just about everything.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rock-band/f...ate-335057.php

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Which 'propaganda' would that be concerning that last statement? I understand that you are a programmer, but the only company that I've consistently hammered regarding this issues is EA for their sub-par ports to the PS3.

Yes, you specifically hammered EA, by calling them "lazy", and consistently deny how much harder the PS3 is to program for. That's propaganda, when you have no CLUE why they were able to up the framerate on the 360 without also upping the framerate on the PS3. You chose to call them "lazy" instead.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Looks like the PS3 update from yesterday is going to be really nice for those people that own both the PS3 and PSP. The latest update allows the user to put any PS1 game disc in the PS3 and play it on your PSP. Great feature for those who play the PSP on the go. Really opens up the library of playable games for the PSP.

http://digg.com/playstation/BREAKING...layable_on_PSP

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Developers create multiplatform games to look alike to avoid any feelings by the owners of one or the other console that they got a lesser version of the game. They do that to avoid reactions like the one that EA received last year on some of their games which had obvious flaws in the PS3 version.

ROTFLMAO

Are you for real? Most publishers don't spend a lot of time trying optimize multiple SKU games for each platform, but it has nothing to do with your explanation.

If you're developing a game for multiple SKU's, the primary thing you are taking advantage of is maximizing revenue opportunities for your development effort. To the extend that you can share assets, code and logic across multiple platforms, you save development time and money. You might be able to user higher-res textures on a particular SKU or implement less compressed audio on another SKU, but in general the games are basically the same because there's no financial incentive to spend extra cycles doing a large amount of customization of your game for every SKU you put out. You're not going to see different animations (though the compression on them might differ slightly), you're not going to see different levels, you're not going to see different gameplay.

The exception to this is when a developer is given an incentive from a particular platform to enhance that SKU, or when you get into extras like downloadable content that might be made exclusive for one platform over another.

EA isn't going to slow down their sports game for next year on the 360 to make PS3 owners feel better - they're going to do what they can to bring the PS3 framerates up to the level of their 360 versions.

What a lot of developers are discovering is that, unlike what they figured going into this generation, it probably makes more sense to do your primary development on the PS3 and then port to the 360 rather than the other way around. That obviously hasn't been an option until recently due to the fact the 360 dev kits were available well before PS3 dev kits.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

ROTFLMAO

Are you for real? Most publishers don't spend a lot of time trying optimize multiple SKU games for each platform, but it has nothing to do with your explanation.

If you're developing a game for multiple SKU's, the primary thing you are taking advantage of is maximizing revenue opportunities for your development effort. To the extend that you can share assets, code and logic across multiple platforms, you save development time and money. You might be able to user higher-res textures on a particular SKU or implement less compressed audio on another SKU, but in general the games are basically the same because there's no financial incentive to spend extra cycles doing a large amount of customization of your game for every SKU you put out. You're not going to see different animations (though the compression on them might differ slightly), you're not going to see different levels, you're not going to see different gameplay.

The exception to this is when a developer is given an incentive from a particular platform to enhance that SKU, or when you get into extras like downloadable content that might be made exclusive for one platform over another.

EA isn't going to slow down their sports game for next year on the 360 to make PS3 owners feel better - they're going to do what they can to bring the PS3 framerates up to the level of their 360 versions.

What a lot of developers are discovering is that, unlike what they figured going into this generation, it probably makes more sense to do your primary development on the PS3 and then port to the 360 rather than the other way around. That obviously hasn't been an option until recently due to the fact the 360 dev kits were available well before PS3 dev kits.

I'll track down the article/interview from few weeks back, but the COD4 developer made comments that were directly in line with my statement and disagree with your assessment of why they try to match the two versions as closely as possible.

[Eaglesfan27]

FYI:

Gamestop has clarified that the Wii "rain check" promotion will only be on December 21st. It will be limited to 1 per household and there will be a "limited number" but they won't say how many. Anyone who participates will be guaranteed a Wii by January 25th.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

In non-propaganda news.. (Ok, non SYSTEM propoganda news)

EA has oficially been taken over by the pod people, as they announced to the world the free game they would be offering folks whose Rock Band Guitar needed work. Everyone thought it would be old sports titles (NFL Head Coach, anyone?) and everything that they needed to clear out. instead, they're offering.. just about everything.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rock-band/f...ate-335057.php

Wow.

I guess I should have sent mine in instead of working on it myself.

Did not expect those choices. Would love to get FIFA 2008 free out of the deal.

I like that Rock Band is one of the games offered. Give it to a friend!

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'll track down the article/interview from few weeks back, but the COD4 developer made comments that were directly in line with my statement and disagree with your assessment of why they try to match the two versions as closely as possible.

Whatever chief. In all my time in game development (going on 10 years now) I've never heard discussions of multi-platform development that suggested such games be made similar to as to not upset gamers on one platform vs. another.

Now, obviously you want to make the games similar, and the nature of multi-platform development necessitates that this be true. The game design, the levels, the animation, etc. - it's going to be a very similar game. There may be some modest differences such as higher-res textures, higher poly count in the models, better lighting, superior shaders, less compressed animation, less compressed audio, more audio channels, all based on the hardware. And sometimes there will be upgraded versions of a game (additional levels, additional items, etc.) for a particular platform because the developer has received incentives from MS or Sony. But nobody sits down when planning a multi-platform game and says "we'd better ratchet down the X SKU version of the game to better match the Y SKU because we don't want to piss off the Y gamers".

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

But nobody sits down when planning a multi-platform game and says "we'd better ratchet down the X SKU version of the game to better match the Y SKU because we don't want to piss off the Y gamers".

And I certainly didn't say anyone ratcheted down any version of the game. You could at least make your argument by using what I actually said in the discussion. I said they try to make them comparable. That's much different than your implication that I said they try to ratchet it down.

Regardless, I don't care to split hairs with you over this. I'm searching for the article. If I can find it, I'll put it up.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

And I certainly didn't say anyone ratcheted down any version of the game. You could at least make your argument by using what I actually said in the discussion. I said they try to make them comparable. That's much different than your implication that I said they try to ratchet it down.

Well, of course they try to make the games comparable. But with differing hardware, that requires compromises in each SKU - what one platform does well, another might not. Often what that means is development by the lowest common denominator, with some (but usually not much) customizing for each SKU once the base game development is finished.

What EA found in their development of Madden on the 360 and PS3 is what they had developed using the 360 platform, they couldn't get to run at 60 fps on the PS3, at least not in time to ship this past version. Rather than re-architect the game to get it to run at 60 fps, they had to accept having the game run at a lower frame rate.

My point stands - when developing for multiple platforms, you try to do most of your development on the lowest common standards and then take whatever extra cycles you can afford to customize for each SKU, but that usually isn't much (and not because developers don't want to piss off a particular platform base, but because it's usually not worth the extra expense).

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

FYI:

Gamestop has clarified that the Wii "rain check" promotion will only be on December 21st. It will be limited to 1 per household and there will be a "limited number" but they won't say how many. Anyone who participates will be guaranteed a Wii by January 25th.

Reggie claimed "tens of thousands of Wii" to be split among the 3000 stores of the chain. Since he didn't mention hundreds of thousands, we can only assume up to 99k, meaning roughly 30 per store in an absolute best case scenerio. Probably less.

[SackAttack]

We had at least fifty at work today, and more 'on order' today than we had when I left work yesterday.

I'm mildly encouraged.

[Tigercat]

Yea, I heard we were going to get 37 on order last week. (Usually only get 3 at a time..) We were skeptical at first, but it sounds like Gamestop isn't the only retailer that is getting big shipments of them.

[SackAttack]

What GameStop is is the only retailer that's going to get burned down by angry parents when they run out of Wii rainchecks.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Japanese Sales Numbers for week ending December 16th......

Wii: 168k (+32%)
PS3 : 53k (+41%)
PS2 : 21k (+75%)
360 : 8.7k (-1%)

Big increases in sales this week for both Nintendo and Sony in the Japanese region. The Wii posted a major increase this week as Wii's are now readily available and no longer supply constrained in Japan. In addition, Wii Fit sold another 120K units and has now exceeded 500K in total sales.

Sony saw large increases in weekly sales for both the PS2 and PS3. The PS3 boost was in large part due to the release of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (a glorified demo IMO), which sold 108K retail units and nearly 50K PSN downloads.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

We had at least fifty at work today, and more 'on order' today than we had when I left work yesterday.

I'm mildly encouraged.

Originally Posted by Tigercat

Yea, I heard we were going to get 37 on order last week. (Usually only get 3 at a time..) We were skeptical at first, but it sounds like Gamestop isn't the only retailer that is getting big shipments of them.

Some of my co-workers are looking for a Wii for Christmas and have pretty much given up hope. It sounds like I might should tell them to take one last look at the brick and mortar stores this weekend for a Christmas miracle?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Some of my co-workers are looking for a Wii for Christmas and have pretty much given up hope. It sounds like I might should tell them to take one last look at the brick and mortar stores this weekend for a Christmas miracle?

Sunday is likely to have a pretty good stock available if you're willing to camp out early. With many not working on Monday, you can always catch up on sleep the next day.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sensible World of Soccer was released on XBL and then quickly pulled. Big bug evidently.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/19/se...g-gets-pulled/

Omega Dawn, the Warhawk booster pack was released a day early (supposed to come tomorrow). In addition, the 1.2 patch was released with a few fixes, some enhancements, and new layouts on existing maps.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Some of my co-workers are looking for a Wii for Christmas and have pretty much given up hope. It sounds like I might should tell them to take one last look at the brick and mortar stores this weekend for a Christmas miracle?

I wouldn't give up hope yet, no, but I wouldn't go camping out every night either.

[SackAttack]

Local GameStop is gonna have 16 of those little reservation slip thingies.

I'm expecting a smoking crater where the store used to be Friday afternoon.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

In non-propaganda news.. (Ok, non SYSTEM propoganda news)

EA has oficially been taken over by the pod people, as they announced to the world the free game they would be offering folks whose Rock Band Guitar needed work. Everyone thought it would be old sports titles (NFL Head Coach, anyone?) and everything that they needed to clear out. instead, they're offering.. just about everything.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rock-band/f...ate-335057.php

I love to blast EA at any turn, but way to step up on this one. That's one hell of a list to address the problem.

SI

[stevew]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Local GameStop is gonna have 16 of those little reservation slip thingies.

I'm expecting a smoking crater where the store used to be Friday afternoon.

Yep, i pity the minwage workers that are going to get way to much harassment that day.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New PS3 bundle announced for late January in Japan. Capcom has agreed to exclusively bundle Devil May Cry 4 with the white 40 GB PS3. Should boost sales over there as DMC4 is a very popular franchise in Japan.

http://www.project-tideas.com/playst...console-bundle

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Rockstar announces that one of the two pieces of 360 exclusive content for Grand Theft Auto 4 will be delayed until 2009. The first piece of exclusive content will still be released when the game is released.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...=8398&Itemid=2

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Microsoft marketing head speaks about 2008. Certainly interesting that he openly comments on how important the European market is to their ultimate success.............

http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7166505

Microsoft Corp expects to sell more Xbox 360 consoles in 2008 than in 2007, with Europe standing out as a key battleground for dominance in the $30 billion video game industry.

In Japan, where the Xbox 360 has far lagged Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3, Microsoft expects recent and upcoming games from popular Japanese designers to boost sales.

"We will sell more consoles next year than this year," Jeff Bell, head of global marketing for Microsoft's games business, told Reuters in an interview.

"We don't want to trade places with anybody," Bell said.

He said that the Xbox 360 was strong in Britain and was gaining market share in France and Germany, but that Sony had also been lifted in Europe by a recent price cut for the PS3.

"Europe for us is still the swing," Bell said. "The biggest challenge is that Sony as a brand has had greater staying power than in other areas. Not just PlayStation 3, but Sony as a brand," Bell said.

Microsoft had seen some retailers sell out of its high-end Elite model of the Xbox 360, as well as of the Arcade version. In the United States, the Elite sells for $450 and the Arcade for $280, with a Pro model also offered at $350.

Microsoft sold nearly 3.4 million Xbox 360 units in the United States through the end of November, according to market research firm NPD. Worldwide, Microsoft has sold more than 13 million Xbox 360s since its Nov. 2005 launch.

Bell, a marketing executive at car maker Chrysler before joining Microsoft last year, said his auto experience came in useful when juggling different models of gaming hardware.

"From my prior perspective of dealing with 20 automobile models and and 100 markets and dozens of variations, I don't think three (models) is a tremendous amount of complexity," Bell said.

"Is it perfect? No. Are we learning and adapting? Yes," Bell said.

Asked if Microsoft was benefiting from Nintendo's ongoing shortage of Wii machines, which cost $250, Bell said: "Sometimes you're good, sometimes you're lucky, and it's wonderful when you're both."

Bell also took a dig at Nintendo, referring to an industry perception that independent video game publishers have not enjoyed great success on the Wii so far, in part because Nintendo's own offerings are so strong.

"Clearly, we have a competitor where they win and no one else wins. That is not sustainable, it's never been sustainable," Bell said.

Nintendo's U.S. president, Reggie Fils-Aime, told Reuters earlier this week that perception was misguided, and he pointed to recent market data showing that 60 percent of Wii game sales in November came from outside publishers.

Bell also said Microsoft was sticking with the HD-DVD high-definition disc format that is a rival to Sony's Blu-ray technology used in the PlayStation 3.

"We don't have all our eggs in one basket but in classic Microsoft fashion we are committed to all those baskets," Bell said. "If you can find a partner in the HD-DVD alliance that would say anything other than Microsoft has been committed in good times and bad times, I would be surprised."

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New details about Metal Gear Solid 4 feature set, including lots of new MGS Online info (Official Playstation Mag was the source). I'm especially fired up about the flashback feature to previous games..........

--- MGS4 + Metal Gear Online bundled together

--- When some scenes are shown related to other parts in the series, you can hold down a button to view a flashback from the original game. (Example: When talking about Metal Gear Rex, you can watch a flashback that plays from the earlier MG game to provide background info.) Great feature for those that haven't played previous games.

--- Estimated 4 HOURS of cinematic cut scenes in the game. (More than MGS3)

--- 16 players online.

--- Online game types include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, and Team Sneak.

--- Customizable characters can have up to three skills (like perks in COD4). Some examples are "Marathon" for sprinting and "Narc" for showing enemy positions.

--- Skills and weapons will level up the more you play.

--- 100 different weapons to acquire and use.

--- SOP system allows you to know current position of teammates, current status of teammates, and even sharing perks.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Local GameStop is gonna have 16 of those little reservation slip thingies.

I'm expecting a smoking crater where the store used to be Friday afternoon.

Why would you line up for a slip when you could line up for the actual console somewhere else?

I think your prediction might be accurate.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Rockstar announces that one of the two pieces of 360 exclusive content for Grand Theft Auto 4 will be delayed until 2009. The first piece of exclusive content will still be released when the game is released.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...=8398&Itemid=2

Great news for Microsoft since that will extend the impact that exclusive content will have on sales. Another blow for Sony.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

New PS3 bundle announced for late January in Japan. Capcom has agreed to exclusively bundle Devil May Cry 4 with the white 40 GB PS3. Should boost sales over there as DMC4 is a very popular franchise in Japan.

http://www.project-tideas.com/playst...console-bundle

Most people in Japan that want DMC4 probably have already bought a PS3, so I don't see this helping sales.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

New details about Metal Gear Solid 4 feature set, including lots of new MGS Online info (Official Playstation Mag was the source). I'm especially fired up about the flashback feature to previous games..........

I wish they would make the MGS games for the PC and Xbox. That has always disappointed me. I understand why they don't, but it doesn't change how I feel about it.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

In non-propaganda news.. (Ok, non SYSTEM propoganda news)

EA has oficially been taken over by the pod people, as they announced to the world the free game they would be offering folks whose Rock Band Guitar needed work. Everyone thought it would be old sports titles (NFL Head Coach, anyone?) and everything that they needed to clear out. instead, they're offering.. just about everything.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rock-band/f...ate-335057.php

Notice there is no Madden or NCAA football titles on that list?

[SirFozzie]

Roma: Come on, they're offering just about every title they sold in the last twelve months, and NBA, NASCAR and Tiger Woods isn't exactly chicken feed..

BTW, I know it's a small bump but I saw this story over on Kotaku and had to laugh.

Every year, the organisers of college football's various bowl games are allowed to spend some cash on the players taking part. It's part souvenir hunt, part pissing contest between the officials. This year, amongst the cameras and shopping sprees and hats and monogrammed travel bags was news that three bowls - Holiday, Allstate BCS National Championship and Valero Alamo - were getting Wiis for the competing teams. And the competing team's staff. And then some. All told, each bowl committee were able to get hold of around 250 Wiis. Each. That's 750 Wiis out of the retail channel. If you're going to vent your furious spleens, we'd advice you do so here. It's safer than doing it in-person

[Chubby]

Well for the numbers that include today...

chalk up a 80 GB PS3 to my mom

[Galaxy]

Chalk up a 360 to me when the December numbers come out.

Forza and Marvel (a game I won't play) included. Not a bad deal for $350. Forza sounds like it's a good game (different from PG) and hopefully will hold me over until after the New Year when I pick up my first sports game.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Forza sounds like it's a good game (different from PG) and hopefully will hold me over until after the New Year when I pick up my first sports game.

I love Forza - good racing game, lots of customization available in tuning your car (and applying custom graphics if you so choose), good online component if you are into that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Japan Console Sales Numbers are in. Wii sees a huge boost in numbers as Wii Fit continues to sell well and benefit from ample Wii supply channels in Japan. PS2 sales see a bump over the previous week with PS3 and 360 numbers remaining at previous week numbers.

Sales numbers for week ending December 23rd:

Wii: 264k (+57%)
PS3: 51k (-4%)
PS2: 24k (+14%)
360: 8.1k (-7%)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some compliments from Japan concerning the strength of Western developers...........

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=16757

[gstelmack]

Finally got my Wii set up Christmas Eve and messed with it off and on yesterday. My almost-5-year-old daughter tied me in a game of Wii Sports baseball when she couldn't time the swing of the bat (even outside with real ball and bat she swings as soon as you pitch), and I never could figure out when her 56 MPH fastball would hit in front of the plate or zoom in for a strike, so we tied 0-0. Played golf against my brother and lost by 2 strokes after I had a 9 stroke lead heading into the final hole when I had a Kevin Costner moment and tried 3 separate times to skip one of the islands and boinked it off the cliff (literally inches short) each time. My wife and I love tennis. And my daughter had very little trouble creating her Mii all on her own, I just had to help point at some of the colors which are smaller boxes.

But the accessories will nickel and dime me to death. Need another WiiMote (so 3 of us can play at once), a pair of recharging stations since I'll end up needing 3 batteries, and the wired ethernet adapter so we can hook up to the net.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

But the accessories will nickel and dime me to death. Need another WiiMote (so 3 of us can play at once), a pair of recharging stations since I'll end up needing 3 batteries, and the wired ethernet adapter so we can hook up to the net.

Yeah, the extra nunchuks, Wiimotes, and component cable all add up. To get a family of 4 playing Wii Sports, you'll have to spend around $200 to get the extras. Makes the system more expensive, but the games like Wii Sports aren't any fun if you don't have everyone involved.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Japan Console Sales Numbers are in. Wii sees a huge boost in numbers as Wii Fit continues to sell well and benefit from ample Wii supply channels in Japan. PS2 sales see a bump over the previous week with PS3 and 360 numbers remaining at previous week numbers.

Sales numbers for week ending December 23rd:

Another major blow for Sony. Last week the Wii was outselling them 3:1 in Japan, this week it's been increased to 5:1. That's a huge increase for Nintendo in the biggest market that Sony has shown any ability to compete.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Bee

Another major blow for Sony. Last week the Wii was outselling them 3:1 in Japan, this week it's been increased to 5:1. That's a huge increase for Nintendo in the biggest market that Sony has shown any ability to compete.

Not sure that it's a blow per se. Nintendo is just finally reaching sales numbers that it should have had weeks ago if it would have had had ample supply. Most analysts haven't found much of a relation between Wii sales and any correlation with PS3/360 sales changes. It's not there because they are getting most of their sales from a different demographic.

The slight Sony decrease in sales over the previous week would be a bigger concern than any changes in Wii sales. Despite the previous week boost due to GT5:Prologue release, I'm sure they were expecting an increase of some size.

[Synovia]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Yeah, the extra nunchuks, Wiimotes, and component cable all add up. To get a family of 4 playing Wii Sports, you'll have to spend around $200 to get the extras. Makes the system more expensive, but the games like Wii Sports aren't any fun if you don't have everyone involved.

You can get the charging station online (monoprice) for like $15-20. You'll need two though.

Wiimote and Nunchuck will cost you $60 (yikes).


My parents made me bring the Wii home for xmas. They got a little wii sports in before my sister stole the TV and played like 4 hours of Super Mario Galaxy.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Yeah, the extra nunchuks, Wiimotes, and component cable all add up. To get a family of 4 playing Wii Sports, you'll have to spend around $200 to get the extras. Makes the system more expensive, but the games like Wii Sports aren't any fun if you don't have everyone involved.

First off, I love your *subtle* Wii-bashing, as usual. Second off, Wii Sports is plenty of fun by yourself, so don't throw the "aren't any fun" line out like that is some kind of fact. Last off, the cost of the accessories is no different than buying 3 extra wireless XBox controllers or PS3 controllers.

Don't your bosses let you take a couple days off even at Christmas?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

First off, I love your *subtle* Wii-bashing, as usual. Second off, Wii Sports is plenty of fun by yourself, so don't throw the "aren't any fun" line out like that is some kind of fact. Last off, the cost of the accessories is no different than buying 3 extra wireless XBox controllers or PS3 controllers.

Seriously, get over yourself. I own a Wii. Someone brought up how much the accessories cost and I mentioned how much it cost me. I didn't state anything inaccurate in the post.

Sure, you can play Wii Sports on your own, but the game (as well as most of the Wii games) is much better when you play with multiple players. Only a reclusive loner (insert a picture of your favorite reclusive serial killer) would think otherwise.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

(insert a picture of your favorite reclusive serial killer)

Where is that picture of Cringer anyway?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Bee

Where is that picture of Cringer anyway?

You can find him looking for 5 year old kids to beat up.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some gaming news to pass on............

Microsoft plans to join Sony and Nintendo by releasing a controller with a motion sensor:

http://xboxfamily.com/xf/index.php?o...=1107&Itemid=2

Halo Wars producer excited about upcoming game:

http://www.gametap.com/home/read/article/2656

Microsoft lays down another round of bans. Reportedly, some of the bans went to users who modded their vent fans to avoid RROD issues. I'm guessing that just as many bans went to cheaters:

http://loot-ninja.com/2007/12/26/mic...for-christmas/

Another delay announced for the PS3 exclusive Haze. It now has a Summer 2008 release date. The game was still pretty buggy and unpolished, so they delayed the game to avoid another Lair-like fiasco.

[cartman]

Any links to info on bans because of modding vent fans? That link mentioned nothing of the sort. Unless you are replacing chips or modding firmware, there really isn't a way for Microsoft to know.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by cartman

Any links to info on bans because of modding vent fans? That link mentioned nothing of the sort. Unless you are replacing chips or modding firmware, there really isn't a way for Microsoft to know.

Below is a quote from the 360patches.com forums. My understanding is that they have developed a modification in this group to speed up the fan which can be detected by Microsoft and is flagged as a mod. With that said, I'm not sure if this user has much of an argument as he did modify the console in some way, even if it was to try and reduce the heat in the console.

Quote from Microsoft Xbox Live TOS "The Service may only be accessed with an original Xbox or Xbox 360 console or by logging into your account via Xbox.com.? If you are accessing the Service via an original Xbox or Xbox 360 console, you agree that? you are using authorized software and hardware, and that your software and hardware have not been modified in any unauthorized way"

You may be thinking well why is he quoting this?? Well because Microsoft have started banning xbox 360's with modded cooling. So if you've done the 12v mod your in risk of being banned for it. How do I know this?? Because a friend of mine just had a nice chat with Microsoft about why he was banned and they explained it was because he had non-stock/modded fans.

Yes Microsoft Seem's to be going ban bad, Merry Xmas to you to Microsoft.