Halo Wars Sells One Millionth Game
Published March 19, 2009

Microsoft today announced that sales of Halo Wars™ have reached more than one million units worldwide, making the exclusive Xbox 360® title the best selling real-time strategy game on any current generation console. With a revolutionary control scheme designed expressly for the Xbox 360 controller and a riveting story that takes Halo fans deeper into the Halo universe, Halo Wars is breaking new ground for the strategy genre by introducing a new wave of fans to strategy games and reminding existing fans why it's so fun.


Halo Wars has a huge following.

Since the game's release throughout Asia on February 26 and subsequent launches in Europe and the Americas, fans around the world have been taking full advantage of the gameplay. To date:

There have been more than 2.6 million multiplayer matches played
More than 118 years of time has been spent in multiplayer matches on Xbox LIVE®
On average, more than 200,000 Halo Wars fans have taken up arms in battles between the UNSC and Covenant each day
For more statistics and game information, visit the official stats page at http://www.halowars.com/stats/globalstats.aspx.
But these initial explosive battles in Halo Wars are just beginning. Microsoft is working closely with partner and newly formed studio Robot Entertainment, which is comprised of Halo Wars and Age of Empires veterans from Ensemble Studios. More Halo Wars content is being prepared, so stay tuned.

Izvor:
XBOX

Pa ako je Halo Wars stigao 1 mil koliko li je onda End War?

Music Games Go Wireless with Lips Microphones
Published April 3, 2009

It's time to break free from the cords and perform like a true rock star with music games on Xbox 360®! Today, Microsoft announced that Activision's Guitar Hero® Metallica® and MTV's Rock Band 2 will be among the first music titles to support the celebrated Lips wireless microphones.



Use the Lips mics with popular music games.

Last year, Microsoft created the high quality wireless microphones that set the standard for music game peripherals, and teamed with iNiS to let fans around the world rock out with them on Lips. With the latest in motion-sensing technology and built-in LED lights that pulse to the rhythm of your performance, these microphones show how Xbox 360 stands out as the home of the best music experiences.



Look for new songs each week on Marketplace.

Now these mics will help people jam like never before with other great music games on Xbox 360, first with Guitar Hero Metallica. A title update this summer will also activate mic compatibility with Rock Band 2. Additional titles that support the Lips microphones will available later this year, and only on Xbox 360.

Get Music
Fans of Lips have even more reason to grab their wireless mics and sing with their friends, as more popular hits are added to Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the Lips in-game "Get Music" store. Song packs featuring Ne-Yo, Coldplay and Creedence Clearwater Revival will be available this month, as well as new songs from Incubus, Fall Out Boy, Yellowcard, Mika and more, worldwide in all Xbox LIVE enabled regions.

Available April 3:

Wish You Were Here – Incubus
Sugar, We're Goin Down – Fall Out Boy
Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Available April 10:

Ne-Yo Song Pack – Closer, So Sick, and Hate That I Love You by Rihanna feat. Ne-Yo
Coldplay Song Pack – Speed Of Sound, The Scientist, and In My Place
Looking Out My Back Door – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Closer – Ne-Yo
So Sick – Ne-Yo
Available April 17:

Creedence Clearwater Revival Song Pack - Looking Out My Back Door, Bad Moon Rising and Who'll Stop the Rain
Kryptonite – 3 Doors Down
All My Life – K-Ci & Jo Jo
Sing – Travis
Available April 27:

Love Today – Mika
Ocean Avenue – Yellowcard
Linger – The Cranberries
Xbox 360 puts the music experiences you love all in one place, letting you watch music videos, listen to music, and of course, perform as your favorite artists with games like Lips, Rock Band 2, and Guitar Hero Metallica. And with nearly 60 million songs downloaded to date, Xbox LIVE® game add-ons keep you rocking out at the forefront of the music scene with dozens of great songs and albums for your favorite music games.

Izvor:
Zvanicni sajt

See the Future with New Fable II Add-on
Published April 6, 2009

The future of Albion awaits discovery! In the latest game add-on for Fable® II , the award-winning role-playing game that has sold more than 2.6 million copies worldwide, get ready to encounter challenges unlike anything your hero has faced before.



The new quest provides a vision of Albion's future.

Available in May exclusively on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace, Microsoft and Lionhead Studios keep the Fable II adventures going in See the Future, an action-packed journey that requires you to lift the curses placed on three mysterious items that have come into the possession of Murgo the Trader.

In See the Future, heed the call for a hero to restore color and balance to the world, or let Albion fall to the wayside. Those who emerge victorious will receive the ultimate reward—a quest that provides a vision of Albion's future and what lies ahead for those born into the heroic bloodline. The fantastical new quests in See the Future will bring you face to face with new characters, creatures, events and legendary artifacts.



Get ready to meet new characters and creatures.

Murgo
Remember him from the childhood sequence of Fable II? Murgo returns to Bowerstone Market to bring an amazing array of new wares, including potions that can transform canine companions into new breeds.

The Ghosts of the Snowglobe Quest
Holding a disturbing secret, the small model village inside it was once a real town in Albion. The people who once inhabited it are now ghosts condemned to endless torment until the shadowy threat that cursed them is defeated.

The Cursed Knight Quest
Forever banished to a land beyond the dead, the Cursed Knight awaits a hero who has the strength and will to dress up in convincing costumes, even imitating a hobbe or balverine, to save him from his fate.

The Colosseum
The Colosseum puts even the Crucible to shame. Only the greatest heroes have triumphed here. Your abilities will be put to the test to prove yourself in combat once and for all, to win the ultimate in prizes.



Return to Albion for a new adventure in May.

In addition, See the Future offers free unique items* to all, including Welley's soldier helmet and other clothing, a braided ponytail and other hairstyles, psycho Jester make-up, a new hero expression, the back flip trick for canine companions, and a collectible Murgo the Trader gold statue.

The Fable II: See the Future game add-on will be available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in May for 560 Microsoft Points .

* The free content update must be manually downloaded from Xbox LIVE and will enable those who haven't purchased the See the Future premium content to continue the co-op action with their friends.

Izvor:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/press/2009/0406-seethefuture.htm

Xbox 360 Arcade Launched in India

Microsoft has introduced the entry-level gaming console Xbox 360 Arcade in India. The Xbox 360 Arcade system replaces the Xbox 360 Core model and also packs in five Xbox LIVE Arcade games. In India, Microsoft is offering the Xbox 360 Arcade console at a price of Rs. 16,990.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 Arcade will bundle five classic arcade games: Uno, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-man Championship Edition, and Feeding Frenzy. The package also includes a wireless controller, but the headset, HDMI cable, and network cable are sold separately.

The Xbox 360 Arcade is basically a slimmed down Xbox 360 version aimed at console first-timers. It is equipped with the IBM PowerPC 3 core 3.2GHz processor and 512MB GDDR3 video memory.  Microsoft aims to make a more affordable version of the Xbox console for India.

Apart from gaming, the console can also be used for other entertainment activities like viewing photos, movies, and music. Connecting to the Xbox LIVE, the ultimate online console gaming arena, opens the gates to other downloadable high-definition and standard-definition content.

Microsoft is selling the slimmed down and entry level version of Xbox 360 Arcade as a family console. 

Izvor
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Xbox_360_Arcade_Launched_in_India/551-100930-585.html

Xbox Live to Generate $1b Annually

The projection includes subscriptions, download revenue and online advertising.

In July 2008, Microsoft said that people had spent $1 billion on Xbox Live since the Xbox 360’s launch in 2006.

In-Stat said Thursday that all three console hardware makers are "positioned to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual online gaming revenue."

What’s helping drive this growth is a rise in broadband penetration--worldwide broadband subscriptions will reach 562 million in 2009, In-Stat said. "The combination of broadband, installed home networks, and pervasive Wi-Fi in gaming devices is fueling online gaming subscriber growth."

The research firm said that online gaming subscribers (handheld and console, not including PC) will increase 20 percent between 2005 and 2013, as unit sales of consoles decline.  In-Stat’s Stephanie Ethier stated, “Unit sales of game consoles will decline moving into 2010, as a result of both the weak economy and a peak in each vendor’s video game console lifecycle.

"The key vendors, including Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, are staking out their online strategy to generate incremental revenue and promote brand loyalty.”


Source: http://www.edge-online.com/

Free Halo 3 multiplayer for Xbox Live Silver members

So long as you haven't had your head under water the last few weeks you've almost certainly taken notice to the stir over Halo 3's Mythic Map Pack news and Thursday's launch. The map pack features three new multiplayer maps titled "Orbital", "Assembly" and "Sandbox", and is readily available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft points.

In an obvious effort to draw in sales of the recent release as well as Xbox Live memberships, Microsoft has decided to allow Silver class members the privilege of experiencing Halo 3's multiplayer action for free over this weekend. The event is only scheduled to last until Monday, April 13th at 9AM PST, so if you've been holding off on that Gold membership, now's your chance to get a taste.

http://www.techspot.com/news/34246-Free-Halo-3-multiplayer-for-Xbox-Live-Silver-members.html

 
Šta sve ljudi neće da lupaju

Microsoft owns up to "E74" 360 errors, expands warranty

While Xbox 360 systems may be known more for the dreaded "red ring of death" than any other hardware failure, one gaming blog has been tracking the rise of the "E74" error, an issue that causes the console to crash and show a multi-language kill screen. You'll also get a single red section on your system's power button. Microsoft is aware of the problem, and has since amended it's three-year warranty to cover the error.

The story began when Joystiq started to receive complaints concerning the error. The site decided to gather some data, and found that complaints of the error increased after the release of the New Xbox Experience, or NXE. "One oddity is that there is no correlation between the dates on which the systems in question were purchased and when they went belly up," Joystiq writer Justin McElroy reported. "The error usually occurred after anywhere from 12 to 36 months of use, with many of you claiming that trouble arose on consoles that have already been repaired for Red Ring of Death. Whatever modifications Microsoft has made to the console to improve its reliability in the past years seems to have no bearing on the likelihood of E74."

The problem was that this issue wasn't covered by Microsoft's warranty; the company simply called it a "general hardware failure" and that was that. More sites jumped onto the issue, however, and found the same data: the E74 error was a widespread issue, and seemed connected to the NXE, although that might not be the direct cause of the issue. "The time frame for the rise in issues makes NXE and its November debut a suspect," Engadget wrote. "But it's worth noting that the uptick started just before that launch, so perhaps it has more to do with hiccups caused by spurred interest in turning on the console after a long period of dormancy."

Tuesday, Microsoft announced that it would do the right thing and extend the red-ring warranty to include the E74 errors, detailing the inclusion on its Xbox support site. "After investigating the issue, we have determined that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console. As a result, we have decided to cover repairs related to the E74 error message under our three-year warranty program for certain general hardware failures that was announced in July 2007." Microsoft also claims it has made the necessary changes to decrease the likelihood of the error, and will refund the cost of E74 repairs to customers who may have already paid to have their console fixed or replaced.

It's gratifying to see Microsoft do the right thing, but yet another known hardware issue with the 360 won't do much to help the system's battered reputation; the red ring fiasco ended up costing the company $1 billion plus to make right. The "E74" problem won't likely cost anything near that amount, but the damage to the 360's shoddy hardware reputation won't be easy to quantify.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/04/microsoft-owns-up-to-e74-360-errors-expands-warranty.ars

Zna li neko gde u Beogradu moze da se popravi xbox? dobio sam rrod juce