October 25, 2005
Tuesday, IBM announced plans for a new microprocessor for Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console, due later this fall.
CNET reports the IBM and Microsoft custom-designed microprocessor features a customized version of IBM's 64-bit PowerPC core. The chip includes three of these cores, each with two simultaneous threads and clock speeds greater than 3GHz.
IBM is also working on a processor, called Cell, for the PlayStation3 game console, in conjunction with Sony and Toshiba.
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October 23, 2005
In preparation for the steamy Xbox 360 launch, Microsoft will close its online console gaming service Xbox Live and the associated Xbox.com website for one day.
Scheduled for October 24th, with full services to be resumed the following day, the company has confirmed that a number of enhancements and additional community and global ranking functionality will launch to coincide with the launch of its next generation console reports Games Industry
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October 17, 2005
Continuing their push to have the Xbox 360 console be considered more than just a game player, Microsoft has announced an update to its Media Centre Edition of Windows that will enable customers to stream music, videos, movies, television and photos to any television set or device via the Xbox 360 console.
Will Poole, senior vice president of the Windows Client Business at Microsoft stated: "We introduced Windows XP Media Centre Edition three years ago with a vision to simplify the way people experience digital entertainment on their PC using something as familiar as a remote control. Now, Media Centre Edition and Xbox 360, together with offerings from hundreds of industry partners, are providing fantastic interactive entertainment experiences that can be experienced throughout the home."
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October 16, 2005
According to a notice on the Xbox 360 page at Amazon.co.uk, Microsoft's steamy Xbox 360 console will be in short supply on the day of release, and, unfortunately, this means Amazon can't guarantee that pre-orders will be delivered by day of release. Amazon is reportedly working with suppliers to ensure that they fulfil all orders as soon as possible.
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October 10, 2005
According to reports out of Germany ten Xbox 360 development kits were stolen from a warehouse in Duren, Germany, with the hardware believed to have fallen into the hands of hackers reports GamesIndustry. A few weeks ago Andre Vrignaud, Director of Technical Strategy for Xbox Live touted the security of the Xbox 360. Vrignaud said Microsoft took 2 and a half years on security this time round, whereas the Xbox only had around a year. Vrignaud prompted: "I thinks it's going to be a long time before the Xbox 360 gets modded.
According to an article on Spiegel Online, the shipment of ten dev kits was delivered to a warehouse in Germany in unmarked packaging. The kits were supposed to be distributed onwards to developers in order to create games for the new console platform. A few days after the shipment went 'missing', photographs of the kits appeared on the Internet, with the serial numbers edited out. Police raids in Austria and Germany recovered three of the units, but seven kits remain untraced at present as the investigation continues.
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According to two analysts spilling to Chris Norris at CNN, getting your hands on the Microsoft Xbox 360 might be a little hard to do.
Wall Street has been expecting Microsoft to deliver more than 2 million of its next generation consoles to retailers worldwide this year. On Monday, though, P. J. McNealy of American Technology Research lowered his expectations to the 1.8 million - 2 million range. Friday, Banc of America's Gary Cooper said he believes the company will ship just 1.4 million - 1.6 million.
The shortage could lead to even higher priced game sets in a market that already seems to be on the verge of price gouging writes Chris
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