Xbox 360 news and stuff: Accessories

Showing posts with label Accessories. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Accessories. Show all posts

Thursday, September 28, 2006

HD DVD player: Available mid-November for $199.99

The HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 will be available in mid-November in North America, the U.K., France, and Germany. It will retail for $199.99 and €199.99 (£129.99) in the different territories. Included is the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote, and for a limited time the HD DVD version of King Kong.

Friday, September 15, 2006

XB Stream - RSS feeds and podcasts on your 360

PG4 just released XB Stream, which allows you to view RSS content and listen to podcasts on your Xbox 360. From the website:

XB Stream in a nut shell is an RSS/XML feed reader/aggregator that works with the XBox 360 video game console. XB Stream allows you to view xml based content feeds (xml, rss, rdf) on your Xbox 360 video game console; you can also listen to podcasts and blogcasts as well. XB Stream automatically downloads and converts text based content feeds into images that can be viewed from the media>pictures>computer blade and hear audio podcasts/blogcasts from the media>music>computer blade

Details on Version 1.0 here, and the download here.

[Via Xbox-Scene]

Here are some screenshots:

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Xbox Live Vision, Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, and Faceplates - details and prices

At the German Games Convention, Microsoft confirmed the bundles the Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold in, along with the prices for the Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, Wireless Gaming Reciever for Windows, and new faceplates. Here are the details:
The Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold in two bundles, as follows:
Xbox Live Vision, which includes 1 month of Xbox Live Gold Membership, a headset, free downloads of UNO and TotemBall, will retail for around $39.99. The Xbox Live Video Chat Gold Gold Kit is the same as the first, except for it comes with a year of Xbox Live Gold Membership, a free download of Robotron (along with UNO and TotemBall), and 200 Microsoft Points. It will sell for about $79.99. The U.S. release date stays the same (September 19th), but in Europe it has been changed to October 6th.
The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel will be released in November for around $149.99, and (while supplies last) people who purchase it will also get a limited edition force feedback version of Project Gotham Racing 3.
Also in November, the Wireless Headset will be available for around $59.99.
Then, in December, the Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows will be released for about $19.99.New faceplates will be available in early November, including ones for Halo, Viva Pinata, and Forza Motorsport 2.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Xbox 360 eventually $149-$199

GamePro has an interview with Microsoft's Albert Penello about HD-DVD, PS3, and the Xbox 360 in general. While most of it is stuff that we already knew, here are some of the things he said. The HD-DVD drive will be the cheapest player on the market, and although he didn't confirm a price or release, he said it will "be out in plenty of time for the holidays" and a price will probably be revealed by the Tokyo Game Show or X06. He then said that there were no plans for HDMI or DVI on the HD-DVD add-on, saying that "the reality is, for any normal HD owner, the difference [between the formats] is nonexistent". He said that they may add it eventually though, but nothing is planned so far. Penello then said that an Xbox 360 with built in HD-DVD was possible, but once again there were not yet any plans to do so.
Then he said that "We built the Xbox 360 Core system so that we could get to $199 or $149 sometime", also saying he didn't think the PS3 could achieve such a low price. Although Microsoft is very clear that there won't be a price drop this fall, it looks like eventually the 360 could cost as low as the origianl Xbox.

A video preview of upcoming accessories

On GameVideos.com, there is a preview for the Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, Vision Camera, and HD-DVD drive. It's cool to see them being used, and they look like they will work great when they are released.

[Via Gamerscore Blog]

Molyneux on next-gen combat and motion controllers

Peter Molyneux, the creator of Fable, had some things to say about how combat can evolve in this generation. Along with showing a demo of how combat could be done (and although it was done in Fable's style he says it's not Fable 2), he said he thinks motion controllers are not the next step and just leave the player tired. Read more of what he said at gamesindustry.biz.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Vibrating the controller in video chat (and more Vision tidbits)

The Xbox 360 FAQ on Xbox.com has been updated, and has a little on the Xbox Live Vision Camera. Most of it is stuff I've already covered, but here are a few new pieces of information:

The cable is 9ft long
To use it on the PC, the following drivers must be downloaded: "Xbox Security Method 3, Version 1.00" and "Microsoft Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera"
When the camera is plugged in, you get a "watery background effect" in the dashboard
When using the music visualizer, you can play with it with your movement. What you do will have a "ghosting effect"
The ring on the front of the camera can be used to focus it
In UNO, you can zoom in with the camera
You can video chat with someone even if they don't have a camera, and only they can see you (if they want they can talk with the headset though)
You cannot send video with your messages, only pictures (which can't be saved on your hard drive, but can be kept in your messages for as long as you want)
And here is the most interesting (and funniest) part: While in video chat, you can vibrate the other person's controller with the triggers. I wonder how this could be used? ;)

Friday, August 18, 2006

Lots on the Xbox Live Vision Camera, what it can do, and how it will be used in games

There was just news about how the Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold, and now Gamasutra has more information on how it will work and what kind of things it can do.
At Gamefest, Microsoft's Jeff Stone demonstrated some of the things the camera is capable of (using the software already installed on Xbox 360s from the Spring update). With the Vision Camera, you can have one on one video chat with other users of Xbox Live (this feature is already setup - in the Guide, go to Private Chat and then Video Chat. Obviously you can't do anything without a camera, but if you want to see it in action send a friend invite to someone who has the Camera). You can filter the video in a bunch of ways, for identity protection or just because it looks cool. Gamasutra says there was no lag, and it worked fine. You can also send pictures with your messages (Create a new message, and after typing it you'll see the option to "Add Picture"), and if you receive a message from someone not on your Friend's list, you'll have the option to accept or decline the photo. You can also create a custom gamer picture, which can be filtered to your liking. Only people on your Friends list can see your custom pic, while everyone else sees the default one (Oh good... I hate to imagine some of the things other people will take pictures of for their gamertag).
The first gesture-based game, TotemBall (which will be included with the camera), was also shown, and a video of it being played is on Gamasutra. Many games will make use of the Vision Camera technology, such as UNO (support is already included - the gamertag is replaced with a video feed from the person's camera when used), and face mapping technology will be available in games like World Series of Poker and Rainbow Six Vegas.
Face mapping will be done by Digimask's technology, which has been used in everything from cell phone greetings to television to video games (It has previously been used with the Playstation 2's EyeToy). Gamasutra tested the technology at Gamefest, and with a few pictures and a film clip where users can pick the perfect frames, a model was made. The demo had options to choose a hairstyle and eye wear, and after created could look around, blink, and even show emotions.
Another technology the Vision Camera will utilize is GestureTek's Video Gesture Control. A demonstrative program allows simple interactivity, where the the user is not displayed but can control and interact with objects on screen. GestureTek also showed face tracking technology, where a box on screen could track a users head. Other people going into the area do not disrupt it, and the user can move fast while the box stays with him.
Another program GestureTek has developed can track objects besides a users head, like hand held accessories that could be bought for this purpose. It is done quite simply: the tracker remembers an object's color and shape, and can then follow it in many ways. From quick movement to rotation, it will pick it up. It can even sense depth using the size of an object, so it can theoretically tell how far an object is from the screen.
Launching on September 19th, the Xbox Live Vision Camera will add a whole new level to the Xbox 360, especially Xbox Live.
[Via Gamerscore Blog]

Xbox Live Vision Camera price and bundles

OXM UK has some new information about the Xbox Live Vision Camera. The release date had already been announced (Septembere 19th) but we were left to wonder at the price and how it would be bundled. Some new information has been found by OXM UK, answering both those questions. Here are the two (rumored) bundles, including their price:

The standard kit, for 39.99 includes:

Xbox Live Vision Camera
Xbox Live headset
One free month of Xbox Live Gold
TotemBall Live Arcade game.
Uno Live Arcade game.

The Gold bundle, for 79.99 includes:

Xbox Live Vision Camera
Xbox Live headset
Free Xbox Live Gold subscription for a year.
TotemBall Live Arcade game.
Uno Live Arcade game.
A third Xbox Live Arcade game (title so far unknown)
200 Microsoft Points

These are not yet confirmed, but would make sense and work well.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Xbox 360 projected sales and more

Team Xbox has some interesting info on the Xbox 360. By this holiday, Microsoft expects over 10 million 360s to have been shipped, and more games, making a total of 160. 13-15 million are expected to ship worldwide by June 2007. The Xbox 360 is setting a record for the most accessories sold per console in the US, and for the past four months has held a steady attach rate of 2.9 accessories per console. The attach rate for games rose this month to 4.6 per console.

HD-DVD drive for $200 (Update: Gamerscore Blog comments)

DigiTimes has an article stating that the HD DVD add on for the Xbox 360 will sell for $200. This makes sense, because together with the Premium 360 it would be $600, the same price as the PS3.
Via Engadget

Update:
There is a post on the Gamerscore Blog stating that "we haven't announced a price or availability date for the HD DVD Player--anything you're seeing online is speculation". They probably just want to make sure people know that - so if it ends up being more expensive, people won't get angry about Microsoft "lying" about the price.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray...which is better

Now that there are some of the same movies on both HD-DVD and Blu-ray, a side to side comparison can finally be done. High-Def Digest compared the movies Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Rumor Has It, and Training Day, and from video and audio quality to load speeds, Blu-ray was worse while HD-DVD peformed better. These next generation DVDs are still very new, but considering that Blu-ray is one of the PS3's big selling points, and one of the reasons for the high price, this isn't good for Sony.
Via Ozymandias

Monday, June 05, 2006

Chrome Controller Shell

Team Xtender has made a full Chrome controller shell, which will go nicely with their previous Chrome faceplate.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Xbox Live Vision Camera coming September 19th

According to Major Nelson, here are the release dates for the camera:

North America: September 19th
Europe and Asia (except Japan): October 2
Japan, Australia and New Zealand: No confirmed dates

Monday, May 08, 2006

HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360

Microsoft has released more information on the attachable HD DVD drive for the 360. It will connect via USB, although the price is still unknown. Microsoft has previously said that it will only be for movies, and will not be used for games.

Read about it at Xbox.com

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