This smells more like version 3.0.

Yeah, how the hell can it be 2.0 also? I could understand 2.5, but it can't be the same! :mad:


Chris

that halo 3 release date of 6/30/06 can't be right, considering it's only two months away and we haven't even seen a single screen shot.

You gotta consider Timeshift is listed for last week.

Guys, I really haven't updated this thing in ages. G just copied and pasted into a new thread because the previous one was too big. Honestly, the only two sections worth browsing are the FAQ and the links section.

Anyway, it's just a place for Xbox 360 discussion now.

Yeah, at least the steady release of games is now hitting us.

Far Cry, Battlefield, Top Spin 2, MBL 2K6...a few more...should be a good couple more weeks.

At least change it to 3.0. :)

An update to the release list would be nice.

Released Titles:

Amped 3
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Burnout Revenge
Call of Duty 2
College Hoops 2K6
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Dead Or Alive 4
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
FIFA Soccer 2006
Fight Night Round 3
Full Auto
Gun
Kameo: Elements of Power
King Kong
Madden NFL 2006
NBA 2K6
NBA Live 2006
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
NHL 2K6
Outfit, The
Perfect Dark Zero
Project Gotham Racing 3
Quake 4
Ridge Racer 6
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Tony Hawk: America Wasteland

Upcoming Game Titles (taken from Xbox.com, Gamespot, and a few from EbGames.com (Fictional dates)):

3/28/2006
Far Cry: Instincts Predator
Dynasty Warriors® 5 Empires
Rumble Roses XX

3/30/2006
Top Spin 2

4/10/2006
Major League Baseball 2k6

4/11/2006
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

4/18/2006
Final Fantasy XI

4/25/2006
Tomb Raider Legend

5/9/2006
TimeShift

5/23/06
Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis

6/xx/06
Dead Rising
Test Drive Unlimited

6/1/06
Prey

6/27/2006
Chromehounds

Q3 2006
Frame City Killer
Gears of War
Huxley
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II ("Summer" release date)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent
Saint's Row
Tracer

Q4 2006
ShadowClan
Stranglehold
Too Human

TBA 2006
2 Days to Vegas
Afterburner
Alan Wake
Blue Dragon
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball 2
<strike>Demonik</strike> *reportedly canceled*
Dirty Harry
Dog Tag
Godfather, The
Halo 3
Lost Odyssey
Mass Effect
Ninety-Nine Nights
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Possession
Project Delta
Scarface: The World is Yours
SSX 4
Theseis
True Crimes 2
Ultimate Spider-Man
Unreal Tournament 2007

Spring 2007
ShadowClan
The Darkness

TBD
Dark Sector
Resident Evil 5

Looks like there are 3 new HiDef trailers on the marketplace.

Stay Awake (I mean Alive)
Cars (Pixar)
Pirates of the Carib. 2

Oooh, I may have to download those last 2.

What happens if I download the 720 one, but I only have 480/1080?

Chris

It will convert to the correct level of detail and theoretically not be as sharp as it would if in your native format.

It's just a trailer though, so I'm sure it will look fine.

I've started downloading the 480 trailers myself because it's faster. I can go get a snack and eat it and it's done d/l.

Background downloading and Texas Hold 'Em poker are the two things I'm most looking forward to on xbox live right now. :D

I've found the high-res videos still look better than the 480p ones, even on a SD tele. Probably due to a higher bit rate or something. I think.

An awesome new feature has been added to the XBox.com site.

When you log into XBox.com and view your gamercard and then look at your friends list. A few weeks ago, they added the gamer scores of all your friends.

Last night or sometime between yesterday and today, they now have the ability to add friends to your list. That makes it very nice so that if you find a person posting you want to add, but forget their name by time you get home to turn on your 360. Now, you can add them into your friends list via the webpage.

Nice!

Well damn, that would have been sweet last week when I added 35 people to help me get the Burnout achievement.

No wonder I got so many "Hey check out my Burnout...." messages from everybody... ;)

So, anyone getting Top Spin2 this week? I'm tempted for the $40 price tag....hopefully 2K got their act together (supposedly the PS2 version of Top Spin was pretty bad)

Also, MLB 2K6 is 4/24/06 now....

Different Xbox360, Different Performance?
 

I was reading the Gamespy review of Oblivion (4 out of 5, due to technical issues) and they mention they tried it on numerous systems with different results from each. I had always wondered about this issue, I've noticed that many reviewers mention stable framerates where I get none (*cough* COD2 *cough*), and when comparing the same game running in-store at the same resolution (720p in this case) the in-store kiosk almost always runs better than what I get.

So I was just curious, anyone else noticed unusual differences between yours and somebody elses 360? And for the record, I have the Core system manufactured 9/22 with HDD and HD cables.

I was thinking about it. But I still have Full Auto & Burnout to complete, as well as COD2, which still sits unfinished, but I LOVED the original Top Spin.

The reviews for it seem to be average, which is easier to swallow with a $40 MSRP. Don't forget Best Buy, $35 after gamer card. That is what is tempting me more than anything, the price.

Sweet! time to do some house cleaning on my friend's list

I'll get it if I find it somewhere. But if bad reviews hit the net first I'll hold off.

I do that every couple of days. Anyone who hasn't logged on in more than 30 days I take out.

On Oblivion specifically on Bethesda's site they mention the following regarding performance for the 360 about the hard drive cache data. Not sure if the same thing pertains to the other games you mention...

OBLIVION : XBOX 360 : RESOLUTION 23515
Q: I am experiencing long loading times, slowdowns, or sluggish menus in Oblivion on the Xbox 360.
A: Oblivion uses the Xbox 360 hard drive extensively to cache (copy and reuse) game data. This is done to optimize all loading the game does. It has been found in rare cases on some Xbox 360s that the cached data can get overly fragmented. This exhibits itself by the game taking a long time to load anything from menus, dialogue, sounds, objects, levels, and more.

To solve this problem, reset your Xbox, and hold down the A button as the game is booting up. If any button is held while Oblivion is loading, it will clear its hard drive cache, and create a new one. Once you see the “Bethesda Softworks” logo video, the game is already loaded, and the cache should have been cleared.

Note, this does not effect your game in any way other than loading. You will not lose any saved data.

If the problem still occurs, try the following troubleshooting steps from Microsoft:

1. Restart the console.
2. Determine whether the issue has occurred more than one time. If this case is the first time that you have experienced this behavior, the issue may not occur again.
3. Determine whether the Xbox 360 console is overheating. Make sure that the console is not in a poorly ventilated environment or near a heat source. Heat sources include TVs, computers, monitors, and other electrical devices. If the Xbox 360 console is in a poorly ventilated location, move it to a location that has sufficient ventilation, such as on top of a table or on the floor. If the issue is resolved, the previous location likely did not provide sufficient ventilation for the Xbox 360 console to correctly function. View the Xbox 360 instruction manual for information about correct placement of the console.

4. Make sure that the Xbox 360 console is set to the correct time and date.
5. Remove all unnecessary peripherals, and then test to see whether the problem still occurs.
6. Determine whether the disc that you are using is the cause of the issue by testing several similar Xbox 360-compatible discs in the console. If the problem occurs with only one disc, search the Microsoft Knowledge Base to determine whether the particular disc has any known issues. Use a disc of the same type, such as a game disc, a DVD movie, or a music CD, to test whether the problem is the specific disc.
7. Consider exchanging the disk or try the game in a different Xbox 360.
8. If these steps do not resolve the issue, contact Xbox Customer Service. To obtain support in the US, Canada, or Puerto Rico for the Xbox, please call 1-800-4MY-XBOX (469-9269).

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=15693

Xbox 360 boosts popularity of Xbox Live service

Ellie Gibson 10:06 28/03/2006
More than 1.5 billion gaming hours logged

Microsoft has released a new set of stats for Xbox Live which reveal that gamers have spent more than 1.5 billion hours online since the service launched in November 2002.

More than 500 million hours were spent playing Halo 2, the hit first-person shooter for the original Xbox. However, according to Microsoft, Xbox Live has proved even more popular with Xbox 360 owners - more than half are connected to the service, compared to just one in ten Xbox owners.

On average, gamers play online 25 times per week, compared to just six times on the original Xbox. The most popular Xbox 360 game is Call of Duty 2, followed by Perfect Dark Zero and Project Gotham Racing 3. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is in fourth place, with Dead or Alive 4 in fifth.

Around 60 per cent of Xbox Live account holders have used the Xbox Live Arcade, and more than 3 million games have been downloaded. On average, 20 per cent of free trials result in a purchase of the full game.

Geometry Wars is the most popular Xbox Live Arcade game, with just under 40 per cent of those who downloaded the demo purchasing the full title. Marble Blast Ultra and Gauntlet are the second and third most popular titles respectively, followed by Smash TV and Zuma.

More than half of all Xbox Live users have downloaded game demos, while 85 per cent have downloaded Marketplace content and 20 per cent have used Microsoft Points to make purchases. Around 25 per cent have downloaded music videos and film trailers.


Chris