xbox

Bioshock keeps on giving: Free artbook ready for download now

If you weren't lucky enough to swipe a premature copy of Bioshock from a retailer who broke the street date--I'm looking at you, Toys R Us--then you'll just have to settle for this incredibly detailed free artbook that 2K Games has on their site. Hopefully this, coupled with the recent demo, will prevent your descent into insanity while waiting for the August 21 release date.

The 67-page book entitled Breaking the Mold, gives you an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the game, along with tons of concept art and commentary from the creators … Read more

Bioshocked: Demo pops up on Xbox Live marketplace without warning

A demo for one of the most hyped games of the year showed up on the Xbox Live marketplace Sunday night to the surprise of many.

The demo features a tweaked version of the first 45 minutes of the game, allowing players to experience more weapons than what you'd normally start out with.

Xbox Live immediately suffered massive slowdowns as word quickly spread about the chance to take a sneak peak at what is sure to be one of the best games of 2007. There has been no word on whether or not PC fans can get a taste … Read more

Xbox 360 Premium now includes HDMI

The Xbox 360 is getting to be a better deal all the time. Hot off the news of a price drop, Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox 360 Premium--which now retails for $350--now includes an HDMI output. The confirmation comes after Shacknews posted photos of a newly purchased Xbox 360 with the telltale port, essentially proving that the rumored upgrade was already available in stores.

So what's the big deal? HDMI provides a single-cable, all-digital connection to compatible HDTVs and AV receivers, delivering far fewer wires, higher quality, and better 1080p compatibility than the combination of component video and … Read more

Xbox 360 price drops now official

After weeks of credible rumors, Microsoft finally made it official: the Xbox 360 will be cheaper as of August 8. The new price points are as follows:

Xbox 360 Core: The cheapest 360 drops just $20, to $280. But since it still doesn't come with a hard drive--which will cost you at least $100--you're much better stepping up to the Premium version (see below).

Xbox 360 Premium: The sweet spot in the Xbox 360 lineup drops $50, to $350. If you don't need HDMI output and you're not planning on downloading a lot of videos, … Read more

Feds' raids hit alleged mod chip smugglers

Look out, modders: federal customs agents have just announced a new crackdown on the smuggling of "illegal" devices that enable gamers to play pirated wares on Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360, Sony's Playstation 2 and other consoles.

As part of an ongoing investigation into the sale and distribution of such "circumvention devices," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from 22 offices said they raided businesses, storefronts and residents in 16 states on Wednesday. They reported executing 32 search warrants, but there was no word on whether any arrests were … Read more

Sony to add TiVo capabilities to the PS3 in 2008?

GameSpot UK is running an article that's based on an interview with Warwick Light, Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand's head of marketing. The article appeared in New Zealand's The Press under the headline "The Future According to Sony."

What's interesting about the article is that Light uses terms such as "future proof," "true next-generation machine," "scope for scalability," "home entertainment system," and "super computer," to describe the PS3. He also goes on to talk about the flexibility of the machine, noting how "We (… Read more

Xbox 360 price drop for real this time?

E3 came and went, and while another company announced a "price drop," the Internet-wide speculation of Microsoft doing the same at the big show went unmentioned.

Well it seems that these Xbox 360 price-drop suspicions were not completely unfounded; over the weekend it was discovered that multiple retailers will have the Xbox 360 premium listed at $350 beginning in early August--most likely to coincide with the release of Madden 08.

Thanks to Cheap Ass Gamer, we have two scans of predated ads from Wal-Mart and Toys R Us displaying the $50 price cut. It is unclear, however, about whether this will affect the Elite and Core versions of the console as well.

Check out the Wal-Mart ad scan after the jump.… Read more

CNET Live - Episode 16 - Show Notes

Kevin rose and Alex Albrecht from Diggnation dropped by to talk about their show, video on the Web, and even were kind enough to take some calls for old time's sake.

Watch the show on CNET TV.

Things we Crave

Poker-playing computer

Sony MP3 player without Sonic Stage or ATRAC

Insider Secrets

Emeraldgirl93 writes "Hi Tom and Brian, I like to do a lot of video editing, I currently use Windows Movie Maker, which is ok but i'm looking for something better. Can you recommend A good FREE Video editing program? Thanks!"

Make your own Adobe CS3 for free… Read more

Xbox 360 HD DVD player drops to $179

Ah, the prices for HD DVD players just keep falling. This time it's not one of Toshiba's standalone players, but the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360. Starting August 1, the player will shed $20, dropping to $179. If that isn't enough to entice you, the press release notes that "buyers can choose five HD DVD titles for free from a selection of 15 popular titles via a mail-in offer."

All that said, in terms of pure hardware costs for a game console/next-gen DVD player, the 60GB PS3 (with built-in Blu-ray player) remains … Read more