Netflix streaming in High Definition has been a long time coming but it finally looks like Netflix customers are in for a treat - as long as you’re an XBOX 360 owner, that is. News is rolling in this morning that the leading remote movie rental service provider is finally just about ready to drop its HD streaming service, but it will initially do so only via XBOX Live. Microsoft’s popular console is scheduled to receive a dashboard refresh on November 14th and when it rolls out, Netflix HD will come along with it (presumably in the US at least). The new service will come with a library of 300 titles but many expect that number to balloon relatively quickly. Further details are unavailable right now but expect a formal announcement as we get closer to d-day. It is also still unclear how long Netflix’s HD content will be confined to XBOX but provided all goes well we would expect a pretty timely transition to a broader audience. Who’s excited?

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Ever since we first caught wind of the upcoming Street Fighter IV revival late last year, it hasn’t been easy to just sit back and wait. While it hasn’t gotten any easier, we finally do have a time frame in terms of when we can expect this inevitable gem to hit consoles here in the US. Drumroll please… This winter! In a recent conversation with GameSpot, Capcom stated that the highly anticipated sequel 10 years in the making would “definitely” be hitting shelves this winter. What’s more, all of our European friends need not worry as Capcom also made it clear that SFIV will be available throughout Europe “at roughly the same time as the US.” The updated graphics and game play look intense, the new characters look intense and word that the non-playable boss characters will make it from the arcade version to the console game is icing. So sit tight people - assuming our economy doesn’t completely collapse in the mean time, SFIV will be hitting Amazon et al before you know it.

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The shot above certainly seems to verify the existence of a new, slimmer XBox 360 in the wild. The image comes to us courtesy of noted Microsoft pundit Paul Thurrott, who published the image as part of a recent review of the new Microsoft Arc mouse. While the XBox in the background wasn’t intended to be part of the presentation, it couldn’t help but show it’s face and add fuel to the rumor mill fire. A new variant of the aging gaming system has been rumored for quite some time, and the box depicted in the image doesn’t look too far off from what we would imagine the refreshed system to look like. That said, there’s also a chance that this speculation is the result of an little optical tomfoolery. What do you think? New XBox or absurd speculation?

UPDATE: Sadly, this rumor has been shot down by Mr. Thurrott himself, who explains that the appearance of a “slim XBox 360″ is a regular issue XBox 360 that has been warped by the camera angle.

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Earlier this week Microsoft announced that it would cut Xbox 360 prices in Japan by 30% in an attempt to bolster their abysmal sales. Sales in Japan folks, not here, so calm yourselves. It looks like they have not forgot about their home nation. Starting on Friday, Microsoft will slash the prices on all three versions of it’s consoles. Yay! The Xbox 360 Arcade will fall to $199, booting the Wii out of it’s place as the lowest priced gaming console. Prices on the other two consoles are expected to drop by $50 bringing the prices of the mid-range Xbox 360 model to $299 and the high-end Xbox 360 elite to $399. Boo-yah! Who’s up for a quick beating in Madden?

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Until we have some form of official confirmation from the horse’s mouth we’re going to remain a tad skeptical, but evidence is mounting for the arrival of a $199 XBox 360 system in the near future. A screenshot of a product page for the Xbox 360 Arcade shows an amended SKU and new price point for a future system, set to be unleashed on the 7th of September. This release date coincides with a couple of major game releases, and would be a good way for Microsoft to launch a new promotional campaign leading into the Fall. Sure, it’s the barebones Arcade system, but $199 ain’t too bad for a “next-gen” console.

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For the first time since it hit the American market, the Nintendo Wii can claim to be the most popular console in the United States. Overtaking the venerable Xbox 360, the Wii now has the greatest lifetime penetration of any next-gen console currently available. 10.6 million Wii’s have been sold, compared to 10.5 million Xbox units. Given the Xbox’s considerable head-start on sales numbers, this is a particularly impressive feat. Sure, the upcoming Xbox 360 60GB might help Microsoft gain some ground, but given Nintendo’s steady progress, we’re pretty sure the company will continue to prove a formidable opponent to both Microsoft and Sony. Wait, who’s Sony again?

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[Via Gizmodo]

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Activision made the official announcement today and Guitar Hero fans will not be disappointed. The fourth entry into the Guitar Hero franchise is slated for a Fall 2008 release and it’s packed full of virtual goodness that is sure to appease even the most discriminating couch rocker. New features, check. Let’s start out with an available full drum kit including pedals and cymbals. Punching buttons on a plastic guitar is one thing but seeing how people fair with the new full drum set is going to be fantastic. There’s also a new microphone and Music Studio mode that allows players to “compose, record, edit and share their own rock and roll anthems.” Good lord. Eight-player “Battle of the Bands” mode sounds pretty intense as well; up to eight players can gather online and compete for the the virtual title. High school audience sold separately. The soon-to-be smash will be issued on Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and 3 as well as Wii. Ready ready people, it’s going to be getting pretty nutty.

[Via Electric Pig]

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The Nintendo Wii continues to plow ahead of the competition, posting record sales month after month. According to a recent set of stats released by the NPD group, Nintendo moved 720,000 consoles during the month of April. Whoa! As if that number wasn’t impressive enough, things start to look even crazier when you consider that Microsoft sold just 262,000 XBox 360s, slightly ahead of Sony’s 257,000 PS3s. Nintendo, it seems, is doing something right. The Wii, slotting in at a significantly lower price point than either of its two rivals, has remained in steady demand since its introduction. While Sony’s 257,000 may seem unimpressive, it represents a 98% increase in sales over the same period of time last year. With the upcoming launch of GTA IV on both the PS3 and the XBox 360, Microsoft and Sony should make up some lost ground, but if things continue along these lines, the Wii will most certainly continue to dominate the console wars.

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Think Rockstar Games has a lot riding on the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV? You would be correct. According to Variety, is looks like the Take-Two, Rockstar’s parent company, is expecting to rake in over $400 million during the first week of sales. Whoa! That would equate to roughly 6 million units sold over 7 days, which is a pretty insane number, especially given the state of the economy, but if anyone can pull this off it’s the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Given the new dual-platform release approach, coupled with the incredible hype surrounding the impending April 29th drop, epic sales are no brainer, but $400 million? We’ll just have to wait and see.

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The "Guitar For Games" is one special piece of technology. For a mere $41.94, you can buck the trend of sticking with well manufactured OEM equipment, and step into the realm of shady 3rd party accessories. Tempted? We thought you might be. Nyko, the biggest little company you know of, has manufactured a "Wireless Guitar Controller" that appears to be compatible with the Xbox 360, although the box itself is marked with the suspicious "X 360" tag. Maybe ink was a little low at the printing press. Either way, we wouldn’t suggest mortgaging your home to buy a truckload of these bad boys, but if you’re looking to take a chance on a low-budget Guitar Hero controller, we’re not gonna try and stop you. Just remember that Nyko Xbox360 cooler you bought and how that turned out, ‘mmkay?

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Parents all over the country will soon be primed to sharpen their fangs and break out the picket signs all over again. Rockstar Games, makers of what is likely the most controversial series of games this decade, has slapped a release date on the inevitable fourth edition of their brutal masterpiece. Yes, Grand Theft Auto IV is now officially slated for release on April 29th! Coming to both PS3 and Xbox 360, GTA4 looks like it may be the most controversial Rockstar offering yet. More violence, hopefully more sex, and even some drunk driving for good measure. No, that’s not a mistake; Rockstar game looks to be finding new and exciting ways to spark up as much opposition as possible. GTA4 actually lets players guide main character Niko Belic through a night of partying with friends. Once he emerges, in-car "drunk mode" takes affect complete with blurred vision and increased driving difficulty. Expect undereducated preteens around the globe to soon be emulating Belic by going out on benders and playing bumper cars with their parents’ SUVs. Of course their escapades won’t be a result of under-funded school systems or crappy parenting; the game told them to do it!

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What does a good Christmas look like for the Xbox team over at Microsoft? Try selling 1.45 million consoles in a single month. How about 1.73 million Nintendo Wii’s? Yeah, it sounds pretty good. Both Redmond-based companies had a amazingly successful holiday sales season, pushing record numbers of consoles. Sony was less successful, selling only 854,000 Playstation 3 consoles. While the Wii is still clearly the most successful (and most sought after) console system, these numbers solidify the Xbox’s lead of Sony’s troubled PS3, and should serve as a great blow to anyone accusing the Microsoft unit of growing a bit long in the tooth. Our question, however, is just how many Wii’s would Nintendo sell if they managed to get their manufacturing system up to par? A lot, we think. Even more with pretty colors in their lineup…

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[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

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It might not be the sleek cutting-edge portable console that you’d expect when you hear "portable Xbox," but it’s definitely guaranteed to turn heads. For better or worse, we guess. Two Xbox fanboys have mobilized Halo 3 by assembling a 60lb rig consisting of a full size LCD TV, a harness and tubing, a generator, and of course an Xbox. Whoever said playing video games isn’t a workout obviously never met these two inventive gamers. Or freaks. To make sure that they have no chance of erasing this ordeal from their memories somewhere down the road, they even filmed the thing in action. We hope the kid carrying this rig stays hydrated because he’s going to have to deliver a whole lot of newspapers to replace all of that gear if he drops it!

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Canadians just can’t catch a break, can they? The latest justification for reckless Canada-bashing comes in the form of another delay for the release of the popular Xbox 360 game, Rock Band. For those that are keeping count, it’s useful to note that the game has been available in America since the 20th of November. Originally scheduled for an early December drop, word on the street is that you poor Canucks won’t see retail availability until the 17th of this month. 10 days?? Yeah, we know. It’s awful. No word from game developers Electronic Arts, Harmonix, or MTV Games as to why the darn thing has been pushed back. On the bright side, it should give everyone up North a bit longer to brush up on their air drumming. Just don’t think you can tangle with the BGR crew, though. You don’t want it with us, believe it!

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The Xbox 360 fall update is due out Tuesday December 4th, but who really wants to wait that long to see what is to come.

The biggest feature is the ability to download "Xbox Originals". Expect to see Halo, Fable, Crimson Skies, Psychonauts, Fuzion Frenzy, and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex each for 1200 Microsoft Points. More titles are expected to follow, too. This should give you something to spend your money points on while you wait around for the new Halo map pack to drop.

Also included in the update:

• Inside Xbox - Accessed from the Xbox Live Blade. Pulls in news and info from Xbox.
• Market Place Blade update - Overall redesign and re-ordering.
• Xbox Live Hits - Sort of like Platinum hits, only for Xbox Live Arcade games.
• Enhanced Video Support - Now you can play all your pirated Divx movies shot in cheap movie theaters.
• Profile Enhancements - Ability to search for friends. Can now add details to your profile.

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Yes, I do more than work with BlackBerry devices day in and day out, so consider this a rant about one of those personal pleasures that has been with me since I was a toddler - console gaming. It started with an Atari 2600 then I became the first kid on my bus route with a Nintendo. Skip forward into this last generation of consoles with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii (not a single issue with the latter two, might I add).

I recently returned my defective Xbox 360 to Microsoft for warranty repair and / or replacement for the heart-breaking "Red Rings of Death" issue. A replacement console was shipped to me about a month ago and I finally decided to open it up. I hooked it up to my new 46" Sony XBR5 LCD TV and started it up. Man, I tell you, high-definition gaming is amazing.

I played Project Gotham Racing 4 for about 30 minutes and then my console locked up. The controller sat in a state of vibration for a few minutes before I finally decided to get up and reset the console. I then decided to switch to NCAA Football 2008 and made it through an entire game (Auburn vs South Florida in the 2008 season in Dynasty mode). But, I made the mistake of trying to start up that week’s recruiting and - BAM - another console lock-up. Thinking that it was perhaps that copy of the game, as there have been known issues with EA Games, I managed to return my copy of NCAA Football 2008 to Wal-Mart and exchange it for a new copy. I got home, tore off the shrink-wrap, put the game in, and was greeted by a nice little squawk and a blocked screen (the same one that broke my 360 the last time around).

Needless to say, when I turned off the console and powered it back on, my good old friend, R. ROD the Third, greeted me with a sinister grin. This unit is dated mid-September 2007. So much for thinking Microsoft improved their build quality, right? Less than one hour of pre-mature enjoyment and another brand new Xbox 360 is now dead. Since BG doesn’t really care (might I add that he’s the most impatient person on the face of this planet, and refuses to send anything in for warranty repair), he’s now on his 6th bought Xbox 360 after suffering the same red ring of death issues. Mr. J Allard, are you really proud of this manufactured creation that has seemingly destroyed any credibility for your vision of a wired lifestyle?

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Looking for a bit of extra cash points to spend on all of your Holiday season Xbox Live and Zune Store needs? Well, Battlestar Galactica is giving away a total of 600,000 Microsoft points in 50,000 point increments. The contest requires you to fill out a simple survey, hit "submit" and sit and wait for the points to start rolling in. It’s a year-long contest, and they’ll be giving away 50,000 points per months for the next year, so you’ve got plenty of time to get that survey in, but the earlier you submit the better your chances are. What would you buy with your 50,000 points?

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A couple of leaked screenshots rumored to be sourced from Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 360 fall OS update reveal a couple of pretty juicy details. It looks like the Xbox 360 will be getting a oucple of significant improvements, with Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV, at the top of the list. The screenshots show a brand new icon on the Xbox dashboard. When the as-yet-unamed 0000 icon is selected, the following features are shown in a pop-up window:

• Use television services.
• Live & recorded TV
• On-demand movies
• Chat while watching TV

Sounds pretty dope to us. There’s no official word from Microsoft on when we might be able to expect this update, but if they’re stepping things up like this then we’re willing to wait for a reasonable amount of time to make sure they get it right. Xbox TV anyone?

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The two things least likely to go together (it seems) are churches and violent video games. But that’s not stopping churches across the country from changing the meaning of "halo" most associated with religion and holding combo Halo 3 tournaments/Bible studies. And not just for the 17+ year olds that are "allowed" to buy the game. They’ve got setups for kids as young as 12 to partake in, giving them access to material that they might not be able to get on their own. The churches in question argue that their purpose is to be "in touch" with youth, and that by getting them through the door, it will expose them to other churchly goodness. Uh…or they could just come in for the free gaming and ignore the Jesus stuff.

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Try as they might, Microsoft can’t muscle their way past everyone. The American launch of Halo 3 broke a lot of records, taking home the title for the "Biggest Entertainment Launch Ever."  $170 million in under a day? No problem. The game has enjoyed similar success in Europe, finding itself atop the European video game charts following last week’s product launch. The wash here, however, is that Halo 3 failed to knock Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas off of its throne as the best selling video game of all time on European soil. What’s the lesson here? Europeans like playing games where they get to annihilate innocent bystanders more than they like to blast the hell out of androids. Either that, or the Xbox 360 just hasn’t quite caught on over there…

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What’s bigger than Spiderman 3? Halo 3, that’s what. The video game just stole the title of "highest grossing U.S. entertainment launch day" from Toby McGuire and Co., pulling in $170 million to Spiderman 3’s paltry $151 million. Take that, Spidey. Microsoft enjoyed a record breaking day, which should be great news for considering just how much was riding on this release. Halo has long been Microsoft’s flagship Xbox franchise, and a botched installment would have been akin to a death blow for the embattled corporation. Whether or not the sales will continue to climb at such a rapid rate remains to be seen, but the boys in Redmond shouldn’t worry too much, at least in regards to their gaming division as they’re poised to finally turn a profit thanks to Halo 3…

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What would a highly anticipated product launch be without a few snags in the road? It seems that Microsoft may have made a mistake or two with their limited edition Halo 3 tin packaging. The boxes which incorporate pieces of real metal into the package construction are the problem here. Apparently the discs aren’t held in place well enough. Once the disc slips out it comes into direct contact with the exposed metal surface, damaging the surface layer of the disc beyond repair. Thankfully, Microsoft has already recognized and admitted the issue, and is offering to replace the discs free of charge for anyone afflicted by such tragedy. Best get your replacement disc quickly though, as you only have until the end of December to cash in.

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