via gamespot

Though several retailers jumped the street date, the Xbox 360 Elite did not officially go on sale until yesterday. The new edition of Microsoft's popular console sports a sleek new black finish, a 120GB hard drive, and HDMI audio-video output. It also has a higher price of $479--$300 more than the stand-alone 120GB HDD sold separately to existing 360 owners.

Ironically, the 120GB HDD does come with a piece of equipment not included in the Xbox 360 Elite--a cable to transfer content from older 20GB 360 HDDs. This comes as no surprise, as Microsoft said the Elite would not come with the accessory when it announced the Elite back in March. The company's rationale was that the Elite is intended for consumers who hadn't purchased a 360 yet, so no transfer should be necessary.

Following weeks of grumbling on game blogs, Microsoft is offering data transfer cables for free to Xbox 360 Elite owners for a "limited" time. However, to obtain a cable, gamers must first jump through a few bureaucratic hoops. First, they must download, print, and fill out an authorization form with both consoles' serial numbers. Said form must then be sent via standard US mail to a redemption center in Indiana, which will then send out an Xbox 360 data migration kit gratis.

Once the kit is received, its cable is connected to the old Xbox 360 and the Elite's 120GB drive. Then the transfer--which can be performed only once--commences, erasing any existing data on the 120GB. Said data will then be replaced with all nonmovie content from the old 20GB, which is then itself blanked. The cable is thrown out, the 120GB drive is connected to the new console, and--voila!--the Elite is complete.

Though cumbersome, the data transfer process will likely prove only a mild headache to the tech-savvy consumer. However, some of those same key customers are voicing their frustration about a potentially maddening side effect of transferring Xbox Live Arcade Games. Said frustration has even prompted some Elite owners to swear off all future XBLA purchases.

Why all the fuss? As anyone who has ever brought a 360 HDD to a friend's house (or had to replace a broken system) knows, Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) software ties each Arcade game on said HDD to a single console. When the HDD is removed and attached to another 360, the games are playable only in demo form unless said console is online and signed into Xbox Live. Even then, transferred XBLA titles can be played only with the gamer profile used to buy the game, not other profiles.

The widely read tech blog Ars Technica vented about the fact the DRM affects XBLA games transferred from regular 360s to Elites--even though the same person owns both. "Why can't this be something that turns on when you move the games, and then you can call and get them unlocked again?" Kuchera said. "If I bring my Elite to a friend's house that doesn't have ethernet in the living room, we can't play Geometry Wars? That's silly."

The DRM on XBLA games also affects television content downloaded on Xbox Live Marketplace--and is apparently permanent. "While all of your Xbox Live Arcade games and Xbox Live Marketplace TV shows will transfer [to the Elite HDD], you will have to be connected to Xbox Live (to verify your identity) in order to access that content," the company said in a statement. "This process is permanent and we advise [you to] not transfer your data if you wish to access it while offline."

While TV shows bought from Marketplace can be transferred to and watched on Xbox Live-connected Elites, movies rented from the service cannot. "In all cases, movie rentals downloaded from Xbox Live will not be available after content transfer," said Microsoft. "If you have movie rentals, watch them first!" ...

via eurogamer

Sony has scored its second No. 1 in the all-formats software chart with PlayStation 2 exclusive God of War II, says our old friend GamesIndustry.biz.

At No. 2 is the newly released RPG Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, which Chart-Track said is the second fastest-selling online-only PC title after World of Warcraft. Meanwhile the PlayStation 3 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion re-entered the All Format chart at No. 3 - despite the fact the new PS3 version game isn't being sold by leading high street retailer GAME.

Perennial favourite Wii Play dropped one place to No. 4 while last week's No. 1, Pokémon Ranger, was down in fifth place.

Elsewhere, Sony scored two new first-party new entries with SingStar Pop Hits entering the chart at No. 6, while Buzz!: The Mega Quiz went in at No. 16.

Meanwhile, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dropped from No. 2 to No. 7. Harvest Moon DS was down four places to No. 8, followed by Brain Training in ninth place. Virtua Tennis 3 went up two spots to round out the chart at No. 10.

New entries in this week's top 40 include Diddy Kong Racing DS at No. 13 and Rebellion's Free Running at No. 33. There are several re-entries, such as Sonic and the Secret Rings, Bad Boys II and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The highest climber is Hotel Dusk: Room 215, which leapt from No. 22 into eleventh place. The week's biggest faller is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time down, from No. 8 to No. 27. ...

One of Ben's most popular hacks recently was the PS360 controller, a SIXAXIS modded into an Xbox 360 controller's shell, crashing his site not once, but twice upon its release. This project resulted in a lot of requests to duplicate this mod, showing either a very universal disdain for the PS3 controller's decade-old shape, or some strange obsession with the Xbox 360's chubby, winged form. Unfortunately. Ben didn't have the time to meet all these requests (plus he charges an arm and a leg), so we asked him to show you How-To build your own PS360 controller. It's not terribly difficult, just takes some time, elbow grease and, of course, lots of hot glue. Let's get started!


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News/release from test30:


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via test30 ...

News/release from Blackshark:

Ace of space Initial realease is finally here! This is my first program in the programming language of C so bear with me Object of the game is to kill as many ships as possable before you die(ill add more
game modes later, as well as better AI)

It has a Single player mode, and a Head 2 Head
mode, also it features a name entry so you
can log in and out, when maybe sharing with
your friends to see who gets High score! (though The High Score system is Broken, It does NOT work)

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New release from Becus25

This version is released.

· When you press WLAN Up, the PSP load Devhook (like autoboot) to start a emulation of one firmware . (put some version of DeviceHook [eboot.pbp] on \psp\system with the name of devhookforsystem.pbp .

· Added section "Hacks" on recovery menu

From this section you can do this :
· Enable NETWORK UPDATE
· Disable NETWORK UPDATE

Tested on my PSP TA-079 and work.
This can be damage on TA-082!.

Install it on your own risk.
Install from firmware 1.50.

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via gaming bits

Sony recently dropped the price on its PlayStation Portable handheld to $169, edging it closer to the DS in price. A deal spotted at a Sam Goody store tightens the gab of the $129 Nintendo DS Lite to the Sony PSP by $10. Sam Goody is offering the Sony PSP Core for $139.99 by offering a $30 mail-in-rebate. The deal is available until this Wednesday, but it may be extended an additional week.
This deal is not available online, but at local stores only. Check the Sam Goody store locator (here) to find one in your area. Several UMD movies are available for $4.99 as well, in limited quantity and selection of course. I definitely recommend checking the PSP out at that price. There are some great looking titles on the horizon, including God of War: Chains of Olympus, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War and Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles to name only a few! ...

Over at the Kingdom Hearts Site an interview has revealed that the game could appear on the Nintendo DS and PSP.

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Over at the Kingdom Hearts Site an interview has revealed that the game could appear on the Nintendo DS and PSP.

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