RedOctane has announced that it is bringing Guitar Hero II to Xbox 360, bringing to an end several weeks worth of slightly boring rumours in the process, and will offer downloadable content too. Excellently.

An early glimpse of the game and the, er, "X-Plorer controller" will be seen at X06, and actually we know the bloke who's demoing it and he says it's "ace".

No word on when it's due out, obviously, but we do have some excitable-sounding quotes:

"The tour will continue the rockin' gameplay Guitar Hero fans have come to enjoy, and will now include expanded Xbox 360 capabilities," according to RedOctane president Kai Huang. Who sounds pretty hip.

Well, I think that sells the console pretty much single-handedly. Sony: it's SO OVER.
"With Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360 rock rhythm, lead, or bass guitar tracks with downloadable content and the new X-Plorer controller, designed specifically for the Xbox 360."

Woo! Yeah!

"With its large integrated hard drive, Xbox 360 provides an incredible platform for facilitating downloadable content," says excellently-named new pal of the website Dusty Welch, head of RedOctane's publishing.

"We believe there is no better title to feature micro-transactions than a music game like Guitar Hero II, where the content is the basis of your experience. The relationship with the Xbox Live Marketplace creates endless possibilities for exclusive content." ...

Although presumably we'll have to wait a little while for the full impact of X06's Live Marketplace offerings to be made apparent, one particular bit-crater over which the dust has settled contains a demo of SEGA's new Sonic the Hedgehog title.

Shown off on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at the Tokyo Game Show last week, and previewed and everything, the new title sees Sonic and a few of his friends (including the blasted Tails) taking on Sonic Adventure-style levels, which mix insane speed and puzzle-solving.

New characters include Silver the Hedgehog, who can use telekinesis to manipulate things, which is great for solving puzzles/showing off SEGA's newfound love for real-time physics. ...

When the rumor mill gets a'turnin' you're bound to have a few false-starts, and it seems the new black Xbox 360 meme is no exception. The snazzy "black Xbox" seen above might look quite black and Xboxy, but we're sorry to report that it's just a developer box, plenty of which have been out since before launch for testing out pre-release games. Also, if when Microsoft does actually build a black version, we're kind of hoping they stick with that chrome drive tray from the regular 360, and maybe go with a truer black instead of this piddling smoke color. We're definitely not writing off the rumor entirely, according to some "leaked info" from Microsoft's planned X06 announcements this week, they'll be announcing Xbox 360 Black for the holidays, along with 1080p Halo3 and other fanboy pleasers. We also got a tip from somebody who claims to have a friend at GAME that says the black Xbox 360 will be a premium only color, and might even come with an integrated or bundled HD DVD drive and possibly a larger HDD. We suppose we'll know soon enough -- X06 is over tomorrow -- but that doesn't mean we can't stay busy drumming up the hype and unrealistic expectations until then. ...

You probably remember our post this past weekend citing a Wired Listening Post story which claimed that Apple was trying to claim ownership of the word "podcast"; we even got -- OMG -- Slashdotted. Well, Wired Listening Post has now printed Apple's letter to the company in question, Podcast Ready, and it seems that the real situation is a bit murkier than our original post might have led you to believe. While Steve and friends are definitely gung-ho about Podcast Ready abandoning the use of "myPodder" for its automation software (claiming that it is "very similar phonetically to Apple's iPod mark and appears to have been chosen intentionally to capitalize on the fame and goodwill of Apple's marks"), the letter goes on to say that "Apple, of course, has no general objection to proper use of the descriptive term 'podcast' as part of a trademark for goods and services offered in the podcasting field." What it basically comes down to is this: Apple objects to "Podcast Ready" trademark applications which cover "portable listening devices" and "software to manage digital content for portable media players," but is fine with an application for that branding which only refers to podcasting in general. It's still confusing as hell, since it's not entirely obvious where one would draw the line between "podcasting in general" and podcasting as it relates to portable listening devices and software for managing podcasts for portable media devices, but either way what is very clear is that Apple is determined to protect its turf and prevent anyone from using the words "pod" and "podcast" in any manner they believe might possibly infringe on its trademarks. ...

Divineo China have posted that they have the Philips Drive for the Xbox in stock.



A replacement Philips drive for your Xbox.

More Info ...

Microsoft has announced an all-new Xbox 360 RTS game set in the Halo universe from Ensemble Studios, the makers of Age of Empires.

Halo Wars will be built exclusively from the ground-up for the Xbox 360, and puts you in command of human UNSC armies as they deploy for mankind's first deadly encounter with the enemy Covenant forces.

In an update on its website, Bungie had the following to say about Halo Wars:

"Bungie has been working with Ensemble primarily in the area of the game's fiction to help inspire the story and ensure continuity with the existing Halo Universe. Aside from that, Ensemble is applying their skills to deliver a great Halo experience in a whole new genre, which is ironically where Halo began in the first place. If you've seen some of the very early Halo videos out there, you might recall that before it ever became an FPS, it was in fact designed as an RTS (building off of Bungie's experience with the Myth franchise). Now, many years later, Ensemble is able to take the franchise full circle and bring it back to the place where it all began."

The post continues: "Ensemble brought their prototype to Bungie quite a while back, to show the guys that an RTS could not only work on the 360, but kick ass too. Frankly, Ensemble is one of very few folks on Earth that we would trust with our baby, and that trust is doubled thanks to the excellence of the Age of Empires franchise."

Ensemble's Chris Rippy commented: "The Halo Wars team is made up of a bunch of guys that are all very passionate Halo fans. When we sat down to start thinking about our next project, we thought bringing the Halo universe into the RTS world would be a perfect a fit, and would make an amazing game. We couldn't be more excited about Halo Wars, and can't wait for everyone to try it out!"

Halo Wars seems to be the first of many RTS games heading for Microsoft's console, with EA's Battle for Middile-Earth II already out on the system and other notable RTS developers expressing interest in the console.

Screens Here ...

Due for release in North America, UK, France and Germany in mid-November 2006, the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player will go for $199.99 in North America and €199.99/£129.99 in the UK, France and Germany.

The player comes with Peter Jackson's King Kong on HD DVD (for a limited time) and the Xbox 360 remote. ...

MS reveals partnership with Peter Jackson to create the next Halo game and form Wingnut Interactive

A partnership between Peter Jackson, screenwriter Fran Walsh, and Microsoft to create two new series exclusively for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live is one of Microsoft's many big announcements at X06.

The first from the deal will be a collaborative effort with Bungie to co-create the next great chapter in the Halo universe.

The second will be an entirely original property targeted at bringing new audiences to games. Microsoft will also team with Jackson and Walsh to establish Wingnut Interactive, a studio dedicated to games.

"Microsoft has built an amazing living canvas with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, which allows the storytellers of our time to express themselves in a new medium. They have fundamentally changed how people think about games," Jackson said. "My vision, together with Microsoft Game Studios, is to push the boundaries of game development and the future of interactive entertainment. From a movie-maker's point of view, it is clear to me that the Xbox 360 platform is the stage where storytellers can work their craft in the same way they do today with movies and books but taking it further with interactivity." ...

Despite Half-Life 2: Episode Two being known about for, well a fairly long time, these are actually the first screenshots from the title to appear online. Feast your eyes on the delights, which include shots from Valve's puzzle-shooter-thingy Portal.

Episode Two is out in Q1 2007 and comes bundled with the above mentioned Portal and multiplayer game Team Fortress 2. On Xbox 360 you'll get all this along with the original Half-Life 2 and Episode One.

Screens Here ...