Datel responds to Xbox 360 memory device lockout

If you own an “unauthorized” third-party device like a memory unit for your Xbox 360, it may not work for you thanks to Microsoft’s plant to block them in the not-too-distant future. In a post on the Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb’s blog, it was recently revealed that the next update (which will add support for twitter, Facebook and Last.fm) will lock-out unauthorized storage devices. Ain’t that a bitch? When they say unauthorized, what they really mean is unlicensed and unapproved by them. If you own an Arcade version of the 360 and don’t have a hard-drive or if you just like to back up your data on other versions of the console you may be forced to go out and by “officially endorsed” Microsoft memory devices.

Obviously companies like Datel, which has found success in selling its third-party Xbox 360 accessories at top retails like Target and Best Buy, are not pleased. A Datel spokesperson, speaking to CVG, said that locking out its devices would prevent consumers from having a freedom of choice and added that the company was “disappointed.” Here’s further comment from Datel, taken from that article and found over at GamePolitics:

“We are following this issue and awaiting the outcome like everyone else. Everyone is looking for ways to make their cash go further at the moment and we believe that Max Memory offers a good value, high capacity, alternative to the official Memory Unit.”

When this update goes live Microsoft had better be prepared for the deluge of Max Memory owners that will probably go ape shit crazy on them. When that happens we’ll let you know.

Halo 3, Battlefield 1943 tops on Xbox Live

Halo 3, Battlefield 1943, Halo 2 and RC-AirSim were the top games on Xbox Live according to the LIVE Activity report from Major Nelson for the week of July 20, 2009. Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: world at War continued to take the top three spots for games played online, followed by Gears of War 2 and (my current favorite) Battlefield 1943.

Battlefield 1943 was also the top Xbox Live Arcade game for the week, beating out the physics based Splosion Man, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Castle Crashers (which just won’t go away), and Worms 2: Armageddon.

Sane sh*t, different day for Xbox Originals: Halo 2 was at the top of the heap, followed by Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Counter-Strike, Fable and Splinter Cell Chaos.

Finally, RC-AirSim made its way back to the top of the Community Games list, beating out Fireworks HD, myFishtank, Kodu Game Lab and Gamerbots:Third-Robot Shooting. The complete list can be found after the break:

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Halo 3, Magic: The Gathering tops on Xbox Live

What’s hot, happening, hip and exciting on Xbox Live for the week of June 22nd, 2009? According to the latest data, it’s Halo 2, Halo 3, Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalker and something called OfferName. Topping the Xbox 360 list of most played games on Xbox Live is Halo 3, followed closely by Call of Duty: world at War, Call of Duty 4, Gears of War 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Top Arcade titles for the week included the freshly released Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers, followed by GAROU -MARK OF THE WOLVES-, Castle Crashers, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and Worms. I suspect Worms is so popular because people are getting reacquainted with the game in preparation for the release of a new Worms game this week - Worms 2.

Top Original Xbox Games being played this week include Halo 2, followed by Star Wars: Battlfront 2, Counter-Strike, Fable and Splinter Cell.

Finally on the Xbox Live Community Games front something called OfferName was at the top of the heap, followed by RC-AirSim, myFishtank, A Perfect Massage and Illusions 360. You people have completly given up on the community games, haven’t you? Enough with the massage games, Community developers..

A complete list of the top ten games across all of the aforementioned categories can be found after the break.

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Blu-Ray not being adopted by consumers, says survey

A recent poll by Harris Interactive reveals that, while Blu-Ray may have been proclaimed the winner last year in the high definition format wars, it’s not being adopted by rank and file consumers. Meanwhile, High Definition television sets are being embraced by Americans across the line. According to the data, nearly half of American households are now using high definition televisions, but only 11 percent own a HD enabled media device and only 7 percent own a Blu-Ray player.

The price of Blu-Ray players isn’t helping matters any: the number of Blu-Ray owners is likely to remain flat due of price and competition from other High Definition technologies. The purchase of both HD players are up ever so slightly from 2008 - 3 percent for Blu-ray and 5 percent for HD players. Perhaps Microsoft gave up a little too soon when it discontinued its HD hard drive add-on for Xbox 360? Blu-Ray also is facing some stiff competition from high definition content on cable, satellite, and the internet.

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Microsoft E3 2009 press conference recap

Microsoft fired the opening salvo a day before the Electronic Entertainment Expo officially opens, revealing new social networking functionality, changes to Xbox Live, new clips from its key franchises - and those from third-party publishers - and revealing its way of doing motion controlled gaming. It was a pretty impressive showing that will set expectations for Nintendo and Sony’s events later this week. What follows is a brief rundown of the press event (check out this additional information, released after the press conference):

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This Week on Xbox Live

Three games hit Xbox Live Arcade Live this week (Zombie Wranglers, Arkanoid, and Space Invaders Extreme), along with an Xbox classic (Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex) that’s available for a limited time at a special low price.

In Zombie Wranglers players must save the city of Potters Field from an onslaught of crazy undead using a Wrangler-Pack to capture them. Players can choose from four different wranglers (each with their onw special abilities), play the game in cooperative mode or go online for some multiplayer fun. Arkanoid is a high definition remake of the classic brick breaking game with some additional features like achievements and multiplayer co-op play over Xbox LIVE - along with 62 levels to take on. Space Invaders Extreme is a remake of the classic arcade hit Space Invaders, offering high-definition graphics, new music tracks, and new gameplay. The game also offers multiplayer features - four-player versus and co-op multiplayer modes on Xbox LIVE.

Finally there’s the Deal of the Week: Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. Normally 1200 MS Points, the VU Games title is available this week for only 800 MS Points. If you miss the crazy bandicoot who used to be Sony’s number one mascot, then you can get your fix for a special price this week…

Microsoft Sued for $90 Million Over Halo and Xbox LIVE

Apparently, in these hard economic times, one way some companies are trying to get by is by painting targets on other companies with much bigger wallets. And when you talk about companies with big wallets, well, you can’t find a much bigger target these days than Microsoft. Enter PalTalk Holdings, who is suing Microsoft to the tune of $90 million, claiming that MS has infringed on patents PalTalk bought from MPath Interactive. PalTalk claims the two patents in question were infringed upon by Microsoft in the creation of the Halo games and the Xbox LIVE service.

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