TTL - The Tech Link Blog

Obama on the Xbox

We see them on billboards on the highway, we hear them on the radio, see them on web pages, in emails, on television, in movies, and now in games. Ads, marketing, product placement; it’s everywhere.

In this time of political campain, we can see the face of Barack Obama on a virtual billboard in the Burnout: Paradise game on the Xbox 360. Surprising? Well, more or less. There could be a Pepsi ad there and we wouldn’t bother so what’s the difference!

I just think it’s unfair to the viewers/players. General TV and TV shows are free because they are supported and payed for by advertisement. Games are not, so why have ads in them if it doesn’t benefit the players? Just my 50 cents.

GigaOM

Xbox 360 HDD

Microsoft will be unveiling the new “Xbox Experience” next month. With it comes a 128MB update that users will have to download and install on their Xbox’s hard drive.

So what happens if you have an Xbox 360 without a hard drive?

Microsoft has thought of you and is now offering low priced memory upgrades for Xbox 360 owners that bought the console with no hard drive. Users will be able to get their hands on a refurbished 20GB HDD for only $19.99. We even have seen reports of a free 512MB memory card option!

Xbox 360 Special Offer
techAU

Xbox 360

Microsoft officially responded to rumors around a Blu-Ray disc player for the Xbox 360.

They “do not plan on having Blu-Ray support anytime soon” confirmed Major Nelson on his official Xbox 360 blog. This probably has to do with very slow adoption of the “new” Blu-Ray media, and also because of the failure of the original HD-DVD external drive that Microsoft tried to push when HD-DVD was still alive.

I guess they just don’t want to repeat the same mistake again…

TG Daily

Playstation 3

Sony has announced more details on the upcoming firmware updates for the PSP and the PS3. These updates should be available in the very near future.

With the new 5.00 update on the PSP, users will be able to access the Playstation Store right from the device using WiFi. It will also add a sleep timer for when you are playing music, and a full screen keyboard for easy typing.

The PS3 update will be version 2.5 and will feature support for a new Bluetooth headset, better voice transport system (when using a headset), movie scene search will allow users to set cue points at different intervals within a movie (like chapters) for fast access to certain scenes, power saving features will allow users to turn off the console and controllers when not in use, in-game screenshots, and background downloading with automatic console shut-down.

TechRadar UK

Wii Speak

Nintendo announced that their new product, the Wii Speak, will be available in mid-November in Japan and will make its way to America later on.

Wii Speak is a kit that should sell for around $50. It will include a device that is similar to voice-conferencing phones where it will pick up the voices of all individuals in a room within a 12 feet radius.

From Nintendo: When you enter a code that will be included in the Wii Speak package into the Shopping Channel, the Wii Speak Channel can be incorporated into the Wii console. In other words, the Wii console can connect one living room with others. If your friends do not own Wii Speak, you can send a message with voices to their Wii consoles through the Wii Message Board.

TechRadar UK
GigaOM

Xbox 360

Total game console sales between the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 were 196,166 units.

Nintendo overtook Microsoft and Sony yet again with 109,548 Wii sold between September 1st and 28th, then came Microsoft’s Xbox 360 with 53,547 units, and Sony with 33,071 of it’s Playstation 3 systems.

Japan’s console market shares for September 2008:

• Nintendo Wii - 56%
• Xbox 360 - 27%
• Sony PS3 - 17%

Mainly due to major price cuts by Microsoft, this is the first time where the Xbox 360 beats the PS3 in the Japanese market.

CDRinfo

Nintendo DSi

In Tokyo this morning, Nintendo was announcing the launch of a new portable gaming console (the DSi) that would be available in November in Japan.

The new unit will be 2.6mm thick which is 12% less than the previous version due in part to the absence of a GBA cartridge slot. The DSi will feature two 3.25 inch screens and will be equipped with two 3MPix cameras; one inside and the other one outside of the unit. It will also feature an SD card reader, better WiFi, a web browser, and will come in either black or white.

Expect a price between $179 and $199.

engadget

Xbox 360

Rumors have started to spread about Microsoft’s possible announcement of a new slimline Xbox 360 towards December of this year.

Rahul Datta, Microsoft India’s Retail Services Manager, told the gaming website Split Screen that an announcement regarding a slimline Xbox 360 could be expected.

This would actually make sense as Microsoft is slashing the prices of their consoles around the world to, possibly, liquidate all the current Xbox 360s they have in stock.

The Register Hardware UK via WinBeta.org

Life with Playstation

Here we have a video presentation of the new PS3 channel called ”Life with Playstation”.

Aside from seeing a globe and the weather in major cities, you can scroll the earth around and zoom-in to a city or region and get news relevant to the city or region you are looking at. The news feeds are from Google News.

This is an interesting way of getting news but to me it sounds more like a time waster than anything else. Let’s see what future developement holds for this channel…

cNet