^turnaround time is pretty good

4/17/2007 4:14:17 PM

oh, i didn't read the article

present day, i see

man plane missions were fun as hell

shit is weak

4/17/2007 4:15:45 PM

^^how many times you gone through it Twista?

4/17/2007 4:18:43 PM

just once...i think from the time i shipped it off (UPS) to the time i got it back...it took maybe a week and a half

i did buy one at walmart though to use as a loaner, then i took it back for that refund

btw 1-800-4MYXBOX is who you call to get the process in motion

4/17/2007 4:39:44 PM

Yeah I called them and got it started. Called today, so hopefully it won't be too long. Guy estimated it to be about 2 weeks or so I guess.

4/17/2007 6:30:33 PM

yeah probably 2 weeks from now

they'll send you an empty box to put the console in for shipping...i think i got my empty box within 2-3 days

4/17/2007 6:35:08 PM

took me longer than you tree. i called hem around thursday though which makes it longer cuz you have all those weekends in between when you get it and when they get it.

4/17/2007 6:43:47 PM

yeah i guess it depends

also fwiw, today is the last day to file taxes so that should inevitably slow down the mail a bit...although i think its all UPS so i dont know if people file their taxes through UPS? (e-file ftw)

[Edited on April 17, 2007 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

4/17/2007 6:45:13 PM

Microsoft dropped off a little missive today letting us know that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will now be available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Starting today, new episodes of each show will be available on Marketplace within 24 hours of the original airing on Comedy Central.


ftw, even though i would never buy one unless it was a really awesome episode because i can find it somewheres else

4/17/2007 8:57:10 PM

they're definitely trying to incorporate more than just video games into the console...and im with you about not paying for one when i could just dvr it, but some people will im sure

4/17/2007 9:04:57 PM

it makes sense though, considering south park are almost 7, 8 or 9 of the top 10, on a day-to-day basis


or it was for awhile

4/17/2007 9:22:08 PM

yes that makes total sense

[Edited on April 17, 2007 at 9:57 PM. Reason : i was being a jackass cuz i didnt read the above, but yeah i wouldnt buy um normally either]

4/17/2007 9:57:07 PM

rainbow six: vegas player pack: red edition is out today. 800 microsoft pts. i'm all over it.

4/18/2007 10:51:31 AM

Man, how is R6: Vegas? I've always been a little weary about the Tom Clancy games, but I've heard nothing but good things.

4/18/2007 10:59:02 AM

i've never liked tom clancy games either. but i gave the multiplayer demo a shot back in december and was hooked.

other than guitar hero, it's pretty much the only game i play now.

4/18/2007 11:02:25 AM

I'll admit, I've been playing the heck out of Alien Hominid for the last few days. Maybe I should get the new PDA levels they just came out with. The Arcade is so addicting. My next Arcade purchase will probably be Castlevania: SOTN.

4/18/2007 12:01:03 PM

i just got that MLB 2K7 through gamefly the other day...wow i cant hit for shit...is there a way to make it so clicking in on the right stick does NOT bunt cause in one game i accidentally bunted like a dozen times

4/18/2007 2:16:33 PM

the new assassination and conquest modes in rainbow six are pretty badass. i also like the marshalling yard map a lot. freaking huge. if you're on assault in attack and defend you will spawn 130 meters away from the extraction point. definately a defenders map.

4/19/2007 8:41:12 AM

Beautiful Katamari Damacy (the sequel of Katamari Damacy and We :heart: Katamari) is coming to the 360.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/781/781475p1.html

[Edited on April 19, 2007 at 2:40 PM. Reason : thank you]

4/19/2007 2:39:01 PM

holy crap

4/19/2007 2:48:35 PM

so what are the katamari games similar to? kinda like sim city or something completely different?

4/19/2007 3:07:30 PM

It's ENTIRELY different. The object of the game is to roll a little katamari and collect as many things as possible before the time limit. At first, you'll gather small stuff, but the bigger the katamari gets, the bigger items you can roll into and gather. It's a very fun puzzle game.

4/19/2007 3:30:27 PM

I saw people playing this last year and made fun of them constantly

4/19/2007 3:33:50 PM

Quote :

"so what are the katamari games similar to? kinda like sim city or something completely different?"

It's not like any other game I've ever played. You have a ball that you roll around. Everything that isn't too big sticks to it. You keep rolling....and that's it. It's incredibly fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwhFH75OCDs

4/19/2007 3:42:03 PM

haha looks pretty funny

4/19/2007 3:44:57 PM

i really really really really want a fighting game to come out

like soul calibur 4 or whatever

the xbox 360 has been weak sauce for fighting games so far.

def jam, doa 4, arcade mortal kombat, and arcade street fighter


WEaK SAUCE.

it looks like virtua fighter 5 is coming in July tho


I might have to pick up soul calibur 2 or doa4

[Edited on April 19, 2007 at 11:50 PM. Reason : dhs]

4/19/2007 11:44:14 PM

^ just wait for virtua fighter 5

4/19/2007 11:53:18 PM

that's a while.

and doa4 is onle $30.

is it not good?

4/20/2007 12:00:28 AM

No it is pretty good, especially for $30. Biggest seller would probably be online play since VF5 won't have that. It depends if you like really technical or arcade type fighters.

4/20/2007 1:35:54 AM

i think i have a taste for some rb6 online now after looking at a video of the online content. the assassination mode seems to be what drew me into it.

4/20/2007 8:24:33 AM

yeah doa4 is good. i really like the soul calibur single player mode where you have to do all the challenges and whatnot, but as a fighter doa4 holds up well (and looks great).

4/20/2007 9:07:42 AM

I finally sent my xbox360 in to be fixed. hopefully i don't run into this problem when the warranty runs out.. they said it'll be like 1.5-2 weeks.. I need it back for my MLB 2k7 fix damn it.

4/20/2007 3:04:52 PM

^you got any tips on hitting in 2K7? I was a lot better with the swing stick in 2K6 but i keep inadvertently clicking in on the swing stick causing me to bunt way too often

4/20/2007 3:12:08 PM

So let me guess

The two new maps that were released for Halo 2...even though the previous 3 map packs were buy at first, free after a few months...i'm guessing these will never be free? If you EVER want to play them you'll need to buy?

I swear, this nickle and diming shit is really starting to get to me. What the hell happened to the day where when new contect came out, it was free to download...BECAUSE YOU ALREADY BOUGHT THE FUCKING GAME ONCE

4/22/2007 3:41:17 PM

You'd prefer to not have the option to buy additional content?

4/22/2007 3:44:16 PM

Quote :

"I swear, this nickle and diming shit is really starting to get to me. What the hell happened to the day where when new contect came out, it was free to download...BECAUSE YOU ALREADY BOUGHT THE FUCKING GAME ONCE"

do i really need to explain more?

i do agree that they should put more content in said additions for the money, but i guess if people are buying them they have no incentive to do so.



and it isnt like they force you to buy it. i have COD3 and have yet to buy the map pack. The original 8 or so maps are enough to entertain me and the new ones didn't sound enjoyable. im still having a blast, and people who wanted more now have extra maps. it isnt hurting my ability to find games.

the only way i'd be pissed is if they obviously left something out on purpose, like if they only included team battle in a shooter and wanted you to pay another 10 for CTF.

[Edited on April 22, 2007 at 3:49 PM. Reason : .]

4/22/2007 3:46:20 PM

the new maps are fun! just the learning curve for them is twice as high as it is for the default maps.

4/22/2007 5:30:54 PM

Quote :

"Inside the Xbox 360 Elite 04/19/07 We were fortunate enough to find one at our local Wal-Mart here in Minneapolis. Wal-Mart seems to be the shop of choice with eBay sellers as well, we did a search for 360 elite in hand and well you can see the results Here. A bit surprising since to day is 04/19/07 and the release date is scheduled for ten days from now. We have had a chance to crack it open and document some of the differences between the Elite and the original Xbox 360. Xbox 360 Elite Retail Box After much fan fair, false information, bogus reports, speculation, denial of existence and all sorts of forum chatter; the eagerly anticipated Xbox 360 Elite has become a reality. It sports a HDMI port, 120 GB Hard Drive, black case and accessories and some other minor hardware changes which we will discuss later. One thing that remains speculation for the moment is the existence of the sought after 65nm CPU. While the CPU and GPU do have different revision information it is hard to say whether or not it is in fact 65nm. There are other subtle hardware differences that could elude to it being a 65nm core which we will discuss later. Now onto the nuts and bolts. One of our new 360 Elites goes under the knife and gets stripped of its sexy black shell and everything else. What surprises to we have under the hood? For disassembly we wield our XCM 360 Case opening tool and start taking this Xbox 360 Elite apart. Our first pleasant surprise is a Hitachi GDR-3120L FK78 DVD drive inside. I was hoping not to see a BENQ drive as there are no flashing utilities available at the moment so there is no ability to replace the DVD drive or use this as a parts motherboard. Extracting the drive key and flashing the firmware of this unit wont be a problem! Next, I wasted no time in removing the CPU and GPU heat sinks as I was dying to know if they had implemented the anticipated 65nm CPU core. Both the CPU and GPU both sport different revision information on the chips but its hard to say whether or not 65nm has been implemented. One of the more interesting observations that seems to point to lower power consumption implying a possible 65nm core is the fact that there are some capacitors and transistors that have been removed on this revision of board. Many speculate that because the die is not smaller its not the new core. One argument against this theory is this; if the power requirements drop by half and the die size surface area to dissipate heat is decreased by half; it really is not more thermally efficient. There is a good article at overclockers.com about this topic here. It makes sense to actually change the transistor size but keep the larger die. But still... its all speculation and hopeful thinking. Is it truly a 65nm core? I wouldn't put my neck out and say it is for certain but what little inspection we have done seems to point to a possibility it is. When we get more time I would like to measure the power consumption of this unit verses the original box. Aside from removing the die from the wafer and measuring transistors with a microscope (yeah right) I don't know how we will know unless someone can confirm the revision information of the chip itself or Microsoft confirms. Xbox 360 GPU Xbox 360 Elite CPU One a side note, we all had a good belly laugh here at the shop when we saw Microsoft's most creative measures to minimize the dreaded Xbox 360 3 flashing red lights "ring of death" error caused by poor BGA connections of the CPU and GPU. It seems that that the good ol' a dab will do ya methodology applies here. Take a look at the epoxy surrounding the CPU and GPU which is intended to prevent the BGA connection from popping as the board warps. This has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Will it do the job, we have our doubts, but it will remain to be seen. It certainly seems like taking the easy way out instead of fixing the real problem. Take a look at the animated gif below and note the lack of the yellow capacitors above the GPU and CPU and the fact that there is half as many transistors on the right hand side of the board where most of the voltage regulation goes on. This seems to be most telling sign of a possible new core. If you would like to see individual hi-res photos here they are: elite board original board One of the most important and sought after addition to the Xbox 360 Elite is the new 120 GB HDD. Finally some space to save all of the paid content your heart desires. We disassembled the drive and found a Fujitsu MHW2120BH 120GB drive inside. Our initial attempts at dumping sector 16 using The Specialist's hddhacker application was not a success. It appears that the tool does not yet support the new 120GB drive. Without the sector 16 you will not be able to upgrade your stock 20GB drive to 120GB the cheap way. We will keep you posted on any changes to this situation. We welcome the return of our good old friend the chrome hard drive caddy spacer. Our last few Xbox 360's sported a grey plastic piece instead of the chrome which was very disappointing to us as it was much uglier. Xbox 360 Elite Hard Drive Xbox 360 Elite 120 GB Hard Drive Xbox 360 Elite Fan Header Once other small difference you will find is the fan header. It has been switched from a 4-pin Molex Mini-Fit connector to a standard good old three pin fan header style connector. This will render the Talismoon whisper fan useless without some sort of adapter. Fortunately the Llamma has solved this issue already and has the adapters in stock ready to rock. Talismoon Whisper Fan Xbox 360 Elite Adapter Get them at Shop Llamma here! Last but certainly not least is the key upgrade to the system; the HDMI port. This was the major let down of the Xbox 360 launch and a key difference between the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Finally the wait is over for those who want true 1080p without using the washed out VGA connection or dont have a TV with VGA or a 1080p compatible component input. There has been a million pictures of the HDMI port and HANA the HDMI scaler chip but here's a couple more for good measure. Xbox 360 HANA HDMI Encoder chipXbox 360 HDMI Port Just to one up Sony and the PS3, Microsoft actually includes a HDMI cable with the Xbox 360 Elite; and a pretty nice one at that! Thanks Microsoft! Xbox 360 HDMI Cable This is the audio breakout dongle included with the elite as well for those who want or need digital optical or analog audio outputs. Xbox 360 Elite Digital Optical / Analog Audio Dongle Xbo 360 Elite Black Headset Xbox 360 Elite Black Controller In our opinion the Xbox 360 Elite is the best value in gaming to date. Not only do you get the 120GB hard drive and HDMI port but Microsoft spares no expense and included a nice HDMI cable AND the original HD/SD combo cable. This truly was a surprise to see both cables included with the Elite and is very appreciated. The black case, controller and accessories are very sexy. Microsoft has a winner with the Xbox 360 Elite! -TheJT"

source: http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/news/inside_the_xbox_360_elite.htm found here: http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25577844

4/22/2007 5:59:11 PM

^^ im sure they are fine, but im slowly losing interest in it and would like to play something new. quake wars sounds pretty bad ass with multi-round wars and interesting objectives.

[Edited on April 22, 2007 at 6:17 PM. Reason : adding the cable really will make it more worth it for the regular consumer.]

4/22/2007 6:10:15 PM

ok without reading all that crap is it less likely to overheat bc mine overheats like woah right now



also what does the 4 red lights mean? That happened to me a few days ago

4/22/2007 9:42:04 PM

if you've got overheating issues (asside from like once a year) or red lights you need to send it in. it only gets worse.

4/22/2007 9:52:34 PM

well there is this deal to turn your 360 in for 250$ credit on your 360 elite (so youd pay like 230 for a new one)

I mean i have a HDTV so HDMI would be nice and im getting low on my hard drive bc i buy so many movies on marketplace, plus i think my 360 is getting worse so i need to get rid of it now before i get nothing for it


is anybody else thinking ab bumping up to an elite?

4/22/2007 10:51:48 PM

I was fishing around with the idea, I just wanna know how easy it'd be to transfer everything from one hd to another, not to mention your user info, gamertag, etc. As far as I know it doesn't come with the same transfer cable that separate 120gb new drives will come with

4/22/2007 11:09:04 PM

Quote :

"also what does the 4 red lights mean? That happened to me a few days ago"

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=443379

If you look on google/that thread there are a few tricks you can try if you want to attempt to fix it yourself.

4/22/2007 11:26:44 PM

hdmi is nice as is the new hdd, but not $230 nice. hdtv still looks nice via component and i only get a few game demos so i dont need the space.

4/22/2007 11:30:21 PM

I wonder if extra black wireless controllers will be available?

4/22/2007 11:43:06 PM

lets say i do make the switch tho.........how do i delete all my info so the next person who gets my 360 wont steal all my crap (like buying marketplace points)

4/22/2007 11:44:08 PM

just do it like me in my nikes

4/22/2007 11:45:34 PM

4 red lights mean you dont have the video connector in

4/23/2007 12:11:47 AM

^yeah that happened to me last weekend and i was like "WTF OH NOOOOOOEEEES CHARLES HE GOT IN MAH HEAD"

4/23/2007 8:01:50 AM