News

• ::July 13th, 2010::
  * GO: At what point did you turn on the old model and decide it was time to rethink the design?
  * AP: It's a tough question to answer. There was always the concept from the beginning that if you're going to be in market for 10 plus years, at some point you're going to want to refresh the design. That's just part of the game industry cadence, to do redesigns during the life cycle as components gets smaller and power consumption goes down. So I think from the very beginning there was an idea, and I'll call it a very vague idea, that we were going to do something.
  I think this particular project...I throw out two years, give or take, just because when you're doing a redesign like this, it's not something you decide months in advance. We wanted to get the quality there and make sure we got it right, so we were probably planning this for about two years, give or take.
  
  * GO: The aesthetic parities with the original Xbox are striking. The X-shape, the beveled vent on the side--it almost looks like a lither, sleeker original-style Xbox.
  * AP: That's exactly what we were trying to do. Really the design goals were to retain the iconic Xbox shape. We talked a lot about that inhale, the center power button ring of light as the dominant image on the front of the console, the inhale shape. We wanted this to look like an Xbox 360. We wanted to unmistakably maintain that iconic shape.
  But we were, as I always kind of remind people, at this point in the lifecycle of the original Xbox, launching the Xbox 360. So you sort of take cues from what more modern designs are. Where is automotive design heading, what's going on with television and entertainment centers. We wanted a sleeker, more modern and refined looking console that was still iconically an Xbox.
  
  Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/200986/microsoft_new_xbox_360_in_development_for_two_years.html
  
  ::July 12th, 2010::
  Microsoft has said that an Arcade version of the Xbox 360 "S" (aka Slim) was coming but hasn't provided any hints on what it would or wouldn't have and hasn't given a general release date beyond later this year. Now a listing at Amazon's German website may have let some of those details slip.
  
  The new Xbox 360 Arcade will come with 4GB of memory according to the Amazon listing. This could be internal flash memory but the listing says "Bundle" which indicates it might be a USB thumbdrive.
  
  The Slim Arcade is due out on August 20, 2010 in Germany. They price the new console is listed in Euros at €148.99 which translates to $187 and change. The $199.99 retail price in the United States is unlikely to change for the new Arcade.
  
  Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-28759-Atlanta-Video-Game-News-Examiner~y2010m7d13-Rumor-Xbox-360-Slim-Arcade-details-outed-by-Amazon-Germany
  
  ::July 9th, 2010::
  Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 Reveal Trailer - I know the first one was a lot of fun, hopefully they can keep it up in the 2nd make.
  
  
  
  ::July 8th, 2010::
  Rock Star is proud to announce plans for an ongoing series of downloadable content for Red Dead Redemption.
  
  Four packs of add-on downloadable content will be released for PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE over the next few months, starting with the ‘Legends and Killers’ Pack at the beginning of August and culminating with the Red Dead Redemption ‘Undead Nightmare’ Pack this fall. These packs follow the recent release of the Free ‘Outlaws to The End’ Co-Op Mission Pack, which is available now on PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE.
  
  
  
  The upcoming downloadable content includes:
  
  Legends and Killers Pack (Releasing beginning of August 2010)
  New active map locations, characters and more:
  •9 New Multiplayer map locations — more than doubling the amount of territories in the Multiplayer Competitive modes
  •8 New Multiplayer characters— play as characters from Red Dead Revolver
  •Introducing a new projectile weapon: the Tomahawk, with corresponding Challenges for single player and multiplayer
  •New Achievements/Trophies
  •Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)
  
  Liars and Cheats Pack
  New Competitive Modes, Multiplayer Mini-games in Free Roam, and more:
  •‘Attack and Defend’ Multiplayer Competitive Mode and Challenges
  •New Multiplayer Horse Races complete with mounted combat
  •Play as the heroes and villains of Red Dead Redemption as well as 8 additional multiplayer characters
  •Multiplayer versions of Liars Dice and Poker from the single-player game
  •Introducing a new weapon: the Explosive Rifle, with associated Challenges available in single-player and multiplayer
  •New Achievements/Trophies
  •Release date TBC
  •Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)
  
  Free Roam Pack
  Delve deeper into the world of Red Dead Redemption with new Modes, Challenges and Gang Hideouts to discover:
  •Additional Free Roam Challenges
  •New action areas and defensive placements
  •Posse Scoring / Posse Leaderboards
  •New ‘anti-griefing’ measures in Free Roam
  •Release date and pricing TBC
  
  Undead Nightmare Pack
  Ghost towns and cemeteries come alive in a West gone horribly wrong:
  •Brand new single player adventure, Challenges and quests
  •8 New Multiplayer Zombie characters
  •Additional animals unleashed in the world
  •New Dynamic events
  •More details to follow...
  •Release date TBC
  •Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)
  
  More details on these upcoming packs and other updates will be revealed closer to each release.
  
  Source: http://www.reddeadredemption.com/