BufferOverrun: Brian Johnson: Xbox

Loads of new Team Fortress 2 vids - Xbox 360 Fanboy

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 14:20:28 GMT

I think if I added up the number of hours in the games I've played over the years, Team Fortress would probably get the top hours played. This of course makes me both excited (and a little scared) about the upcoming release of Team Fortress 2. Xbox 360 Fanboy has gameplay videos from the different classes. (Via GameVideos.com) Check them out here:

Link to Loads of new Team Fortress 2 vids - Xbox 360 Fanboy
GameVideos has posted a handful of new videos of Team Fortress 2 gameplay. In all, we get to see the engineer, spy, sniper, scout, and soldier doing their thing. We noticed yesterday that the camera can pull away from the player in order to show off an emotion. Seeing these new videos, it has become clear that this is a player controlled action, so you can use it to taunt your living (or dead) opponents whenever you wish.

Technorati tags: Xbox 360, Team fortress, Valve, Microsoft, Xbox

A refuge for women in a hostile game space - Los Angeles Times

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 01:42:47 GMT

Very cool story in the LA Times about GamerchiX.

A refuge for women in a hostile game space - Los Angeles Times
Christa Phillips plays like a girl. And she's perfectly OK with that.
Known online as TriXie, Phillips serves as a goodwill ambassador for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox Live online game service. Her online group, GamerchiX, functions as a virtual Grand Central Terminal for women and girls who tread into the testosterone-steeped world of console gaming.

via TriXie.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360, GamerchiX, Microsoft

Halo 3: How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:39:19 GMT

In case you hadn't seen it, the September issue of Wired, is really one of the best that I've ever read. And not just because if this excellent Halo 3 story by Clive Thompson:

Halo 3: How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play

Sitting in an office chair and frowning slightly, Randy Pagulayan peers through a one-way mirror. The scene on the other side looks like the game room in a typical suburban house: There's a large flat-panel TV hooked up to an Xbox 360, and a 34-year-old woman is sprawled in a comfy chair, blasting away at huge Sasquatchian aliens. It's June, and the woman is among the luckier geeks on the planet. She's playing Halo 3, the latest sequel to one of the most innovative and beloved videogames of all time, months before its September 25 release.
Tags: Halo Microsoft Bungie Wired Xbox

On10: Happy Father's Day! Featuring gaming Dad Duncan Mackenzie

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 14:49:52 GMT

Check it out here:

Happy Father's Day! Featuring gaming Dad Duncan Mackenzie

So you all know Duncan Mackenzie right? He's one of our Devs here for Channel 10 and he is also an avid gamer. I've had my head blown off quite a few times by him in Halo. Not pretty. And he's the author of the book Xbox 360 for Dummies. Duncan also writes articles for Xbox.com on Xbox dads. Answering questions like "Should I allow my four year old daughter to play Postal"?

Excellent! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. :)

Technorati Tags: Kids, Xbox, Xbox 360, Zune

The Older Gamers Paradise - 2old2play - The Impact of Being a Gaming Parent

Mon, 07 May 2007 20:33:59 GMT

Great article on 2old2play.com Be sure to read the whole thing.

We’ve all heard it before, “Video games are bad for kids”. The press, some celebrities, religious leaders and of course politicians want to blame events and actions of our children on video games. This is our opportunity as gaming parents to prove them wrong.
Video games mean so much more for parents. Being a gaming parent means more quality time with our children and more sharing. It gives us insight to what our children enjoy and gives us control over what our children do.
Although I was a gamer when I was a child and young adult, I lost touch with the gaming world until after my son was born. I am the mother of a 16 year old son. Being close to my son has meant stepping into his world and enjoying what he enjoys.

Source: The Older Gamers Paradise - 2old2play - The Impact of Being a Gaming Parent

Duncan's first "Xbox Dad" column is up...

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 03:38:05 GMT

Good stuff. Check it out here:

Meet the Family

Last Tuesday was the first FamilyGame Night on Xbox.com and the featured game, Walt Disney Pictures Presents Meet the Robinsons, has been a real hit around our house. My son Connor had been talking about the movie, Meet the Robinsons, for some time...

Duncan's post about the column is here:

Link to My first "Xbox Dad" column (post?) is up... | Duncan Mackenzie .Net

Viva Piñata!

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:56:03 GMT

My new Xbox Dad column is up. In this one I talk about playing Viva Piñata! with my son Hunter:

Viva Piñata!
I'm always on the lookout for good kid's games, and I recently picked up a copy of Viva Piñata™. If you haven't seen it, Viva Piñata is a new game where you cultivate a garden and try to create an environment that attracts cute and colorful piñatas. If you do it right, you can raise the piñatas as your own when they choose to settle in your garden.

Technorati Tags: Viva Piñata!, Xbox 360

10 Million Xbox 360s

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:25:08 GMT

Can PS3 catch up? Ed Oswald at BetaNews has some analysis here:

Has Xbox 360 Already Won the War?
With Microsoft executives becoming ever more eager to tout the company's sales numbers of its Xbox 360 in public, and the dramatic success of games like Gears of War, has Redmond given itself such a head start that it will be near-impossible for Sony to catch up?

Sounds to me like the bigger concern for Sony at this point is getting ahead of the Wii somehow. The Wii is a pretty compelling system and if I was going to purchase a second brand to hook to my TV, it would probably be that one.

Technorati Tags: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360

Bringing Xbox back....

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:02:36 GMT

Duncan IM'd me this yesterday and I immediately made the MP3 my ringtone. Nice job Laura. :)

I'm bringing XBOX back....
Posted by Laura Foy on Nov 30th at 2:19 PM
So with Sony and Nintendo both launching new consoles I began to worry that people might lose sight of their good old XBOX's. Does nobody remember Ground Zero? Where is the Love? My heart was truly beginning to break and I found myself racking up sleepless night after sleepless night. I decided I must do something...I must express my woe...and the only way I could express myself properly...was through song. Enjoy.

A link and some analysis at Joystiq.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, MP3, On10, Video, Xbox, Xbox 360

Easy media sharing with Zune

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 07:31:37 GMT

Tonight I spent a bunch of time playing content from my PC with Zune installed through my Xbox 360. It was sort of an accident. I hadn't tried this before, thinking that I was going to have to copy a code over as with the Media Center PC, but no. It's easy as pie:

Install Zune on a PC (Just make sure sharing is enabled when you install.)
Add some music, picture, and video folders to Zune
Go to the sytem blade on your Xbox 360
In Windows-based PC, choose the PC running Zune

That's it. It connects and you now have access to your Zune content. If you're a music subscriber, anything you download plays through your TV. Awesome. We played Lynyrd Skynyrd and looked at old vacation photos tonight. Lot's of fun.

TriXiebot720

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 04:33:42 GMT

This is awesome. I even get a cameo!

Is this really the end?
Behold the conclusion of the TriXiebot720 saga, brought to you by Mike Westerhold.

Duncan and Jesse take the Xbox 360 wheel for a spin

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 06:15:13 GMT

Get the deets here:

Racing in Style with the Xbox 360 Wireless Wheel
This new controller is sweet... and I've got to say... once you've tried it, going back to driving in Need for Speed: Most Wanted last night without a wheel was truly a disappointing experience (not that I didn't have fun... I beat #10 on the blacklist last night!). I've already started the process of convincing my wife that we need this wheel in our family room, so perhaps by the time it comes out (Dennis talks timelines in the video, but I believe it is in the second half of November) I'll be able to make it happen.

Be sure to watch the end where Jesse tears up PGR 3. This looks different than any console wheel that I've seen and I've got a couple of them.

Technorati Tags: Games, Xbox 360

New Xbox Dad column posted

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 03:56:20 GMT

This week, I cover screening games and using the ESRB ratings as a guide.

Is this game appropriate for my child?
...Of course, I can't answer that question for every parent. We're all different with our kids, and we all have different ideas about what our children can or should be exposed to. What I can do is to provide some thoughts and resources that will help you make an informed decision.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360

Halloween Dashboard Update

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:14:34 GMT

Duncan picks his favorites here.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

360 is back from the shop...

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 06:53:47 GMT

Unfortunately, when I checked at the UPS web site on Thursday, it said that the package would be delivered today (Monday). I tracked it today, and somebody in the office had signed for it on Friday. Grrr. Oh, well it's back now and it's working.

The toughest thing for me is re-learning the Battlefield 2 buttons on the controller. They changed a lot between the Xbox and the Xbox 360 versions and going back and fourth with any smoothness seems nearly impossible.

Lots of great feedback on the Gamer Dad column. I think TriXie was pretty insightful in thinking this up. A pretty common theme in these e-mails is, "wow it's great to see a column for gamers with kids." All of my responders so far have been dads. :) You can send a note about this column here if you have any feedback.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Gamer Dad Column...

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 23:57:07 GMT

A few weeks ago TriXie asked me about doing a column about being a dad with kids who play video games for Xbox.com. The result is Gamer Dad and the first installment was published today. This should be fun. You can check it out here:

Gamer Dad: What I'm Doing Here on Xbox.com
..In the Gamer Dad column, I'm going to explore the issues around kids and gaming that can make it hard to know if you're doing the right thing. This column is written both for parents and kids. I want to make gaming understandable for parents who might not be gamers. I would also like to provide the older kids with a parent's take on the concerns that we have around kids and gaming. This column will hopefully help parents make good, informed decisions about control and provide the kids with a way to understand those decisions.

Hey it's even on the Xbox.com home page! Thanks to TriXie for setting this up!

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360

One of the best Halo videos ever...

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 10:21:03 GMT

Words cannot express how funny this is...

Halo Smack Talk

Well, if you're a gamer geek anyway. :)

Technorati Tags: Gaming, Halo, Video, puppy, Xbox

Tom Duff on Xbox 360 for Dummies

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 08:14:44 GMT

Tom Duff has a nice review up of Xbox 360 for Dummies up on his blog. This is a few weeks old, but I stumbled on it tonight. Check it out here:

Book Review - Xbox 360 for Dummies by Brian Johnson and Duncan Mackenzie Xbox has definitely crossed the line from being a gaming console with extra features to being a multimedia computer that happens to play games really well. Johnson and Mackenzie do a very good job of covering and demonstrating all the features of the Xbox 360, how it all meshes together, and how to get the most out of the platform.

I would agree with Tom that most 12 year olds, probably don't need it, but I think it's still nice to have. ;) (I've had Dan Amrich's Playstation 2 for Dummies on my shelf for years.)

Technorati Tags: Dummies, PS2, Playstation 2, raptors, Xbox, Xbox 360

Xbox 360 To Keep U.S. Lead Through 2009

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 21:15:55 GMT

Interesting Xbox 360 analysis from IDG. Check out the details here:

Analyst: Xbox 360 To Keep U.S. Lead Through 2009
... For 2007, IDG predicts Microsoft dominance for the next two years in the North American next-gen game hardware market, at least in terms of installed base. The forecast predicts 10.6 million consoles in homes for Xbox 360, 6.8 million for PlayStation 3, and a modest 3.5 million for Wii in 2007. In 2008, Anderson suggests 15.5 million units in homes for the 360, 13.5 million for PS3, and 6.8 million for Wii. He does mention that his group expects the PS3 to win out in the installed based race in the end, perhaps in 2009.

Not that I know anything about forecasting this stuff, but it would seem to me that by the time PS3 catches up, we'll all be waiting for the next next gen consoles to show up. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

A football game I'm looking forward to...

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 21:34:54 GMT

I've liked Madden well enough in the past, but my 11 year old kills me at it, so I was pretty excited to see NFL Head Coach pop up on Xbox.com. I'm really looking forward to this one. I used to love the magnet game that shook all the players on the field. This one seems right up my alley:

EA Breaks Out the NFL Playbooks
Electronic Arts is bringing a completely different kind of NFL football game to Xbox®, according to Jeremy Strauser, producer of NFL Head Coach. The graphical sports strategy game puts you in the role of an NFL head coach, with all of the control and responsibility over your entire career with a team. While franchises like Madden and NFL Street are often decided by who is more skilled at the game controls, success in NFL Head Coach requires preparation for game day and making the right decisions on the sideline.

Finally, a game where I can exercise all of my Mad Coaching Skillz(TM).

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Football, Madden

The Math Behind Your Halo 2 Rating

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 06:56:23 GMT

I meant to post this earlier this month. Ralf Herbrich and Thore Graepel of Microsoft Research have a paper up describing the TrueSkill player ranking system used in Halo 2. Lots of math in there, for those so inclined:

TrueSkill(TM): A Bayesian Skill Rating System
Ralf Herbrich; Thore Graepel
We present a new Bayesian skill rating system which can be viewed as a generalisation of the Elo system used in Chess. The new system tracks the uncertainty about player skills, explicitly models draws, can deal with any number of competing entities and can infer individual skills from team results. Inference is performed by approximate message passing on a factor graph representation of the model. We present experimental evidence on the increased accuracy and convergence speed of the system compared to Elo and report on our experience with the new rating system running in a large-scale commercial online gaming service under the name of TrueSkill.

Technorati Tags: Chess, Microsoft, Halo 2, Xbox, Xbox 360

Duncan's Reviews

Sun, 11 Jun 2006 05:33:03 GMT

Duncan posted his thoughts a few games he's been able to play lately. Namely Rumble Roses, Blazing Angles, and Tomb Raider. These aren't games that I'm interested in spending any time at all with, so we're lucky that Duncan took a look. :) Check it out here:

Xbox 360 roundup: Blazing Angles, Rumble Roses and Tomb Raider This month, I returned Full Auto (interesting idea, combining guns and driving, but after playing PGR 3, Ridge Racer 6, and Need For Speed: Most Wanted... it just didn't seem like my kind of driving game) and ended up with Rumble Roses XX. Whatever else I may say about that game, it certainly has expanded the range of games that I have tried. I've only played it for about an hour, but it left me with some mixed feelings so far. On one hand, it appears to be a pretty good wrestling game and I am completely in favour of sexy, scantitly glad women wrestling on high-definition television. The problem for me is that the game seems to take it a bit too far.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Dashboard Update

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:29:50 GMT

The dashboard update that everybody has been talking about is available now. (I stayed up for it.) :) Very nice.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Cadillacs in PGR

Tue, 23 May 2006 21:50:42 GMT

The PGR guys continue to keep the game fresh by releasing new cars on marketplace. This time it's the Cadillac V-Series of cars. You can even earn a special gamer picture. Check out the deets here:

New PGR 3 Cadillacs in Marketplace
Only the best of the best will be able to master these elegant cars and earn the coveted Cadillac Elite gamer picture. Any Xbox Live competitor who places within the top 100 on the Nürburging F1 racetrack in any of the three Cadillac cars will be awarded this elusive gamer picture. PGR 3 will continue to reward the top players sporting their new Cadillac Elite status by enabling future gamers to earn the gamer picture only by breaking one of the top 100 scores for that car's specific leaderboard.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Table Tennis

Tue, 23 May 2006 10:32:46 GMT

Table Tennis from Rockstar is due out this week and I'm actually pretty excited about this game. I just need to scrounge up 40 bucks somewhere to pay for it. :) Here are the details from Xbox.com:

Table Tennis Anyone?
...This is hardcore, lightning-quick table tennis the likes of which most people haven't seen outside of the Summer Olympics or Forrest Gump. A one hundred mile per hour rally is enough to get your heart pounding and your palms sweaty, and once you get the hang of it, you find that each point can offer the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat.

Also be sure to check out the awesome movies at IGN:
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 on The Apprentice

Tue, 16 May 2006 07:14:26 GMT

Anybody catch the show tonight? I think the addition of a certain Xbox 360 book, would have improved things immensely. :) The Gamerscore Blog has the details and discussion.

Technorati Tags: Dummies, Xbox 360

Microsoft at E3

Mon, 15 May 2006 23:37:03 GMT

I just watched today's The 10 Show. Excellent coverage of the Microsoft booth at E3. You even get to see Major Nelson. Very cool.

Touring the Microsoft Booth at E3 2006!
Join Laura and I as we take you on a tour of the massive Microsoft booth at E3. We check out a ton of games including Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Justice League, Too Human, Gears of War, and even Viva Piñata! And if that wasn't enough, if you act now you'll get to see Laura doing some weird DDR-like dancing thing too.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360

Carmack on the 360 vs PS3

Mon, 15 May 2006 06:31:50 GMT

A little video on xbox365.com of John Carmack talking about programming the PS3 vs programming the 360. (From G4)

John Carmack Comments On Playstation 3
Technologist Genius John Carmack was brought on the G4 TV show for his opinion on the Xbox 360 and Playstation3 hardware difference.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Watch the PGR Global Tournament this weekend

Sat, 06 May 2006 01:02:17 GMT

You can watch the best of the best in the finals of the PGR Global Tournament this weekend on your Xbox 360. They'll be down to the top 48 racers this weekend, so you should really be able to check out some good racing action on Gotham TV.

I actually turn this on a lot when I'm working on my laptop at night. It's cool to have it on in the background and it's always fun to see familiar names start to dominate races.

I'm going to try to watch some of this, but I finally picked up a copy of Battlefield 2 Modern Combat for the 360 and OMG. I'm like a lab monkey pressing one of those food pellet buttons. It's so much fun, I have trouble putting it down. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Send and receive Xbox Live messages on the Web

Wed, 03 May 2006 06:30:11 GMT

This new feature is too cool. Log into xbox.com and you'll see a new Messages item that will let you read, listen to, and send messages to and from your friends on Xbox Live. Check out the details here:

Message Center Comes to My Xbox
In our unending quest to give our Xbox Live® members more of what they are asking for, we hereby unveil the My Xbox Message Center. Exactly what you've been requesting!

Here's the story on the coolness that is Message Center.

All My Xbox users (Xbox Live Silver and Gold users as well as those who just signed up here on Xbox.com) can now read text messages in the My Xbox Message Center. So someone can send you a message from their Xbox 360™ console and you can read it on your PC.

You need to have a Gold account to send messages. Read the whole thing for details.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 for Dummies in OXM!

Tue, 02 May 2006 17:26:14 GMT

Ryan McCaffrey has a nice little write up of Xbox 360 for Dummies in Official Xbox Magazine this month. He found the first bug that we reported to our publisher (an error in the labeling of the controller parts inside the front cover) which will hopefully be fixed in the next reprint. From the review:

Xbox 360 for Dummies
"That gaffe aside, 360 for Dummies does a good job of covering everything you'd expect it to, including HDTV functionality, Media Center connectivity, and the Dashboard."

To read it, you'll need to pick up a copy of the magazine, which is on the newsstand now. :)

Technorati Tags: Dummies, Xbox, Xbox 360

Preview Gamer Pics and Themes

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 05:39:54 GMT

Did you know you could preview the gamer pics and themes available on Xbox Live Marketplace? I didn't either. Now you can check out the sets thoroughly before you lay out the points. Check it out:

Gamer Pictures in Xbox Live Marketplace
Your gamer picture on your gamer card is your face in the online community, both on Xbox Live and on Xbox.com. There are scores of gamer pictures available from your favorite games and community websites.

New Themes in Xbox Live Marketplace
One of the coolest things about Xbox 360 is the level of customization it offers. Not only can you swap out faceplates to give the console a new look, you can also download different themes from Xbox Live Marketplace to change what you see on the screen.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 for Dummies Text Stats Page on Amazon

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 04:37:36 GMT

I just noticed this today. There's a bunch of different ways to look up information in Xbox 360 for Dummies on Amazon. This page contains a concordance and a readability index.

Readability
Fog Index: 11.0 Easier
This book has a Fog Index of 11.0
A higher Fog Index means a book is more difficult to read

34% of books are easier to read
66% of books are harder to read

Flesch Index: 61.0 Easier
This book has a Flesch Index of 61.0
A higher Flesch Index means a book is easier to read

32% of books are easier to read
68% of books are harder to read

Flesch-Kincaid Index: 8.7 Easier
This book has a Flesch-Kincaid Index of 8.7
A higher Flesch-Kincaid Index means a book is more difficult to read

34% of books are easier to read
66% of books are harder to read

The concordance contains the top 100 terms in the book. It lets you look up stuff pretty easily, so check it out.

Technorati Tags: Dummies, Xbox, Xbox 360

She'll be lethal after she reads the book...

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 04:13:19 GMT

Hmm, I found this interesting piece via Technorati. It seems that the I4U Gadet Model for the month of April is getting into the Xbox 360:

I4U Gadget Photo Model April 2006 - Stephanie
Ever wondered who plays Xbox Live? If you are lucky you actually play against Stephanie, our April I4U Gadget Photo Model. She is playing Xbox 360 and is checked into Xbox Live, while wearing a hot golden bikini. She just got the Xbox 360, that's is why she had to read first Xbox 360 for Dummies.

The I4U blog disclaims the page as follows, so take that into consideration as you click the link above.

(Depending on your Company’s culture the photos might now be safe for work).

I took a look at the full set and they all seemed pretty tame to me. :)

Technorati Tags: Dummies, Xbox, Xbox 360

Microsoft and the World Cyber Games

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 03:01:38 GMT

Alex has info and links about the World Cyber Games to be held in Italy in October of this year. Check it out:

World Cyber Games
Now, why am I telling you this? Well, apart from wishing I was good enough to be telling that I'm playing in the first round of Half Life CS (which I'm not), the real news is that Microsoft has signed up to be the Games sponsors for the next three year starting with the 2006 WCG Games.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360

COD2 is now Officially Fun

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 06:31:52 GMT

Major Nelson reported the update today. I suck at it, but the game is playable in multi-player now. You can invite your friends, play in private rooms, etc. You'll get the auto-update on live. Check it out.

COD2 Title update now available
...Call of Duty 2 will automatically update when you sign into LIVE. This update offers significant enhancements, including improved multiplayer performance, the ability to reserve friend slots in private game lobbies, post-game lobbies so friends can play longer, configurable host options and much more. Finally, something to hold me over until Battlefield 2 comes out next month.

I feel bad, I was going to loan this to Duncan and I held off because I knew the update was coming out. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 for Dummies in the Bungie Weekly Update

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 10:29:00 GMT

Hey, I feel like we really made the big time:

Bungie Weekly Update: February 24th, 2006
Short update today, so no whining please. Somebody handed me a copy of the Xbox 360 for Dummies yesterday. I was all, "How much of a dummy would you actually have to BE to not know how to use a console." Of course, the first page I opened had a handy tip that I never knew was possible. If you plug in a compatible device with an image on it, you can set that as your desktop pattern. How rad is that? I also didn't know you could customize the blade colors, or the little submenu that comes up when you hit the Guide button. And it wasn't just me. A chorus of "whhhaaaaaas!?" went up when I demonstrated. There's probably a ton of other useful info in the book too.

I'm so excited, I might just add this to my Amazon blog thingy. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

Sat, 11 Feb 2006 05:02:36 GMT

BF2MC is still my favorite game and I can't wait for it to hit the Xbox 360. I play this game nearly every day and I enjoy it most of the time when I'm not getting my behind kicked.

Anyway, they have a pretty cool stats facility when you log in on their home page, You can get your stats fed to you as RSS, XML, and HTML. For a look at my stats, you can check out this link. I'll probably embed that in a nicer looking page sometime after it hits the 360.

Update: In looking at those stats, some of the numbers are pretty whacked. My score is around 3300 and I think my total online game time is around 80 hours or so. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Steve got a 360!

Sat, 11 Feb 2006 04:21:46 GMT

Steve picked up an Xbox 360 at Target and he has a few thoughts on the packaging of the accessories.

First Impressions
My biggest complaint surrounding Xbox has nothing to do with the hardware, the operating system or anything else about the unit. It's the accessory packaging.

Since I picked up a core system, I ended up having to pick up the hard drive, the VGA-HD cable and two wireless controllers separate from the main system. Each one was wrapped in freaking plastic armour.

Read the whole thing. I also scraped up my hands a bit when I opened the accessory packaging. It's hard to resist just tearing at the packaging with bare hands. My advice for somebody who hasn't done this yet would be to get a big pair of scissors and open the packages carefully, watching for the recommended cut lines on the packaging. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Burnout Revenge Kiosk Content

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 17:41:19 GMT

I was at Target yesterday and I picked up the new Burnout Revenge (theme and car) I heard about from Major Nelson. I hadn't done this before, and so I felt little weird about sticking my Memory Unit in the kiosk, especially after the guys working there started watching me go through stuff, add it to my MU, then pull the MU out of the kiosk and stick it in my pocket. :)

I hope somebody has briefed the store workers about this. I felt like they were following me around for the next 20 minutes or so, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Xbox Team Blog

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 04:30:59 GMT

In my misery, I was scanning blogs that might agree with me about the game*, and I happened across the Xbox Team Blog on MSDN. Pretty cool! Check it out here:

Xbox Team
News, tips, tricks and insight from the Xbox development team.

* I'm sure I'll be over it soon. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Added a note to the book page on Amazon

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 22:39:43 GMT

Amazon.com has a new Connect program that lets authors add blog entries to the pages for their books. This looks like a pretty interesting idea, and while I'm not sure how I'll eventually use it, I see a ton of potential in it. Here's a link to a story about the program and here's a link to the Xbox 360 for Dummies page on Amazon.com

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Xbox 360 for Dummies on Xbox360Fanboy

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 02:29:38 GMT

I was pleasantly surprised to find a mention of Xbox 360 for Dummies on Xbox360Fanboy. Check it out here.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Adding your Gamercard to Messenger

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 17:41:32 GMT

I was playing around at mygamercard.net and I see that they have a "micro" sized card that they'll generate for you there. It turns out that the micro card is the perfect size for your Messenger picture. Check it out:

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Xbox

MSN Spaces Goodness

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 04:48:15 GMT

A couple of great new things happening on MSN Spaces... Dare lists the changes made that are making me think I was smart to move to spaces. Major Nelson has information about the new controls and themes available to Xbox enthusiasts.

If you read my blog in an aggregator, check out the new bling on the page. I changed the theme and added my gamer card and recent games using the new Xbox 360 controls.

Technorati Tags: MSN, Xbox, Xbox 360

Major Nelson is giving away copies of Xbox 360 for Dummies

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 03:37:20 GMT

Major Nelson was a tremendous help to us working on Xbox 360 for Dummies. Our publisher was nice enough to send him copies of the book to give away on his weekly podcast. Check out his post here and be sure to tune in for his next show.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

TriXie in Xbox 360 for Dummies

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 08:12:38 GMT

Pretty cool. We mentioned TriXie in Xbox 360 for Dummies and Major Nelson gave her a copy today. She sounds pretty excited about it. :)

Me for Dummies
Maj just handed me a copy of the book Xbox 360 for Dummies. And guess what?! I'm on page 247. Heck, I practically AM page 247!

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360

Go Seahawks!

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 03:00:58 GMT

I splurged on a new Gamertag Picture in support of the Seahawks in the Superbowl. This should be fun. :)

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360

Happy New Year Everybody!

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 06:12:43 GMT

Just spending the night playing some games with the kids. They're experimenting with the characters in Kameo in co-op mode. They're not getting very far, but they seem to be having a lot of fun. :)

Update. We had a little party around midnight tonight. :)

Technorati Tags: New Year, Xbox 360, Xbox

Free MP3s from 2K Sports

Sun, 25 Dec 2005 21:14:42 GMT

This is pretty cool. I don't know how long these are going to be available, but 2K sports has posted a bunch of tracks from some of their games.

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox 360