8 guys + 3 Xbox 360's + Plenty of KFC = Good times for all

Yea the title fairly well sums up what I did with my Saturday night, I attended a LAN night with a couple of guys I work with and some of their mates and it was great fun. We started out with some Halo 3, had some GRAW 2 in there, a bit of Guitar Hero 2 & 3, before finishing up with a bit more Halo 3. We also had a bit of a go with Mario Kart on the Wii which was interesting - I didn't fair too well with that, but I think that's because Mario Kart just doesn't feel like Mario Kart to me without the N64 controller :-)

All in all I did OK. I was one of the better in the group at Halo (still no where near the best though), I kinda sucked at GRAW 2 multi-player though, and I ripped up Guitar Hero (having said that I had played it much, much more than anyone else :-P).

Anyway it was fun, looking forward to doing it again sometime!

Features-a-plenty for next 360 update

With E3 now winding down, I figured I should hurry up and get a post about this one up - the next system update for the 360. This one is going to be the biggest update the console has seen, here is a run down of some of the cooler things going into it:

• A full re-make of the dashboard. It will have a new 3D look to it, as well as new easier ways to get to your content, as well as content available through Xbox live
• Avatars - Microsoft's answer to the Mii - now you can create a little person and dress them up and make them look however you want, and this will go with your gamercard - not sure if this will replace the gamer pic, but we will see.
• Full game installs on your HDD - You will be able to install a 360 title on to the HDD of your console and run it from there. The disc will need to be in the tray still (to make sure you haven't just hired a game, ripped it and returned it) but this means your 360's disc drive will last longer, and loading times will drop massively
• You will have access to the marketplace from the web - and if your console is turned on it will download straight to it. This means you can download game content or a movie while you are at work, so it is ready to go when you get home.
• The blade system is now incorporated into the guide - so the new dashboard doesn't get rid of it all together. Now when you hit the guide button you will get a small window that gives you all the same functionality you have on the current dashboard.
• A new LIVE party system - you can group together with up to 8 people and have that group persist through everything you do on your Xbox, from a game, to the dashboard, to watching a movie - you will be in constant contact with your party, no matter what you are doing. Great for a gaming night with a few games on the menu, no more having to find each other in the new game again.
• Xbox Live Primetime is a new type of game being added - think like gameshows (the first will be 1 vs 100) that you can play on your console, with other gamers all interacting in it with you and real prizes up for grabs. So you will see what time each game is on for, and can join in - looks very cool.
• Some new display modes have been addes, like support for 16x10 over VGA and HDMI.

And this is just the beginning we are told - stay tuned for more news closer to the release of the update, which should be in a couple of months.

360 gets a price cut down under

Well it finally happened, the Xbox 360 has taken a price cut in Australia (not quite as big as the rumours were leading us to believe, but still not a bad effort). Here are the new RRP prices:

• Xbox 360 Arcade - $349 (down $50)
• Xbox 360 Premium - $499 (down $80)
• Xbox 360 Elite - $649 (down $80)

This makes the important move of putting a console price below that of the Nintendo Wii, which could prove to be an important selling point coming into the holiday season (especially if the Wii sells out again which, lets face it, is a real possibility - those things walk themselves off the shelves). Also the Elite is now running in at the same price as the bottom level PS3

Of course if you were thinking that would be the end then you might be in for a shock - I don't think that Nintendo or Sony will let this one go unanswered into the holiday season - I would expect to hear similar announcements from both camps before the Christmas shopping spree begins! Watch this space gamers.