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Week of October 18, 2009
New 360s without 2nd GPU-heatsink and Unreadable DVD (DG16D2S-09C) FW
>> mputten from ombouwservice-webshop.com reports on our forums he's seen new Xbox 360 consoles without the 2nd-GPU heatsink/heatpipe (like the early Xenon consoles). This European Forza3-pack Xbox 360 Elite has a MFG 2009-08-17, LOT 0942. It seems like Microsoft is now confident enough their HW no longer needs the extra GPU heatsink.
The device also came with an Philips-LiteOn DG16D2S-09C drive which seems unreadable by DOSflash atm ('Invalid Drive Data').
News-Source: ombouwservice-webshop.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
HDDHackr v1.22 Build 20091022
>> Team MODFREAKz released a new version of HDDHackr(info), a tool that allows you to use some Western Digital laptop HDDs as Xbox 360 HDD.
What's new/fixed (since v1.00 Build 20090523):
* Added support for the Western Digital Scorpio Series manufactured 2009 (v1.22)
* Fixed issue with Intel ICH9, ICH10 and VIA chipsets (v1.20)
* Implemented progress bar (v1.20)
* Added support for 80GB and 250GB HDDs (HDDSS.BIN required) (v1.20)
* Fixed issue, that sometimes caused flashing of Model Name to incorrect offset. (v1.11)
* Added option to create Partitions 0/2/3 (no more manual hex editing) (v1.10)
* Bug fixed, that caused errors like "LBA size does not match" (v1.10)
* Improved compatibility (v1.10)
* Minor changes (v1.10)
Official Site: n/a, by Team MODFREAKz on xboxhacker.net (thx to hitman43 for the news)
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox Division Profits Up 96 Percent In Q1, Sales Flat
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft on Friday revealed flat year-on-year sales for its Entertainment and Devices Division, which houses Xbox, but operating income rose 96 percent to $312 million.
EDD revenue for the first fiscal quarter ended September 30 was $1.89 billion, virtually identical to a year ago. The EDD also includes the Zune media player, PC games, online games, and other products.
Microsoft attributed the sharp rise in profits to decreased operating expenses, primarily stemming from "decreased Xbox 360 platform costs." A lower headcount in the division compared to a year ago also contributed to the higher profits.
The worldwide Xbox 360 installed base is "almost 34 million consoles," Koefoed said, adding that it leads the industry with an 8.7 software title attach rate. Xbox Live revenue growth grew "in excess" of 50 percent, he said.
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Full Story: gamasutra.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox LIVE Update Preview Program Wave One
>> From majornelson.com:
[QUOTE]
Wave 1 of the Xbox LIVE Update Preview Program is in the process of being pushed out to those selected. If you were not selected, don't worry...we'll be adding more people over the next few days. If you have been selected, you'll will get the update sometime over the next few hours when you sign in to Xbox LIVE. You can confirm your acceptance in the first wave by signing in to the Connect Site, where you'll also find more details on the program and links to the private preview forums on Xbox.com. In addition, we've also be sending you an an email to your Windows LIVE ID that you registered with Connect.
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So, for those who got in and happen to have a 'home-made' Xbox360 HDD ... let us know in the forum thread below if your storage device got locked out or not. Also mention if you used a HDDSS.BIN you got from the internet or one of your own or with modified serial.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft Denies Xbox Live Price Hike
>> From spong.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft's group manager of corporate PR ('PR man') David Dennis has played down Michael Pachter's recent statement that the company is looking to double Xbox Live membership fees.
Says Mr Dennis to Matt Peckham at PC World, "I don't foresee a scenario where we're going to double the price of LIVE any time in the next couple (of) months".
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: spong.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Major Nelson: We have no plans for Blu-Ray on Xbox 360
>> From majornelson.com:
[QUOTE]
During an interview yesterday, Steve Ballmer was asked about Blu-Ray and the Xbox 360. I wanted to clear something up. Steve was referring to Blu-Ray accessories for the PC. As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360. In fact, the future of home entertainment starts very soon when Xbox 360 becomes the first and only console to offer instant-on 1080p streaming HD movies. With a library of thousands of TV shows and movies to choose from, Xbox 360 owners can instantly watch the movies they want, when they want, in the highest form of high definition.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
>> From gizmodo.com:
[QUOTE]
In the first segment of our exclusive Steve Ballmer interview series, the Microsoft CEO and I talk about Natal, the blurring of console generations, and the surprising assertion that "you'll be able to get" Blu-ray add-on drives for Xbox 360.
When I asked Ballmer about adding Blu-ray to the Xbox, he said:
"Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there--you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories."
Though he says it with certitude, the timing of any kind of Blu-ray accessory is unclear. Could he have mispoken? Certainly. However, when I asked Xbox spokespeople about Ballmer's revelation, they responded:
"Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we're not ready to comment."
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Full Story: gizmodo.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
ArsTechnica Hands on: Xbox 1080p streaming, social networking impress
>> From arstechnica.com:
[QUOTE]
The upcoming Xbox Live fall update brings with it Twitter integration, Last.fm, Facebook, and instant streaming of video content at 1080p. So how does it all work? Very well. Our preview of the upcoming features shows a very mature set of updates for the venerable Xbox Live.
In conclusion
This is a solid set of updates, especially since everything will be free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. The Facebook and Twitter applications were neat, but may not appeal to everyone. The Last.fm feature and streaming video, however, will both add some significant value to the service.
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Full Story: arstechnica.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Datel 'disappointed' with 360 memory lock-out
>> From computerandvideogames.com:
[QUOTE]
Third party peripheral firm Datel, who make a range of Max Memory storage units for Xbox 360, says it's "disappointed" with MS's decision to stop unofficial memory units working with the 360's upcoming dashboard update.
"We are following this issue and awaiting the outcome like everyone else," a Datel rep told CVG.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: computerandvideogames.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Report: Microsoft Exploring Rewards Program For Live Subscribers
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft is inviting select Xbox Live subscribers to sign up between now and October 21 for what it calls an "exclusive pilot rewards program," promising unspecified "cool stuff" to those who register.
The company sent email to a limited number of subscribers, some of whom forwarded their invitations on to consumer weblog Kotaku for its report. "So, you click the button below and register to let us know you want in and pretty soon we'll let you know if you got in or not - and not everyone will (that's why it's called exclusive)," instructed the emails.
"This offer is for a select few - you can't send it to anyone else (why would you send something this awesome to someone else, are you nuts?). If you make the cut, you can pass or opt-out whenever you want. But then you'll never know how it ended."
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamasutra.com | kotaku.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
freeBOOT v0.01 Demo Video
>> From Jester on youtube.com:
[QUOTE]
This is a demo of freeBOOT v0.01 by ikari, running on my Cygnos360 v2. Starts with booting into XeLL to prove it's actually JTAG'd, then reboots into 8498 (Summer 09 update).
[/QUOTE]
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft to Raise Xbox Live Subscription Fee, Says Pacther
>> From 1up.com:
[QUOTE]
Michael Pachter, the internet's favorite gaming soothsayer, turned up on GameTrailer's Bonus Round once again this week. What did the Wedbush Morgan analyst see in his crystal ball this time around? Not only did he declare that Microsoft has given up on PC gaming, but he also predicted that the price of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will be going up sometime in the future.
"It's a profit deal," Pachter claimed, responding to a fan question about the dearth of ports from Xbox 360 to PC. "Microsoft wants you to never play a game again on your PC and play everything on your 360,".
"You can't hook a guy into Xbox Live Gold if he's playing on PC. So, I mean, that's the other problem is you really wanna hook every gamer who has a 360, you want them to buy all their games on 360, play everything multiplayer, pay you 50 bucks a year so that in a couple years, it's 100 bucks a year. And that's going up -- we all know that."
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: 1up.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Peter Moore: MS to be first with next gen console
>> From xbox.boomtown.net:
[QUOTE]
EA Sports boss Peter Moore (and of course former Microsoft exec) has predicted that Microsoft will launch a new console before Sony or Nintendo.
He explained his thoughts at the LAY conference at UC Berkeley where Moore also stated that he believes it will be at least ten years before we see the end of physical media for games.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: xbox.boomtown.net
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
freeBOOT v0.01 - Xbox 360 8498 Rebooter for JTAG Hack
>> Ikari released the first version of 'freeBOOT' for xenon (v1) and falcon (v3) consoles with JTAG/SMC-Hack.
This 'rebooter' will allow you to 'reboot' the 360 into an MS kernel after starting it with the JTAG Hack ... in this case (freeBOOT v0.01) it should reboot the console into MS kernel 8498 (but I assume 8507 will be possible too, and it's probably also the first step into rebooting into patched/modified MS kernels).
The readme says it requires the Cygnos360 v2 chip atm, I'm assuming they need it to automatically reset the SMC back to original.
Booting your 360 into 849x+ and keeping the JTAG Hack working was impossible until now, because updating to 849x+ via the MS update procedures burned a CB-fuse which made it impossible to still perform the JTAG Hack. If you already updated your console to 849x+ via normal update methods there is still no solution for you, but if you have a JTAG 'hackable' console (kernel 7371 or lower on NAND) freeBOOT should allow you to 're boot' it into 8498 via the JTAG Hack (using 'virtual fuses').
From readme/nfo:
[QUOTE]
* Introduction
Finally, here it is - freeBOOT, a rebooter for the Microsoft Xbox 360. This version of freeBOOT allows you to reboot into kernel 2.0.8498 on a Xenon or Falcon console, which can be exploited by the JTAG hack. Support for Zephyr, Opus, and Jasper consoles will follow shortly.
As freeBOOT needs a second flash memory to store kernel 2.0.8498 and associated data, a Cygnos360 is required at the moment.
Read through the following instructions carefully. Building your own images is yet a complicated task involving many steps. Future versions of freeBOOT will be easier to build.
Power on your Xbox 360. If everything went correctly, you should see the blue LED light up a few seconds later, followed by the usual boot animation. If you power on your Xbox 360 with the DVD tray eject button, XeLL will be loaded instead.
* Credits
Writing freeBOOT would not have been possible without the great work done by many hackers. Kudoz to arnezami, Redline99, Robinsod, SeventhSon, Tiros, tmbinc, xorloser, and anyone else I may have missed.
* What's next
Features planned for the next release(s):
-support for all consoles
-update to the latest kernel
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: n/a, by Ikari
Full Readme/NFO: here
Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Schtrom360Xtract V4.1
>> Schtrom released a new version of Schtrom360Xtract(info), a tool that will allow you to easily dump Xbox/Xbox360 gamedata, extract/patch the Security Sectors, PFI and DMI and fully prepare the image for burning in 1 step.
What's new/fixed:
* support for iXtreme V1.6
* stealth check updated to work with wave 3 and wave 4 games, the wave type is now displayed
* new Correct SS V1 option added in options dialog for XBOX360 discs. This option is deactivated by default, you need to enable it in the options dialog. If activated this option does correct the security sector at disc extraction, image extraction/injection and also during the stealth check. Pay attention that the stealth check will already fail if one challenge/response byte starting at offset 0x200 has a different value than the calculated ss V1. Keep in mind that this will only correct the security sector based on version 1. At the moment no ss version 2 games are out. But if MS is changing to ss V2 it is recommended to deactivate this option until an update of S360X is released. On iXtreme V1.6 firmware and XBOX360 backup disc extraction the Correct SS V1 option is always used no matter what is selected in the options dialog. This is because I haven't found a way until today to read the ss with C/R data from a XBOX360 backup disc on the new iXtreme V1.6 firmware.
* defaut XBOX360 drive speeds changed for better error correction TS-H943A, VAD6038 and DG-16D2S set to 12x. During tests with the new iXtreme V1.6 it seems that scratched discs have less read errors with increased speeds on XBOX360 drives.
* Send Custom CDB dialog buffer size field changed to support also hexadecimal values. The cdb cmd presets are now changed to hexadecimal values. Three new presets for LiteOn DG-16D2S iXtreme V1.6 fw added.
* inquiry detection of retail XBOX360 drives added. This gives you the opportunity to test cdb cmds on retail drives if your atapi.sys is patched. The patching of atapi.sys has to be done by yourself.
* fixed bug in directory listing for XDVDFS dialog on newer games like Damnation and Batman: Arkham Asylum, games can now be viewed and extracted correctly
* stealth.ini updated
Official Site: n/a, by Schtrom
Download: here
Full Readme: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Final Burn v1.1 for Xbox1
>> Nes6502 released a new version of his port of Final Burn(info) v0.517 to Xbox1.
What's new/fixed:
* Fixed a bug that caused the emulator to crash randomly
* Added a new font system
* Added a zooming screenshot when pausing a game
* Fixed the Simple2X filter
* Remapped the Powerdrift gas and break pedals to the Xbox left and right trigger (Final Burn 0.517 core only)
* Added a core for Final Burn Alpha. The correct core will automatically be selected. However, if a game can be emulated in both cores, then a menu is presented. Either core can be chosen. Typically the Final Burn 0.517 core is faster but less accurate. The Final Burn Alpha core is more accurate but slower (and sometimes glitchy).
* Added support for the following games (by user request):
Turbo Out Run (Cockpit) - toutrun.zip
Turbo Out Run (Outrun) - toutrunu.zip
Turbo Out Run (Upright) - toutrun2.zip
G-Loc Air Battle (US) - gloc.zip
G-Loc 360 - glocr360.zip
Strike Fighter (Japan) - strkfgtr
Cotton (World) - cotton.zip
Cotton (US) - cottonu.zip
Cotton (Japan) - cottonj.zip
A.B. Cop - abcop.zip
Super Monico GP (World) - smgp.zip
Super Monico GP (US) - smgpu.zip
GP Rider (US) - gprider.zip + gprider1.zip
Racing Hero - rachero.zip
Enduro Racer - enduror.zip
Altered Beast - altbeast.zip
Out Run - outrun.zip
Shinobi - shinobi.zip
Hang-On - hangon.zip
Super Hang-On - shangon.zip
Golden Axe - goldnaxe.zip
Space Harrier - sharrier.zip
Official Site: n/a, by Nes6502 on forums.xbox-scene.com
Download: n/a (built with XDK)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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