Xbox 360 Halo 4 bundle arriving this November

By now you should know the routine. Every time Microsoft has a new Halo game, a new Xbox360 bundle arrives to mark the occasion. This Limited Edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 follows that fine tradition. And it looks damn good.
This bundle has the usual Halo-themed artwork, a copy of Halo 4, matching controllers and the system is 320GB. But here is the interesting bit. The ring of light on the console and the two matching gamepads are bright blue instead of green. It will cost you $400 and it arrives on November 6th.

Obviously this is for serious Halo fans. Are you a fan enough to snag one up? Better start saving your money. You plenty of time.

Source Engadget

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Xbox SmartGlass to be supported by all first-party Xbox 360 games starting this Fall

Easily the most exciting announcement from Microsoft's E3 2012 conference, Xbox SmartGlass is going to be a big push to bring all of those extra screens you have into your Xbox 360. We know the obvious applications for music and video, but a murkier question surrounded gaming and how your tablet, smartphone or Windows 8 PC would interact while you're kicking butt as Master Chief.

Joystiq attempted to find out an answer to this by speaking to Phil Spencer, Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, who said that from the release of SmartGlass and onwards all of their games (read: first-party games published by Microsoft) will bundle in support for the technology. We already got a hint of this with the two games they did demonstrate like Ascend: New Gods and Halo 4, but Spencer elaborates that the potential is far greater:

"It just makes so much sense for a developer who wants to supply, maybe not time-critical information, like 'that enemy is getting ready to shoot you,' but information that augments what's happening on screen," Spencer says. He used last year's Halo Waypoint Atlas app, which offered multiplayer GPS tracking, as an example of how SmartGlass features could share additional game information without hampering the moment-to-moment gameplay. "And then you're even going to see situations like with Ascend, where there's actually gameplay that happens on the phone, even when you're away from your television and that interacts back with the online game that's happening. So I think you'll see information sharing, context sharing while you're in the room, with video and with games, as well as gameplay happening in more distributed environments."

For more from Phil Spencer and how he describes the technology -- he calls it a 'smart surface' that adapts to what you're doing with your Xbox -- click on the source link below.

Source: Joystiq

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6 New Games for Xbox Live added by Microsoft to their $0.99 game roster

6 New Games for Xbox Live added by Microsoft to their $0.99 game roster, and is urging buyers to “collect them all”. The list includes recent releases like Feed Me Oil and Droplitz Delight, making Xbox Live games obviously a lot more attractive than before.
There has been some controversy around this move, with some complaining that Xbox Live games already dominate the top 10 list, and making them cheaper will just exclude even more 3rd party game developers.
From the user point of view it is however a great deal normalizes prices of games with other platforms and which may prompt greater uptake of the Windows Phone platform.
See the selection at Xbox.com here.

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Promotion for students in US, Canada Microsoft renews 'buy a PC, get a free Xbox'

People are always comparing and contrasting PCs and consoles, but of course, the ideal is to have both platforms. For students, doubling up will be just as easy this year as it was last year. Microsoft has renewed its promotion that makes students eligible for a free Xbox 360 if they purchase a PC worth a certain price.

Here are the criteria, in Microsoft's words:

Starting May 20th in the U.S., students who buy a qualifying Windows PC worth $699 or more at participating retailers can get a 4GB Xbox 360 console for free, just like last year! Starting May 18th in Canada, students who buy a Windows PC worth $599 or more can also get a 4GB Xbox 360 console for free!
Participating retailers in the US include Best Buy, Dell.com, Fry’s Electronics, HPDirect.com, Microsoft Stores, and NewEgg.com. In Canada, they include Best Buy, Dell.ca, Future Shop, Staples and The Source.

Not sure why Canadians get a sweeter deal, but okay. Oh, and obviously, providing student ID will be a must in either country. Those e-tailers and retailers aren't just going to let anyone youthful-looking walk off with a free Xbox.

Even if you're a die-hard PC gamer, I think it's hard to take issue with the promotion. Xbox 360 exclusives remain a reality, and the console offers a different multiplayer experience than the PC. I hope this won't encourage students to buy cut-rate PCs without decent graphics, though.

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Microsoft is set to give the Xbox 360 a modified version of the Internet Explorer 9 browser

The speculations are made that Microsoft is set to give the Xbox 360 a modified version of the Internet Explorer 9 browser.
The modified version of the browser is said to support Kinect gestures for control. However, the Kinect accessory is not required to use the browser apparently. Presumably that means you could control your web surfing using the standard Xbox 360 game pad as well.

The sources offer no detail on the launch of the browser. However, with E3 starting next month if there's any substance to the rumor we expect to hear more at the show. Adding a real web browser to the Xbox 360 will certainly lure in more users that don't have interest in video games.

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