XBOX

Xbox News For April 2002

Microsoft Tried To Buy Nintendo
Posted by Sin-Tex at 18:57 PM

News Source Gamers.com

Following last month's rather shocking revelation that Microsoft had originally tapped Sega to develop the Xbox, it's now been revealed that at one point Microsoft was dealing with Nintendo too. In fact, Microsoft was all but set to outright buy the company.

According to a new book called Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution, Microsoft was at one point all set to plunk down 25 billion for the Japanese game giant. As the book describes, Nintendo's U.S. president Minoru Arakawa wasn't sure what to think when Microsoft made the offer. "I was surprised," Arakawa admitted. "We didn't need the money. I thought it was a joke."

You can read the full details here

Xbconnect 1.0H Released
Posted by Sin-Tex at 18:50 PM

XBConnect is next generation software that gives you the opportunity to play Microsoft XBox® games on the Internet.
XBConnect creates a "tunnel" between you and your friends over what your Xbox thinks is a LAN.

You can download it here

Changes since 1.0G

I got some time today to clean up a few issues and release 1.0H
1. You can change chat font. Note: must be a fixed pitch font.
2. Chat text justification and proper word wrapping.
3. Better resizing.
4. Channel topics displayed in title bar.
5. Allow commands to be passed in private chat.
6. Kick and Full messages should not drop you to a black screen.

Ink has began to spec out the new set of features in the upcoming 1.1. Work should begin this week and we should have some prototypes running by the weekend. This should be pretty cool.

Xbox HDD Driver
Posted by Sin-Tex at 17:49 PM

News Source: XboxHacker BBS

"Well, I know I kept pushing this release further and further back, and in hindsight, I wish I just let Opcode make the app, I think he might have come up w/ something better quicker. Not that I don't intend to make this a kick-ass program, just that I'm annoyed with how slow I'm progressing. Having said that, the app does read and write files to and from the HDD, which should be enough to get some hackers' feet wet."

You can download it here, just make sure you read the ReadMe file First.

Neo-X site update
Posted by Sin-Tex at 19:45 PM

"We have received fresh PAL, USA & JAP XBOX consoles today (Why is the JAP case a nice transparent green color as opposed to a solid black mat?). I can confirm that our flash mod works perfect on all 3 models. We are currently looking at DVD multiregion and Macrovision. What we did find interesting was that a USA flash rom works just fine in a PAL console, and the same with the JAP models (both original and patched) although the ROMS are noticeably different they seem to control the console just the same. (The main differences seem to be the Kernal and the HDD check)"

Xpad site update
Posted by Sin-Tex at 17:55 PM

Mr X & ZeroX have been hard at work adding more features to the debug. There is also a picture available of what will be a nice looking gui interface.

Also mentioned was the release of some test drivers for beta testing, only specific people who are still yet to be decided will receave the test drivers.

Note: Mr X is giving the test drivers to only trusted Web hosts and not to the public. So please dont ask him or ZeroX for them.

Full details can be found on the Xpad site.

Neo-X Modchip "Clarification"
Posted by Sin-Tex at 14:14 PM

Bad news looks like Neo-X will not help out the Homebrew & Emu scene.

Direct qoute...

"OK let's clear up a few things

We want to make it very clear that this development enables the playback of IMPORT ORIGINALS ONLY. It in no way enables to play any kind of illegal copies. We have no wish to venture into this area so please do not ask.

There is no modchip at present. The instructions on which area of the flash rom to patch were given to us by an overseas enthusiast who simply wanted to see if his ideas were correct. We implemented his ideas and they worked. Test machine was a USA console playing Max Payne PAL, and a PAL console playing HALO NTSC.

We will investigate the legality of this modification. If there is a legitimate purpose then we will of course proceed with designing a "DIY" mod where you can install for yourselves with just a few wires. If our lawyer advises that it is indeed illegal then we will not proceed any further.

Our view is that there are thousands of Europeans who invested a lot of their hard earned money to purchase an XBOX from the USA when it was first released. Members of our staff were among these excited gamers who wanted to get their hands on the machine. Now the XBOX is available in Europe is it fair to say that they would have the right to buy games from their local store as opposed to paying expensive import prices or having to sell their console at a loss and buy a new one ?

Either way we see this as an exciting development for both Gamers and Microsoft alike. I'm sure it would increase their sales for both games and consoles, and along the way making the lives of their customers that much easier.

So for now there is nothing for sale, no news on a DIY mod and certainley no information on any kind of pirate chip that people have been discussing.

I hope this clarifies everything for you"

Emulation soon to be reality ?
Posted by Sin-Tex at 0:23 AM

Well atleast being able to play import games anyway.

Its seems we could very well soon see a NEO-X product developed by the people who brought you NEO for the PS2 that will let you play USA, Europe & Jap xbox games on any xbox.

So what does this mean: Well as most knowledgable people would know along with those warezers, the NEO product for PS2 helps allow you to play copied games using cdr & dvdr disc's :(

In light of this if the NEO-X does the same this could be good news for Emulator + Homebrew Apps & Games developers, but bad news for Microsoft.

Feel free to discuss it here.

Interested in finding out more:
http://xboxmods.co.uk/
http://playstationmods.com/xbox/

Thanks to Ozymandias for the news.

Xpad News
Posted by Sin-Tex at 19:03 PM

It seems Mr X of Xpad has recently been ill, but is finaly better & posting news on his site again.

Here is what he has to say:

"I am happy to say that a very talatent person named "ZeroX", has been kind enough to help and l am hopeful that together we can constuct some test drivers very shortly. I know its been in the process for a few months and no one has seen any results. But information that we have found has been shared within the Xpad Team and an E.T.A on the release of the drivers will be forth coming....."

Australian Xbox price cut
Posted by Dr Zoidberg at 16:40 PM

Just like the Europeans, Australians will be getting an Xbox price cut on April 26 as well, the price will drop from the current $649 down to $399, the same price that the Gamecube will be when it's released on May 17 & $100 cheaper than the PS2 currently is.

People who paid the full price will receive $250 worth of Xbox products as a gift.

If you would like to read a couple of articles on the Australian Xbox price reduction, click here for the Xbox.com news or here for an AustralianIT post about it.

""XBOX EUROPEAN PRICE CUT""
Posted by Sin-Tex at 12:12 PM

Microsoft today announced that the Recommended Retail Price of the Xbox video game system in europe will be reduced to €299/£199, effective from Friday 26th April 2002.

Yes you read right, as of the 26th April ppl living in the UK should be able to pick up an Xbox for just under £200.

"IMPORTANT"

Also customers who have already bought Xbox consoles will be offered a gift of Xbox products valued at more than €150(RRP).

For people living in the United Kingdom

We are offering, until 1st July 2002, the chance for you to get 2 games and an Xbox Controller for FREE!
That means you could be playing games like Halo, Rallisport Challenge, Project Gotham Racing, Amped, Oddworld or Dead or Alive 3 amongst other great games for free! We are looking to extend the list of games on offer so if you can wait then we'd recommend you check back on this site on April 26th for the full list of games.

For full details click here

Burning Signed code?!
Posted by LyonHrt at 21:46 PM

SiliconIce on Xbox Hacker has posted some interesting news regarding the first steps to burning signed code, although unconfirmed at the time of posting.

Here's what he says:

This is *unconfirmed*, but I wouldn't post it if it wasn't credible. A first step to getting our own code to run will be getting already signed code to run (ex. the Easter Egg file or even game XBEs). I have it on good authority that someone has succeeded in burning and running some signed code from CD-RWs. This required some heavy-duty hacking with the DVD drive and firmware (I don't have details).

If this is true, then this is an important step towards a homebrew scene (and the reason for sites like Xbox Emulation.co.uk

State of the xbox vol 9
Posted by LyonHrt at 17:34 PM

xbox.com has posted vol 9 of the article "State of the Xbox". Written by Jeff Henshaw, who is the Executive Producer at Xbox.
Who goes into details regarding online gaming, from the hardware to the software.

So if your interested in seeing how they're going to cope with players all round the globe, check it out here.

DVD REGION X FOR XBOX. "Europe"
Posted by Sin-Tex at 18:44 PM

DVD Region X has finaly made its way to Xbox.

Europeans should be able to pick it up from all good Game retail outlets from the 12th April, 2002.

This version is designed to work with Pal machines, simply place the DVD Region X CD in your Xbox pick the Region you want/require then swap the CD with you DVD Film.

Celine Dion crashes Xbox's ?
Posted by Sin-Tex at 21:24 PM

News Source Xbox Hacker.net

Following a recent news report on Xbox Hacker.net it was reported that the new Celine Dion crashes PC's.

This has lead ppl to be interested as to if or not it will crash the xbox aswell.

Basicaly the new Celine Dion CD has a new copy protection that is called Key2Audio, current information from the Xbox Hacker Forums & Yahoo News indicates that the protections only affects/crashes PC's in Germany and several other European countries. One of whitch is the UK, what is not yet clear is if the CD crashes the Germany or European Xbox's.

If you have the New Celine Dion CD & live in Germany or Europe & have tested it on your Xbox pls post here if it works or does not thx.

Also to quote Yahoo News

"According to a spokeswoman for Sony Music Entertainment, it is clearly stated on the front of the booklet and on the back of the jewel box that the CD "will not play on a PC or a Mac" in the language of the country in which it is sold"

So if yout CD does not say this it should work fine, current reports from Xbox Hacker indicats that the US CD's of Celine Dion do not have this new protection.

Classic Sega Games On XBOX
Posted by LyonHrt at 0:38 AM

Ok here's some non emu news, but still classic gaming (and isn't that what emulation is all about :))

Well it seems Sega along with Cool Net are bringing titles from Saturn, Megadrive and the good old Dreamcast.
Though what the games will be are still to be stated, but can say AnimaTek (a subsidiary of Cool Net) are will modify 17 Dreamcast games for release on the Xbox.

However there is one game that is coming.....
ToeJam & Earl III!

"Given the synergy between ToeJam & Earl's irreverent, off-the-wall style and the Xbox audience, this exclusive deal was a perfect match," said Mike Fischer, vice president of entertainment marketing, SEGA of America. "With its inventive plot, distinctive characters and clever humor, 'ToeJam & Earl III' reiterates SEGA's commitment to publishing daring, genre-bending games. If you're ready for something completely different, check out 'ToeJam & Earl III' - it's not like anything you've seen before."
Hopefully will be out in the third quarter of 2002.
Check out PlanetDreamcast for screenshots.

For discussion of this topic go here for what games you're hoping to see :)

Thanks to PlanetXbox and Celeryface of PlanetDreamcast for the news.

Download Section.
Posted by Sin-Tex at 0:41 AM

A download section is now available, click here to check it out.

Contents:

Xbox Font
Xbox ISO Crasher
Xbox Winamp Skins
Xbox Mediaplayer Skin
Xbox Promo Video Clip

More will be added soon.

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