The Week in Xbox

It’s been a big week for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console. Between all the price drops, new models, and updates it may be difficult to keep track of all that’s happening in the world of Xbox. That’s why we at Powet have put together this Xbox 360 Week in Review to keep you guys up-to-date on everybody’s favorite concave & rectangular next-generation gaming device.

Read on for more.

O XBOX, WHERE ART THOU?
Last Friday Microsoft’s official Gamerscore Blog revealed that the company is opening a new site for Xbox repairs. Users with malfunctioning Xboxes both In-Warranty and Out-of-warranty can now arrange and track the status of repairs online at http://service.xbox.com. This service is currently available in the US and planned to launch shortly in other territories such as Europe.

360 PRICE DROPS ACROSS ALL MODELS, CORE MORE “MEH” THE EVER
Monday Microsoft officially confirmed the “often-rumored” Xbox 360 price cut (a.k.a. the gaming industry’s worst–kept secret). In the United States; the Xbox 360 Elite dropped $30 to $449.99, the Xbox 360 Premium dropped $50 to $349.99, and the Xbox 360 Core dropped $20 to $279.99. This cut is timed alongside the release of Madden NFL 08, and is expected to bring in a lot of new owners. Circuit City is also currently giving away copies of the Rockstar’s very enjoyable Table Tennis game free with purchase of the Xbox 360. Meanwhile, Canada finally gets to enjoy the 360 at a more reasonable cost as they get $100 (CAD) price cuts across the board. This puts Canadian prices at $499, $399, & $299 respectively.

                                                            Picture provided by Joystiq

XBOX READY TO ROCK (WIRELESSLY)
Early Tuesday morning Microsoft silently released a minor system update to the Xbox 360. According to Microsoft’s Major Nelson, the only thing this update does is prep the console for Rock Band and Guitar Hero III’s upcoming wireless guitars. Certainly not as exciting as this week’s feature-packed Wii update. Then again, the 360 guide already has a clock.

HDMI COMING TO XBOX 360 PREMIUM… NOW
It has been long-rumored that alongside the revised, smaller 65nm CPU chips coming this fall the Xbox 360 would be getting the Elite’s HDMI port added to the other models. This rumor proved to be partially true Wednesday when HDMI-equipped Xbox 360 Premiums started appearing in retail channels. The new 360s do not yet include the 65nm “Falcon” motherboard, but reportedly come equipped with the Elites 90nm “Zephyr” motherboard. They are, however, now outfitted with two heat sinks as well as the newer BenQ DVD-drive and are said to run much quieter than older models. The change SHOULD be listed on the side of the box in the Contents, although that doesn’t appear to always be the case. Microsoft has stated that they currently have no plans to add an HDMI port to the Xbox 360 Core, fueling the rumors that the budget model might be on its way out after being dropped by Best Buy and, more recently, Target.

                                                      Picture provided by ShackNews

HALO BREAKS OWN RECORD, HEART
Lastly (but not least, of course) Microsoft issued a press release yesterday announcing that Halo 3 has exceeded the series’ previous industry-setting milestone of 1 million pre-orders. With a little over a month to go before its September 25th release, Halo 3 is set to leave pretty much all previous sales records in the dust.