Can Xbox360 play HD DVD video? According to the specs it cannot play HD DVD video.

For PS3, the first time they announce the price, ya my thought is like its exspensive. But considering the spec that they got, like able to play Blueray disc, free online, XDR ram, better HD resolution, HDMI OUT, 2.5" hard disk and bluetooth joypad, its quite a good package. Considering an high end gaming pc is about twice the price of PS3 and that pc can't support blue ray.

Well If you look PS3 just as a gaming console then you will think is not worth. But If you look at PS3 as a entertainment console then is quite worth.

I wont get the first version of PS3 because every first batch of any console has some problem. The best is probably the third batch. So I'll only buy it  like 3 years after launch.

We won't know if Nintendo's attempt to capture new gamers and the mass market will truly be successful until the Wii console has been on the market for some time, but if early impressions are any sign, Nintendo is in fine shape. Most attendees of this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo were quite impressed with the Wii's intuitive and remarkably sensitive motion tracking controls, and while graphics found within games like Tennis in Wii Sports are somewhat disappointing there's no denying the fun to be had with the Wii and its games.

Apparently investors have been quite encouraged by the Wii debut as well. According to BBC News, Nintendo shares jumped over six percent to 19,710 yen having gone as high as 19,890 yen, which represents its highest level since April 2002. BBC News website technology editor Alfred Hermida said that the "Wii overshadowed Sony's much vaunted PS3 at the expo," and analysts seem impressed as well.

"In our opinion, the highlight of the show was the unveiling of Nintendo's Wii console, with hands-on demonstrations of the console's unique controller mechanism," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter in his latest industry note. "Most of the attendees we spoke to found the Wii to be truly revolutionary, and the majority were quite impressed with the potential for the platform."

He continued, "We found the controller mechanism extremely innovative, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In our opinion, the Wii was the hit of E3, and we think that sales expectations for the console are likely to rise substantially now that retailers have seen how popular the device was with industry professionals... It did not announce a price point for the console, though we expect an announcement by September. Our estimate is currently $299, though we think it is possible that the Wii could launch at $249."

Pachter added that he wasn't impressed by what Microsoft and Sony had to offer. "Other than Wii games, we saw little that impressed us beyond stunning graphics. A few of the PC games were really interesting, in particular [Will Wright's] Spore, but the Xbox 360 and PS3 games on display looked like high definition versions of console games released over the last two years."

Source : Biz@Gamedaily.com

Hacked XBOX 360 Firmware, Now For Everyone

Hackers rejoiced last night when "Commodore4Eva," the hacker who previously released the news of original XBOX 360 DVD firmware hack, has released a downloadable version of the XBOX 360 firmware hack. The Xtreme firmware is currently only available for the "TS-H943" XBOX 360.

This firmware modifications boasts that installers of the binary can boot all game backups from both XBOX 360 and the original XBOX and also the original copies of both XBOX system games. This mod also allows the XBOX's drive to work under Windows without any hardware conversion or adaptors, if such a thing seems interesting. XBOX360.net forum posters claim that Microsoft can probably detect if the firmware has been installed, which may be a large deterrent for those interested in giving it a shot.

There is a basic tutorial that was posted on XBOXhacker.net that goes through the steps on how users can flash the DVD drive on the console. After the flash is completed the firmware then tricks the media check for the XBOX system and gives the system an all-clear signal. To do all of this you need a PC with a compatible drive that can hooked up to through a SATA to XBOX's Toshiba-Samsung DVD drive.

All of the original links to the firmware downloads have been removed at time of publication, but it seems as though enough people downloaded the links to set up mirrors and BitTorrent links.