Much like the jailbreakers, the Xbox modders are nothing if not persistent. Yesterday, Microsoft went after the estimated 1 million Xbox owners that had tampered with their systems. The ban locked out the installation of games on the hard drive, stopped Windows Media Player from working, wrecked the gamertags stored on the Xboxen in question, and blocked the consoles from logging in to Xbox Live.

There are two fixes currently being worked on, one from iXtreme LT, which isn’t ready yet, and one from Xbox-Scene which works, but is extremely complex. And you need to know your CPU key, which can be difficult to obtain, particularly if you’re already banned.

[via Daily Tech]

No word on how many of those consoles were sold to replace units that had died due to the RROD, but it’s impressive nonetheless. The Xbox 360 is also the only console to show year to year growth in the EU this year. Love it or hate it, the Xbox 360 has turned into the quite the home entertainment appliance. You can read the whole press release here.

Which is just what Microsoft wants.

At 9:00 am EST and 3:00 pm EST Amazon will give you a a $100 promotional code when you purchase an Xbox 360 Arcade for $199. You better be sitting in front of your computer all signed in and ready to go before the two times though. The deal is good only for a limited quantity. [via Cheap Ass Gamer and Gizmodo]

Update: All done! All gone!

Cumulative Year To Date Sales Worldwide

Total Worldwide sales to date for the Wii are sitting just under 55 million consoles sold, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 are at 32.7M and 25.7M, respectively. The year-to-date worldwide sales are a bit different, with the Wii outselling both its competitors at 11M, and the PS3 and 360 at 6.6M and 5.9M. Where the sales figures get interesting are when we compare the number of pre-price-cut console sales, with that of sales post-price-cut.

Before Sony cut the price of the PS3, the Xbox 360 sold 4.53M units worldwide YTD, compared to Sony’s 4.12M YTD. Since then, the PS3 has outsold the 360 by 1.1M units (thanks to the PS3 Slim, most likely). What’s even more interesting, as you can see in the graph below, is that Sony’s biggest surge in sales happened two full weeks after Sony’s price reduction – right after the price reduction in the Xbox 360. The Wii also benefited from their small decrease in price as their sales went from hovering around 175K a week to over 350K the week after the price drop, to now what is nearly 400k a week. So why the marked difference in effectiveness between the three, and why did sales increase for the PS3 only after Xbox’s announcement?

Weekly Sales Worldwide (Sep-Oct)

The answer to the first part of the question is quite simple. The Nintendo Wii has outsold the other two consoles since its debut. It appeals to a broader user base, and the recent price break made it that much more accessible to those who don’t have a console. More importantly, its broad user base is different than that of the 360 and PS3’s. Although the Nintendo Wii is not as advanced as the other two consoles, (on a specs basis) its motion sensor technology coupled with the success of titles such as Wii Fit brand the Wii as not only a video game console, but a fitness and lifestyle enhancer. This difference, along with the decrease in price, is why the Wii is again outselling both of its competitors.

The difference in the effectiveness of price-cuts for the PS3 and the 360 is a bit more complicated. These devices, for the most part, appeal to the same demographic: those who buy a console primarily as a gaming platform. However, the biggest difference between the two consoles is that the PS3 features a Blu-Ray player. It seems that the PS3’s price cut, making it the same price as the 360 Elite, caused consumers to flock to the system which will let them play their precious Blu-ray discs.

The surge in sales for the PS3 didn’t happen until after the Xbox’s price announcement for a simple reason: Microsoft had been saying that a price drop was imminent and consumers were waiting to compare the two deals. Unfortunately for Microsoft, by gradually phasing out the traditional Xbox Pro model and only leaving their bare-bones Arcade model (it doesn’t have a built-in harddrive) and their higher priced Elite, the PS3 became a more enticing deal for many consumers. Had Microsoft cut the price of their Elite to below that of the PS3, or better yet, priced the Xbox 360 Pro at $199 (the price of the Arcade SKU) instead of phasing it out, then they might have seen the same growth in sales that the PS3 has, and could possibly have taken some sales away from the Nintendo Wii.

While all three makers have seen a higher demand for consoles since the price drops, the PS3 is the clear-cut winner thus far. They have surpassed the 360 in worldwide YTD sales, and if they have a strong end of the year, could possibly take the number two spot in YTD sales in the US, where they have historically struggled.

Sales numbers and graphs were collected from VGChartz. For more information on how they gathered their sales figures, click here.

Halloween is coming up and if there’s one thing I know it’s that geeks love Halloween. The opportunity to hide behind a mask, to subvert the status quo, and to dress up like sexy nurse/sexy witch/sexy balloon boy is a cause for celebration. That said, we’re offering one Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition Console to the winner of our First Annual CrunchGear Halloween Costume Contest.

Here’s how to enter.

According to the official website, Hurley Medical Center in Flint, MI (that’s my local hospital, btw) came in first followed by the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital and The Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Hopefully this giveaway spurred more donations and other kids will ultimately benefit even though they didn’t get a $10,000 gameroom from Microsoft. Congrats, everyone and let the Xbox-assisted healing begin.

Details are scant at the moment, and Fudzilla is quoting unnamed “industry sources” so take this news with a grain of salt even though it makes sense and probably isn’t that big of a stretch anyway.

The site is also positing that the ATI chip may be of the 28-nanometer variety but being that next generation consoles are apparently not due from Microsoft and Sony until 2012, GPUs by that time could be invisible and made out of unicorn horns and fueled by Sasquatch DNA for all anybody knows. It could happen!

ATI already won next gen Xbox deal [Fudzilla]

Thanks to John for sending this in.

Not-actually-real portable Xbox 360 anyone? Here’s the “Xbox 1080″ prototype from Carl Archambeault, an impossibly portable console with a slide-out LCD screen. Where do the optical discs go? Who knows? And what’s the battery life? Let’s say 100 hours!

The project is an attempt “to design a hand held gaming device that would combine the gaming power of the Xbox 360 and the music and video power of the Microsoft Zune.” That’s an idea that Microsoft itself is apparently working on, but something like this prototype here would be mighty nice to add to your portable gaming collection, no?

[via XboxFreedom]

Thanks to DanT for sending this in…

Microsoft might have scored an exclusive deal to keep Netflix Xbox 360 only and off both the PS3 and Wii. But if you’re willing to forgo the fancy UI on the Xbox, there is still a way to get Netflix on the PS3 and eventually the Wii too.

MediaMall has a software pack called PlayOn that uses the DLNA system built into almost every networked AV device. Right now I use the software on my Xbox 360, Moxi HD DVR, Helios X5000 and Archos Gen 5 hooked up to my bedroom TV with a DVR station.  

The user interface isn’t spectacular as the program uses the device’s DLNA system. The great thing is that the software pack not only supports Netflix, but also Hulu, YouTube, ESPN, CBS, and Revision3. There are some drawbacks like the $39.99 cost after a 14-day trial ends, and the YouTube support isn’t exactly stellar. In the end though, the software gives you access to a lot of content not official supported by the devices.

Sorry, Wii and PS3 owners. You ain’t getting Netflix streaming despite other claims. Microsoft has inked an exclusive deal with Netflix to keep the movie streaming on the Xbox 360.

Netflix Partnership

This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers**, at no additional cost.

From the Netflix Web site, simply add movies and TV episodes to your instant Queue, which will appear automatically on the TV screen via Xbox 360. Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds. In addition to instantly streaming Netflix movies to the TV, Xbox LIVE Gold members can browse and rate movies, fast-forward, pause and rewind, all using either their Xbox 360 Controller or Universal remote.

If you don’t have a Xbox 360, there are a ton of ways to stream Netflix. The service is available on everything from Windows Media Center, Plex, Roku boxes, TiVo, Samsung and LG Blu-ray players along with Vizio and LG HDTVs. Oh, and Sony Bravia HDTVs are getting the access too. Or you can always, you know, use the traditional mail-order DVD service to get your Netflix on.

It seems that someone actually placed a bid on the $1.1 million Xbox signed by Sarah Palin but now the listing isn’t there. Chances are that eBay pulled it.

Got a spare million dollars burning a hole in your pocket? Well, we have a deal for you, buddy. You should totally buy this Sarah Palin signed Xbox 360.

I mean, this Xbox 360 Pro is really signed by the one and only Sarah Palin. It must be worth the $1.1 million price tag to some high-paid FOXNews news anchors or AM radio broadcasters. Just think how much it will be worth after the 2012 election if she wins – or loses. If anything else, you’ll probably have a collector’s item as the Pro model is likely on the chopping block.

eBay via Joystiq

This version uses a 17-inch, 720p Gateway 1775W monitor and has the standard assortment of WiFi, USB ports, and memory card slots. We just wish that we were as talented to create such a device. Access to his assortment of tools would be great too.

Benheck via Techeblog

And these users spend money, too. In a press release touting the sales numbers, Microsoft claims U.S. consumers alone have spent $14.5 billion across all categories on Xbox 360 at retail, and consumers worldwide have downloaded close to 1 billion pieces of gaming and entertainment content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace to date.

It was recently reported that PlayStation sales plummeted 18 per cent overall during fiscal year 2008, although the numbers appear to be picking up again this year.

There’s a very interesting article over at TeamXbox.com detailing some information about a supposed portable gaming device that Microsoft’s been working on. This device will apparently fall somewhere in between the Xbox 360 and the Zune.

The following information supposedly comes from anonymous sources within Microsoft:

• The device will be a “digital entertainment handheld” and is referred to by “xYz” — the Y denoting that it falls somewhere in between the Xbox and the Zune product lines.
• It will play games as well as movies and music. The anonymous sources say it’s unlike anything on the market today, but to think of it as a cross between the Sony Mylo, the PSP, and the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch reference is important because it underscores that the device will NOT have a cellular connection. The author of the piece, however, thinks it may have WiMAX.
• The device will apparently have “a large WVGA touchscreen” and “hardware features not found on any handheld on the market” — again, this could be WiMAX, plus there’s further speculation that it could contain NVIDIA’s new Tegra chipset and perhaps even play first-generation Xbox games.
• Sources say that this will be “a Live Anywhere device” with “a single online marketplace” that will blur the lines between the Zine, Xbox Live, and Sky marketplaces. For instance, if you buy a song or movie on your Xbox 360, you’ll be able to play it on this device — presumably it’d sync wirelessly. It’d also likely play Xbox Live Arcade games.
• The interface will be very similar to the New Xbox Experience interface.
• The device will compete with offering from Apple, Sony, Nintendo, and Google. So expect stuff like Live Maps, news, and traffic. Perhaps it’ll have a GPS chip (my own speculation).

Keep in mind that all this information supposedly comes from anonymous sources within Microsoft. Everything seems pretty credible and E3 is coming up in a couple weeks, which would be a perfect venue to announce such a device. However, as always, take this type of news with a grain of salt until more information is released.

Microsoft Working on Digital Entertainment Handheld [TeamXbox.com]

The streaming selections from Nickelodeon feature critically acclaimed shows that have helped make it the number-one cable network for more than 14 years. The shows include “Blues Clues” (Seasons 1 and 2), “Dora the Explorer” (Seasons 1 and 2), “iCarly” (Seasons 1 and 2), “True Jackson, VP” (Season 1) and “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Season 3). In total, more than 300 episodes of these and other favorites from Nickelodeon television networks, including The N’s “Degrassi,” are also now available to be instantly streamed from Netflix.

Last week Fudzilla was reporting that Microsoft could be phasing out the Xbox 360 Elite in select markets while making it a limited edition model in NA and Europe. It all boils down to the current state of the economy. And it wouldn’t hurt the sales of special edition Elite consoles like the Resident Evil 5 bundle if the black Elites weren’t so abundant.

The plan, if true, would see MS cutting off orders of the Elite to retailers and letting them deplete supplies. This could drive the cost of the Elite bundle to go up, but they would include a top-tier title. The rumor goes on to say that MS would make available a larger hard drive than the 120GB model for those with Arcade or Pro systems.

If it does go down like Fudzilla says than we can expect to see it happen in Q2. MS, per the usual, had this to say about the whole shebang.

Peter, as you may know, we don’t comment on rumors and speculation.

via Fudzilla