Halo3 release 25th September – Zune edition June and Multiplayer Beta May 16

Thursday Posted by aku asli anak 'WTC' at 5:52 AM 0 comments

The most awaited game in Xbox Halo3 is set to be released on 25th September along with promises of Zune Halo3 edition by June. Halo 3 is final chapter in Halo trilogy and the graphics is a breakthrough in gaming world. Previously Halo 3 – Edition pricing on XBox was also announced.
Halo 3 is created by developers of Bungie Studios. Its said that ” Halo 3 sets a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging players worldwide in Master Chief’s epic battle to save humankind”. According to the news Halo3 will be available by September 25 around the world and on September on 26th.

Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta on May 16

Halo 3 and Xbox

Microsoft gave an early taste of the game when it unveiled the Halo 3 multi player beta on the eve of its release at a star-studded event in Hollywood. Beginning May 16, Microsoft Game Studios kicks off the multi player beta, which provides audiences worldwide with an exclusive, early look at some of the multi player elements of Halo 3 on Xbox LIVE® and runs through June 6 at 11:59 P.M. PDT.

Halo Zune Player in June

Microsoft also announced Zune – Halo 3 Edition On shelves in June, It comes loaded with a collection of Halo content, including videos, soundtracks, trailers, ads, and artwork.

How to reset and reuse Windows Live Account associated with Xbox Account ( Gamertag)

Posted by aku asli anak 'WTC' at 5:51 AM 0 comments

It so happened today that I was not able to change country for my  live account associated with my XBox Gamertag. After looking into lot of forums including the Xbox forum, I found the problem was that my Live Account was registered with Microsoft Billing with country set to US and there is no option to change the country there.
Problem with my Live Account :
My Live account is pretty old, around 10 to 12 years and probably while registering I did not properly choose the country option and Microsoft does not allow to change country option, probably for Billing reasons.

Moreover I already played couple of games and have 520 Points now in my XBox Gamertag Account. But since my country is set to US, I am not able to add any billing information as there is no option to change country and you cannot add your credit card before completing this information.

Hence I cannot take any advantage of Gold Accounts and any other promo if they get introduced for my country.
Choosing what is Important :
Using another Live Account was the only option which has country set as my country, India.  But doing that I will   loose 520 gamer points + My Gamer Tag. But if I have a new account /gamertag where country is set to India, I can take advantage of Gold membership,Play Online games, buy games using my credit card etc.

What I wanted to do

I knew that I will loose all my points anyways but I did not wanted to use another live account either. What I wanted is to start fresh using my existing account. This can be important factor for many of you, because using another account means one more thing you need to manage.

What I did to remove Live ID Association with current XBox Account / Gamertag

Step 1:
Create a new Live ID which right country set.
Step 2 :

• Go to XBox Console
• Select your Avatar > Account Management > Manage Account > Windows Live ID > Change Windows Live ID
• You will be asked for current account password and then the new account password.
• Once done, all your points, gamer points etc will be transferred to the new live account.

Step 3: The Magic Step

• Next I signed in using my old Windows Live Account into XBox and I was taken away with complete surprise.
• I was once again asked to setup the XBox Account  and this time I was asked to choose country, AWESOME.!!
• The association was completely removed and Now I can use my current live account to start fresh instead of doing it with new account with all advantages of Gold Membership, buying games etc.
• Also when I checked my Billing Info I saw the country is now set to India.

Before realizing this step, my assumption was if I change the Windows Live ID my country also changes. However I was wrong. There is a Universal Account which Microsoft Billing maintains. So even if you change your Windows Live ID, your account stays and links to new Windows Live ID.
What You can do with the account for which you changed LIVE ID association ?
You can mail XBox Support and ask them to delete it or keep it as is. Totally your choice. I am not sure if you can use the deleted accounts gamer tag again but I doubt that would be possible.

XBox 360 Kinect Bundle Unboxing with Kinect Avatars

Posted by aku asli anak 'WTC' at 5:49 AM 0 comments

I got an XBox 360 Kinect Bundle yesterday and played for like two hours yesterday and 2 hours in morning. In one word, Kinect is Addictive and for people like me who don’t have much time to go for workout, Kinect is a great help.
What was in the bundle :

• XBox 360 Console
• Kinect
• One Wi-Fi Controller with a pair of battery.
• Adapters and Wires
• Manual and
• Kinect Adventure Game.

Setting up the XBox was pretty easy. All you need is to connect the power cords and plugin the AV cables into the TV. However if you have an HDMI cable, I would suggest you to use that.
Starting up was so easy, just touch the power button or the eject button and the XBox console turned on and asks for the Game DVD. Once you place that, it will guide through process of setting up network connection, connecting with your live id and so on.
Even if you are first time on XBox always choose to recover account and use your Live ID for signing unless you have decided to use a new one.
After this there might be some updates that will be downloaded and applied. I would suggest to do it. Once done you will be asked to choose an Avatar for you. Kinect Avatars will be awesome with the recent announcement in CES, which we nicknamed as Tweetup in Future. Setting up avatar is easy if you can fit one that suits you. There are 100 avatars of which you can choose and then change the looks easily. Loved this part.

XBox  360 Kinect UnBoxing Video :

Choosing Kinect Avatar :

How to play original Xbox game on Xbox 360 ?

Posted by aku asli anak 'WTC' at 5:47 AM 0 comments

Old time games are always missed no matter how much advanced version games we keep getting. I still miss the Mario games which I used to play all the time. So now if you have some Original XBox game which you want to play what do you do? You just cant do anything unless XBox people help you out. These games cannot run because of the backward compatibility issues and good news is they are helping out. .Games like# 4×4 EVO 2 # AirForce Delta Storm # Aggressive Inline™ # Alias™ # Aliens versus Predator™ Extinction # All-Star Baseball™ 2003 # All-Star Baseball™ 2005 can be played on Xbox 360 console Now!!!. How lets get started on it ?

Ok just one minute , Do you know what is backward compatibility? Here is a small definition. We will take example of game here.

Games are made to work on specific hardware. Like say the computer of 1990 cannot play the games which is available now due to the hardware difference, similarly Old games cannot be played in new computers as it worked on different hardware. Right!!!
While surfing Xbox, I found they have listed 3 ways of doing it . If you want complete details you can follow the links before the description
There are three ways to obtain updates for your Xbox 360 console:

• Update through Xbox LIVE®. : You need to be connected to internet and need to create a membership with XBox Live and then update your profile,following the addition of your Xbox LIVE membership, you may be asked to update the software on your console. Select “Yes” and wait for the update to finish. Now you can use the Original Xbox Game cd to play it. For more details check this link Update through Xbox LIVE®. :
• Burn a DVD or CD. : Now if you don’t have broad band internet this step is for you. You just need to download a file from Xbox which can do the same thing what is done on the first choice above. Download the Backward compatibility File April Update (12 MB). Now you need to create an update cd or dvd. Follow the complete instructions at this link Make a Update DVD or CD.
• Mail: If you are no mood of doing all the hassles in above two steps just order cd from Xbox Live Order a disc by mail from Xbox.com.
  

This is an excellent work being done by XBOX to still make the old games compatible. There are lot of xbox original games available and many to come. Here are some resource you can check -:

• Xbox Games Playable
• Backward Compatibility FAQ

I hope you enjoyed the post and get back to play your old cute games again!!!!