By Chris Scott Barr

In case you hadn’t heard the big news, starting April 6th Xbox 360 owners will have a new way to add storage to their favorite console. They will be able to insert any USB drive, (be it a flash drive or hard drive) format it, and use it to store games and save files. The only downside is that they are limiting the usable space to 16GB. You can have larger drives, you just won’t be able to use more than 16GB on your 360.

Naturally, with the release of this new feature, Microsoft has decided to start selling their own branded flash drives. Of course from a company that sells 512MB memory cards for $30 and 250GB hard drives for $130, do you really expect them to be reasonably priced? Of course not.

According to a page on GameStop (which has been pulled at the time of writing, though sources say the pricing is correct) the official Xbox 360 8GB flash drive is going to cost $40. That’s over twice the cost of a similarly-sized stick over on Newegg. For once though, it really doesn’t bother me that Microsoft is marking up the prices of their storage. Why? Because for the first time you can actually purchase and use the cheaper alternatives with their blessing. Hallelujah!

[ Gamestop ] (page removed) VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Chris Scott Barr

If you’re still rocking an original Xbox, you might want to take note. Starting April 15th, Microsoft will be discontinuing support for all original Xbox games. Yes, that also means that your old copies of Halo 2 won’t work on Live, even if played in your shiny new 360. You’ll need to have a good old-fashioned LAN party if you want to play those titles with a significant amount of players.

So why the lack of love for Microsoft’s original console? It seems that the company is working on some updates that wouldn’t be possible to implement with the current limitations of these titles. They’re fairly mum on what these new features will be, though it likely has something to do with the Project Natal which is supposed to drop later this year.

[ Microsoft ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When Microsoft entered the console gaming market, it was a great day for gamers here in the US. Now I don’t have anything against Nintendo or Sony, I love their consoles. What I don’t love is all of the exclusive hardware that Japan gets from these companies, since they are located in the region. Well since Microsoft is located here in the US of A, the tables are turned. Take this new 250GB hard drive that has been announced for the 360. Guess where it’s being launched first. Wait, Japan?

What’s even more strange is that despite a confirmed March 11 launch in Japan, there is no plan for a US release. Does Microsoft not think that we download enough? Or maybe they know that we’re in a recession, and aren’t going to pay $170 for a 250GB hard drive. I’ve ranted about this before and it still infuriating, you can buy a 2.5-inch hard drive (which is what’s used for the 360) for 1/3 of the price they are selling it. That’s one heck of a markup. They should take a cue from Sony and let us use our own drives to upgrade.

[ Microsoft ] VIA [ PCWorld ]

By Chris Scott Barr

I’ve been enjoying being able to stream Netflix to my 360 for a while now. What I don’t enjoy is paying for a Gold subscription in order to use it. One could argue that most 360 gamers already keep themselves at Gold status so they can play games online. That’s great for them, but I rarely play anything on my 360 with people online (I do most of my online gaming with my PC). I have both a PS3 and a Wii as well, and I’ve been hoping to hear something about getting Netflix on one of those, since neither charge for their online experience. Well finally we’ve heard something.

It seems that Microsoft has managed to sign an exclusive deal with Netflix, making them the only ones with a console that streams movies from the service. There’s no word on just how long the exclusive deal is, but I’m guessing it’s no less than a year or two. I’ll give Microsoft one thing, it does add more value to a Gold subscription. It’s one more thing for them to cite when people complain about Sony offering online play for free.

On a related note, PlayOn seems to be an interesting alternative that lets you stream Netflix (along with Hulu, YouTube and several others) to your TV with a PS3, Xbox 360 (without paying for a Gold Membership) and soon a Wii. I haven’t had a chance to test it out myself, but I’ll let you guys know when I do.

[ Microsoft ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Shane McGlaun

One of my favorite Need for Speed games back in the day was Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. I liked being able to play the cop and give people tickets and I liked running from the police as well. I guess EA tried to go all “PC” with Need for Speed ProStreet and took the racing off the streets. The game was cool, but I wanted police chases.

The latest title in the franchise, Need for Speed Undercover, gave me my wish and EA has announced that new DLC for the game is available for the PS3 and coming soon for the PC and Xbox 360. One of the DLC packs is a free offering called the Challenge Series and adds 60 events to the game. Along with new events called Highway Wars and Highway checkpoint races.

Players can also win three new cars in the Challenge Series. A premium content pack is also available for $5 or 400 MS points called the Boss Car Pack. The pack gives all of the cars the level bosses drive in the entire game. I am glad to see EA offering some free DLC for fans of Undercover.

[ Need for Speed ]

By Shane McGlaun

I am a huge UFC fan and have been watching the events since they first started back in the late 90′s. I still have fond memories of one of the early events where the boxer came in with one glove thinking he was going to beat the other guy down only to find himself on his back getting beat like a drum a few seconds later.

I have been waiting for the new UFC 2009 game to come out and it is almost here. The game is set to ship on May 19 for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Until then THQ has announced that a playable demo is available for download for both game consoles right now.

The demo allows players to fight a match between Chuck Liddell and Mauricio Rua and includes a portion of the full tutorial mode the game will have to teach players how to use the controls. Liddell fans still angry that the Ice Man was knocked out last weekend can get some payback.

[ UFC Undisputed ]