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- Microsoft announced they would distribute on-demand movies and TV shows on Xbox Live beginning November 22, 2006. Players can purchase and download on-demand contents from Xbox Live Marketplace, the service will be available in US only, and eventually expand to other countries. There will be over 1000 shows available, 200 of them will be available in 720p HD resolution. Six content providers will be available at the beginning: CBS, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros., Paramount, MTV (Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, VH1, etc) and UFC.

- Microsoft revealed more details on the on-demand movies for Xbox Live:

• TV programs will be buy-to-own, remain on your Xbox 360 hard drive
• Movies will be remained in the hard drive up to 2 weeks. Once user begins watching the movie, it will be automatically be deleted after 24 hours. Users can view the movie as often as they like in the period
• Full-length HD movies will be around 5GB each. Movies can be played while downloading
• Microsoft does not have current plans to upgrade the existing 20GB hard drive. However in future there maybe external hard drives available.
• Price of the shows are not yet determined

- Here is a list of movies and TV programs to be available on Xbox Live Marketplace before the end of this year:

• Adult Swim - Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force
• CBS - CSI, Survivor, Star Trek
• Comedy Central - South Park, Chappelle's Show
• MTV - The Real World, Pimp My Ride
• Nickelodeon - Avatar: The Last Airbender, SpongeBob SquarePants
• Nicktoons Network - Skyland, The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival
• Paramount Pictures - Nacho Libre, Jackass: The Movie
• Spike TV - Carpocalypse, Raising the Roofs
• Nascar.com - Race Rewind
• UFC - The Ultimate Fighter, UFC: All Access
• VH1 - Breaking Bonaduce, Hogan Knows Best
• Warner Bros. Home Entertainment - The Matrix, Superman Returns, Batman Forever

- Microsoft has released the highly anticipated FPS Gears of War today, they expect to sell over 1 million copies worldwide by the end of this year.

- Tecmo announced they have shipped 1 million copies of Dead or Alive 4 for Xbox 360 worldwide, 450,000 copies in US, 500,000 copies in Europe and 100,000 copies in Japan.

- Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 lineup at the upcoming Games Japan Festa 2006 in Osaka between November 11 - 12 in Japan.

• Gears of War (Microsoft)
• Blue Dragon (Microsoft)
• Chikyuu Boueigun 3 (D3)
• Culdcept Saga (Namco Bandai)
• DOA Xtreme 2 (Tecmo)
• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom)
• Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts)
• Super Robot Taisen XO (Banpresto)
• Vampire's Rain (AQ interactive)
• Viva Pinata (Microsoft)
• World Soccer Winning Eleven X (Konami)

P L A Y S T A T I O N   3

- Dengeki magazine reported that Square Enix is working on a new graphic engine for PlayStation 3 called the White Engine, which will be used for Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and other future titles. At present Square Enix is trying to finish version 1 of the engine. Further improvements and optimizations will be made to the White Engine over time.

- Electronic Arts will release NBA 07 for PS3 in Japan on December 14, 2006.

- Engadget has revealed some technical details on PlayStation 3.

• The PS3 BluRay drive is quieter than the DVD Drive on Xbox 360
• Standard PC USB keyboard and mouse works on PS3 via Plug n' Play, but Bluetooth keyboard and mouse do not work
• PS3 only recognizes EyeToy camera, not other USB webcams
• Sony does not have plans to have a VGA out option for PS3
• PS3 can support up to 7 wireless controllers
• Sony does not plan to release a Sixaxis controller with built-in vibration
• PS3 can play custom sound tracks in a game, using the built-in Media Playback software
• Some PS3 games can be installed onto the hard drive to shorten load times. For example, the load time of Genji: Days of the Blade has reduced from 12-15 seconds to 3-4 seconds. The cache can be removed at anytime.
• You can only send text messages to other users on PlayStation Network, voice or picture messages are not yet available.

- Dav Karraker, senior director of Sony Corp., said that there is a good chance players can download and play Sega Saturn games on PlayStation 3 in future.

P L A Y S T A T I O N   2

- Square Enix announced they have shipped 1.5 million copies of the PS2 RPG Final Fantasy XII in US, the game was released on October 31, 2006. The Final Fantasy series has sold more than 68 million copies worldwide.