I love how Shaun White’s intervening smiling mug completely obliterates whatever seriousness is left out of the Tiger news.

Why? Because it would be better for the portable gaming arena for another competitor to come and shake up the scene. If Redmond can come up with a device that does equally well in gaming and media playback – something that in my opinion can’t really be said of the DS, PSP, and iPhone/iPod Touch – then I’d certainly buy that gadget. And, as I said, more competition means a race for more and better features (and hopefully lower prices), which would benefit us consumers in the end.

[via Electronista, image via Digital Battle]

This is part of acgourley’s Project Excite Bike, which kind of reminds me of that old Nintendo 8-bit game I used to like, Excite Bike. Basically, he used a sensor ring to capture the movement of the bike while you are pedaling. This action replaces a button or a trigger on the Xbox 360 controller, and passes its information through a modified 360 joystick circuit and an Arduino controller.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This is primarily used for racing games. The speed at which you pedal would be the speed of your virtual car. It’s kind of awesome if you ask me. This initial hack was done with an Xbox 360, but it could be adapted to any game console.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While the concept sounds pretty simple, it’s pretty complicated to set up. If you want to give it a shot for yourself, check out acgourley’s blog to for schematics and more info on how he put it together.

[via Make:]

So here’s the story: Will Urbina needed to learn Final Cut but didn’t own a Mac. He could buy one, sure, but when you’re a modder, that’s just not how you roll. When the situation is complicated by your dislike of actual Mac products, you’ve got a real problem on your hands. But Urbina, for all his Mac hatred (hiss! boo!), seems a pretty clever fellow, and when he came across an old Xbox devkit, he figured his problems were a few months of work away from being solved.

Using that devkit case and an EFi-X dongle to allow him to boot to multiple operating systems, Urbina built what he calls the OX Xbox Pro: a custom system that combines the Mac OS and software he needs, and the Microsoft sensibilities he prefers. Urbina is not without a sense of humor, though–that’s clear from the little touches, like this:

Not-quite Mac, just like the mod.

Check out the worklog for all the dirty details.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Walyou]

Final Fantasy XIII hit the shelves today in Japan where hundreds of people queued up in order to buy the  game. Sony hopes that the game will boost sales of the PS3 console for Christmas.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Square-Enix hopes to sell at least 2 million copies of  FF XIII locally. The game will be launched in the North American and European markets on March 9th, 2010. It will also be available on Xbox 360, but not on Wii.

The Final Fantasy franchise has sold more than 92 million games worldwide since its launch in 1987.

The initial impressions posted on Kotaku say that the cut-scenes are well-directed, but I’d expect nothing less from Final Fantasy. The music is layered and complex. The game starts with resistance operatives fighting against a city of machines. Sounds pretty cool! I’m looking forward to playing this when it arrives in English.

[via Kotaku, images via Square-Enix]

For a mere 80 Microsoft points ($1 USD), you can move through a number of dialogue screens, most of them refreshingly less stalkeriffic than the above, which I’m guessing indicates the end of your game. If not, then I’m guessing this dating sim/edutainment title/bit of hilarity takes a whole new Grand Theft Auto turn.

They’re not all dour and pre-prison, though:

Though if you’re the kind of guy who chooses option B, I’ve gotta say, you may be eventually leading up to that other screenshot.

From my limited exposure, I’m not sure if Don’t Be Nervous Talking 2 Girls is a serious effort or a bit of parody, and really, it could go either way. At the price of a dollar, I may have to find out, if only for science.

[via Gay Gamer]

I think what I like best about these cufflinks over some of those we’ve seen before is the fact that they’re thin and flat, and even a little dark. From a distance, they’ll just look like plain ol’ cufflinks. Sneaky.

Of course, if you want to be a little more obvious, you can try these other Xbox-inspired cufflinks, also from the CufflinkConnections store.

Yeah, slightly more obvious there… but not as obivous, as, say, Star Wars minifig cufflinks–which are also available from the same store. Maybe it should be named RandomCufflinkConnections. Or maybe I should stick to blogging, ’cause my store-naming skills are not so strong.

Yep, thanks to the non-conductive cooling properties of mineral oil, this submerged Xbox system still works as well as it did the day it shipped from Microsoft. As a matter of fact, the CPU in the aquarium Xbox actually runs a full 10-degrees (Celsius) cooler than it used to. The only thing that modder b-rad didn’t have the guts to immerse were the mechanical components like the DVD player and hard drive. I don’t blame him.

B-rad is still putting the finishing touches on his fish tank Xbox, and still plans to add a proper lid and some colorful LEDs before he calls it done. You can read all about it over on the Llama’s Game Console Forums.

Despite the science behind it, the fact that this thing works at all still amazes me.

Something decidedly not Xbox-like.

Fortunately for all of us, this child-friendly monstrosity isn’t official or Microsoft-sanctioned. It comes from the imagination of Carl Archambeault, a recent graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design looking to break into the exciting world of industrial design.

I’m not sure if I’m ready for a portable Xbox device (I have enough handheld gaming consoles littering my desk from disuse) but I’m sure one is inevitable. I do give Carl props for actually building this contraption, though. However, I’m not sure it’s something I’d whip out during the morning train ride to work.

[via Kotaku]

deviantARTist Dopelgunder calls the work on this mod “lazy” at times, but unless you’re looking at the large detail shots, it’s hard to see anything that doesn’t look amazing. I think that means it would work just fine sitting on a shelf. I’d be more than willing to try it on my shelf.

We see loads of Xbox 360 mods, and Nintendo DS mods, too. I’d like to see more custom PS3s and PSPs, though I’m not sure how well steampunk, for instance, would work with either. I’m more than willing to look at ‘em, though, so someone should get to work on that.

Eye-catching, to say the least. Or is that fly-catching? Oh ho ho.

This particular custom Xbox 360 mod is the work of deviantARTist AceCasanova, who has done a number of console paintjobs, like this one:

Photo’s a little blurry, but the color is just incredible. Part of me really wants to paint my 360. The rest of me realizes it will probably break (again) and need to be replaced (again).

Check out these mods and others at AceCasanova’s deviantART gallery.

As you can see, Blue and Red Spartans have also enlisted to protect your spreadsheets and documents. And when you’re done working, mess around with the pre-loaded Halo goodies available in all 3 models, such as “artwork, excerpts from the upcoming Halo novel, and a special episode of Halo in-game show “This Spartan Life.”" And like all MIMOBOTs, the Halo flash drives emit sound effects when you remove them from  or insert them into your computer.

All 3 models are sold at Mimoco’s online shop. Price depends on the drive’s capacity – $20 (USD) for 1 GB, $25 for 2 GB, $35 for 4 GB, and $50 for 8 GB. The hoodie in the picture above is sold separately.

[via gameSniped]

What The?! isn’t that silly with its questions, but rather with its prizes. Clean up on points and the game-you just might walk away with… a used book! Or a nylon wallet!

Everybody loves a nice toaster.

What The?!, which was just recently released, is available for 400 Microsoft Points. In the end, it’s just simple trivia, but if you’re already the type of person who hoards useless facts, the game’s amusing recreation of old game shows might appeal.

[XLCG via GayGamer]

The service isn’t just limited to games, either; you can buy points or subscriptions to the Microsoft service, too, and since you’re dealing with codes, if you want to give the items as gifts, just hand over the number.

The service, which just launched, is nice if only for one reason: I’d much rather see a price tag in dollars than in Microsoft points!

[Amazon Xbox Live Store via Ars Technica]

The size of the Xbox makes it a prime candidate for an elaborate, larger-than-life steampunk project like this. The mod isn’t finished yet–the Xbox has been painted, aged, and equipped with a clock–but it’s already been through a lot to achieve this brassy look.

I’d really love to see one of those giant original Xbox controllers modded along with the console, but perhaps that will come in time. Here’s the faceplate, in progress, and in another photo at deviantART, you can see where MissLadyVenom has crafted some molding to add to the mod to give the Xbox the appearance of wooden scrollwork. The finished project is apt to be quite gorgeous indeed.

[via deviantART]

The Inquirer’s Charlie Demerjian says sources have confirmed to him that Intel paid to get a new chip, code-named Larrabee, into Sony’s next console. Also per Demerjian’s sources, AMD will be handling Nintendo and Microsoft’s next-next gen systems under the ATI label. We’re gonna have to start working on a name for this round, because next-next gen is going to get difficult after a while.

Seems sudden, doesn’t it? There’s a bright side, however, and it’s that all this is rumor as yet, with nothing confirmed and no official statements made. In fact, Sony has already issued a denial about their purported switch to Intel, so this particular story may be a complete bust.  But one thing is pretty likely: these decisions are being made, and the reliability (or lack thereof) of Demerjian’s intel doesn’t change that. The future of gaming is just around the corner.

[The Inquirer via VentureBeat]

This card tells it like it is (or like you want ‘em to believe) with a simple message: I love you more than Xbox. It doesn’t get more straightforward than that, and it might just buy you a Saturday night of Left 4 Dead campaigning. Maybe pick up a few and save them for those moments when you just aren’t quite ready to stop playing and wash the dishes.

And, hey, if you want to vary the message (you can probably get “I love you more than Halo” or “I love you more than Rock Band”), Storeyshop’s Etsy marketplace offers personalized greeting cards. Whatever you need to get yourself out of the doghouse, buddy.

The Achievement Unlocked shirt also sells for $19, making it a nice and cheap alternative to the honest hoodie, while the Jump shirt shows that we gamers are addicted to better stuff. That sounded really wrong. Anyway you can also get it for around $18-$20 depending on the size.

To my beloved family & friends: I am a gamer and I need a shirt. Feel free to pick from any of the above, or if you’ve bought all four for me already, then hit the link for more. You’re welcome.

[via examiner via kotaku]

Modder Coca627 refactored his original Xbox into what he’s coined the “Xbox Slim”, a lean, mean fighting machine, amped up to the max.

To put it in perspective, the original Xbox measured 12.5″(w) x 4″(h) x 10.5″(d), while the Xbox Slim is just 10.2″(w) x 2.3″(h) x 9″(d), a reduction in volume of 60%. And the Slim weighs in at a svelte 4 pounds, less than half the weight of the  ponderous 8.5 pound bulk of the original Xbox.

The Xbox Slim is decked out with a brand spaking new DVD/CD-R slim combo drive, and loaded up with a 2.5″ 60GB hard drive for storage, and built-in Wi-Fi networking. Coca even managed to integrate a hidden receiver for his Logitech wireless controller.

Under the hood, the system managed to slim down thanks to improved cooling, courtesy of a pair of heavy duty Iceberg4 Pro Chip Cooling fans.

The system is modded to run a wide variety of nifty applications including the XBMC media center dashboard and emulators for SNES, Sega Megadrive, NeoGeo and more.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Now if only he could get it to run Xbox 360 games

[via Xbox-Scene]

These tiny consoles may look like the work of Dr. Shrinker (or maybe Dr. Reducto), but the teeny weeny Xbox, Xbox 360, NES (and matching controller earrings) are actually the product of polymer clay artist Lauren of TheClayCollection. They may be just a hair larger than a penny, but each manages to capture the distinct styling and colors of these classic consoles.

Don’t see your favorite console here? That’s okay, because Lauren can custom make mini consoles, controllers and even mini-games based on your special requests. Me? I’d like to see her crank out a tiny Vectrex, or maybe a Fairchild Channel F.

You can find Lauren’s current clay collection over on Etsy.

[via ALBOTAS]