Late Night Consoling

Microsoft has announced that as of tomorrow, Xbox 360 consoles connected online via Xbox Live Silver or Gold will be able to download a system update consisting of over 85 new features and modifications. Tomorrow's update will add the system's promised support for 1080p video and games. Games can be upscaled to 1080p on compatible displays, while developers now have the option of supporting the resolution natively if they so desire.

Other video additions include the ability to play video from data CDs and DVDs, external flash USB storage devices, and Xbox 360 Memory Units. The system will also be able to stream WMV from Windows PCs running Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Connect. Support for 50Hz HD display modes will be added.

Xbox Live Arcade is getting numerous tweaks. There will be a new option allowing users to automatically download trial Xbox Live Arcade games as soon as they are released. The downloaded games list will also populate more quickly, and will have new categories such as "Recently Played" and "By Category." The Friends Leaderboard for Live Arcade games has been expanded, and Achievements are now more easily viewable from the main dashboard.

Though the tools needed for gamers to compile Xbox 360 versions of XNA Game Studio Express games have not yet been released, tomorrow's update will also give consoles the ability to download and run XNA Game Studio Express titles. The software is expected later this year.

For a full list of changes, check out Xbox.com.

Sony Computer Entertainment America today announced that a silver model PlayStation 2 is now available in North American retail stores for $129.99 ($139.99 CAD). The machine had a fairly casual launch, with many retailers revealing its existence before official word from Sony was sent out. The system comes with a single standard DualShock controller.

According to online outlets tracking back to a post on the Gaming Age forums, UK publication Edge has reported that news organization CNN has partnered with Nintendo to provide global news for the Wii console's news channel. Apparently, news will also be accessible by specifying geographical locations on the weather channel's globe interface.

Edge also seems to have printed several other pieces of information regarding the console. Apparently, Nintendo was planning on releasing the system for $200 in the United States and 150 GBP in the UK, but pressure from retailers concerned over potential low margins and other issues caused the company to raise its suggested retail price on the machine. Oddly, despite the system not playing DVD movies at launch, Nintendo reportedly plans to add the capability to the system in Japan some time next year.

In development news, publisher Sega apparently transferred a significant number of its PS3 development resources over to Wii, though specific new titles in production were not named.

Edge also printed an interview with Nintendo of Europe marketing director Laurent Fischer, who spoke on various aspects of Nintendo's strategy with Wii as well as with DS. Interestingly, Fischer admitted that, much like DS, Nintendo expects that it will take a certain amount of time before the system begins to break through to the mainstream market the company is targeting. He expects it will mainly sell to hardcore and existing casual gamers, with word of mouth slowly introducing new gamers over time.

That Microsoft is about to lower the price of its Xbox 360 has been a constantly reintroduced rumor ever since the machine's launch last November, but according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer such a move is "still a ways off." While Microsoft has only stated that it has no plans for a price drop this year, analysts speaking to the Post-Intelligencer believe that the company will postpone adjusting the machine's price point for as long as possible, particularly given the high pice of PlayStation 3 and that machine's expected low initial availability.

Manufacturing costs for the console have dropped faster than Microsoft's early projections suggested they would. "We are seeing lower cost-per-console. We're coming down the manufacturing cost line, and in fact we're doing better than what we had hoped for," said Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell. However, until a consumer price cut is deemed necessary for strategic reasons, such lowered costs will work towards the company breaking even on its current home console, a key goal following significant cumulative losses incurred by the original Xbox.

Microsoft has announced that Rare's Perfect Dark Zero will be getting a release under the Platinum Hits budget line, and to commemorate the occasion the game will receive two new multiplayer maps. The new maps will be Facility, located in a run down Soviet installation, and Ruin, a ruined location being used by the dataDyne corporation. Facility and Ruin will be made available for free via Xbox Live Marketplace in early November, when the new Perfect Dark Zero release hits store shelves. The Platinum Hits disc will also include the four downloadable maps currently available on Xbox Live Marketplace: Plaza, Trench, Rooftops, and Gas Plant.

Also, Rare has released a currently available title update for the game that addresses an exploit allowing players to hide within level geometry in multiplayer games. This update will automatically download upon connecting Perfect Dark Zero to Xbox Live.