Forza Motorsport 3 Goes Gold!

Announces Xbox LIVE Demo on Sept. 24.

The white flag waves as “Forza Motorsport 3” has Gone Gold, entering its final lap before launching on Oct. 22 in Asia, Oct. 23 in Europe and Oct. 27 in North America exclusively on Xbox 360. To mark the occasion, Microsoft and Turn 10 today confirmed that a demo of the highly anticipated title will arrive on Xbox LIVE Marketplace starting Sept. 24.

The new demo lets you get behind the wheel of five of the world’s most amazing cars on the full circuit of the game’s Camino Viejo track. The demo includes five playable cars:


-2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR

-2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro

-2009 Ferrari California

-2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR

-2009 Mini John Cooper Works

You will be able to drive all of the cars in the demo in full cockpit view as well as experience damage, rollover and try out the game’s new rewind feature as you take turns on a beautiful Spanish mountain course inspired by the Montserrat region just outside of Barcelona, Spain. When logged into Xbox LIVE, the demo will also support official leaderboards for lap times, giving you a further taste of what players will experience in “Forza Motorsport 3.”

With today’s Gone Gold announcement and the recent announcements around the fan-designed R8 V10 5.2 FSI quattro and the exclusive Limited Collector’s Edition (which includes 10 exclusive bonus cars, VIP community status, and more), there has never been a better time to pre-order “Forza Motorsport 3.”

Additionally, Turn 10 is proud to unveil the first collection of Forza Motorsport-branded clothing and accessories for your Xbox LIVE avatar. Included in our first batch of gear are the following items. Check out the pictures below. The prices for Avatar gear will vary between 80 to 320 Microsoft Points.


-4 T-shirt prints featuring logos from new tracks in the game

-Forza-branded Racing Shoes

-Forza-branded Baseball Cap

-Forza-branded Fingerless Racing Gloves

-Forza-branded Leather Jacket

-2 Racing Helmet (in white or black)

-Forza-branded Race Driver Fire Suit

The Forza Motorsport 3 demo and all Avatar items will be available on Sept. 24.

See you at the finish line!

Found on: forzamotorsport.net

XBOX 360 used for cardiac research

A researcher at the University of Warwick says the Xbox 360 GPU could save thousands of pounds.


A new study by a University of Warwick researcher has demonstrated that researchers trying to model a range of processes could use the power of the Xbox 360 graphics chip as a much cheaper alternative to other forms of parallel processing hardware.

Dr Simon Scarle, a researcher in the University of Warwick's WMG Digital Laboratory who had previously worked as a software engineer at Microsoft's Rare development studio, wished to model how electrical excitations in the heart moved around damaged cardiac cells in order to investigate or even predict cardiac arrhythmias. These kind of simulations would normally require time on a dedicated parallel processing computer or thousands of pounds of investment in a parallel network of PCs.

However, Dr Scarle's time at Rare made him aware of the parallel processing power of the Xbox 360's Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), which he has now been successfully put into practice.

"This is a highly effective way of carrying out high end parallel computing on "domestic" hardware for cardiac simulations," said Dr Scarle. "Although major reworking of any previous code framework is required, the Xbox 360 is a very easy platform to develop for and this cost can easily be outweighed by the benefits in gained computational power and speed, as well as the relative ease of visualization of the system."

This isn't the first time a video game console has been used for medical research. Anyone with a PS3 can join the Folding@home program, allowing their idle console to help study the causes of diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis and many cancers.

Found on: virginmedia.com

Microsoft: Cross-platform Titles "just work better" on XBOX LIVE

Chris Lewis of Microsoft has told MCV magazine that cross-platform titles "just work better on Xbox Live."

Lewis, the VP of Interactive Entertainment at Microsoft Europe, was answering a question on where Microsoft is heading in the next 18 months.

"We have a great journey through to Christmas," he answers, "there are key titles that are exclusives but also great cross-platform titles that will just work better on Xbox Live."

"And in terms of content and networking, we have more content partnerships for Xbox Live."

Found on: oxm.co.uk

XBOX LIVE Activity for week of Aug. 31st

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)


1 Call of Duty: WaW
2 Halo 3
3 Call of Duty 4
4 Gears of War 2
5 Madden NFL 10 (Download the demo)
6 GTA IV
7 Batman: Arkham Asylum (Download the demo)
8 FIFA 09
9 Left 4 Dead
10 Trials HD (Download the demo)


Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

1 Trials HD
2 Shadow Complex
3 Defense Grid: The Awakening
4 Battlefield 1943
5 NBA 2K10 Draft Combine
6 Castle Crashers
7 Marvel vs. Capcom 2
8 Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
9 Splosion Man
10 Hasbro Family Game Night **

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.
**Combined sales of all Hasbro Family Game Night titles

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

1 Halo 2
2 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
3 Counter-Strike
4 Fable
5 Splinter Cell Chaos
6 Conker: Live Reloaded
7 Star Wars: Battlefront
8 Doom 3
9 SW: KOTOR
10 SW: Republic Commando


Top Indie Games (Full Versions purchased)

1 I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1
2 Avatar Drop
3 Headshot
4 Track Architect
5 Avatar Golf
6 Who Did I Date Last Night
7 Miner Dig Deep
8 The Drinking Game
9 Physics Sandbox
10 ezmuze+ Hamst3r edition


These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade and Community Games, full versions purchased during the week.

"XBOX LIVE" September Plans

Microsoft has detailed its Xbox LIVE plans for September, revealing which games you'll be able to pick up from the Games on Demand store and which will be offered at a reduced price as part of the Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week promotion.

September will bring four new weeks of value with the Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week. Look out for discounted prices on Lode Runner (available September 14) and Pinball FX (available September 21). Microsoft is ending the month with a 50 per cent discount on the top 10 downloadable songs from Guitar Hero World Tour.

If it's full Xbox 360 games that you're after then you might want to check out the new additions to the Games on Demand store:

September 15: FIFA Street 3 (Electronic Arts): FIFA Street 3 brings you the flair, style and attitude of street football like never before. Play as your heroes in unique street environments and show what you can do with the ball at your feet! Available in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

September 22: Shaun White Snowboarding (Ubisoft): Get ready to experience the ride of your life. Conquer extreme peak conditions, create your own paths in the back country or compete with other riders in the terrain parks. The choice is always yours. Ride in a world where your friends are always around. Do your own runs on mountains populated by other gamers on Xbox LIVE, or join them for a quick session, its guaranteed fun any time, all the time. Available in the U.S., Mexico, Europe and Asia.

September 29: Fable II: Game Episodes (Microsoft Game Studios): For those who have watched from the outside, unsure if they were hero material, a surprise awaits. Fable II: Game Episodes delivers the entire Fable II experience in five consecutive instalments, with all the Achievements, challenges, and excitement of the disk-based game. Best of all, we’re bringing you the first episode completely free! Experience childhood and the trials of being a young adult in the world of Albion. After completing the chapter, you have the choice to then purchase the next instalment and continue your adventure, fully compatible with both Game Add-ons, “Knothole Island” and “See the Future.” Available worldwide except Japan and Korea.

If that's not enough to keep you going this month, then there will also be new items heading to the Avatar Marketplace.

September 10: Have your avatar rock-out in neon and fringe with original styles from the 80’s Modern collection.

September 17: Prove that you’re a digital tastemaker with the latest from Urban Culture.

September 24: Deck your Avatar out in authentic racing apparel from Forza 3.


Found on: videogamer.com

Avatar Thursday goes 80's

While this week’s offerings on the Avatar Marketplace do not carry any specific game brands, placed rather within the Lifestyle section, they do harken back to the Mod scene and unique fashion it spawned.

xbox.com