1 vs 100 coming to UK from July 10

Microsoft have finally given a date for the UK beta release of 1 vs 100 (originally via this tweet), Friday July 10 for those with Xbox Live Gold living in the UK or ROI. Check their website here for more details.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, this is more than just a tweet, Microsoft's websites (as shown by their T & C's here which state that the "Beta Season" starts on July 10 in the UK.

Halo: Reach could feature Natal compatibility

In an interview with the Seattle Times, Bungie's president Harold Ryan hinted that there was a possibility that the next major Halo release, named Halo: Reach, could allow the player to use Project Natal, Microsoft's planned motion sensor controller in place of the standard Xbox gamepad. This seems likely as it would boost sales of the Wii-esque controller by "hardcore" gamers, who may be put off by the premise of the staple casual games which support controllers such as Natal, and wouldn't it be cool to shoot the Covenant with your own hands? The request that I place on Bungie is that the standard Xbox 360 controller will be remain to be supported, as many gamers will often be too tired to have the energy to use Natal.

Via Joystiq

Recon Armour up for grabs on Bungie Day

Bungie, developers of Halo 3, have declared on their Weekly Update that the coveted Recon armour permutation will be up for grabs on Bungie Day, the 7th of July on a special Matchmaking playlist which uses community maps, apparently all you have to do is to beat a team of Bungie employees on the Bungie vs The World playlist. However, as Bungie stated, just aerbout everyone who has ever played Halo 3 online will be on that playlist, so the chances of facing a Bungie employee, recognisable by their flaming helmets, are very low.

US/CA Xbox Live Silver Members can play 1 vs 100 this weekend

Those of you without an Xbox Live Gold Account in the US or Canada can play 1 vs 100 live from today (Friday 26th June) to Sunday June 28th for free! Probably a Microsoft plan to entice more Gold subscriptions, but its free so I can't complain (actually, I live in the UK so I can) but for all of you across the pond, enjoy!

No Master Chief in Halo 3:ODST

Bungie's Brian Jarrard, while speaking to Multiplayer, confirmed that Master Chief will not even be making a camoe appearance in the forthcoming game, Halo 3:ODST. This is due to the story arc, which is placed between Halo 2 and Halo 3, forces John-117 to be across the galaxy at the time when the game is set. Shame that, but the SPARTANS should make a return in 2010 with Halo Reach.

Microsoft Release Video Showing Xbox 360's Games on Demand Feature

Joystiq got their hands on a handy video from Microsoft showcasing it's new "Games on Demand" feature for the Xbox 360, which was announced at E3 last week. This new innovation looks pretty good, and games are credited direct to a credit/debit card without the need to buy Microsoft Points. But, a lot of Xbox owners with 20GB hardrives might not be too happy about only able to download a maximum 3 games, if they have nothing on that hard drive already, which seems unlikely.

Google marks 25 Years of Tetris

If you go on Google today (I don't know why I linked that, it is the most common homepage) its logo, named by them as the "Google Doodle" has once again temporarily changed to be spelt by blocks from Tetris to commemorate the game's 25 anniversary. And a quarter of a century on, it is still one of the most popular games in the world.

Another 2 Disc Game - But This is no problem with Halo 3 ODST

The developer Bungie have announced in their weekly update that forthcoming Xbox 360 exclusive, Halo 3: ODST, will ship with two disc. However, unlike Forza Motorsport 3, in which the second disc can be used in the single player story, Halo 3 ODST will feature its campaign and "Firefight" (a new multiplayer mode) on the first disc, and the standard Halo 3 Multiplayer on the second disc, which will feature all of the map packs for Halo 3 (including 3 maps exclusive to Halo 3:ODST), which will save you a lot of Microsoft Points.

Forza 3 will contain 2 discs

Turn 10 studios have confirmed that Forza Motorsport 3, the highly anticipated game for the Xbox 360 coming this autumn will be released on two discs. In an interview with Joystiq, the studio confirmed that Disc 1 would contain the actual game and loads of cars and tracks, while the second disc would contain even more cars (bringing that game up to its 400 car total) and more tracks. This however, despite Turn 10's earlier assurances, means that users of the Xbox 360 Core/Arcade will not be able to experience all of the game.

Black Wii coming to Japan

It has been rumoured for a long time, but Nintendo finally announce that the Wii will be available in a new colour, black, in Japan from August 1. All major accessories for the Wii will also be released in the black colour scheme. They also confirmed a red DSi for Japan available from July 11, however no indication was made of any release for both items in other regions.

Sony announce Wiimote like motion controller for PS3

At its E3 conference yesterday, Sony announced a motion sensitive controller for the PS3. It is still very much a work in progress, and is still a tech demo - Sony says it will be out next Spring, but in my opinion it will be longer than that. It also seems that Sony rushed this announcement after Microsoft announced Project Natal at its conference on Monday. I have a feeling that Natal will come out on top.

Microsoft Announce Project Natal - A Motion Sensitive Camera For Xbox 360

One of the highlights of E3 so far was Project Natal for Xbox 360. This motion sensitive camera seems pretty impressive so far, and my observations is that if it works, it will be brilliant, if not, a flop.

"PSP go" announced as E3 gets underway

The biggest gaming show, E3 in Los Angeles has got underway today, with the biggest announcement so far being the new incarnation of the PlayStation Portable, the PSP go. Doing away with the unpopular UMD format, the PSP go features 16GB of storage for games, and has a new, sliding aesthetic, but a smaller screen than the original PSP. Games would be downloadable from the PSN and Sony say the the current PSP, the PSP-3000 will remain to be available, so UMD's haven't joined the ranks of Betamax tapes and HD-DVD's yet.

Next up is Microsoft keynote, starting at 6:25 UK (10:25 PDT), Joystiq is probably the best place to go for coverage of this, and I will be updating as well.

Modern Warfare 2 – Trailer revealed, doesn’t it look like a Bond film?

Infinity ward released the trailer to Modern Warfare 2 this week here, but looking at it, with its cinematic explosions, its Russian antagonist and torture scenes, it looks more like an action movie than a video game, not like that’s a bad thing, isn’t  it?

Bungie apologises for lack of Halo 3: ODST news before E3

Bungie, everybody second favourite game developer, left an enigmatic note of apology in its weekly update on Friday, well Saturday in the UK since they posted it a 4pm PDT, making it 1am BST, and gave us more than a little hope of major news at E3, perhaps right at the end of the Microsoft conference, Master Chief will run on stage, clutching an assault rifle and a copy of the game and a release date comes up on screen, we live in hope.

1 vs 100 Xbox Live starts 7:30 PDT in US/CA, UK release date at E3?

1 vs 100 Live, the MMO game for Xbox Live, starts its 13 week BETA season tomorrow at 7:30PDT, for those of you across the pond in North America, as announced here. Interestingly though, the "Submit a question" feature is accepting suggestions for the UK release of the game, and a post at Yahoo games here, names a UK host, James McCourt, who I think already hosts the BBC One version of the show, so a launch seems imminent, and as Microsoft's E3 conference is tomorrow, more news should come in.