Microsoft Confirms April 6 USB Drive Support for Xbox 360

As I mentioned last week, the fine peeps at Joystiq did some sleuthing and discovered that the Microsoft Xbox 360 will be supporting USB memory in the near future. Microsoft marketing guy Major Nelson confirmed the feature, which is set to hit on April 6, 2010. The good Major highly recommends solid state memory over spinning optical drives. Here are a few other points from his post:

  • You can have 2 devices connected to the console at a time, enabling up to 32GB of simultaneous storage.
  • The system won’t just configure the device once it is connected to the console. You’ll need to head to the memory area in system settings, select your USB Device, and choose from Configure Now (Format and Configure the Full Device), or Customize (you can choose how much memory you want configured for Xbox360 from the free space on the device.)

My 120GB Elite still has plenty of room and I don’t see myself filling it up any time soon. Non-gaming media goes to my PS3 — you know, a system that uses standard hard drives. For gamers with smaller hard drives, I can see how this will be a useful and most welcomed solution.

Any of you anxious to plug some USB flash drives into your Xbox 360?

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WrestleMania 26 Predictions (Add Yours Too!)

I am totally bummed that WrestleMania 26 will be the first one I’ve missed in eight years. My streak is over, but hopefully so is The Undertaker’s. Before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to give you my WM26 predictions and I’d like you to post yours in the comments section. Let’s go down the card!

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk — CM Punk has been awesome as the leader of The Straight-Edge Society. Rey Rey has been…where the hell has he been? The stipulation in this match is that Rey has to join the Society if he loses. That would be awesome! Rey loses this match, Punk tortures him for a few months, and it all leads to a hair vs. mask match in the future. Although Punk is getting some excellent heat, a victory over Rey Rey would make the Society even hotter.

WWE Unified Tag-Team Championship: The Big Show and The Miz vs. John Morrison and R-Truth — While not as entertaining in the ring or on the mic as JeriShow, Show Miz is a fun tag team. They’re certainly way more entertaining than Morrison and R-Truth. Morrison is brilliant in the ring, but his mic skills haven’t developed to a level that matches his in-ring ability. R-Truth is over with live audiences…and I still don’t know why. His ring work is sloppy and his entrance song/rapping sucks. “What’s up?!?” I’m going with Show Miz here. That’s what’s up.

Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes — I’m really not sure how this match ends. All I know is that Cody Rhodes has become an afterthought. Orton has been teased as a face and the crowd is responding to him in that role, but he’s such a dick that it seems like a waste not to keep him heel. Some people are thinking that Rhodes will side with Orton so that Randy beats DiBiase. That goes against the face heat Orton has been getting. Besides, Orton doesn’t need the rub from ‘Mania; it would be far more useful to give it to one of the kids. Maybe it’s a stretch, but I’m going to do with DiBiase getting the win here. Besides, his dad is getting inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame so it would be a nice weekend for the DiBiase family.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match — I’m positive that Kane isn’t going to win this match. I’m fairly certain that Shelton Benjamin, Evan Bourne, Matt Hardy, and Jack Swagger aren’t going to win it either. That leaves Christian, Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre, MVP, and Dolph Ziggler. Vince loves McIntyre, but I don’t see a relative newcomer getting a serious title shot since Sheamus already covered that with the WWE Championship. MVP and Ziggler…their chances get lower the more I think about it. Kofi had a nice push going, but I think that ship has sailed. I’m going to go with Christian winning this match and challenging Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Triple H vs. Sheamus — Here’s another one I’m not really sure about. Triple H has become more of a company guy since becoming a father. He’s been much better at putting people over and sharing the spotlight. He’s also friends with Sheamus and I could see him wanting to put his buddy over. Then again, it has been a long time since Hunter has been in the…uh…hunt for championship gold. Then again (second time, I know), beating Sheamus doesn’t really do anything for him. Sheamus needs to win and look good doing it or he’s going to be a mid-carder for years. I’ll go with Sheamus winning due to Hunter’s fatherhood induced altruism kick.

Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Vince McMahon — I believe Bret’s WWE deal expires the week after WrestleMania. Unless Vince wants to “screw” him one more time, I don’t see him losing. Besides, his dad is being posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Honoring the legendary Stu Hart and having Bret beat the crap out of Vince would make for a feel-good weekend for the dysfunctional Hart family. I don’t see how Bret can lose here, but I hope that he does. My friend Joey is a huge mark for Bret and I’d get a year’s worth of jokes out of Bret losing at ‘Mania.

The Streak vs. Career: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels — Some people are saying that Shawn is really going to retire and this is how he wants to go out. That would be a very HBK thing to do. He’s definitely Mr. WrestleMania…except when it comes to wins and losses. Michaels has been very good about putting his opponents over at WrestleMania while still stealing the show. Then again, The Undertaker has trouble walking around these days. The man has all kinds of injuries and he doesn’t have as many years left as HBK. While it would be nice if he used “the streak” to put over a younger wrestler, I could see how he’d want it ended by a respected veteran like HBK. Or perhaps he wants to retire with a perfect WretleMania record…. Ah screw it. I’m just going to be a fan and say that HBK ends The Undertaker’s streak. I’m too much of an HBK mark to say otherwise.

World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Edge — For the last few years, nobody has been better in the WWE than Jericho. He truly is “the best there is at what he does”. More importantly, he doesn’t need the belt or the WrestleMania rub. He’ll be over no matter what. Edge definitely needs help. His comeback started out hot, but totally fizzled. Winning the World Heavyweight Championship and starting a feud with Christian would be big — maybe not WrestleMania big, but Christian vs. Edge sounds like a great Summer Slam main event. I’m not sure if this will be the last match or not, but either way I think Edge gets the nod.

WWE Championship: Batista vs. John Cena — Ah, two of my least favorite wrestlers in the WWE. I really don’t care who wins this one. No matter the outcome, I’ll be happier when the winner loses the belt to someone that’s actually good in the ring (to be fair, Cena has improved…but he’s still average). I’m going to go ahead and assume that this match will close out the show. You have to send the crowd home happy and as Batista has stated in his recent (and shockingly good) promos, the kids and fat chicks love Cena. If this match is last, Cena wins. If not, Batista wins and the feud drags out for a few more months. Either way, I really don’t care for either of these guys.

Coffee Talk #115: Will the Apple iPad Change the World?

The Apple iPad is set to launch in a little over a week. The device is supposedly the most important thing Steve Jobs has launched in his illustrious career, as well as better than a notebook for some things and better than a smartphone for other things. Some industry pundits and tech enthusiasts feel that it will be one of the most world-changing consumer-electronics devices ever released. Others feel that it will be another cool and overpriced gadget. What do you think?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, what kind of punishment Gilbert Arenas will get today, why the hell Erik Morales is still boxing, or the sheer awesomeness of Scrabble, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The Apple iPad is set to launch in a little over a week. The device is supposedly the most important thing Steve Jobs has launched in his illustrious career, as well as better than a notebook for some things and better than a smartphone for other things. Some industry pundits and tech enthusiasts feel that it will be one of the most world-changing consumer-electronics devices ever released. Others feel that it will be another cool and overpriced gadget. What do you think?

As far as bridging the gap between laptops and smartphones, I can totally see the appeal. The iPad’s form factor is perfect for browsing the web on your couch or checking email (without straining your eyes) at a coffeehouse. I do a ton of web browsing on my iPhone and often wish I had something a little bit bigger — but still handheld — to surf the web on. While the iPad would be extremely convenient for people like me, I don’t know that the majority of consumers want the same things I want.

The iPad is also being heralded as the savior of magazines and newspapers. From what I’ve seen so far, the potential is tremendous. When Apple showed the demo of The New York Times at its iPad unveiling, I thought it was nice, but I wasn’t sure that it was something I’d pay for. When I saw Wired’s iPad mock-up, I was blown away! It looked like a ridiculously cool and fun way to absorb information. That said, it also looked expensive to produce and I’m not sure how many magazine publishers are willing to invest in a highly interactive and video-heavy version of a magazine. I also question whether advertisers will pay a premium for iPad magazine ads.

Today I want you to look at the iPad as a whole. Look at the apps. Look at the functionality that bridges laptops and smartphones. Look at potentially cool forms of media that will be available for it in the next year. When you add it up, do you see a device that will change the world similar to how the iPod and iPhone did? Or is it a cool and overpriced product that will only serve a niche audience?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m going to finish up my second run of Dragon Age: Origins Awakening this weekend. After that, I’m going to put it away for a while. As much as I love the expansion pack and want to give it a third shot, I just can’t do it — not until it’s patched. There are too many bugs that bother me. Hopefully a fix will come soon because I really dig the story, characters, and gameplay.

The good news is that I can dive back into Final Fantasy XIII. I’m only six or so hours into the game and I’ve enjoyed it so far. It’s kind of crazy how polarizing FFXIII is — some people absolutely love it and others totally hate it. I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up in the former camp. I already know that it’s not going to be my favorite game in the series, but I’m certain that I’ll be satisfied when the dust settles. I’m also pretty sure I’ll like it better than FFVII (you see what I did there?!?).

As always, I want to know what’s on your weekend playlist.

Thanks for Playing!

Thanks to everyone that played in the RPad.tv Uno Invitational! I had a great time and I hope you guys did too. Next up is Fat Princess for PS3. After that…well, let’s talk about it. I want to stick with downloadable games so that anyone that doesn’t have a game can easily and (relatively) cheaply pick it up. I was thinking about Scrabble for Xbox Live after Fat Princess. The cool part is that if two games are running and there are players waiting, they can just play Connect 4 until the game is over. What do you think?

Fat Princess Patch 1.05 Fixes Bugs and Adds Snowy Maps

Fat Princess players should keep an eye out for patch 1.05, which arrives today and adds a couple of new maps. To help kick off spring, the game is getting two snow-themed maps (what?): Candy Mountain and Frost Bite. Managing producer Deborah Mars listed the following fixes on Sony’s PlayStation Blog:

  • Warrior: Fixed to disallow shield activation when carrying objects, as well as attenuating damage against lava and drowning.
  • Ice Mage: Changed level 1 area attack to slow enemies, not freeze them.
  • Soccer map: Disabled online score saving for this level (sorry, all, but it was too easy to gain rank).

As most of you know, today is the first RPad.tv Uno invitational tournament. If it goes well — and it looks like it will — then Fat Princess will be the next game. I’d love to try out these snowy maps with a bunch of you. If you happen to download the patch today, please let everyone know what you think of Candy Mountain and Frost Bite.

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Coffee Talk #114: Your Dream Videogame Team-Up

In the spirit of the old Marvel Team-Up comics, I want to ask you about the videogame team-up of your dreams. There are so many wonderfully talented developers in Asia, Europe, and North America. Maybe you’d like them to collaborate? Or maybe there are characters from different publishers that you’d like to see in the same game? Whatever the case, I want to know what you’re thinking (pure energy).

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, American Idol getting it right last night, why the hell Roy Jones, Jr. is still boxing, or everyone swooning over the HTC Evo 4G even though it won’t be out until the end of the summer, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

In the spirit of the old Marvel Team-Up comics, I want to ask you about the videogame team-up of your dreams. There are so many wonderfully talented developers in Asia, Europe, and North America. Maybe you’d like them to collaborate? Or maybe there are characters from different publishers that you’d like to see in the same game? Whatever the case, I want to know what you’re thinking (pure energy).

As for me, I’d love to see BioWare and Square Enix get together. (It’s not going to happen, but it’s my silly dream so I’m just going to go with it.) I would love a game that combined the gameplay mechanics of Baldur’s Gate or Dragon Age with the art of Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts. A game like that would totally own me.

Now let me know about your videogame team-ups! Perhaps you want a cooperative game with Kratos and Mario? Or maybe Warren Spector designing a game with Tetsuya Nomura directing the art? Dream big people (please)!

GameCrush is Still Broken, Here’s a Video While You’re Waiting

The pimps at GameCrush still haven’t figured out their server situation, leaving their service dead in the water. As I mentioned on Tuesday, GameCrush is a social networking service that allows guys to pay money to play games with girls and girls to make money playing games with guys. It’s either going to be one of the most colossal failures in gaming…or so brilliant that it will take over the industry.

The fact that the company hasn’t obtained more server bandwidth in the last 24 hours is telling. Do you think these guys are for real? Or are they a chop shop running out of some basement? As you debate the merits of this social networking service, be sure to check out the awesome GameCrush promo video posted above.

Preparing for RPadholic Uno on Xbox Live

Okay, tomorrow is going to be the first RPad.tv Uno invitational…or something like that. I want to get a few games of Uno going on Xbox Live. If you’re interested, please leave your Gamertag in the comments section. Also, let me know if 4PM PST works for you. I can be flexible with times. Also (again), I need a volunteer to head up another game. I’m hoping N8R is up for leading the other session since I can’t beat him in Uno anyway.