Supernostro pointed out an article at IGN suggesting that in Q1 of 2007, the CPU in the Xbox 360 will get an upgrade that will make the console more reliable:
This webcam image, spotted by serpx and posted by Louis Wu at HBO, seems to support the mention of Mister Chief t-shirts in a Bungie Weekly Update a few weeks ago.
Dante pointed out in #hbo that Amazon.com now lists a release date for the fourth Halo novel, Ghosts of Coral, by Eric Nylund. Amazon claims it will ship October 31, 2006.
UPDATE: As pointed out below, the date was actually in the Amazon listing almost two months ago. Moving along, nothing NEW to see here.
Of course, in about the same span of time there was actually real, tangible, factual information to be had:
Stubbs The Zombie, created by Wideload and published by Aspyr, is now being offered at special discount prices-- $29.99 for the PC and $39.99 for the Xbox. If you haven't seen or heard Stubbs yet, check out the demo for the Mac and PC versions at Nzone. And for all your Stubbs news flashes right from the source, sign up for the Stubbs the Zombie Army Dispatch email list.
Two major categories of news in this roundup: Stubbs and Xbox 360.
Doesn't anybody want an Xbox 360 Core?
Our own poll here shows that even people who don't want an Xbox 360 outnumber those who want a Core. It's understandable; hardcore Halo fans want to play their old Halo games on the Xbox, and that requires a hard drive.
In all seriousness, does anybody want a Core? Microsoft isn't even offering it in the Japanese market, where the old Xbox did very poorly, and so backwards compatibility is a non-issue. Xbox360News is reporting that the US may have upwards of a million Xbox 360 units for the launch date, but that a mere 20% of those are Cores.
Are even those going to be sold, except to people pissed off that they can't find a full-fledged Xbox 360, but are willing to add the HD and wireless controller later just for the privilege of getting their hands on the console immediately? If the percentage of Cores shipped was actually higher, I'd suspect a massive bait and switch maneuver was underway.
If it's written enough times, it might just become the truth. DailyGame is repeating rumors of Xbox 360 shortages, saying that Microsoft may have lowered the estimate of how many consoles will be available on launch day, and many retailers are listing even their extremely expensive bundles as "sold out" in response.
Rapture at CookedGamers reports he's seen playable Xbox 360 kiosks at a Wal-Mart in Huntsville, Alabama. Pictures to come later.
UPDATE: Joystiq beat Rapture to the punch, posting Xbox 360 kiosk pics from a reader in New Mexico.
We're inclined to ignore reports from GamePro about supposed Halo 3 preorder dates at GameStop, for obvious reasons. Oops...
Ultimate Guitar reminds everyone that the Stubbs The Zombie soundtrack hits store shelves on October 18. There's supposedly a game coming out, too...
Xbox.com has been updated with the official announcement of the expected launch lineup for the Xbox 360, as well as the official press release naming Peter Jackson as Executive Producer of the Halo film.
Aspyr is now offering a chance to preorder the Macintosh version of Stubbs the Zombie, coming this November, for $40. The Halo engine game is being published by Aspyr and was developed by Wideload Games, the Chicago-area startup created by ex-Bungie founder Alexander Seropian, along with a core staff comprised of many other ex-Bungie employees. The game will be released for Xbox, Mac, and PC platforms. Thanks MacNN.