At Penny Arcade, Gabe and Tycho don't seem to think much of MTV in general or the Xbox 360 Special in specific. They do highly recommend the tech-specific, geek-laden five minute video from OurColony.net, instead. That's a short summary; check Penny Arcade for the more humorous, more verbose version.
Yet another site has got into the business of listings links to Xbox 360 news; Slashdot's Xbox 360 thread is quite worthwhile if for nothing else than the sarcastic advice to Xbox-bashing trolls. In addition to sources we cited earlier, they also mention the following:
I haven't been able to catch the MTV Special yet; however, the official press release does reveal quite a bit of information and confirms things that were previously only rumored. The expected release date is indeed the 2005 holiday season, as widely predicted. Here's a quick run-down of confirmed features:
Microsoft's new console is officially called Xbox 360 we know now because of happened on MTV on May 12. Here are links to some of the stories published after that special:
Gaming site news.botros.net has linked to scanned magazine pages including specs and photos of the Xbox 360 and supposed shots from Ghost Recon 3.
It looks to me to be a Swedish or Norwegian gaming magazine, although botros incorrectly guesses it to be German.
UPDATE: Apparently this is in fact the Danish magazine Game Reactor, which is getting a lot of attention for reporting the rumor that Halo 3 will be out in one year. Take that with heaps of salt, folks.
GameSpot has an article interviewing representatives from industry groups about the information so far available on the Xbox 360 and how it is expected to stack up against the competition, including American Technology, UBS, and DFC Intelligence Voodoo Extreme linked to the story.
Microsoft has put out an official press release for the Xbox 360's MTV Special launch.
Highly anticipated video game console is unveiled on an MTV special.
Major Nelson's blog entry today has a schedule grid for 21 different countries, showing the Xbox/MTV special showing dates and times.
Joystiq is already trying to cast doubt on the accuracy of the "leaked" specifications that Engadget apparently culled from an Xbox forum; the original post has since been removed.
Xbox365 has posted a rumor that the "deluxe" edition of Microsoft's next console-- the one with the HDD and the extra content-- will cost $360. So, Xbox 360 for $360, says Xbox365? Here's to the end of all this speculation very soon.
Somebody at Microsoft better get the sump pumps running, because just two days out from the console's official star-studded pre-E3 MTV launch event, the whole PR machine has sprung more leaks than a water balloon at an acupuncturist convention. Engadget has a long list of Xbox 360 technical specifications, as well as a feature list for two levels of Xbox Live subscription (free and paid, or Silver and Gold in their nomenclature).
In an article at the Hollywood Reporter that focuses on Hitman, the best-selling Halo 2 soundtrack is used as a benchmark for the industry, selling 120,000 copies in its first volume, about 12 times the sales of the average game soundtrack. Louis Wu at HBO provided the heads-up.