SketchFactor has posted at Bungie.net that since the introduction of the modified content detection in AutoUpdate 4 yesterday, more than 2,500 permanent matchmaking bans have been issued by the "self-aware automated Banhammer".
Kiziko has news that Microsoft is denying rumors about the Xbox 360's Japanese launch being delayed, perhaps to match the expected PlayStation 3 release date. The new console is still slated for a holiday 2005 launch simultaneously in North America, Europe and Japan.
Bungie has rolled out the latest autoupdate-- you now have to download it in order to play in matchmaking on Xbox Live. The update includes code to detect modified content; it also (purportedly) fixes the teleporter bug on Relic.
Just about a year after hitting the million mark, Xbox Live has doubled in size, hitting two million subscribers, according to Major Nelson. (Nearly all of which are clearly playing Halo 2. Any other games you may see being played by members of your friends list are clearly figments of your imagination--Ed.)
Microsoft celebrity blogger Robert Scoble confirms that the recently published photos of a near-production Xbox 360 (plus a few extra wires, apparently for "power supply testing") are, in fact, real, and that he arranged for the employee's son to play with the console, and knew that he would podcast about it.
Major League Gaming's website notes that they will hold two Halo 2 mini-tournaments at Giants Stadium in New Jersey this weekend, on July 23. Details including prizes are in MLG's announcement.
On the eve of the autoupdate that is supposed to deal a crushing blow to cheaters in Halo 2 matchmaking on Xbox Live, there have been a variety of discussions on various sites and forums about whether or not the matchmaking model delivers on the "virtual couch" claims that Microsoft makes for the service. The latest of Narc's Retorts asks: is Xbox live creating a digital divan, or a digital divide?
There's been much discussion of late about the way matchmaking works in Halo 2's implementation of Xbox Live, with regards to cheating, griefing, and other misbehaviors, and as compared to other kinds of venues and methods for enjoying networked games, such as LAN Fests and server browser-based PC games.
Frankie has posted on Bungie.net that on July 20, 2005, Bungie will release Autoupdate 4 for Halo 2, which will detect players using modified Halo 2 content and ban them from Xbox Live Halo 2 matchmaking, permanently, with no possibility of appeal.
This includes the use of hardware mods (modchips), so-called soft mods, and game saves or game types saved using Action Replay or similar devices.
Dyslexia at Major League Gaming interviews Str8 Rippin. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO.
Players who want to compete in Major League Gaming's Philadelphia events in Halo or Halo 2 need to register online.
Bungie.net has a couple of updates today; SketchFactor has posted that the last Humpday Challenge pitted Bungie against Team Korea where Bungie won a best four of five match; next they'll take on Taiwan and Hong Kong.
TeamXbox has a feature on the Xbox 360's probable launch lineup; the games that will make it, those that won't but should, the ones you might not know about, and a category called "where the hell is" games. The article begins by mentioning Halo:
