Microsoft confirm that 1 vs 100 will be free

I hope its free. The rumored release date is May 15th

From the Xbox product page for 1 vs 100 we can confirm that 1 vs 100 will be free to Gold Members, this is exciting news and we are looking forward to try the game and seeing how it plays. 1 vs 100 could be a revolution in video games.

“Features
1 vs 100 Live on Xbox LIVE transforms you from spectator to player in this new socially interactive game experience based upon the hit TV game show. Enjoy the fun and freshness of a television show in a massively multiplayer online game. Win real prizes not just for skills but for participation. Have fun playing with your friends and family, or compete with other LIVE Gold members in a friendly game of 1 vs 100 Live. With live events, real hosts, featured players, and fresh content it’s a new experience every time you play.

Free game: 1 vs 100 Live is included with your Gold Membership.
Fun for everyone: Enjoy Live episodes where you play the game at specified times, massively multiplayer allows you to play with friends and against the masses, with a Live host in each game.
Big prizes! You have the chance to win prizes based on skill (answering questions correctly) and participation (answering a question right or wrong).

Inside the Game
1 vs 100 Live Community Forum

Product Info
1 vs 100
Developer: Microsoft Game Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Genre: Family

Release Date: Spring 2009

Console: Xbox 360



Game Rating: T (Teen)
Drug Reference
Language
Sexual Themes
Violent ReferencesMultiplayer Versus

HDTV 1080p

Storage Device

Xbox LIVE Multiplayer

Xbox LIVE Co-op

Content Downloads

User Creatable Content

Teams

Leaderboards

Player Stats

Voice Support”



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XBL 1vs100 Beta Coming In May

A newly released video on the Canadian Xbox Live Marketplace has revealed that a beta phase for Xbox Live’s interactive show "1 vs 100" will start on May 9th.

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Over Half Of 360 Users Have Gold Memberships to LIVE

Although Microsoft doesn't release information on the percentage of LIVE accounts that are Gold, Seattlepi.com says it's seen an internal Microsoft spreadsheet that indicates over half of Xbox 360 owners who are online pay for Gold level service.

The document P-I said they saw dates from February 2008 and includes Microsoft's internal projections until to June 2008. This is before the launch of the new Xbox Experience which could have changed these numbers significantly. Regardless, the document shows that the percentage of 360 gamers who paid to subscribe to Xbox Live stayed relatively steady for more than a year before the announcement of the relaunch in July 2008.

In an statement emailed to Seattlepi.com, a Microsoft spokesman confirmed that a majority of Xbox subscribers pay for the service.

"We've said before that Xbox LIVE is experiencing incredible growth; in January we had more new LIVE members join than any other month in the history of Xbox LIVE," the spokesman said. "With more than 17 million active members, a majority of whom are paying members, LIVE is a rich social entertainment and gaming experience that is unmatched in the industry."


[via g4tv]

Hackers target Xbox Live players

This is a very interesting read.

Xbox Live is being targeted by malicious hackers selling services that kick players off the network.

The booting services are proving popular with players who want a way to get revenge on those who beat them in an Xbox Live game.

The attackers are employing data flooding tools that have been used against websites for many years.

Microsoft is "investigating" the use of the tools and said those caught using them would be banned from Xbox Live.

"There's been a definite increase in the amount of people talking
about and distributing these things over the last three to four weeks," said
Chris Boyd, director of malware research at Facetime Communications.

Attack tool

"The smart thing about these Xbox tools is that they
do not attack the Xbox Live network itself," he said.

He said the tools work by exploiting the way that the Xbox Live network is set up. Game consoles connecting to the Xbox network send data via the net, and for that it needs an IP address.

Even better, said Mr Boyd, games played via Xbox Live are not hosted on private servers. The tools mean anyone with a few dollars can boot rivals off Xbox Live

"Instead," he said, "a lot of games on Xbox Live are hosted by players."

If hackers can discover the IP address of whoever is hosting a game they can employ many of the attacks that have been used for years against websites, said Mr Boyd.

One of the most popular or the Xbox Live specialists is the Denial of Service attack which floods an IP address with vast amounts of data.

The flood of data is generated by a group of hijacked home computers, a botnet, that have fallen under the control of a malicious hacking group.

When turned against a website this flood of traffic can overwhelm it or make it unresponsive to legitimate visitors.

When turned against an Xbox owner, it can mean they cannot connect to
the Live network and effectively throws them out of the game.

"They get your IP address, put it in the booter tool and they attempt to flood the port that uses Xbox traffic," said Mr Boyd. "Flooding that port prevents any traffic
getting out."

Skill set

The hard part, he said, was discovering a particular gamer's IP address but many malicious hackers had honed the skills needed to find them.

Some interconnect their PC and Xbox and use packet sniffing software to hunt through the traffic flowing in and out of the console for IP addresses. The hackers target the way Xbox consoles connect to the net

Others simply use con tricks to get the target to reveal their net
address.

The technical knowledge needed to hunt down IP addresses was
quite high, said Mr Boyd, but many of those who had the skills were selling
their expertise to those keen to hit back at their rivals on the Xbox Live
network.

For $20 (£13) some Xbox Live hackers will remotely access a customer's PC and set up the whole system so it can be run any time they need it.

Some offer low rates to add compromised machines to a botnet and
increase the amount of data flooding a particular IP address.

Defending against the attack could be tricky, said Mr Boyd: "There's no real easy solution to this one."

Although IP addresses regularly change, people could find
it takes hours or days for their ISP to move them on to a new one.

In response to the rise in attacks, Microsoft said: "We are investigating reports
involving the use of malicious software tools that an attacker could use to try
and disrupt an Xbox LIVE player's internet connection."

It added: "This problem is not related to the Xbox Live service, but to the player's internet connection. The attacker could also attempt [to] disrupt other internet
activities, such as streaming video or web browsing, using the same tools.

In its statement Microsoft warned: "This malicious activity violates the
Xbox Live Terms of Use, and will result in a ban from Xbox Live and other
appropriate action.

It urged anyone falling victim to such an attack to
contact their ISP to report it and get help fixing it.

In January 2009 Microsoft announced that Xbox Live had more than 17m members.

[via bbc]

IPhone - NXE Style Friends list

This app was made by the guys over at http://1337pwn.com/ .

More Info

iNXES is the next generation XBOX Live Friends list application from the team at
1337pwn.com. As the creators of the most popular XBOX Live application in the
AppStore, we have put our expertise to work with a totally new mobile XBOX 360
experience.

With the NXE as inspiration, the 1337pwn.com team has
brought the excitement of the new XBOX 360 user interface to iPhone/iPod touch.
From sliding panels to avatars, you can now browse your friends on the go as you
would on your XBOX 360.

The user interface is matched with a new server
infrastructure leveraging our full year of experience delivering mobile XBOX
Live applications. As an Official XBOX Community Developer, you will not be
putting your Live login at risk.

This is the best Xbox Live app on Apple's App Store to store all your friends and to check to see who's online. Its smooth and has a layout just like the "NXE". I recommend it to everyone who has a IPhone or a IPod Touch. Best of all, IT'S FREE.

Click here to download the app from the appstore

Here's a short video I made with this app:

Halo Wars Available on XBLM Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Monday 17, 2007 The Halo wars demo will be available on Xbox live Marketplace.

Halo Wars” is the next big real-time strategy game from Ensemble Studios, creators of Age of Empires. Designed exclusively for the Xbox 360, “Halo Wars” allows you to take charge of the human UNSC armies and see the Halo universe from a totally new perspective. However, we might get a taste of the game sooner than we expected.


In an exclusive interview via Playtm and Gamespot during Games Conventions in Leipzig 2007, with Harter Ryan, Ensemble’s executive producer, he revealed that a demo will be hitting Xbox Live within the few days.

Credit goes to Xbox Family for this amazing news

Video Interview