Microsoft has tried to catch up with some of the titans of the gaming world,
such as Sony with the release of the Xbox 360.  The Xbox 360 offers many
new features that players will love:

• Free limited subscription to online gaming - This allows players who have
  not been participating in online gaming a chance to see what is available at no
  charge. 


• All Xbox 360s come with Live-aware - This means you can get a friend invite
  or see who is online and what they are playing from your Xbox 360.  The
  button in the middle of the controller makes all this very easy.


• It offers great media features including listening to music while you play
  games, the ability to create custom playlists and your own custom soundtracks,
  the ability to rip songs from original CDs to your Xbox 360 and stream music
  from your MP3 player to your Xbox 360.  You can also create slideshows of
  photos to share with friends and family.


• Xbox 360 has a wireless controller.  No more tripping over the wires,
  although it can support two wired controllers through USB ports in the
  front.


• The game console is not only great for gamers, but developers as well. 
  It is a powerful machine with an unprecedented amount of RAM - a feature added
  on the request of developers.

But, Xbox 360 still has some problems that need to be worked out:

• Their Japanese third party support is lacking - While some Japanese
  developers offer software for the Xbox, it is small in number when compared to
  what the same developers offer for Playstation. 


• While the controller is wireless, it eats batteries rather quickly. 
  Standard alkaline batteries only last about thirty hours, so if you buy Xbox
  360, invest in rechargeable batteries to save yourself some money in the
  end.


• When they were set up in WalMart stores before days before the launch, many
  suffered what is known as the Xbox “360 screen of death,” an error screen. 
  The Xbox 360 had also had some problems with overheating.


• Some report the Xbox 360 system as being very noisy when playing an Xbox 360
  disc.

Many people are eagerly awaiting the release of Playstation 3, which may
occur as soon as November of this year.  It has been said that the
Playstation 3 has an outward feel (which allows it to stand vertically or
horizontally on its own), as opposed to the Xbox 360’s inward feel.  It is
a much larger console than the Playstation 2 and closer to the original size of
the Xbox.  Game discs slide into the console like CDs slide into a car
player. 
Here are a few attractive features of the Playstation 3:

• It is always on, so you can access your Playstation 3 from anywhere as long
  as you have an Internet connection. 


• With a Playstation Portable, you can connect to your Playstation 3 and
  transfer media such as music and movies.


• The Playstation 3 appears to be much more powerful than that Xbox 360,
  Ninetindo Revolution, and Playstation 2.  Initial reports say it will be
  twice as fast as the Xbox 360.


• Developers and publishers of over 230 games have announced titles for
  Playstation 3 games.

Here are a few reported cons and problems with the Playstation 360:

• Comes with only 256 MB, less than the 512 MB the Xbox 360 will come
  with.


• Their Playstation Network Platform (the online service) is still in
  development and may not be ready by the time Playstation 3 is released.


• The launch of the Playstation 3 has already been delayed due to disk
  problems.

Both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are incredible gaming consoles.  It
seems that although the Xbox 360 came out first, the best bet is still the
Playstation 3.  The strongest point of the Xbox 360 is its online
functionality, but Sony may be working on something similar to Xbox Live right
now.  However, Microsoft is closing the gap with Xbox 360 and probably will
eventually catch up with Sony in gaming consoles.  For some users, it may
come down to something as simple as which one is more compatible with the games
they already own.

…continue reading more about Microsoft’s Xbox 360 vs. the Sony’s Playstation 3

online games

Are you a gaming nerd with no social skills and spend all your time in front of your monitor? Don’t fret, you can now have that social life and be hugely popular without ever leaving your bedroom. How? Enter Second life.
It allows you to attempt making decisions in real-life situations, and even allows you to open up your own company, sell and purchase property, and interact with other second life avatars that are finding their way through the virtual world as well.

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Creating a virtual you.

The first thing you’ll want to do when you’re preparing to play the second life game is to create an identity for yourself. This is a made up version of you. So you can make your virtual you look like you, or if you want you can look like Brad Pitt. You can change your avatar at any time. The avatars will also help you to get to know some of the other people that are playing the second life game with you, since you will most likely be in various parts of the country physically.

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Get in da-hood.

You can then check out your virtual neighborhood. Get to know your neighbors, shops, business, sites, places of interest and even the local bars. You can also check out job listings in your area. This will help you to create and maintain a budget for yourself, and will keep you up to date on what that other avatars in your area are working on. There are even meetings for work or real estate set up in the second life game, so you may get some real world practice when it comes to interacting with clients or securing a deal cunningly.

Go Shopping

If you are looking for something to purchase for your home or office, you can visit the virtual garage sales that are also part of the second life game. Avatars put up a number of different items for sale, and you have the option of placing your bid or purchasing the item–things like furniture and clothing sell from the site often, and you can put your own items up for sale as well.

second life cheats
The only problem I have with second life is, its too addictive. I cant seem to drag my-self away. I definitely feel that my negotiation skills are improving.
Hope you have a blast exploring your second life.

According to DFC Intelligence, it is believed that Xbox Live has come closest to the gaming market of the future. Xbox Live is a simple, fairly clean, and allows richer media interaction due to use of headsets. It offers cohesive online gaming service ever offered on a console. It is easily the most successful game as compared to available online games. Xbox Live is included in the Xbox 360 and experiencing the Xbox Live is more than just playing online games. The key focus of Xbox Live Marketplace is the digital distribution feature that allows the purchase of prepaid cards, download full games, digital music and movies and the use of a credit card, through the Xbox Live interface. In other words, it is like a digital distribution outlet for smaller game developers as well as for other types of media producers.
As we all know that we download casual games from internet from years. But Microsoft is trying to form a platform for digitally distributed content like micro transaction ecosystem, hardware, and digital distribution delivery network using integration between the various components of the package. Microsoft is also announcing prepaid “point” cards for use with Marketplace at all its normal retail locations. Many free downloadable demos, trailers and music videos will be available in this Marketplace. The main advantage of prepaid cards is overcoming the need for credit card. Although we may only think of using prepaid cards for limited usage like international phone calls. Prepaid cards are a true means for retail-based online payment.
A micro transaction system is on the stairs of development in North America for any transactions that are under $5. Xbox Live Marketplace overrides this challenge to some extent. The Microsoft could change the way people think about purchasing products online. Nowadays several options are available to purchase products in small quantities instead of buying products in large chunks. iTunes enabled the online buyers to purchase single songs instead of whole albums.
The Live Marketplace is closely associated with the hardware and interface of Xbox 360. If you want to purchase a game then I would suggest you to go for Live Marketplace. You can simply avoid the bewildering array of game portals and aggregators in the PC world by Microsoft Live Marketplace. Microsoft has evolved a new era of downloading and purchasing games elegantly by its new hardware package.
To read more articles by Greg Culver, check out www.mysportsarena.com

…continue reading more about Microsoft Live Marketplace