1. Xbox vs. Xbox 360
2. Eibeler named worst CEO
3. Back with much Acclaim
4. MTV Films
5. Xbox 360 shortages due to low chip yields?
6. Sony acquires Guerrilla Games
7. EA buys Jamdat
8. If you build it, they will hack ...
9. XBox 360 Marketing (aka, "WTF?")
10. X3 Trailer on Xbox 360 Live (**spoilers**)
11. I'm playing...
12. Blog Updates

Games supported via backwards compatibility emulators on the Xbox 360 are upscaled to 720p widescreen (on compatible hardware), and get the 360's full-screen anti-aliasing. Nothing new for PC game graphics whores, but a huge difference from Standard-Definition TV.

GameSpot has a feature up comparing backwards compatible games on the Xbox and Xbox 360, and -- surprise -- they do look better on the 360.

• "Do Xbox Games Look Better on Xbox 360?"

GameSpot also has a feature comparing games that have Xbox and Xbox 360 versions:

• "Xbox vs. Xbox 360: Do You Really Need HD?"

Basically, the feature is looking at whether game versions between the two -- both running at 480p -- are any different (for those majority of folks who still own standard-definition televisions).

It's a decent article, with some nice onMouseOver screen comparisons, and some slight comments to the 720p versions, and any missing functionality dropped in order to make the Xbox 360 launch (ahem, Electronic Arts).

Read the whole article, but Peter Jackson's King Kong and Need for Speed Most Wanted, and many (all?) EA Sports titles have missing content in the Xbox 360 versions of the games.

2. Eibeler named worst CEO

Ouch. Herb Greenberg over MarketWatch is running a commentary, "Worst CEO: Paul Eibeler of Take-Two", saying "[e]arnings misses, game miscues make case". He of course makes a slight nod to the Grand Theft Auto "Adults Only" controversy, but is more focused on the fact that "Take-Two has missed its own earnings guidance for multiple quarters".

3. Back with much Acclaim

Former Activision exec Howard Marks picked up the Acclaim moniker after that company filed for bankruptcy in September 2004 (Check out my "coverage" here). Marks allegedly picked it up for $100K.

The "new Acclaim" will be differently focused. Rather than killing the Turok license, this new incarnation of the company will be bringing casual MMOs -- fueled by an Asian marketplace and micropayments -- stateside.

More info here.

4. MTV Films

MTV Films is on the move. Besides finishing the recent Aeon Flux (check out my thoughts here) and picking up the rights for Midway's The Suffering survival horror franchise, they recently announced they picked up the rights to NY fashion icon Mark Ecko's graffiti-based video game, Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.

5. Xbox 360 shortages due to low chip yields?

Looks like the shortage of Xbox 360s may be partially or largely due to lower than expected chip yields for the custom 3-core processor that heats up your spare bedroom. How much lower isn't really known, but it is evidently bad enough that Microsoft almost delayed the 360 launch.

So, not much hope of getting a bunch of 360s stateside before Christmas.

6. Sony acquires Guerrilla Games

Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has bought developer Guerrilla Games, best known for their non-"Halo"-killer, Killzone, and Killzone 2 (working title) controbversial pre-rendered cinematic at this year's E3. Killzone 2 is targeted for the PS3, possibly as a launch title.

To me, this is akin to Microsoft acquiring Bungie for flagship title Halo for the first Xbox. I imagine there's nothing like first-party accountability.

7. EA buys Jamdat

Electronic Arts has played in the mobile gaming space, but arguably hasn't focused on it.

The publishing juggernaut seems to have found the best way to quickly dominate the space: Buy the #1 player in that space. EA bought Jamdat, for $27 cash per share (and assumes outstanding stock options for a total of about $680 million).

8. If you build it, they will hack ...

Some development folks have been able to extract game content from Xbox 360 discs (ISO images) and posted them over at xbox-scene.com. They're caveated with "Note that downloading such releases is illegal and you can't do anything with them yet (they will not boot on your Xbox 360)", but I wonder if someone is losing their job over this -- a helluvalotta work went into the hardening the 360 itself; ya think someone would have focused a little more on the media copy protection and file system?

9. XBox 360 Marketing (aka, "WTF?")

I dunno what's up with Microsoft? Someone seems to be a bit asleep at the switch, content wise, or they're seriously trying to snow folks to try to hype the 360 release. Or both.

There were supposed to be a number of game demos available on launch day -- there was just Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios). Later, NBA Live 06 (Electronic Arts) and Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts) were added. This week, FIFA 06 (Electronic Arts) showed up. No sign yet of Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft), and no explanation.

Other launch-day content has been disappearing, there was a day when there were duplicates of the Chronicles of Narnia movie trailer, and it looks like they've been attempting to bolster content with interviews with developers (from IGN.com).

Worse, I've been getting Microsoft Emails letting me know games are "now available", peppering my mailbox from November 22 (Launch Day) to today -- even though all of the games were available 11/22 (or before); for example, a notice on December 6 telling me Project Gotham Racing 3 is now available.

And I got a notice today welcoming me to Xbox Live Gold (the Xbox 360 equivalent of a paid Live subscription; I converted my subscription on (wait for it!) 11/22.

10. X3 Trailer on Xbox 360 Live

The new high-defintion teaser trailer for the third X-Men film is available for download over Xbox 360 Live, and here's my initial deconstruction of the trailer for longtime fans and recent converts.

**Warning: Spoilers below.**

It looks like Colossus, Shadowcat, and Iceman have been added to the main team roster. With an impressive Warren Worthington III (aka Angel) and Beast (which I'll need to see more of to decide) on board as well.

On the side of the baddies, I recognized what looks to be Juggernaut, and Pyro's back after his last film's defection. Good. I hate loose ends.

As far as a storyline, it looks to be a mix of comic book arcs "Days of Future Past" (no Sentinels visible, but the effects lead me to think they may be there), Joss Whedon's recent "Gifted" storyline, and the "Dark Phoenix Saga" (though this movie may just be a precursor to that arc in a later film). I'm a little concerned about the Phoenix costuming and her position next to Magneto, though; it almost looks like they may try to kludge a new Scarlet Witch (which would totally rob the impact of that character from the books).

Oh, yeah, and Colossus on the team roster with Wolverine? There's a Fastball Special in the trailer ...

11. I'm playing...

Probably Shamu, but check out my "I'm playing ..." blog to see what I'm playing at the time you're reading this post.

12. Blog Updates

There's an Xbox Live 360 update to support the new Tom Clancy games added to the "Xbox 360 backwards compatibility" list (see the sticky post). Rumor has it was hacking with the Halo 2 support, but Microsoft has released a new patch that supposedly fixes everything -- so download it again.

Also, I updated the Halo movie/Guillermo del Toro rumor with some more concrete info. Check out last week's post, 'Xbox 360 dud titles, "Halo" and "The Darkness" movie news ...'