The annual autumn update for Xbox Live is up and ready for download. The update boasts improved features like a new dashboard (for everyone), and for Americans stuff like ESPN services, a Zune Music Pass, Netflix Search and more. Regular users of Xbox Live will also be treated to improved voice chat quality, it’ll be easier to create a new Gamertag right on the console and wireless network connectivity. As previously detailed,...

Back in 2009, 28-year-old Matthew Crippen of Anaheim was arrested for installing a mod chip on the Xbox 360 of an undercover ICE agent… a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which says that a user can not modify a device to willingly circumvent DRM. Today, Crippen is fighting to be exonerated from the charges, which could land him in prison for up to three years… and he’s got an expert witness willing to testify him...

So, that new-and-improved Xbox 360 controller? It’s real. It’s silver. And the d-pad transforms, switching from the Xbox’s traditional, kinda crappy disc to an honest-to-goodness four-directional d-pad—all you’ve gotta do is twist it. Now for the bad news. It’s only available as part of a £50 play-and-charge kit bundle that comes out Nov. 9. Booooo. Even the other improvements, like comfier triggers,...

Xbox Live Gold subscribers might want to renew before November 1, when the price of a yearly subscription to the service jumps to about £60 in the UK. According to a post on Major Nelson’s blog, after eight years’ of Xbox Live at the $50 a year price point, the service is finally seeing a price hike. In the UK the price of one month will jump from 4.99 GPB to 5.99 GPB. Jesse Divnich with industry analyst EEDAR sent out a...

According to Eurogamer, Xbox Live will get a system-wide audio quality upgrade in concert with the release of Kinect this fall. That means the 13-year-old on the receiving end of your profanities will hear you with crystal clarity. At the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, Xbox Live Europe GM Jerry Johnson said “it’s time for us to move on” from the original 64k audio connection. “A crackly headset on the top of your...