Xbox comes full-circle today!

Xbox 360 launched today, people. Go have a peep at http://www.joystiq.com for some tender-loving moments of your soon-to-be new toy's pictures and comments.

NEWS: Most Wanted Coming Soon

Be wanted this festive season as the Need for Speed series continues to revitalise the video game racing genre

Electronic Arts has announced that Need for Speed: Most Wanted has shipped to retail outlets nationwide. In stores on November 25, the game challenges players to become the most notorious street racer by going up against the top racers on the Blacklist as well as numerous police that patrol the city of Rockport. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is available for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360, Xbox video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PSP (PlayStation Portable) system and PC.

Combining the thrill of illicit street racing and tuner customisation with over-the-top strategic police pursuits, players can customise their rides that include a wide range of vehicles from the BMW M3, Porsche Cayman S and Lamborghini Gallardo to Mazda RX-8, Ford Mustang GT and Mitsubishi Eclipse. Need for Speed: Most Wanted features more than 36 of the hottest cars so that gamers can race in style. Players also will have to master the art of strategic cop evasion to make it to the top of the Blacklist.

This year marks more than a decade for the Need for Speed franchise. In celebration of this milestone, EA also has shipped a collector's edition called Need for Speed: Most Wanted Black Edition that features exclusive cars and races as well as a bonus DVD with concept art, exclusive videos and behind the scenes footage of actress, model and star of the game, Josie Maran. The Need for Speed: Most Wanted Black Edition is available for the PlayStation 2 console.

In addition, Need for Speed: Most Wanted leads the pack for racing games on the Xbox 360. From dynamic time of day changing from sunrise to sunset, down to the paint flecks on the vehicles, players will live, breath and race through a highly detailed world only made possible in Need for Speed: Most Wanted for the Xbox 360. The infinite detail truly delivers on the emotional build-up of cop pursuits and real-life racing experiences.

The PSP system version, titled Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0, features exclusive content including a Tuner Takedown mode, where gamers can jump into the driver seat of a police vehicle to hunt down street racers.

Developed in Vancouver, B.C. by EA Canada, Need for Speed: Most Wanted is rated '3+' by PEGI for the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC PSP Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. The Need for Speed: Most Wanted Black Edition has a 'PG' rating with descriptor 'Contains some mild innuendo and anti-social behaviour'.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted for mobile will be available in Winter 2005.

NEWS: King Kong Set Loose This Month!

Ubisoft announced that Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, based on Universal Pictures' December 14 release, King Kong, from three-time Academy Award winner Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), has officially gone "Gold" on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube system and Windows PC. The title will launch in North America November 22 and is rated "T" for Teen.

"Ubisoft is extremely excited to reach this milestone in collaborating with Peter Jackson, Wingnut Films and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group," said Yves Guillemot, president and chief executive officer of Ubisoft. "The response among the media, core gamers and the mass-market audience has been tremendous and we can't wait to launch Ubisoft's most impressive and successful game of 2005 – Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie."

While the Xbox 360 game and entertainment system from Microsoft version of Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is slated to go "Gold" the first week in November, it too will launch on November 22, 2005, alongside its console counterparts and the Game Boy Advance title Kong The 8th Wonder of the World. PSP (PlayStation Portable) system and Nintendo DS versions of Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie will launch soon thereafter.

The King Kong Collaboration:
Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft, regarded as one of the top innovative minds in the video game industry, and his team at Ubisoft's Montpellier (France) studio are working with Peter Jackson and Wingnut Films to capture and create the King Kong movie dynamics through a unique video game experience.

"It's an absolute pleasure working with Ubisoft on the video game," said triple Academy Award winner and King Kong director Peter Jackson. "Being able to collaborate closely together from day one is of utmost importance, which is why we've given Ubisoft unlimited access to every creative aspect of our film production. We really want the game and the film to be part of the same universe."

"We're amazed by Peter Jackson's creativity and what he brings to the project," said Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft. "Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is a creation that closely follows the storyline of the movie yet, as video games have the innate ability to do, will push the emotional tension of the film to even greater depths. Players will experience unprecedented dual game play within a movie-licensed game which alternates between Jack Driscoll in first-person and as King Kong in third-person. These contrasting perspectives will immerse players into the journey featuring epic battles, tough choices and a dynamic experience within the visually stunning environment of Skull Island."

For more information on Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, please feel free to visit the official Web site at www.kingkonggame.com