Our friends at Joystiq got a better look at the Halo 3 Edition Xbox 360 announced at E3 and are reporting that it features an HDMI port and a 20GB hard drive. Whaaaa??? It appears to be a mutation of both the premium and elite systems: made from parts of both but stronger than either.

The main question on my mind is "How much can we expect to pay for a 360 with this unique set of features?" From a cost of production standpoint, I think Microsoft can definitely afford to produce this version for less than the elite, and possibly only marginally more than the premium. Click "read more" to find out why.

A ton of news smacked us in the face last night as Microsoft held their E3 presentation.  They are hyping this holiday season as the "greatest holiday lineup in video game history."  It's hard to quantify "greatest" so I'm sure they'll achieve that goal.

So what makes this holiday season so big?

Gears of Wars is headed to the PC and will run DirectX 10 and support Games for Windows - Live.  I have a feeling my 8800 GTX is going to get a workout.  GoW PC ships with five new campaign chapters, a new multiplayer gametype, new maps, new achievements, and a new game editor. 

A new HALO-themed XBOX 360 with HDMI output and themed accessories is going to roll out later this year.  It includes an exclusive HALO 3 dashboard theme and gamer pics.  The console is "Spartan green" colored with shiney gold accents (kind of like Master Chief's armor) and will ship in September.

Speaking of HALO, a ton of HALO media has been released.  My favorite:  a live action short film.  Bungie.net has a ton of new videos and screenshots.

Unreal Engine 3 will utilize Games for Windows - Live.  This should encourage more developers to make games with GfWL functionality (we've ONLY got TWO GfWL titles right now).

Marathon: Durandal his XBOX Live Arcade.  This will be Bungie's first IP on the Arcade.  Sonic the Hedgehog is NOW available as an XBOX Live Arcade download. 

Major franchise titles will be launched this year including:  Call of Duty 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Guitar Hero III, HALO 3, Madden NFL 08, Project Gotham Racing 4 and Splinter Cell Conviction.  But other first title games will be launched as well including Assassin's Creed, BioShock, and Mass Effect. 

Click "read more" for a complete listing of the games rolling out this holiday season for Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, and Games for Windows Live:

A ton of game trailers that we've been waiting for from E3 2007 are now available for download on Xbox Live, according to Major Nelson. No, Halo 3 and Halo Wars aren't on the list.

Mass Effect (HD)
Too Human (HD)
Viva Pinata Party Animals (HD)
Lost Odyssey (HD)
Xbox LIVE Marketplace Montage (HD)
PGR4 (HD)
Games For Windows Montage (HD)
Civilization Revolution (HD)
Xbox 360 Games Montage (HD)
Xbox Live Arcade (HD)
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (HD)

I'm typing this as I'm watching Microsoft's E3 presentation.

The high school kids playing the HALO music was cool.

Peter Moore says this will be the biggest holiday season of all time for them. All games shown tonight launch this year.

Adults playing Rock Band didn't blow me away. Was kind of cool. Was kind of lame.

XBOX 360 sales figures are impressive. The Wii is (barely) out selling the XBOX 360 right now. However,

Total consoles sold (in millions)
5.6 - 360
2.8 - Wii
1.4 - PS3

Total since launch of Wii and PS3
2.7 - 360
2.8 - Wii
1.4 - PS3

XBOX 360 has sold more games since the launch of Wii and PS3 than SONY and Nintendo combined.

Halo 3 Xbox 360? WTF.

It looks like Microsoft has moved the HALO 3 viral marketing campaign to online auction sites.  Is this the next move by Microsoft?  A listing by "Flood Containment Control" is selling its used survey tools on various websites across the web.  Listed with the ad is a an image of the "glyph" that we've seen scattered around the web in other places.  The ads were placed on July 5th.  One ad on Craigslist reads:

Flood Containment Control, an independent environmental clear-up company, is selling its used survey tools.
For sale:
Echolocations
Handheld GPS receivers
Total stations.
All the gear has been used onsite in flood reclamation projects and
urban clean up due to natural phenomenon. The gear has been cleaned and
recalibrated but is being sold due to an upgrade in standard field
kits.
If interested please call the Flood Containment Control home office at
(888) 778-5672

Calling that number leads you a mysterious recording.  The folks at Unfiction have an .mp3 file of the recording.
Links to ads:

• uk.expo.live.com
• Yahoo! Classifieds
• Craiglist.org sites
• Gumtree.com

Additionaly, 100 lucky (or persistent) ARG fans have received a mailing from Bungie.  100 people got the chance to enter in a special code on the website that unlocked the first server on HALO3.com.  They received Iris-related swag (like a t-shirt, exclusive Iris gamerpic redemption code, and a Society of the Ancients flyer). 
Next week E3 hits and Microsoft will have a presence.  Surely MSBungie will take advantage of this exposure and reveal more Iris-related clues at E3.
What do you guys make of the recording at 888-778-5672?  Do you think the whole classifieds listings are a frustrated ARG fan posting fake messages? After all, things have been kind of dry lately.

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