I’m excited about this peripheral. It should aid in setting up games and speed up communication between people that may be trying to get into games with one another. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to send a quick message on the 360 but decided not to because of the effort required. I’m hoping more THX’ers purchase this accessory as well.

It will cost $29.99 and comes with the chat pad attachment and a headset. Little known fact: Gamespot reports that you will also be able to connect your old original Xboxen headsets to the chatpad, so bust out that old Halo 2 in-ear set if you like.

How it works: You will be able to type messages faster through the standard “send message” Xbox Live blade, however an additional button on the chat pad will pop up a quick chat interface over whatever current game your playing. It is yet to be determined whether or not you will be able to hit the quick chat button and send a standard Xbox Live message to one of your friends. If you don’t have the accessory it is most likely that you will be able to receive chat messages if your MSN account is synced, however you will have to reply through the standard blade. I would recommend everyone go and get an MSN Messenger account and sync it to your Xbox Live account. This is an easy process and there’s plenty of tutorials online.

This is a huge improvement to the 360’s current messaging and communication functionality. For only 30 bucks, I’d say it’s well worth it.

Here’s the official info from Xbox.com:
“Chatting with friends and family on Xbox LIVE® and Windows-based PCs is easy using the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit. This device easily connects to any Xbox 360 controller and provides easy to use chat capabilities while maintaining gameplay functionality in one easy-to-hold device. The Messenger Kit includes a Chatpad and Xbox 360 Headset.”

XBL GT: Mikeulus

Earlier this week I experienced something that, up until now, I thought only other people had to go through.

Xbox hardware failure.

I plugged it in, and instead of the familiar sights and sounds of console startup, I got a loud pop and a puff of smoke.

Is it the Red Ring of Death, people ask? Am I going to get a new unit under Microsoft’s new three year warranty?

Nope, I say. Because I’m not talking about my Xbox 360. It still works fine.

I’m talking about my original launch Xbox, which gave me nearly six years of mostly faithful service, from December of 2001 until now. Sure, the past three years or so there were periodic disk errors. Sometimes it refused to “recognize” a game disc in the tray. When it was Halo or Halo 2, it was comical; how could the console not recognize those?

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In case anyone is debating purchase of the Bioshock limited edition I thought I might show you exactly what you get. The box is big: about 5” x 6” x 6”. Inside you’ll find the DVD case marked limited edition, game manual, game, an audio EP with three tracks, a behind the scenes DVD, …and a Big Daddy (Bouncer) figurine that will pwn your face off! It is heavy! Must be made of lead pewter. Detail on it is pretty good, and there are a few (but not enough) splatters of blood. The EP is interesting, but nothing really special. I thought it might be audio tracks from pre 1960 that you hear inside the game, but the songs are remixes. The third track is pretty cool. All tracks are kind of new age / techno. I won’t watch the behind the scenes DVD until I finish the game, so I’m reserving comments on that one. For the figurine alone, the extra $10 over the regular edition MSRP is a no brainer for me. More pics after the break.