As can be seen on EBGames, the price for the Xbox is now $199 as several people had expected. A big $100 drop just like Sony announced for the Playstation 2 earlier today, something which will hurt Microsoft more as the Xbox costs more to make. The GameCube, PS2 and Xbox all retail for the same price now. Thanks Portax and Luminair.

Wired News has an article about the upcoming E3 show and how Microsoft is supposed to steal the show with the Xbox. There's also some mention of the presence of Duke4 and Max Payne at the show, which starts on Thursday.

Microsoft is lining their ducks up in a row getting ready for one of the hugest media blitzes ever conceived for any form of entertainment.

Taco Bell Corp., America's leading Mexican-style, quick-service restaurant chain, has signed on as the first promotional partner for the launch of the highly anticipated Microsoft® Xbox(TM) video game system. The companies plan to combine their powerhouse brands in a promotional campaign to reach their shared target audiences across the United States and Canada. Taco Bell will provide substantial media support that will aggressively publicize Xbox, and the company will host major in-store promotions to support the Xbox launch.

update Jack - I feel betrayed!

Activewin managed to obtain an Xbox teaser commercial (click the story headline to see it, as there is no link in the news story), which will be part of the big Xbox marketing campaign. Thanks Richard.

Part two of NextGame.it's interview with J Allard of Microsoft is now online, with more Q&A's on the XBox console.

The guys at Nextgame.it have posted the first part of their interview with J Allard of Microsoft, talking Xbox. They discuss the power of the graphics chip, the audio chip, ethernet support, any possible hardware changes and a lot more.

The MSXBox guys have noted that the Xbox official site has been updated with some updated specs of the console. Sadly, these are numbers that went down. Such as the maximum polygon performance which is now 125 million p/s instead of 150, and the speed of the DVD drive is uncertain now too. What is certain is that there will be an expansion to support DVD playback, as this won't be standard.

Hey neet, X-Box interview, have a look at what Mr J Allard from Microsoft on the XBox team has to say about the upcoming Microsoft console-ish system. Thanks VoodooExtreme

Sol from MSXbox let us know about this Gamespot interview with J. Allard from Microsoft. They discuss games, the launch strategy, broadband support, and a couple of other things (such as Square games appearing on the Xbox).

Forgot to mention this one yesterday: Gamespot AU has an interview with Seamus Blackley of Microsoft, asking some more about the Xbox console. Thanks Telefragged.

The XBox365 guys have gotten a hold of a possible 'insider' sketch of one of the concept designs for the Microsoft XBox console system. Surprise its not a big X.

- The color of the box is chrome but is expected to be offered in black and other colors. Possibly Neon.
- ... Controller ports may be moved to the bottom of the unit instead of the middle. This makes for easier production
- The slot DVD drive might be replaced with a tray design but at present Microsoft prefer the sleekness of slot drives. There is however, concern over stuck CD's with this design. [...] Xbox will not be a top loading DVD platform because it is to be more of a component like [...]  than a games looking machine.

I've always liked those neeto cd loaders, I think my next cd drive s gonna be one of those. This ancient 24x drive that sounds like a jet engine is getting crusty.

GamersDepot is breaking the news that the Seagate will be the primary supplier of hard drives for the Xbox. Western Digital will just be a second supplier. MSXbox has a Q&A with John Paulsen of Seagate, providing some more specifics about this deal.

The guys at MSXbox scored a new interview with the Xbox General Manager J Allard. Allard answers questions regarding patches, online gaming between the console and the PC, and the relationship between MS and the developers.

Woah, this is gettin kinda freaky. According to this article, Microsoft is may consider a handheld game system. The whole idea of the XBox itself still doesnt seem real to me for some reason. Thanks Stomped

``I think over time, as we establish Xbox as a successful gaming device, the concept of a companion gaming device is a very interesting thing,'' Gross said. ``We could potentially leverage a lot of what we've done in the richness of a Pocket PC, with an integrated radio, and a form factor dedicated to gaming.''

Word from the guys at MSXBox is that both Unreal2 and Max Payne have been signed on as porting to the XBox for Microsoft.

I have no idea why I am awake, but here's a bunch of Xbox stuff for you guys to ponder while I ponder sleep. Apparently Microsoft is gonna try and poopoo on the Playstation2 parade by announcing the final XBox specs on the PS2 launch date. Also I cant remember where I saw it (doh) but EA has more or less confirmed that they will be porting their sports titles to the new Microsoft console hybrid. A couple of other bits:

- XDome takes a look at the graphical backend of XBox, a lot of people look at the CPU speed and dont realize that isnt the only way to judge speed.
- Eidos recently confirmed that they are working on an exlusive title for the XBox
- Microsoft donated a few XBox machines to a fundraiser auction. Check out the story.

Lastly, Motleyfool has a really interesting overview of the upcoming console scene, which mentions the XBox specs as 'jaw dropping'.

There's a brief Q&A with The Carmack and George Broussard on MSXbox, where both give their opinion on several console related issues.

The girls from Daily Radar have an interview with Michael Abrash, the ex-id software programmer who is now a software engineer as part ofthe Xbox Advanced Technology Group. He talks about the graphics revolution of the past few years, the power of the NVidia chip, full-screen AA support, HDTV possibilities and more.

Two Xbox news items from Game Informer. First of all, Microsoft will be shipping their console with a parental control unit which should make US regulators as well as parents happy. Secondly, Microsoft has announced that Metal Gear Solid X will be a launch title for the Xbox. Since the PS2 version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is set to be released next winter, it looks like Microsoft's Xbox will have it just a little bit earlier.

Monolith's Jason Hall made a .plan update saying that the Lithtech has joined Microsoft's Tools & Middleware program for the Xbox so that Xbox developers will be able to license the Lithtech Engine to create games for the console.