Additional Halo 3 Beta Qualifications Announced

There are new details on additional methods to get into the Halo 3 Beta posted at Gamerscore Blog. This sounds pretty cool, any Bros up for the challenge?

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, at 12:01 a.m. EST, all gamers need to do is participate in at least three hours of “Halo 2” multiplayer sessions, via Xbox Live, before Feb. 3, 2007, at 11:59 p.m. EST and then be among the first 13,333 to register at http://www.halo3.com. The “Rule of Three” program is currently planned for gamers in the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) age 17 years and older who have access to an Xbox 360 Pro console or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive, a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription and the “Halo 2” game. Gamers around the world are encouraged to visit http://www.halo3.com in the coming weeks for more information on the “Rule of Three” program in their region.

Virtua Fighter 360

GameDaily Biz: Virtua Fighter 360

Sega's latest fighter is PS3 exclusive no more

Sega announced today that Virtua Fighter 5 will be coming to the Xbox 360. Sega's seminal fighter will be coming to PS3 on February 20, 2007 in North America and in time for the European PS3 launch in Spring 2007. Virtua Fighter 5 will release on Xbox 360 in Summer 2007 in Europe and North America.

New Halo2 Maps this spring ... and Halo 3 public beta!

Bungie Announced today that this spring XBOX 360 owners can look forward to new maps for Halo 2!

Also, in the same update they announced that Halo 3 will be available as a public beta on 360 as well.

Assault Rifle and Battle Rifle in Halo 3

Episode 53 of the 1up show has unique insight on Halo3 multiplayer to share. Their impressions and descriptions of shield doors, man cannons & warthogs, how cool the levels are with specific stories from the matches they played.

Bungie's weekly update mentions that both the Assault Rifle AND Battle Rifle will be in Halo 3 as well as improved grenades. They also tease that fans of the original Halo gameplay are going to be very happy with 3.

A year away and specifics are materializing for the public.

Phantasy Star Universe Open Beta

Starting on October 11th, Xbox 360 owners can check out the online multiplayer mode of Phantasy Star Universe for free in an exclusive Open Beta release. This limited time event will allow all Xbox Live Gold Subscribers to download the beta build on October 11 and October 12. Once they've downloaded the beta, Xbox Live Gold Subscribers will be able to play from 11 until October 18th . Depending on how many people are playing at once, server availability may be limited

For even more information about Phantasy Star Universe, check out the official website! www.phantasystaruniverse.com

Update: EgoDogg pointed to an additional release today Oct 11th:

"We apologize, but the BETA release dates have changed. The release date will no longer be Oct 11th, but should see release very soon after. Please watch this page, as well as our Official Phantasy Star Universe forums for more information. Thank you for your patience, we look forward to seeing everyone online very soon!"

http://www.phantasystaruniverse.com/news_beta.php

Halo RTS Announced

Halo Wars, a Real Time Strategy game was announced as an XBOX 360 exclusive. Designed from the start with the 360 controller in mind.

E3 scales back for 2007

Rocky Mountain News: : "The New E3"

E3 will no longer be the 60,000 + in attendance at a convention center. It will now be invitation only (around 5,000) and is likely to be held in a hotel.

Additional Articles:
NextGen: 10 Reasons for E3's Collapse
GamesIndustry: Lowenstein reveals name, date and venue change for E3