Microsoft Australia have just announced they have finally got the deal done with music labels to offer Zune Pass in Australia. For just $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year, Australians can enjoy access to over 11 Million tracks. This now becomes serious competition to the iTunes model which still lacks a subscription service.

Naturally the downside of subscription is the music goes away if you stop paying. Until recently, the US version of Zune Pass allowed users to download 10 songs per month to keep. This feature was discontinued and won’t be available in Australia.

Delivering a music purchasing system to Windows Phone 7, solves one of it’s biggest issues. As crazy as it sounds, users were forced to purchase music through another service like iTunes, then sync to their WP7 device. It’s great to see this finally being resolved and the Zune on WP7 becoming a full end-to-end ecosystem.

The Xbox 360 access to the Zune pass is likely to arrive with the new Dashboard to be released soon. If you chose, you will be able to stream your favourite tracks from the Zune collection while playing your favourite game.

Zune Pass Australia arrives November 16th.

In the lead up to an October launch of Forza 4, Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear gives us comical run down of Halo 4’s Warthog. Apparently they get a number enquiries from fans as to why they haven’t yet reviewed the Warthog. Clarkson then launches into complex description of the animated vehicle that’d make even science nerd Adam Spencer blush. If you’ve got 2 minutes to spare its a good laugh.

More seriously, Forza 4 is highly anticipated with every previous Forza game raising the bar of driving simulation. This time round it’ll be interesting to see the Kinect integration which makes fans of the franchise both nervous and excited. Since Forza 3 we’ve had the release of GT5, which was visually stunning but was certainly lacking in areas. This time round, there will be no head-to-head battle between the racing sims, GT6 isn’t even being discussed at this point.

News regarding Forza 4 will come thick and fast over the next month in the lead up to its release, so expect a lot of coverage and a full review when the game ships.

Is it October yet ? Drifting the warthog around the Top Gear test track should be fun.

Microsoft’s keynote at E3 2011 began with a live on-stage demo of never before seen Modern Warfare 3 single player campaign. Its pretty safe to say the action was nothing short of EPIC !

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Tomb Raider
The Tomb Raider story is getting a reboot, the newest edition looks pretty brutal and is said to feature open world environments. The teaser was played on-stage and looked like a cross between a movie and user-controlled

Mass Effect 3
Just a taste during the MS keynote, EA have their own later on. The experience will be ‘augmented’ with Kinect, seems like everything is supporting it now.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Yep u guessed it, uses Kinect as well. This time used to configure your weapons. Announcement: All future Tom Clancy titles will leverage Kinect – big call.

Xbox Update
Expect some of this to be US-only, we’re still waiting for voice controls in Australia. YouTube and Bing are coming to Xbox. Live TV is coming to the Xbox, not only in the US, but around the world. Foxtel on Xbox mentioned, we already have that, likely just voice controlled. Coming this fall (US).

Gear of War 3
Everyone’s favourite gaming rockstar Cliffy B was joined by Ice T to demo an unseen part of GOW3. Would you expect anything less than hardcore brutal action ? I think not. Can’t wait for GOW3.

Halo Remastered.
10 years ago since the first Halo. Coming November 15th, 2012. No Halo 4, what a disappointment, I guess the leak was wrong. Just updated maps etc.

Forza 4
Looking forward to seeing how the Kinect integrates. Nope, just shown the trailer we’d already seen.. disappointing.

Fable: Face the Journey
Yet another game using Kinect, its clear the ‘future of xbox’ is simply Kinect.

Minecraft
Coming exclusively to the Xbox 360. No detail really.

Kinect Disneyland adventures
Lots of Kinect Disney games coming for the kidlets.

Kinect Star Wars
Yep, the on-stage demo looked as bad as the early vids that came out yesterday. Oh well, there’ll be a whole new generation of Star Wars Kids now.

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
Name says it all really. You get the idea, another one for the kids.

Kinect Fun Labs announced
Kinect now recognises Hair, eyes, mouth, clothing and more.. this is freakin sweet ! Kinect Finger tracking + object capture, Kinect getting even better. Hey Sony + Nintendo, the bar just got raised.

Kinect Sports 2
Kinect Sports is the top selling franchise on Kinect. Standard kind of improvements you’d expect out of wave 2. It does integrate voice, this has to mean Australian accent will be supported.

Dance Central 2
All songs from the first can be imported. More than 100 songs, the most of any dance Kinect game. Dual dancers now supported. They actually make it look pretty fun, then again, they have rhythm.

Halo 4
You tease Microsoft ! Coming in Holiday 2012 – Halo 4 ! Clearly a lot of development to go, but as a Halo fan.. exciting stuff.

That’s it guys, hope you enjoyed the photo tour of Microsoft’s E3 press conference for 2011. Apologies for draining your bandwidth, but lets face it, it was worth it.

Thanks to the time zone gods, tomorrow the day will start around 2AM. Microsoft will open the electronic entertainment expo, better known as E3, with a keynote that is said to showcase “Xbox, the future revealed”. A very intriguing title indeed.

We already know Nintendo have committed to showing off a playable version of their next console. Previously Microsoft had been quoted as saying the Xbox 360’s lifespan would be around 10 years. As we know, the likes of the PS2 can live on for a very long time, but doesn’t mean the successor has to wait till that 10 years is over. So are we likely to get a sneak peak at the Xbox 720 ? That’d be two big reveals in a week (the other being Windows 8).

A more likely scenario is that Microsoft will talk about future game releases using Kinect and potentially expand Zune services. As always techAU will follow the news and be tweeting updates as we go. There’ll be live streams available, so join in the complimentary discussions, thoughts, opinions on twitter.

For those more sane people, there’ll be a summary blog post of the announcement for you to digest over your breakfast coffee.

Microsoft are making sure you don’t miss the action, watch it on Microsoft’s Facebook page, on your Xbox 360 or Windows Phone. E3 is jam packed with press conferences, Microsoft will be followed by EA, Ubisoft and Sony tomorrow, then its Nintendo’s turn on Wednesday morning.

E3 Press conference list. (courtesy of AusGamers)

• Microsoft Xbox: – June 7th, 2am AEST – Live Stream @ xbox.com.
• Electronic Arts – June 7th, 5:30am AEST – Live Stream @ ea.com
• Ubisoft – June 7th, 7:30am AEST – Live Stream @ ubi.com.
• Sony: June 7th, 10am AEST – Live Stream @ playstation.com
• Nintendo: June 8th, 2am AEST – Live Stream @ nintendo.com

More information @ E3Expo

Update
Kinect has arrived. After paying in full for the pre-order yesterday, I received a $50 refund from EB Games for what they said was a Microsoft launch promotion. While the terms don’t seem to be published anywhere, basically its a discount if you buy games when you get the Kinect.

Microsoft’s hottest new gadget, Kinect goes on sale in Australia today. Kinect has already become a hit in the US, selling over 1 million units. Australian’s love our xbox’s, so it’d be hard to imagine the same won’t be true locally. The launch comes with particularly good timing leading into Christmas.

Keep an eye out for a hands-on later today and review shortly after. The stand out launch games to me look like Dance Central, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Kinectimals, I’ll have reviews of those 3 games within the next week.

Kinect is available for RRP A$199 from all your normal electronics retailers.

More info @ Xbox.com.au

Sorry guys, your out of luck, geek chicks its your lucky day. Xbox Australia just posted a deliciously inviting tease, an offer to the ladies of Sydney to get hands on with Kinect.

Sydney area ladies (and only ladies—sorry dudes) if you’re free tomorrow arvo and want to have a go at Kinect, @ me for details! –jinx

This comes only days after Tech.Ed attendees were disappointed they missed out on a chance to have a go at the latest in Xbox tech. Specific details of the event are being kept quiet, if you want in, @reply Jinx at Xbox Australia on twitter for more info.

Update
Looks like the boys aren’t happy with another post from XboxAustralia

Sorry guys, there will be times for you too. this happens to be at a ladies-only event. Send the lady in your life to spy! – jinx

Since I won’t be in Sydney tomorrow and don’t have a vagina, I’m after ladies who do get hands on with Kinect and get photos. Please send them to jason@techAU.tv and I’ll post with credit. Extra points if you can score video.

In a press release today, Microsoft took the wraps of what the Xbox Live experience would be like on Windows Phone 7. Playing to one of the companies strongest assets, at least in mind share, Xbox Live is looks to be shaping up to be a strong aspect of the new Windows Phone 7 OS.

Included in the announcement is what to expect from Xbox Live on WP7:

• Be omnipotent. View, access and launch your full game library from one easy-to-navigate hub.
• Get mad props. Earn, view and track Achievements, view Xbox LIVE leaderboards and build your Gamerscore every time you play an Xbox LIVE title.
• Release your inner Mini Me.Connect to your Xbox LIVE profile and Avatar, or easily create a new one right from the phone.
• Get tricky. Access Spotlight feeds, including the latest game titles, breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, and more.
• Play before you pay. Easily find, try and buy the games you want, either in the Marketplace or Games hub.
• Flaunt your skills. Invite, connect and play against friends on other Windows Phone 7 phones or PCs with turn-based (asynchronous) multiplayer gaming.

Along with features, Microsoft also announced launch titles for Xbox Live on Windows Phone. The list includes many casual games, as well as some more impressive 3D games in what Microsoft say is a line-up that will have something for everyone. The full list of titles can be seen at Xbox.com. Australians should remember this is the US launch line-up and Windows Phone content may vary per country, so treat this as indicative, not definitive for WP7 in Australia.

Engadget has a great run down of the announcement complete with hands on videos, if your interested in Xbox Live on WP7 I strongly recommend you take the time. Personally I’d love this feature on my iPhone and while the Bing app made it across the pond, I think Microsoft will keep this feature close to home as a point of difference.

Halo fans rejoice, the next edition of the famous Halo franchise now has a release date – September 14th, 2010. Halo Reach will come in 3 flavours, basic, limited edition and legendary editions, details of what’s included is listed below. The Halo Reach beta seen more than 2.7 million players participate in the multiplayer mayhem, making 3 times larger than Halo 3’s beta and the largest video game beta test ever.

Fingers crossed all the data collected during the beta makes for a great experience in-game. With Halo fans being some of the most fanatical and franchise-loyal customers in the world, Halo Reach is basically assured of success.

Halo Reach is available for pre-order now.

Halo: Reach Limited Edition

In addition to the game disc and manual, the Limited edition includes:

• Game disc housed in recovered ONI ”black box”
• An exclusive Elite armor set for use in multiplayer modes
• Artifact bag containing Dr. Halsey’s personal journal and other classified documents and effects that unravel long held secrets from the “Halo” universe

Halo: Reach Legendary Edition

The complete “Halo: Reach” collection. In addition to the game disc, manual, and the complete contents of the Limited edition, the Legendary edition includes:

• Noble Team statue expertly crafted by the artisans at McFarlane Toys. Individually molded, hand-painted and individually numbered, this statue is a must-have for any serious “Halo” fan
• UNSC-themed custom packaging

More information @ MajorNelson

Service	PS3 Movie Downloads	Xbox Zune Video Marketplace
Catalogue	Extensive	Growing, but limited.
Image/Sound quality	Excellent	Excellent
HD/SD	Both	Both
Rent / Buy	Both	Rent only
Pricing (A$)	$6.99 (HD) / $5.99 (SD) Older titles are $1 cheaper.	$6.93 (HD) / $5.94 (SD) Older titles are A$4.95 (SD)
Time to watch after initiating playback	48 hours	24 hours
FAQ	PS3 FAQ	Zune FAQ

While both services are similar in specs, the PS3 version is more expensive, however that’s counteracted by the extra time you have to watch the movie. Both options look and sound great and both can run into the occasional buffering even on ADSL2.

Personally I’m lucky enough to have both consoles, so it’s great to now have another option for on-demand digitally distributed movies. The choice of where to rent will likely come down to the library for me, given the experience is very similar. I do like that PS3 uses real dollar amounts rather than the Microsoft Points system on the Xbox 360.

For those who who have either an Xbox 360 or PS3, then your obviously stuck with what you’ve got, but those considering a console purchase, the good news is you now have a viable option regardless of whether you land in the Microsoft or Sony camps.

I don’t think many people will be buying movies on the PS3 Movie Store, cost wise you’d be much better off buying in a retail store – to buy HD movies cost A$32.99, while the SD version costs A$24.99.

One last thing you should be aware of is the data used when downloading / streaming a movie from the PS3 Movie Store. Whilst Microsoft has partnerships with a number of Australian ISPs to deliver the content unmetered, there’s no information about Sony doing the same. So make sure you check with your ISP, before burning through your data cap in an afternoon.

PS3 Movie Downloads are available now from the PlayStation store item on your XMB.

Video Walkthrough

In a demo a Tech.Ed Middle East, Eric Rudder showed how a single project (in this case a game) could be published and run on 3 entirely different platforms. Running on Windows, Xbox and Windows Phone 7 which all have different input mechanisms – keyboard and mouse, controller, touch-screen and accelerometer, this begins to get very interesting.

This gets a whole lot more awesome when you find out that your game/app can sync across platforms. So hit the save point on the Xbox, run out the door and continue playing on your phone. Someone should sort through the old beyond 2000 footage, this technology is probably in there somewhere. It sounds like futuristic and probably will be some ways off before you get a triple-platform app in your hand.

My biggest question out of this is the pricing model. Are we expected to buy the game 3 times to get ultra-portability ? It’s important to also recognise that this isn’t functionality everyone wants. So building it into the price of the first purchase will hurt those who only want it on one platform. For the right price, those that want ultra-portability should pay for that feature, but at a subsidised price. Maybe after the primary purchase, you could then pickup the same app/game on the other platforms for 5-10% of the original cost. I think that’s a model that would work.

For a $100 Xbox 360 game, you should be able to get the PC version for an additional $10 and maybe an additional $5 for the mobile version. Currently pricing models don’t recognise that people game in different places, when in reality that’s very true. Imagine if you didn’t have to make the console vs PC choice, but could have the game on both for an affordable price. Crazy thought right ?

More @ Engadget