Halo 3 has caused a lot of attention even slowed Xbox live to a slow pace the first night of release. While everyone is still trying to beat the campaign mode or rank up in Multiplayer games there is more Halo news. The next book in the series Halo: Contact Harvest published by Tor and written by Author Joseph Staten will hit stores on October 30th. The book should be a perfect gift for any Halo fan and continues to tell the story of the Halo Universe. After playing Halo 3 I want to read this one myself.

Microsoft, Announced that the eagerly awaited 2nd expansion-pack for Age of Empire III: The Asian Dynasty has gone gold. The new expansion pack has new parental controls and enhanced for Vista. It hits stores on October 23rd in North America. For more details visit the official website.

News from Midway Games, the PC collector’s edition of Unreal Tournament 3 will be in stores in November and will include some great extra features. The PC Edition will include a tin cover, art book and DVD extras. Sounds great but it makes me wonder what happened to the Xbox 360 version.

D-Link showed off their new Media Player the DSM-750 at the Microsoft booth at Digital Life today. The new unit will be available for sale next month and has some impressive features. D-Link has always brought out great products and their new Media Player will continue this trend. Here are some of the features and a link to their website. The DSM-750 provides the Windows Media Center experience independent of whether the host PC is being used for other uses, so you can watch a recorded TV show in the living room while your child does homework on the PC. In addition, up to five media players can be used to extend Microsoft Media Center simultaneously from the same PC to enjoy music in the kitchen, a photo slideshow in the bedroom, etc.

Digital Extreme sent word that a new theme is now on the Xbox 360 marketplace to buy. The new theme will cost 150 Microsoftpoints and sets the mood for fans waiting the January release of the game. So far I have heard some great things about the game and the website looks pretty cool.

News from Microsoft camp, the first day sales estimates are in and Halo 3 topples Spiderman 3 and Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows as the biggest single day record holder. This means the biggest entertainment launch in history. This is not the last number since the UK and other countries are not included in the sales total. Once the worldwide sales averages are in I am sure Microsoft and Bungie will have several hundred reasons to celebrate.

Huge news from Activision and Bizarre Creations today, Activision announced independent devolpers Bizarre Creations is now a part of the Activision family. Bizarre Creations confirmed the news by releasing the news on their site. What this means for the PGR franchise no one knows but it looks like this will be the last one of the series. Fans have no reason to worry as the deal also states that support and content will continue for the new PGR 4 hitting stores early October. While the news was sudden it seems Bizarre wanted to create other games and for other platforms they now found a company that will allow them to do this without giving up their rights or breaking the team up. Xbox 360 owners will see another title coming in 2008 called The Club under Sega publishing. We will be talking about this on the next podcast as I know we each will have plenty to say and our own thoughts. If you want please feel free to post your thoughts and comments in our forums.

What a way to kick off the DigitalLife conference then to have the Mayor of New York City declare it Guitar Hero Day. Thousands of lucky fans and attendees got a sneak peek and a chance to take on their favorite guitar legends for the first time at the special event. The event was just one of many scheduled and I really wish I would have made the trip. It was also a hot day for Activision as Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock wireless controller was named one of the top 5 hottest items this holiday season. The debate is still out who will win in the rock war GH III or RockBand but it looks like GH III was a hit and a great way to kick off the event.

With all the Halo 3 news and action I forgot to post this.
Forza 2 has a new download content pack including a free car.
The pack costs 400 Microsoft points and has 10 cars in all. So if you need a break from Halo 3 try it out here is the list of cars in the download pack.

Big news for Sex Pistols fans, the group reunited after 30 years to rerecord the Classic Punk Anthem Anarchy in the UK for Guitar Hero III. This makes another fantastic band to be featured in the upcoming game that hits stores in November. From the sound of it the game is going to be great with a wide selection of legendary groups and the songs that made them Rock Gods.