175w ago - Recently old XBox 360 XDK's have been hitting the China market, in case any 360 Devs were interested in grabbing one.

After Microsoft released the new XNA, all XBox developers are entitled to get a free upgrade from their old one.

Where do the old ones go? Microsoft will pass them along to labs to destroy them before being thrown away.

The labs, however, often just breaks all the ports and front panel and then sends them on to China to be melted down. Instead of just melting them down, people there actually rework them and are beginning to resell them now.

If you know people who live in China or via the Internet, it's a good chance to get an XDK considerably cheaper!

198w ago - Japanese site TV-Tokyo.co.jp reported on the progress of China Blue High Definition (CBHD is a China-grown competitor to Blu-ray) in the China market, with CBHD penetration hitting a staggering 30 percent in only a few months on the market.

To quote: "TV Tokyo visited Gome, a major retail chain in China, where CBHD discs and players were flying off the shelf, while Blu-ray players and discs languished. They also visited a factory for one of the largest CBHD manufacturers.

Sources in these companies tell TV Tokyo that, in the China market, CBHD already constitutes some 30 percent of all disc players sold, while Blu-ray accounts for 10 percent, similar to its penetration in the USA. DVD is responsible for the remaining 60 percent.

That China has achieved 30 percent CBHD penetration, the sources say, reflects the strength of the format, as well as the determination of a nationalistic Chinese government and industry seeking to avoid foreign licensing fees on DVD and BD technology and make a greater profit on domestic sales."

CBHD players are currently more expensive than DVD players (almost $300), but the retail discs are cheap at roughly $7.40 US, while Blu-ray discs cost $29.60 US.

220w ago - Today the first Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars trailer has made its way to the Internet.

Dubbed the 'Like A Renegade' Trailer, it allows fans to catch a glimpse of some Nintendo DS GTA action.

The video's caption simply reads as follows:

"Take your first look at GTA on the DS."

Check it out below, along with the 'Hotwire Gameplay' Trailer courtesy of GameTrailers:

253w ago - Rockstar has just released new details for GTA: China Town Wars. The game was developed by both Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North.

"This is a game that will deliver a rich, fast-paced and intense 'Grand Theft Auto' experience that will be truly unique to Nintendo's handheld platform," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games.

"Rockstar Leeds, along with the team at Rockstar North, has built upon a decade of progressive design on Grand Theft Auto, and has created something fundamentally fresh and immersive."

China Town Wars will have an all-new story line and take advantage of the DS touch screen. The storyline will focus on the Triad crime syndicate.

268w ago - People in China are able to access English language stories on the BBC News website in full, after years of strict control by Beijing.

The Communist authorities often block news sites such as the BBC in a policy dubbed the "great firewall of China".

But BBC staff working in China now say they are able to access news stories that would have been blocked before.

However, the firewall remains in place for Chinese language services on the website and for any links in Chinese.

'Without hindrance'

Beijing has never admitted to blocking access to BBC news stories - and there has been no official confirmation that the website has been unblocked.

But Chinese users trying to access pages on the site have almost always been redirected to an error message telling them: "The connection was reset."

It now appears that this is no longer the case, and access to the site is much easier.

Steve Herrmann, editor of the BBC News website, says this is a welcome development.

"We want BBC News to be as accessible in China as anywhere else in the world," he said.

"We will endeavour to continue working with the Chinese authorities to improve our access in other areas."

Technology experts say such a development...