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Portuguese digital television service, Vodafone Casa TV, is now available to Gold members of Xbox Live. In fact, the company is even promoting a special IPTV Xbox 360 bundle there, which includes an Elite console, 12 months of subscription for Xbox Live Gold and four games -- Lego Batman, Pure, Fable 2 and Halo 3 -- all for €259 (about $375).

The Vodafone Casa TV service not only lets you watch on-demand TV through your Xbox 360, but also grants Portuguese patrons the ability to access content from their set-top boxes and set times for their set-top box to record live television. While users won't be able to directly record content to their Xbox 360, they can still access certain functions of the console while streaming content, including private chat and accepting game invites.

Existing Vodafone Casa TV subscribers with an Xbox 360 can snag the software for a mere €9.90.

[Thanks, Assassin Monk]

First off, we just want to apologize in advance if this post is the catalyst that forces you to wake up at 3 a.m. on Friday morning. Sincerely, we're sorry. But we just thought you'd want to know that GameStop will be offering some mighty tasty console bundles from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving. For $300, you'll be able to pick up an Elite 360 with Pure, Lego Batman and your choice of Bakugan or Call of Duty 4, which is sort of like Sophie's Choice, if Sophie had to choose between eating delicious pie or a rusty folding chair. Those same three Benjamins will also net you a 120 GB PS3 Slim with LittleBigPlanet and the God of War collection.

Now, keep in mind that our friend Cheapy D says you'll probably be just as well served getting Black Friday deals from an online retailer like Amazon. We know, we normally don't trust bald people either, but you don't have to wake up before the paperboy this way. We think the choice is pretty clear.

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Rumored, pictured, and now shipping to retail, the 2009 edition of the Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle ($300) includes a pair of family-friendly titles from last year in Lego Batman and Pure. But, well, you knew that. (Protip: Grab and stash this before October 5 to be eligible for the $50 rebate.)

Also announced today, the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Game Pack will go on sale in November for $60. The black gamepad and bundle of XBLA titles is so close to perfect with Geometry Wars 2, Lumines Live, Bomberman Live and ... a code for Ms. Pac-Man? Make that a Pac-Man: Championship Edition token and we'd be looking at one of the best gifts you could have given this holiday -- 'cause let's face it, you (should) already own those games.

Oh, and still no official word on that popcorn box o' peripherals.

While our mole may not be as prolific or mysterious as some others' we do have an inside man/woman who sent us these images of the rumored Xbox 360 Elite Holiday 2009 Bundle. With the inclusion of Pure and Lego Batman the bundle certainly looks legit, and we think it's a safe bet this is what you'll be seeing on shelves this holiday season.

Also: "It's More Fun Time on Xbox 360" is a very bad slogan. That is all.

We hope at this point we don't have to sell you on the validity of Ars Technica's mole. Whoever the guy/girl is, their track record is fantastic, after correctly predicting everything from the Resident Evil 5 360 bundle to the price cuts the 360 and PS3 just enjoyed. Now, the mole says that Microsoft will be sweetening the deal this holiday season, packing Pure and Lego Batman in with the Xbox 360 Elite.

The mole went on to claim that the 802.11n adapter Microsoft has confirmed will debut for $100, while the 802.11g will drop to $79.99. ... Yikes, $20 off a device that should cost $20 in the first place? If true, it's pretty darn cold.

Professional artist Young s. Ko. has numerous video games under his belt, all listed on his blog and all likely to be very familiar to you. Why, he's done vehicle art for games such as Need For Speed Shift, Burnout Revenge, Pure and even Pure 2. "But wait!" you exclaim. "One of those hasn't come out!" You're right -- Need For Speed Shift hasn't been released yet -- but please, you really need to concentrate on the "Pure 2" thing. That's what this whole post is about.

According to the project's description, a sequel to last year's thrilling off-road racer has not only failed to materialize, but may have been sent to the scrap heap altogether. The publishing contract was allegedly canceled (not entirely surprising considering Disney's rough year), dashing our hopes of ever seeing Young's ATV displays, uh, displayed on a TV. Well, maybe not ever. One can hope that developer Black Rock Studios will revisit the four-wheeled franchise after it completes 2010's Split/Second ... provided we don't immediately start clamoring for a sequel to that first.

Disney Interactive Studios had no comment to offer at the time of publishing.

[Via superannuation]

Disney Interactive has been having a pretty rough year. The company kicked off 2009 with a handful of layoffs, and now, according to reports at Gamasutra, it's also facing a near 20 percent drop in year-over-year revenue. Big surprise? Not exactly, considering the publisher only internally published a handful of games last year (including critically acclaimed Pure and not so critically acclaimed Turok).

Also not a big surprise, Disney Interactive prez and CEO Bob Iger cites "the weak economy and other factors" when explaining his company's less than fantastic financial situation. Let's just hope Warren Spector's "epic" Mickey Mouse game can help to bolster Disney's 2009 lineup.

In a rather surprising move, Disney's Pure has also received a Trophy patch. You'll have to break out some truly insane stunts if you want to get the Platinum. The patch will be available on May 6th.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

If you only take your octane in high, then this bit of news is likely to put your pedal right down to the metal, as Disney Interactive Studios has officially unveiled Split/Second. Set for release early next year on the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, Split/Second is described as an "action-racing game where speed meets strategy in a city rigged for destruction."

The press release also mentions a new site for the game, although that doesn't seem to have gone live yet. And, as suspected, Black Rock has created a world where "competitors vie to be the first across the finish line in a made-for-TV city built for destruction," so expect plenty of Running Man jokes on our end as we write about the game in the future.

As promised, last night's episode of GameTrailers TV brought our first non-fuzzy look at Pure developer Black Rock Studio's upcoming racing title, Split/Second. Keighley's ominous warning seems accurate -- it appears to be trying to give Burnout a run for its money. However, rather than participating in high-speed (probably illegal) street racing for your own amusement, it looks like Split/Second will be placing your automotive exploits in front of an enraptured televised audience.

Split/Second will also add a neat gameplay element hinted at in the trailer -- it looks like players will be able to "trigger" destructive events on the track in order to impede their opponents (or themselves, if they're not on top of their respective games). Watch the trailer if you want an example. The developers promise further info about the game next Wednesday -- til' then, you can check out the trailer here!

Blackrock Studio, which came out of nowhere to deliver last year's knockout off-road racer, Pure, has officially released the teaser trailer for its next project. (Someone had leaked it onto YouTube last week.) Good news: It's another racing game. But it's not Pure 2. Not by a mile.

The purposefully obscured footage provides a glimpse at what looks to be an action-filled arcade racer, one that's part Ridge Racer, part GRID and part Midnight Club. We get some very stylized cars, a huge crash and ... an exploding gas station. More on the game is promised for March 11. Consider us thoroughly teased. Hop on over to Big Download for a high-def-ier version of the video ... and tell 'em the 'Stiq sent you.

With off-road racing suitably redefined, Pure dev Blackrock looks to be taking its show on the road. A new viral video seemingly for the studio's next project has pulled out onto the internet, teasing street racing, crashes and more than a passing resemblance to Burnout Paradise. In fact, assuming the video itself was posted by Blackrock, the fact that it is tagged with both "burnout" and "paradise" seems to indicate that the former Climax Racing studio is looking to Criterion's open-world racer as a template for its next sprint to the finish line.

Nothing else is known, though the brief glimpse concludes, "To Be Continued March 11, 2009," leaving us time to run to the concession stand for popcorn before finding out more.

Update: This is no longer a rumor, folks -- check it out.

[Thanks, Chris]

In the summer of 2006, inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, there was a historically long line to get into the Nintendo's E3 booth and lay eyes and hands on the yet-unreleased Wii and its wares. After finally getting into the booth, attendees were faced with the choice of which long line they'd want to wait in next to play a game. When I got inside the booth and surveyed the selection, my first pick was Excite Truck. Once I'd finally gotten my hands on the controller and made a few laps around the track, I knew this would be a day one purchase for me.

Even after scoping out the upcoming stuff for Xbox 360 and PS3, I was convinced that Excite Truck embodied the true essence of the "next generation." New gameplay dynamics met vast dynamically changing terrain that stretched beyond what we had grown accustomed to.

So when Disney Interactive showed their new ATV racer, Pure, with vertiginous jumps, wild tricks, and expansive vistas, I thought I was looking at the spiritual successor to one of my favorite Wii launch titles, but a Wii version was not in the cards. At least we have a PC version to hack together a GlovePIE script for and give it the Excite Truck treatment.

This week at Best Buy, you can grab a free $10 gift card with the purchase of Pure and a free Silent Hill DVD with purchase of Silent Hill: Homecoming. Target has CoD4, Battlefield: Bad Company, and LEGO Indiana Jones for $39. Our retailer friends over at Circuit City are giving out free Pyramid keychains with Silent Hill: Homecoming, free $10 gift cards with both Pure and Baja: Edge of Control, Rock Band bundles for $139, and they have wireless controllers for $5 off. And the bonus deal this week is over at Circuit City where, with the purchase of either Rock Band, Ninja Gaiden II, Tiger Woods 09 or Madden 09, you can score a free $20 gift card. W00t to that.

We're been excited for Pure since E3, when we first got our hands on the ATV racer. Built by Blackrock Studios (formerly known as Climax Racing) Pure is gorgeous, with a Burnout-esque structure and a "why has no one thought of this" boosting risk/reward system that's just brilliant. Here's what the rest of the internet thought:

• GameDaily (90/100): "When it comes right down to it, though, Pure has some of the best racing action we've seen all year. The throttling gameplay, gorgeous presentation and sweet multiplayer options make it a ride you cannot miss."
• IGN (86/100): "Pure delivers an outrageous, arcadey off-road racing experience with style and slickness. The controls are intuitive, the tracks are pure eye candy and the tricks are so crazy and over-the-top that you'll find yourself gasping with glee when you land your first Lazy Girl."
• 1UP (83/100): "Thrilling on the ground, downright heart-stopping in the air, and beautiful throughout, Pure's a blast from start to finish. A career mode would've gone further than the game's 'World Tour' in fully eliminating repetitiveness, but Black Rock has otherwise built a real winner here."
• Gameplanet (85/100): "This is a great example of what can be achieved if fun is the primary aim. Massive tricks, amazing scenery, hugely modifiable bikes - what more do you want?"