Much like the Haloz before it, Gears of War 2 will receive a special edition Zune 120. The glossy black media player has the Gears logo laser-etched on the back and comes with 244 pieces of GoW bric-a-brac -- all for $280. The unit is available to pre-order now at Walmart.com and Amazon.com, and will ship on November 7. Same day as the game ... fancy that! No word yet if the military will get its own (sexier) version of the Gears Zune like they did with Halo 3.

[Via X3F]

We've heard tell of the incredible success Harmonix has seen with their weekly downloadable tracks for Rock Band. Often, their sales numbers are matched up against those of Guitar Hero III, where tracks are more seldom, but also sell like diamond-encrusted hotcakes. As enjoyable as these track packs are, we've yet to see any comparison between them and actual music retailers, digital or otherwise -- that is, until Mötley Crüe's new single simultaneously rocked the faces off of music downloaders and DLC collectors alike.

The song, "Saints of Los Angeles", came from the glam-band's upcoming album, and dropped onto iTunes, Zune, Amazon, and the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band on April 15. In it's first week of availability, digital distributors sold 10,000 copies of the single, but dedicated faux-rockers downloaded 47,000 copies of the track from the 360 Rock Band Music Store, according to Reuters. Could this inspire more record labels to debut new albums and singles on Harmonix's golden goose title? We certainly hope so.

[Via Evil Avatar]

Microsoft's Chris Satchell just announced that XNA Game Studios games can also be made for Zune. He showed off a brief demo of Zauri – a topdown shooter. XNA Zune games can also support custom soundtracks (this is an MP3 player after all). Satchell promises that you'll be able to take games from Windows, to Xbox, to Zune. No word on the availability of this functionality on Zunes; more as we know it.

It seems as if everyone wants in on the gaming scene these days: jocks, cheerleaders, your mom. Even Apple wants a slice of the pie. But not Microsoft's J Allard, and in a recent interview the former Xbox zealot and current Zune front man shared his thoughts on why he feels Zune owners shouldn't expect to be playing Bejeweled or Pac-Man on Microsoft's iPod rival anytime soon. Granted he still has a full nine months to change his mind.

Microsoft previously toyed with the idea of releasing games on the portable, though with a new line of Zune devices hitting retail shelves this week, Allard addressed his particular concerns with bringing games to the Zune format, specifically surrounding customer satisfaction and portability of purchased games as hardware advances from one generation to the next. While Microsoft's move into the portable gaming space has been long awaited, we agree that it's good that Allard is voicing these sorts of concerns up front, rather than carelessly jumping into portable gaming sight unseen.

Still, the executive managed to leave the door open for Zune gaming by praising what Microsoft has managed to pull off in getting its XNA development platform to work with a variety of different types of hardware, though, Allard adds, "the Zune isn't playing Halo 3 anytime soon." Good thing, Allard my boy, since the idea of getting teabagged on the commute home is enough to ruin anyone's day.

Microsoft has come out with a Halo 3 military edition Zune for members of the US armed forces. The Zune will be available exclusively at military retail stores in August and comes with pre-loaded stuff that is probably similar to the civilian Halo 3 Zune.

A group of soldiers who left for active duty today from Baltimore Washington International airport received the first batch. Microsoft is offering the military edition of the Zune to military personnel and their families at discounted rates. So, if you're a member of the military or family member you might be able to make a couple extra bucks selling it to fanboys who love themselves some limited edition Halo stuff. We were bummed to find out the military edition didn't have camouflage or a cloaking device.

Note: Please keep the comments related to Halo 3 and/or the Zune.

The Halo 3 branded Zune comes packed with some exclusive content, including a Red vs. Blue video that you can't possibly see anywhere else. Oops, except the internets. Thoughtful YouTuber NitroFrost ripped the video and uploaded it for all the world to see.

The ultimate slap in the face will be folks watching this on their video iPods, completely Zune-less. Thankfully Microsoft and Bungie didn't outfit the Master Chief with one of these things in the new game ... yet.

A strange feeling of déjà vu overcame us upon picking up the freshly released Halo 3 Zune. After checking out the beautiful new artwork and exclusive Red vs Blue video, we began the process that every Zune owner must suffer: deleting all the pre-loaded garbage. We love you, CSS, but we don't always need your videos laying around. The Halo 3 Zune, as you may recall, also comes pre-loaded with the soundtracks to the original Halo, as well as the sequel, Halo 2.

So why is it that the Halo 3 branded Zune is missing the title track, "Finish the Fight?"

This isn't the first time that Microsoft has seemingly snubbed the Marty O'Donnell score as the song itself was released on the iTunes Music Store months ago, yet never showed up on the Zune Marketplace. We can get all the Veggietales and Bob the Builder tracks we want, but why no rock anthems to save the world? Did O'Donnell borrow a pen from J Allard and never give it back? The man created the Flintstones Kids Vitamins jingle for crying out loud!

We've posted a bulletin to our MySpace about this and we really hope that Microsoft gets back to us. Until then, there's a bottle of Flintstones vitamins with our name on it.

Look at it. Admit that there's a part of you that wants that Halo 3 Zune. We don't care what you're a fanboy of, when you look at that box, that branding, that helmet (not included) your primal geek senses activate. Of course, that's when your primal wallet sense kicks in and suggests that you may want to think about paying the gas bill first. Luckily for you, Gamertag Radio is marking their 100th episode by giving away one of the beautiful things in an act of generosity certain gas companies seem to be incapable of.

The best part? All you have to do is listen to their 100th episode and give your review here before Sunday. The show promises to be a good listen too, with a new interview with Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade about PAX '07. After you let them know what you think, it's a simple matter of waiting to find out which of your senses (geek or wallet) will have to be repressed when a winner is announced next week. Two sense enter! One sense leave!

Sony aren't the only cats that can leverage a little corporate synergy. Microsoft is using the might of the Halo brand, and the hype of the upcoming Halo 3, to give their Zune music device a little shove from the guy in the MJOLNIR armor.

This Halo-themed Zune won't be available until June 15th, but if you've just got to give someone your money, it's up for pre-order now through game retailers Gamestop / EB Games, where it's an exclusive. $250 buys you a 30GB Zune loaded with Halo 3 goodies like music, videos, and artwork. That box oughta look great right between your $130 Legendary edition and life-size Master Chief plushie.

When we saw the Halo 3 bubble shield, all we could think of was the music of Dashboard Confessional. In much the same way that the shield protects from assault rifles and plasma grenades, the heartfelt music and lyrics of singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba help protect us from the assaults of being scorned by the opposite sex and parents who just don't get it.

Now, in an deliciously odd crossover, we can actually listen to the soothing sounds of DashConfess (a name, like Brocktoon, only used by fans) on a Zune we spotted at the NYC Halo 3 event that features imagery from the game! Count "a lack of corporate corporate synergy in our lives" as one fewer thing we need Dashboard Confessional's music to protect us from. We don't know when the gadget will be available, only that it can't come soon enough.

Further cementing its image as Microsoft's loser brother who just needs a few bucks until "the band really takes off," the Entertainment and Devices Division of the company lost $315 million in the third fiscal quarter. Meanwhile, Microsoft's overall earnings rocketed up to $14.4 billion, a 32 percent jump from last year, thanks to the release of Vista.

Revenue for the EDD (Zune, Xbox 360, PC gaming, etc.) also took a hit, dropping from $1.2 billion this same time last year to $929 million, a 22 percent change. Microsoft blames the loss on lower Xbox 360 sales, which seems pretty logical, seeing as the console has some new competition this year. They estimate shipments of 500,000 consoles this quarter, compared with 1.7 million in Q3 2006. Revenue in games also dropped on the PC and 360 by 44 percent, or around $393 million.

On the plus side, EDD losses were an improvement from $402 million last year, which is sort of like earning $87 million! Or at least that's what EDD tells Mrs. Microsoft as she stands in the living room just out of the children's sight, nervously watching her husband peel off $20s. "I just need something to get me through the weekend. I'm seeing a new girl and I just want to show her a good time," EDD says, the faintest hint of whiskey on his breath. "I swear, Angela, I'm going to be profitable in fiscal '08, you'll see, you'll all see!"

Read -- Microsoft Reports Record Profits (press release)
Read -- Q3 Revenue at Xbox Division Falls on Slow 360 Sales (GameDaily BIZ)

In the continuing effort to sling a rock straight into the iPod's forehead, Microsoft has revealed plans to bring games to their Zune series of portable music players. How Zune? According to a Bloomberg.com report, you can expect pleasant beeps and boops to emanate from the player by July 2008. You might recall that Apple also recently embraced gaming on their somewhat popular iPod range.

No specific games have been mentioned yet, though recent CES developments might give you a fairly strong clue. Expect arcade games like Geometry Wars and Uno to make the jump, complete with wireless play and Live Anywhere integration. Popular franchises (hello Halo) may give Microsoft more traction in their struggle against the iPod, at least where portable games are concerned. As New York analyst Michael Gartenburg puts it, "It's not like the music enthusiasts have been flocking to Zune, and they need to really answer Apple in terms of feature parity."

With the battle between audio players now spilling into the gaming arena, winners and losers become more and more difficult to spot in the cloud of dust. Can music lovers be swayed by other diversions? And what do the PSP and DS have to say in the matter?

See also: All things Xboy

It's been oft rumored that Microsoft's music-playing, photo-sharing Zune (which was almost called the Xpod) will eventually have some sort of game-playing ability as well. Now, Microsoft Europe Chief Chris Lewis has thrown some more fuel on the rumor fire, telling TotalVideoGames in an interview that "gaming is certainly something we're considering for the device."

We can definitely see the appeal from Microsoft's point of view -- the move could provide the company with a quick, back-door entrance into the highly competitive portable gaming market while at the same time keeping up with Apple's game-playing iPod. The online functionality of Xbox Live and the library of casual and classic games from Live Arcade could also provide for good software support.

Still, we're not convinced games will attract many new customers to the weak-selling Zune. Given the system's design as a music player, we doubt the system has the hardware power or game-centric interface needed to really compete with the firmly entrenched DS and PSP. Still, you can never have too many devices that play Bejeweled in your pocket.

[Via GamaSutra]

In an interview with The New York Times, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed the naming of Microsoft's Xbox and Zune products:

"When it came time to name Xbox, there was certainly a class of people who wanted to have Microsoft and/or Windows more prominent. They all lost. And it was a wise choice. Not because Microsoft is bad. But it wouldn't have meant what it needed to mean to that audience. And Zune could have been Microsoft music system or Microsoft entertainment system or Xpod, I guess. But again, we thought the experience was different and it was worth giving its own identity."

Well of course ya didn't name it the Xpod, ya big silly! We'd expect it to play games if you had named it that, and Zune has no capability in the games department. (Looks like Apple beat you to the whole Xpod thing, anyway.)

Another Stevenote is going on right next door at Engadget, and while the Apple faithful furiously click their F5 keys, we're busy soaking up the news that Apple is introducing game downloads for their ubiquitous iPod. What kind of games? We imagine a smattering of spin the top games, roulette games, merry-go-round simulators, and churn the butter historical-themed educational games, all taking maximum advantage of the iPods unique input mechanics. Turns out, none of those games are coming to the iPod (but if you want to brainstorm ideas, Steve, give us a call); instead, we'll see casual classics like Bejeweled, Cubis 2, Mahjong, Mini-Golf, Pac-Man, Tetris, Texas Hold 'Em, Vortex, and Zuma.

You may recognize some of those names from Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service, which also has Bejeweled, Pac-Man, Texas Hold 'Em, and Zuma. It looks like Apple isn't taking the Zune's potential Xbox Live Anywhere functionality sitting down. Will these games also be playable on your Mac or PC through iTunes? How often will games be released? Are there any original iPod games in the works? We've got a million and one questions.

[Update 1: Added in links to Apple's iPod games site which states, "iPod games work with fifth-generation iPod only." So no Mac or PC playback ... yet.]