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In a lawsuit filed by Philadelphia-area lawyer Samuel Lassoff, Microsoft is being sued for allegedly taking money from consumers for Microsoft Points that were erroneously used during "incomplete and/or partial downloads of digital goods and services and refused refund of same." The Horsham, Pa. resident claims that "an invoice he received early this month from Microsoft included charges for purchases he couldn't complete due to a balky download system," according to an InformationWeek.com report. Furthermore, he contends that this was no accident on Microsoft's part.

When we called Mr. Lassoff's law office for comment, we were met with a disconnected number message. However, the lawsuit's Facebook page (it's a brave new world, folks) calls the suit a "class action on behalf of several million US customers exposed to Microsoft Point fraud." Citing "fraud, breach of contract, negligence, unjust enrichment, and unfair business practices," Lassoff seeks a "full refund to all US consumers of all Microsoft Points fraudulently charged to consumers for incomplete or partial downloads of purchased digital goods and services."

Aside from his current lawsuit, Mr. Lassoff previously sued Google, Yahoo, and IAC Interactive in 2006 -- all three suits were eventually dropped.

[Thanks, Zo]

EA is informally considering a limited edition release of Dead Space 2 (surprise!) and has taken to Facebook to get some ideas from fans about what to include in it. "I will have our Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis comment on some of your suggestions next week," the announcement reads, " ... so make them good!"

Presumably, Papoutsis will select his favorite suggestions -- already ideas are as tame as comics and as outrageous as a life-size plasma cutter -- and submit them to EA, which will then toss those out and proceed with a Collector's Edition featuring a soundtrack and an artbook.

[Via Blue's News]

While we were flipping through the Facebook this morning, looking for pictures of Bobby Jones with that tramp Kelly Sue Eakins, we couldn't help but notice that our best buds on Ubisoft's Splinter Cell account had put up a sweet new pic. The snap captures our pals helping out some Russian friends with their makeovers (aren't they the nicest guys?), though we can't make any sense of the inexplicable caption below the image that reads, "Co-op mode split screen confirmed!" What does that have to do with makeovers, guys? Come on!

[Thanks, SpyderTaco]

Sure, Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode has already sucked you in, but just imagine what would happen if you added an invigorating soundtrack to all those bullet-soaked moments? Well, guess what: The game's soundtrack composer, Hans Zimmer, recently indicated in a Facebook note that the "soundtrack album is in the works."

That's right -- soon you'll be able to take the orchestrated drama from the single-player campaign and import it into a looping death march beat. But hey, at least your folks will be glad you're listening to classical music, right?

The man known as Major Nelson has been so kind as to remind us all that child accounts for Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm have now been enabled for US Xbox 360 users. Once granted parental permission, Xbox Live child account holders over the age of 13 will be able to access these applications. The Major reminds everyone to make sure to select automatic logins for all the applications, otherwise you will be prompted for parental permission every time an app is launched. We'd have to agree with his advice. After all, Mom coming in to give you and your friends Tang and lemon squares: Cool. Mom coming in to log you into Facebook: Not cool.

When Microsoft rolled out Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm support for the Xbox 360, a number of users were less than impressed. Specifically, those with child Xbox Live accounts were not allowed to use any of the new applications. Outside the US, Microsoft has now released an update that allows child accounts to access these features, so long as parental permission is given. Major Nelson advises users to set each application to log in automatically upon first activation. Otherwise, those with child accounts will be prompted for parental permission every time the application is launched.

Fear not, US gamers, the update will hit American shores on December 15.

According to Microsoft, nearly two million Xbox Live users logged into Facebook through the console's new built-in social media applications. Based on a vague estimate provided by Microsoft, it appears that around ten percent of all Xbox Live Gold accounts used the application within its first week of availability; however, it's possible many of those users only logged in to see the new feature in action.

Microsoft also stated the addition of Last.fm -- a music streaming service currently only available for US and UK gamers -- prompted nearly one million new profile activations. In its first week, Last.fm users streamed "more than 120 million minutes" of music to their Xbox 360 consoles. If we've learned one thing from these numbers, it's that people love to click on shiny new boxes.

Speaking to VentureBeat, Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten discussed the recent round of Xbox Live bans. According to Whitten, banning users from Xbox Live is "a cat and mouse game." Said Whitten, "These were people that were pirating software." He added that Microsoft looks at banning users "from a safety and anti-cheating perspective" and that the company looks out for its partners. Responding to the widely reported story that Microsoft banned over a million Xbox Live users, Whitten said that the figure is inaccurate. "I cannot explain to you why people would think it was a million people," said Whitten, then adding quite succinctly, "It wasn't a million people."

Whitten went on to state his belief that Microsoft does "a really good job" of monitoring the activity on Xbox Live, specifically in terms of piracy and online harassment. He concluded that the company is "committed to making [Xbox Live] better and better."

The interview also covers the recent integration of Facebook on Xbox, the effect Modern Warfare 2 had on Live activity (hint: a big one) and whether or not we'll be playing Facebook games on our consoles anytime soon. Don't expect a straight answer on that last one though, as the closes Whitten gets is, "In the future, they will move much closer together."

Details? They're so early 2009.

Xbox owners: You have five days to start thinking of your lives and the lives of others in trivial, 140-character chunks. Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten has told Fast Company that the Dashboard update containing Twitter and Facebook integration will officially arrive on November 17.

If the date seems familiar, you're not losing your marbles: The specific timing for the update was revealed and reneged last month. Now, you'd better hurry up and beat the Chatpad rush at the store.

Those of you who woke up extra early this morning to get in precious alone time with your Xbox 360 (we understand – we do it all the time) may have been tricked when a mandatory system update greeted you in place of the dashboard. Alas, the much ballyhoo'd Facebook/Twitter/Last.fm update has not yet arrived, as Microsoft's Major Nelson points out on his site.

Instead, the update brings with it support for the now five-year-old WPA2 security protocol. With that new and improved 802.11n wireless adapter hitting retailers next month, and with WPA2 certification being mandatory for all new Wi-Fi devices as of March 2006, Microsoft seems to be rolling out that addition in software. That's good news for those of you with a four-year-old Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter!

The "wave 1" invites to the Xbox Live update preview program are out now, according to Major Nelson. If your dear console has been invited to participate, there should be a prompt upon sign-in. A "wave 1" invite implies that more waves are incoming, so don't get too sad if ya didn't catch the first one, Moondoggie. Grab that board and prepare to ride a future wave to all that upgradedness.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Major Nelson, Xbox Live guru and prolific tweeter, has announced that the first wave of notification emails for the Xbox 360 Dashboard update preview should go out this Friday. Incidentally, sign up is now closed, so no more applications will be accepted. The preview will give Xbox Live members a chance to check out the many new features in the upcoming Dashboard update, including Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm and the new Zune Video Marketplace. Also, as we reported earlier today, Microsoft has thrown in a preview of Halo Waypoint as well.

The preview program should roll out sometime next week. In the meantime, keep an eye on those inboxes!

The November Xbox Live Dashboard Update -- which brings Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and the Zune Video Marketplace to the Xbox 360 -- will soon be here. Joystiq has nabbed the update early, and we're here to share all of its secrets with you in the only way that we know how: A video tour! Above, you'll find a brief tour of all the new features. If there's a specific feature you'd like to know more about, simply click one of the the words below to watch a more detailed video all about it.

Note: We learned after publication that the abnormally priced movie rental has not yet been released in theaters. As such, it has a higher price.

Facebook

Twitter

Last.fm

Zune Video Marketplace

Miscellaneous

Over at IndustryGamers, everyone's favorite video game predicterer (we're still working on that one) Michael Pachter has taken the reigns of the site and offers his own extensive diatribe on the future of Sony and Microsoft's upcoming new tech: Project Natal and the PlayStation Motion Controller (rumored to be called Sphere). Pachter's assertion is that price will be Natal's biggest selling point and Microsoft will try to expand upon its market of established Xbox 360 owners by offering the device for $50. For Sony's doodad, Pachter says the company is "trying to create an answer to the success of the Wii."

Pachter even likens the future state of a Natal-enabled Xbox 360 to the current state of the iPhone -- with features like Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm and Facebook inside Microsoft's box and its intuitive interface, he says casual or non-playing members of Xbox 360 households will become interested. And then when it's bundled with all new Xbox 360s, he says that'll expand Microsoft's reach even more.

For the motion-controlled competition, Pachter says he'd be surprised if Sony's asking price was over $100, and stresses that both Microsoft and Sony need to keep "the consumer's cost relatively low in order to achieve broad penetration."

[Update: Corrected Pachter's belief that the motion controller would be no more than $100. We sincerely apologize for the misinterpretation and the consequent misinformation.]