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In a positively baffling announcement, Microsoft's Major Nelson has tweeted that Xbox Live has reached a new record: Two million simultaneous users. That means two million people were logged into Xbox Live at the same time earlier today. The puzzling question is this: What in the world could have possibly driven so many people to sign synchronously onto Xbox Live? We can only assume that people are taking part in some seriously heated matches of Dragon Ball: Raging Blast. Barring that, it could be that the Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection has brought thousands back into the fold. We just don't know what else it could be.

Microsoft today announced that it has sold in excess of 10 million Xbox 360 consoles throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The company then touts Aaron Greenberg's favorite chestnut, noting that the Xbox 360 is the only console that has managed to achieve sales growth in 2009. The press release quotes Martin Olausson of Strategy Analytics, who states his belief that Xbox Live is "12 to 18 months" ahead of PSN in regard to delivering "content beyond traditional games." Microsoft also cites an internal study, which found that 60 percent of Xbox 360 consoles are now housed in a "family living room." Furthermore, the study found that women now account for 35 percent of Xbox owners, and that 64 percent of Xbox owners are over the age of 25. If that's true, we're guessing that the majority of Xbox Live headset owners make up the remaining 36 percent.

Black Friday isn't the only day in November where prices are eviscerated and sweet deals are distributed like confetti at a Flaming Lips concert. Wal-Mart has begun posting ads for a batch of sales being offered this coming Saturday morning -- one of which will be particularly intriguing to the prospective holiday console buyers among you. While supplies last (and we assume they won't last long), anyone who purchases a $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle will receive a $100 gift card to boot. A free Benjamin's worth of Wal-Mart products? That's enough to buy a couple of games for your new system! And it's only $35 short of the price of an Xbox 360 120GB hard drive! Or, you could buy two Xbox 360 Arcade bundles, and then have enough in gift card money to get a third one -- plus another $100 gift card -- for free! It seems we've beaten the system, as it were. Wal-Mart, consider yourself outfoxed. [Via Engadget]

We knew that there was contingency of Xbox 360 owners who place a remarkable amount of importance on their largely unimportant Gamerscore -- however, a recent Official Xbox Magazine interview with Gearbox president Randy Pitchford has got us worried about our fellow man. According to Pitchford, developers who tweak their game's Achievements to make them a tad easier to obtain can boost sales of said game "by something like 10 and 40 thousand units." Yes, Pitchford claims that there are 10 to 40 thousand people out there who purchase games based on their capacity to bolster their e-peen. That represents around $2.4 million being spent on making an inconsequential number slightly larger. Our faith in humanity wasn't just shaken by Pitchford's report -- it was absolutely obliterated. We're gonna go watch Rudy a few times until that faith is restored. [Image]

Get ready for an epic Kamehameha.

Major Nelson hits the show floor to find new games and giant buttons.

The crew returns for more fun on the show floor!

Take a tour of the Microsoft booth with the Japanese Inside Xbox crew.

We've suffered our fair share of broken hearts at the hands of the Red Ring of Death -- now, the Xbox 360 is being used to mend our ailing blood-pumpers. A computer scientist at the University of Warwick in England recently did some sweet console modification to allow his 360 to calculate heart rhythms using a complex algorithm. Microsoft's console is capable of performing these calculations five times faster (and 10 times cheaper) than a lab computer, and has the added benefit of letting its users play Madden in between bursts of scientific study. To sum up, the 360 is now being used to cure heart disease, and the PS3 is being used to cure cancer. Ball's in your court, Nintendo.

Seven minutes showing all that Microsoft has on-deck for Tokyo Game Show 2009.

Click to jump in! Joystiq has obtained official box art for an apparent Xbox 360 peripheral bundle. Diving a hand into the "popcorn" box (warning: contents inedible), one looks to pull out the following: (1) Mini Universal Media Remote (the original Pro pack-in!) (1) Wireless Network Adapter (apparently not the 802.11n version) (1) Xbox Live 3-Month Gold Card (1) 800 Microsoft Points Card (0) No actual popcorn While pricing and release details have yet to surface (though box art has been created for various European territories), we expect this package of dusty inventory -- hey, it's called "flexibility" people! -- to coincide with the release of the remote-less, WiFi-less Elite Holiday Bundle in the coming months.

While our mole may not be as prolific or mysterious as some others' we do have an inside man/woman who sent us these alleged images of the rumored Xbox 360 Elite Holiday 2009 Bundle. With the inclusion of Pure and Lego Batman the bundle certainly look legit -- because, really, who's going to lie about a collection like that? We'd confirm with Microsoft first, but this isn't the sort of thing the company will typically talk about. (Yes, we still asked.) Also: "It's More Fun Time on Xbox 360" is a very bad slogan. That is all.

While our mole may not be as prolific or mysterious as some others' we do have an inside man/woman who sent us these alleged images of the rumored Xbox 360 Elite Holiday 2009 Bundle. With the inclusion of Pure and Lego Batman the bundle certainly look legit -- because, really, who's going to lie about a collection like that? We'd confirm with Microsoft first, but this isn't the sort of thing the company will typically talk about. (Yes, we still asked.) Also: "It's More Fun Time on Xbox 360" is a very bad slogan. That is all.

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Peep the latest avatar styles and interface enhancements in Xbox Live.