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About 50 users of Xbox reported device overheating and smoke coming out from it after plugged in.
In addition Microsoft announced the replacing of 230,000 control wheels for the video game console.

Earlier this year the same problem was encountered and the units repairing costs went up to 1 billion dollars.
Due to malfunctioning of the consoles, Microsoft’s sales went 18% down compared with last year, the total number of consoles sold in July in US being of 170,000.
Furthermore, it applied price reductions for devices in Europe and US.

The company advised users not to use electricity sources for the steering wheel, but batteries instead, until the problem will be fixed.

The name Microsoft SideWinder has been associated since a long time with several gaming peripherals like gamepads or joysticks, until Microsoft has stopped producing them.

Recently Microsoft started to use the SideWinder brand again for its new product, SideWinder Mouse, designed especially for games, that comes with a spectacular feature, the Quick Turn macro button for turning character 180 degrees.

In addition, it integrates an LCD screen for showing the sensitivity of the mouse at that moment allowing visualization of the macros bound to mouse buttons.

Other characteristics include DPI switching with the use of three buttons designed for this feature, that allow instant switching between DPI 400, 800, and 2000; three different materials for slide preference; adjustable mouse weights by selecting from 4 variants between 5 and 30 grams 5 gram increments.

As a general description, the mouse has resolution of 2000 dpi; processes images with 7080 fps; the acceleration can reach 20G; maximum speed is 45 inches per second; the left and right buttons support up to 9 million clicks.


The product will be available in October at a price of 79.95 US dollars.

2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. announced on August 21 that Illusion Softworks created a follow-up of the action racing game Mafia released in 2002, that sold two million copies worldwide.

In the first part, Mafia, the story is about a cabdriver, Tommy, whose life changed suddenly due to inexplicable circumstances that made him become a mob member.
Although at first he earns more money than he did in his old job, he soon becomes disillusioned about the way he chose to follow.

The LS3D Engine supports the realistic rendering of large exterior environments and highly detailed interiors.
The effects used to create convincing environments include mirrors, real-time shadows, environmental mapping and deformations.

Mafia came with a unique feature: the cars have more than 100 parameters to adjust to imitate its real life double.

The action in Mafia 2 new third person 3D action game takes place sometime between 1940- 1950 in a similar fictional city and is promised to bring more gunshots, car chases, assassinations of persona non grata and bank robberies.

Christoph Hartmann, head of 2K, said that "As the original Mafia was a big success, we are excited to leverage the power of next generation console technology to create an all-new experience, while embracing the elements that resonated with the previous game's fans. The 'wow' factor of Mafia 2 is definitely the benchmark-setting visual quality and action that you expect to see only in Hollywood movies."

Mafia 2 will be available for PC, Xbox and Playstation 3 versions.

After Zuma, Luxor and Luxor 2 for PC, the three arcade puzzle games that created addiction among millions of gamers, RealArcade prepared the releasing of Luxor 2 mobile phone version.

The game keeps the same basic concept.
The player must shoot the snake to create matches of 3 or more same colored balls that will explode, this preventing them to enter the Pyramid.

While the balls are destroyed, power-ups are falling and they have to be catched. In order to earn an extra life 30 coins are necessary to be caught when falling.

RealArcade announced new bonus levels, 9 new power-ups and 30 levels to play in 2 game modes.

The game received many important awards across time for its success.
The mobile version promises high-potential and is expected to be appreciated at the same level as its predecessors.

Luxor 2 for mobiles will be released at the end of August.

On 30 October Sierra will officially launch the game TimeShift, PC and Xbox 360 versions, while PlayStation 3 version will come out in December this year.