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Xbox 360 owners in the United States and Canada will now have the same one-year warranty that the rest of the world enjoys. Microsoft announced that it will extend the 90-day warranty to make the North American warranty consistent with the coverage provided to other regions. The extension is retroactive, so people who have purchased an Xbox 360 within the last year are now covered. Better yet, Microsoft will reimburse customers who paid for repair charges after their 90-day warranty expired. Checks will be mailed within the next 10 weeks.

Way to go Microsoft. The 90-day warranty was always something that bothered me. Not only are they extending it, their paying people back for repair charges. That's really awesome!

Despite the summer's reputation for meager game sales, analysts from NPD are reporting that the industry experienced a 25% increase in sales during June. The increase is attributed mainly to the success of the DS Lite, Cars from THQ, and the widespread availability of Xbox 360 consoles. Nintendo sold just under 600,000 DS handhelds, Cars sold 646,000 copies, and 277,000 Xbox 360's were purchased in June.

[via Reuters]

Following the release of some information about the Wii earlier today, Nintendo of America announced three promotions in their executive team. The company's president, Tatsumi Kimishima, became chairman of the board and CEO; Reggie Fils-Aime, the executive vice president of Sales & Marketing became president and chief operating officer; and Mike Fukuda, the senior vice president of Business Development became the executive vice president of Business Development.

What does this mean for gamers? Probably nothing right now. But who knows? Maybe as COO, Reggie will turn Nintendo of America into

[image:647 align=right hspace=5 size=medium nolink=1]The Half-Life Source mod called Garry's Mod, which allows players to get creative in a sandbox environment is going on sale for $10 through Steam. Garry's Mod, which has been free for everyone until now, also adds several interesting mini-game-like options such as multiplayer soccer and bridge building competitions. Garry's Mod will be the first third-party mod to be sold through Steam, and its $10 price tag makes it the cheapest product on Steam. The profits will be split 50/50 between Valve Software and Garry.

If you somehow blew through Oblivion in its entirety and possess a small wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket, there is some additional content available for a few bucks that may or may not quench your thirst for RPG action. At the top of the "not that worth it" list is the Horse Armor Pack that allows your horse to look as majestic as you do. But at $1.99 for PC and $2.50 (200MP) for Xbox 360, this add-on is reserved exclusively for the elite citizens of Tamriel.

Best Buy, Target, and Toys "R" Us are all advertising Xbox 360's in their weekly fliers. I went up to Best Buy this morning and they had a stack over about 30 sitting at the front of the store. After saying "no" to several offers of pricey accessories, I finally got one! I'll post my unpacking ritual soon.