No significant change in sales, huh, EEDAR? Well, take that! GamesIndustry reports that in the UK, the Xbox 360 Elite scored a positive 43% increase in their sales during the bank holiday weekend. Also, there's news on the Elite's price drop for the Asia-Pacific region. All in the full article.

Good news for Xbox 360 owners in Asia! Square Enix may be keeping Final Fantasy 13 (PS3, Xbox 360) exclusive for the Sony PlayStation 3 in Japan, but it looks like other Asian territories may be getting the game's Xbox 360 version. More in the full article.

 If you read gaming news every so often, there's a fat chance that you've already heard of new Xbox 360 units codenamed Jasper and Valhalla on the way. In the latest buzz about these shadowy new versions of the console, it was reported that IBM and TSMC have already received orders from Microsoft to start manufacturing the chips. More details follow after the jump.

Microsoft plans on lowering the price of its Xbox 360 in its Asian markets to revitalize sales - a move similar to when it cut the prices in Europe. For more information on these price cuts and the specific regions to be affected, head on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

It's time for anther batch of updates on the new things that can be found in the Xbox Live Marketplace. This time around, a new theme and gamer pictures have be released for Halo 3.

Also, four new trailers have been added for Frontlines: Fules of War, Bully: Scholarship Edition and Lost: Via Domus. Find out more in the full article.

Here's some good news for the Xbox 360 gamers living in the territories of either Europe or Asia. Your Xbox Live service has recently updated with a free demo of Propaganda Games' Turok FPS.

Wondering what areas stand to receive this teaser? Head for the full article to find out!

Here's a little something for those Xbox 360 gamers keeping their eyes peeled on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Manufacturer Lian Li has put a custom Xbox 360 chassis out on display, which hosts some interesting features you may want to read over via the full article.

Slipping back to our business suits, we've gotten word that U.S. market research firm Parks Associates has discovered that online gaming still outweighs video streaming or social networking over the Internet. The report entitled "Casual Gaming Market Update" claimed that at least 34% of adult Internet users play online games on a weekly basis. Games they play include casual games, confirming the rise in popularity of the casual gaming sector.

 

In contrast, 29% of those surveyed watch short online videos, and a smaller 19% visit social networking sites at least once a week. Additionally, online gaming is also experiencing a major surge in the North American region. Parks Associates observed a 79% year-on-year rise in online gamers, compared to the 46% climb of social networking users.

Still, video streaming users are ascending at a steep 123%, and the online gaming sector would do well to challenge that rate in the following years. The online gaming sector is becoming a ripe source of income, and Parks Associates still recommends the tried-and-tested Western business models for the region.

In the Eastern front, the online gaming sector is becoming a blossoming playground for the Asian gaming industry, as Taiwan, Korea, and China have experienced phenomenally market booms in the previous year. Market predictions are also off-the-roof for the Far East, and it may have already grown leaps and bounds in the first half of 2007.

Because people WoW and click Flash more than they Facebook or Youtube, we'll be monitoring for more developments as they come clicking by.

 

Fans who are still itching for some hack-and-slash action after the generous amount Ninety Nine Nights (N3) delivered may have something to look forward to, or at least if this supposedly Famitsu Taiwan scan holds true.

If you take a closer look on the photo on top, Ninety Nine Nights Rondo is slated for a November release. Being under the same section as Unreal Tournament 3 (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) we are led to believe that N3's sequel will be arriving later this year. An announcement at Tokyo Game Show this September sounds feasible, but release two months after? It doesn't seem to be likely.

Critics weren't too fond of N3, but having hundreds of enemies on screen screams guilty pleasure. Unfortunately, we'll have to tag this under rumors. We're all eyes on any updates or confirmations, so watch this space.

Microsoft has reportedly been gearing up to produce more Xbox 360 units with the upcoming launch of Bungie's Halo 3. So far, no word has been given on the total number of consoles they are planning to churn out but it looks pretty substantial based on the new info.

"Plans to promote sales of the console the third quarter of this year has Microsoft placing more OEM orders with Lite-On IT for Xbox 360 DVD-ROM drives". This information came from industry sources in Taiwan since the optical disc drive manufacturer was unable to comment due to non-disclosure agreement.

To those who are wondering why news like this will come from Taiwan, take note that Taiwan-based component makers have been supplying Lite-On IT with the components for the drives. So they can tell when Microsoft is increasing production since it's ordering more "raw materials".

We think it's a fair assumption that there will be a very sharp spike in the production of Microsoft but whether it will be sustainable is still unknown.