If you don’t know Ben Heckendorn, the man will modify any game console. Nothing is safe from his artist’s hands, whether he’s making an old Atari 2600 into a portable unit or making an XBox 360 Elite laptop. Basically, the man is a modding God.

Now, he’s turned an Xbox 360 Elite into a laptop, a portable gaming system that can be taken anywhere. The screen has a resolution of 1280×720 which allows for 720p HD viewing, and it has an Xbox camera built in. I’d love to own one, but it’s a custom creation. You won’t be able to buy it anywhere anytime soon. Unless of course you were to commission one.

It seems that Microsoft is reacting to the increased competition from Sony and Nintendo for the upcoming holiday season. In anticipation to Sony’s forthcoming price reduction for its PS3 Microsoft will be releasing two Xbox 360 console and game bundles before the end of the month. The Pro Xbox 360 bundle pack ($349) will consist of an Xbox console (20 GB version) and copies of “Forza Motorsport” and “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” while the 120 GB HDD Elite 360 pack ($449) will ship with the same two games. Essentially you will be getting two free games when you lay down your dollars for either one of these two systems. Microsoft also probably is hoping that the good will generated will in turn get you to open your wallet further and maybe pick up a copy of “Halo 3″ while you’re standing in line.

If you’ve been toying with the idea of making the plunge into an Xbox 360 but haven’t quite yet decided, Microsoft has put out a pretty sweet deal to entice more purchases of the console. If you’ve recently made a 360 purchase you may want to just stop reading here. As a promotion for this holiday season, starting at the end of October Microsoft will begin throwing in GameSpy’s award-winning Forza Motorsport 2, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance for free when you buy an Xbox 360 Premium ($349.99) or Elite ($449.99). Rumors of this release have been circulating for a while and today in this case have been proven true. Another part of that same rumor which was not put to rest involves HDMI out and a disc with Xbox Live Arcade games on a $280 Core console, but it looks like we’ll have to keep waiting for that one.

For gamers who have been waiting for the third and final chapter in Bungie Studios’ immensely popular FPS “Halo” series for the Xbox you can start counting the days left until it’s in your hands. Microsoft reports that “Halo 3″ has gone gold and the master copy is off to the manufacturing plant to be turned and burned into millions of Xbox 360 game discs. The release date for “Halo 3″ is slated for Tuesday September 25. Barring an act of God there is nothing that …

It’s finally official after all the rumors, speculations and retailers having a difficult time keeping the news under wraps. Microsoft has now officially announced a price drop for its Xbox 360 game console, which is the first since the consoles launch.

The announcement brings a $50 price cut off the Premium, 20GB system leaving it at $349.99. Microsoft is also taking the black, 120GB Elite system down $30 bringing its price to $449.99 and finally Xbox 360 Core system will be priced at $279.99 after a $20 …

Microsoft announced today the planned launch of the upgraded Xbox 360 Elite in Japan on October 11th. This launch will be an attempt to drive more attention to the game console whose sales have been lagging in Japan behind rivals Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft unveiled the 360 Elite version at the end of March with upgrades including a larger hard drive, a wireless controller, HDMI and an Xbox Live Gold membership.

Microsoft today finally confirmed the worst-kept secret in the gaming biz right now: the Xbox 360 Elite is coming to store shelves on April 29 and will cost $479.99.

The rumors about what the Elite will come with were pretty much on the money: a 120 GB hard drive (which will also go on sale separately for $179.99), a wireless controller and headset in black, HDMI cable and a one-month Gold membership to Xbox Live. You will also be able to buy matching black play and charge kit and battery …

It’s been floating all over the tech sites that Microsoft is close to announcing a new, beefier version of the Xbox 360, to be dubbed the Elite. The Elite will reportedly sport a 120 Gig drive, which is 100 Gigs more than the first 360, and it will include an HDMI cable and output support. The color scheme will also be different: instead of the white plastic casing that the original Xbox 360 features the Elite will be wrapped inside a black casing. Cost of the Xbox 360 Elite: $479.

The source of the …