Cable and satellite TV are dying a slow Zombie death. The limbs are continually cut off, but the head has so far managed to avoid a kill shot. We wonder how much longer they can survive. The New York Times is reporting that some dealings are going down between Microsoft and Disney. The focus of these dealings is ESPN streaming on the Xbox 360.

Apparently live streams of sporting events could come to the console with the viewer paying a subscriber fee. There would also be related interactive games. None of this is confirmed, so don’t take it as fact just yet. Though we do love the idea.

Here’s some good news for Nintendo and Sony. After the video game console market shrunk by a fifth in October, NPD now has a new report that shows that December was the video game industry’s “biggest sales month ever.”

Console sales jumped 4% compared to last December, with the Nintendo Wii in the lead(It is the cheapest console out there, so not really a surprise) with 3.81 million units moved (up from 2.15 million were moved the previous year).

We often find ourselves wondering just what Nintendo is thinking with things like a lack of Wii colors, a lack of HD on the Wii itself, a lack of good games… What’s the deal Nintendo? Now Reggie Fils-Aime of Nintendo of America fame now claims that his customers do not want a feature that has become a standard.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 can stream full HD movies from Netflix at no extra cost and Reggie has stated his belief that “there really is no loss for the Wii consumer” because “the vast majority” of Netflix streaming content isn’t HD anyway. Reggie has also claimed that the 26 million Wii console owners out there have voted with their wallets and will be quite happy to continue with standard def. Say what?

Netflix have now officially announced an agreement with Nintendo of America to stream it’s video content to the Nintendo Wii game console. We had heard it was coming way back in October and now Netflix has rounded out its coverage with the big three game consoles including Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PS3.

The new deal allows Wii console owners who are also Netflix subscribers and have a broadband internet connection to select movies from a catalog of choices and stream them to their television instantly. The service will be offered at no additional cost to subscribers to the DVD by mail service with Netflix with at least an $8.99/month plan.

Xbox 360 laptop? Normally when you hear about such a thing you think Ben Heck. Amazingly enough, this is the work of someone else. It is the creation of CollinE from Ben’s forums.

We love the red and black color scheme and the giant X on the top lid. This 360 stays true to the original console in most respects, even the “wind tunnel” noise generated by Collin’s five fans. If you want to try your hand at this, a video tour of the hardware is available.

Gaming consoles aren’t always the most beautiful things to look at. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s proof. This XBEE (XB Elegant Edition) mod ups the consoles exterior look and makes the Xbox 360 stand out from the crowd.

Upon seeing this beauty the usual cries of photoshop went up, but it’s actually real. It was designed by Sweden’s Industri Repro. Each case can have up to three 120mm fans to keep things cool and hey look, that’s no rrod. Why it’s green and full of life.

Looks like it won’t be long before you are gaming on the PS3 with 3D technology. According to Sony, your current PS3 can support 3D with a firmware update. Sony wants into the 3D market and they are not just dipping a toe in either.

They will be offering 3D tools to developers making games on its platform. Not sure if we’ve heard anything about what Nintendo and Microsoft plan to do about 3D technology, but now that Sony has weighed in, they will likely speak up soon. The Xbox 360 could probably take the firmware route as well.

Originally it was rumored for an October release date, but then that changed to November 17th and sure enough Tony Hawk Ride was all ready to go on November 17. It will cost you $120 and the game/peripheral combo let you do all of the simulated skateboarding you want on the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

European availability is December 4 with Amazon for $149. So go get your fake skateboard and park it next to your fake guitar and drum set.

Music games are still doing well and the most recent version of Rock Band is The Beatles: Rock Band. The game has proven to be popular and MTV and Harmonix are set to launch the second DLC pack for the game tomorrow.

The new DLC content will hit the Xbox 360 tomorrow and the PS3 on November 19. The new content is the Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band. The content will be available per song for $1.99 each or as an entire album.

If you are one of the million or so Xbox Live users who were banned from the service, things aren’t as bad as we thought. Some modders are working on a solution that will revert the firmware to a state that is nearly the same as the stock firmware. Hopefully the end result means that you’ll be able to use your console again and not have to buy a new one.

Right now two fixes are being worked on: the iXtremeLT and one from Xbox-Scene. The first isn’t ready yet, and the latter works, but you should be aware, it is very complex.

Xbox 360 owners who have been banned from Microsoft’s Xbox Live service are out of luck. Completely out of luck. Those of you who have been banned will need to purchase a whole new console if you ever want to get back into the online action.

Microsoft says that banned machines will be permanently barred and “unable to connect to Xbox Live” as affected consoles do not have any recourse for terms of use violations. Like it or not, that’s the word. Those banned add up to about a million gamers missing from Xbox Live.

Some screen shots of a new update for the PS3 that shows Facebook running on the console have tipped up in Europe. Facebook has been available on the Xbox 360 for a while but hasn’t been offered on other consoles.

I guess Sony is finally tired of Xbox offering things that the PS3 doesn’t. Now that the PS3 has Netflix and will be getting Facebook; the Xbox has two reasons less to buy it rather than the PS3. There is no word on when exactly the update will hit.

PS3 users have been waiting for this one for awhile while their Xbox 360 buddies have been streaming Netflix since July of last year and bragging about it. But now is your time Sony fans. PS3 instant streaming discs are now being sent out to Netflix users who have requested them.

It’s either this or wait for an XMB software update late next year that will let you stream Netflix to the PS3 disc-free, which is how it should be.

Rumors have been swirling for the past couple of days, and it looks like the rumors were real. This weekend, Walmart is kicking off their pre-Black Friday deals, including a $199 Xbox 360 Arcade that comes with a free $100 gift card. That basically drops the price to $100.

And that isn’t the only good deal they have either. The sale starts at 8 a.m. Nov. 7 and lasts through Nov. 13. Probably these deals will be finished on the first day. I know where I’ll be

While we wait and see whether the Xbox 360 is getting a Blu-ray drive or not, there’s something else to look forward to. Thanks to a new marketing strategy, you will soon be able to buy the console with the Star Trek or Transformers 2 movie.

Right now it has been confirmed exclusively for the UK. The bundle includes an Xbox Elite, an extra controller and the movie on USB.