Next Xbox's big party

It's not on store shelves yet but, watch out gamer parents and parents of gamers, Xbox 360's marketing has already started - its Hollywood premier party aired last night as a prime-time special on MTV. One of the interesting things about it is the many ways gamers will be able to customize it - its hardware, the look of the screen, and games' background music (without losing their all-important sound effects), MTV reports. Also compelling will be the community aspects - four controllers can be plugged in at once - and, "through Xbox Live, 64 players from around the world will be able to compete against each other in the same game." Parents may want to note this example of how game consoles are getting closer and closer to being connected computers, with the accompanying online-safety and PC security implications (console games, ideally, will need to be in high-traffic parts of the house too). Gamers will appreciate this insider's view of Xbox 360's development at GameSpot.com.