Just a quick reminder for those Halo 3 fans in the audience (anyone?) that today is Bungie Day on Xbox Live! What does that mean? It means free gamerpics and themes of course, as well as the debut of the all-new, all-icy Cold Storage map, also available as a free download. For those of you who've fallen behind on your Halo 3 gameplay, the Legendary Map Pack has also had its price slashed in honour of Bungie Day, dropping 200 Microsoft points ($US 2.50) to 600 points. It's an excellent day to pull that copy of Call of Duty 4 out of your 360 and get your future weapons on!

We've previously seen how Halo 3's Forge can be used as a canvas by the artistically included. And while the above image is certainly not the first "erotic" images made with Forge level editor by a damn sight. (Hey, give the plebs the ability to create, and you betcha, they'll whip up naughty bits!) But these are the first MAXIMUM RISKY Japanese anime-style ones we've seen -- then again, we haven't exactly been looking. They, of course, were made by lining up weapons.

HALO3」、武器を並べてエロアートを作る職人 [Hatimaki]

This Monday, July 7 is Bungie Day on Xbox Live Marketplace. What does that mean to you? Free stuff! The kind of free stuff that absolutely requires an exclamation point. While free gamerpics and a gratis theme will be available that day and that day only, it's the new map, Cold Storage, that will probably put the biggest strain on Live's servers.

The Bungie Weekly Update also points out that the Legendary Map Pack will see prices slashed, with the regularly 800 MS Points pack dropping to 600 MS Points. Community tough guy Luke Smith has all the details on what's goin' down this manic Monday, so do check out the newest update... and the "viddoc" above.

Bungie Weekly Update: 7/03/08 [Bungie.net]

Update: The product page has been taken down; it looks like someone at Dick Smith may have made a boo-boo. EcoGamer recommends you give your local store a ring to see if it is willing to sell the console at the reduced price.

Madness. Utter, utter madness. Anthony at EcoGamer sends word that Dick Smith Electronics is currently selling its stock of Halo Edition 360s for the stupid price of $264.50. These are Pro units, with a good chance of having the cooler Falcon chipset.

This news comes hot on the cheap-arse heels of Big W's discount Xbox 360 Arcades. I don't know if it's the retailers or Microsoft that's flipped their lids, but someone has clearly gone nuts with the "on-sale" stickers.

If you don't already own a 360, you might want to grab one. I doubt you'll see prices like this again soon.

Halo Xbox 360 $US 264.50 [EcoGamer, thanks Anthony]

Presidential hopeful John McCain is targeting the directionless couch potato youth vote with video games. Poorly. Barack Obama, on the other hand, is doing a kick arse job of it, according to The Daily Show. Unless we're mishearing things, Master Obama is sporting the "Yes We Cannon" in his campaign game, something that's not out of the realm of possibility — and sensibility — when you're holding a quarter of a billion dollars in campaign funds. Do not click through if you're offended by abortion humour.

We linked to last week's MLG San Diego coverage that unveiled the remake, for Halo 3, of Halo:CE's popular "Chill Out" map. Bungie has now dropped two screenshots of "Cold Storage" and they're muuuuuch better quality (read: higher res than cell phone vid of a projection screen.) One's above. Full resolution after the jump.

Chill Out, an all-time greatest hit for Halo gamers from the Combat Evolved days, is getting a makeover and will be coming to Halo 3 soon. Bungie debuted "Cold Storage" at Major League Gaming San Diego over the weekend, to wild applause from the gallery, which watched the first match on the new map.

Bungie offered no word on when specifically it will drop. MLG's site has some low-res shots of the event (camera shots of the monitor). You can at least make out the chilly, blue-hued, nitrogen-spewing environment familiar to the original Chill Out. Three more pics after the jump, and more in MLG's gallery.

Microsoft used to own Halo developer Bungie. Now, Microsoft does not! What was that experience like — being owned by a corporate monolith? Says Bungie engineering lead Chris Butcher:

To their credit, they did a really good job of getting Bungie our own building. Essentially, we were in a bubble. We were mostly independent the entire time, with all of the perks of having a partner. They respected what Bungie had culturally.

When they bought Bungie, they didn't try to assimilate us and break our will and make us all drink the punch. They let the team maintain what made Bungie, Bungie. I think that's one of the smartest things that they did.

...On the Microsoft side, they still have a great partner in Bungie, and a great relationship. We have a team now that's reinvigorated and also made great games for their platforms. It really was a win-win. It doesn't seem like it really adds up to people, but both groups got what they wanted out of the deal. We're happy that Microsoft allowed this arrangement to happen. It really is a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Everybody's happy! Everyone wins! Hooray!!

Reflecting on Halo [Gamasutra] [Pic]

Woah. Pulled directly from Bungie.net file, this Halo 3 screenshot is apparently unaltered. Look at the way the smoke swirls into a freaky eyeball. Nightmare inducing!

The Creepiest Halo 3 Screenshot Ever [Hawty McBloggy]

Jim completely kicks arse though, doesn't he?