Last we heard about Zune-360 integration was when Microsoft told Gizmodo that it was going to take "a step up", and it was going to happen "within the year". That was October. Now?

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You know Dude Huge likes the Lancers. The blood, the gravelly voices, the destroyed beauty. But do you know what he likes to listen to? What he kicks his feet up to after a hard day's puppy eating/Larry Hryb chainsawing/developing? Let's find out! The Dude's Zune profile has his favourite songs listed, and amongst the picks are Welcome to the Jungle, Paint it Black and, yes, Prince's When Doves Cry. I love that song. I love everyone who loves that song. Don't make me chase you, Dude Huge. Even doves have pride.

Cliff At Epic [Zune, via X3F]

No joke. It's a Gears of War 2 Zune. And hey, why not, it sure worked wonders for Halo 3's marketing campaign (didn't it?), not to mention the Zune's popularity (did it?). Due to start shipping on, you guessed it, November 7, the 120GB media players will sport a laser-etched Gears logo, will include "244 pieces of media" (think art, screenshots, etc) and will cost you, uh, $280.

Gears of War 2 Zune Coming on Nov 7, Preorders Start in the Morning [Gizmodo]

Battlefield: Bad Company is getting four free multiplayer maps in the next month. That comes from Major Nelson's latest podcast "blogcast." The tidbit is in a 10-minute discussion with Gordon Van Dyke of developer DICE.

The maps are converted single player levels from the game's campaign mode, tuned up for conquest mode, Gordon says.

The rest of the zunecast "blogcast" deals with the GTA IV Live Weekend (about to expire) and about 30 minutes of major Zune pimpage, including a not-so-arch remark about how well it works with the 360 and how "other devices" don't because they "changed their protocol." Who knows, maybe all this cross-marketing is Microsoft tipping its hand toward bringing Zune Marketplace to Xbox Live. Remember, both services are down at the same time, beginning at 12:01 a.m. PDT tomorrow.

Show #294 [Major Nelson, thanks Nathaniel V.]

It's nice to see them try, really, but I'd rather have had something a bit more spectacular to kick things off instead of an older game and cards. Still, I suppose when you find yourself in a really comfortable public restroom somewhere it's just the sort of stuff to keep the lines outside going for hours.

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While the U.S. economy currently resides in the toilet, Microsoft says consumer spending for its Xbox and Zune division is still going strong. According to Microsoft exec Robbie Bach:

We have not seen, on the consumer side of our business, a slowdown.

Guess that explains those studio closings, huh.

Microsoft Xbox unit sees no consumer slowdown-exec [Guardian via Xboxer]

Did you know that Microsoft's president of entertainment and devices division Robbie Bach spoke at a press conference yesterday? No? You were busy following the Apple coverage, like we were? Well Bach isn't going to let the focus on Apple get him down. The Xbox 360 continues to see success, and the Zune...well, they're still making it, dammit.

"Everyone thinks we are a software company", said Bach. "That's true. But, we have been in the hardware market for 26 years now. Games and phones, we have only been in these markets for a short time but we are seeing great success".

Microsoft makes phones? Perhaps the great success lies in keeping me completely unaware of this! Bach spent some time during the conference talking up upcoming Zune features, such as the ability to play games, which I am almost positive will justify my Zune purchase whenever the choose to get around to adding that. Hey, did you hear the new models are hitting next week, allowing you to download songs directly from the Zune? Picking up the new iPod Touch instead? Just checking.

Game on, says computer giant [Alberni Valley Times]

After sitting down with Microsoft's state government affairs folks to talk politics and gaming, I started asking them if they've been trying to get Barack Obama into games.

Obama made a splash with gamers earlier this month when he said in an interview that the last game he played was Pong. Did Microsoft shoot a 360 straight out to him the second they read that, I asked.

No, not that anyone knows of.

What about here in Denver. Did they set up a console in his hotel to give him something to relax with.

No.

But, it turns out Microsoft did gift someone. Actually a lot of someones. A bunch of the nearly 4,500 delegates in Denver each got their own Democratic National Convention branded. The idea is that attendees will eventually be able to download speeches and political videos. The Zunes are also pre-loaded with content including, I'm told, one game.

And the RNC folks are getting one too Gizmodo discovered.

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From the same guys who brought you the awful "2010" Wii comes a conceptual pipe-dream a little more...sensible. This unnamed Microsoft product takes a 360, shrinks it to handheld size, adds a Zune to it, smooshes their interfaces together then throws a phone in as well. Just for good measure. Looks nice, looks slim, but whoever thought it'd be a good idea to bring the 360's despicable d-pad along for the ride needs a short, sharp slap to the teeth.

Portable XBox 360/Zune Phone Fantasy is Exactly What Microsoft Should Make [Gizmodo]

Though Microsoft has not yet set a release date for XNA Zune games, the company confirmed that the first community technology preview is targeted for this month.

Earlier this year at GDC, we got to check out a little preview of what Zune XNA gaming might look like — check here for a refresher, and check here for what we've learned on how multiplayer might go down.