The XNA development roster is growing… oh ya baby More Indie!
When I said more Indie a few of my friends kind of cringe at the thought of another
Indiana Jones flick. Well this time more indie is a great thing because I’m referring
to more Indie game development! With the release of the New Xbox Experience out and
behind Redmond and with the first wave of indie developed titles now available in
the Community Games channel, which may I take this time to say quite a few of them
are FRIGGING AWESOME, and those are launch day indie titles!
Well apparently Microsoft wasn’t lying when they said they wanted to expand the reach
of the Xbox and the XNA framework for indie developers. You see originally the XNA
Development was confined to the United States, Canada, England, France, Italy, Spain
and over in the Nordic areas (like Denmark and Iceland etc) Well That all sounds great
but their are a huge number of countries in the bottom half of the world that don’t
have access.
Come December 15th that’s going to change, now while Japan and China I haven’t seen
on the list so god knows when we’ll see a great indie chinese kung foo fat
burners game or some other insane idea, the fact is that December 15th will see
XNA expanding into Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. I can only guess at this
point but considering that the NXE is out and they can readily update that whenever
they want we can pretty much be assured that Microsoft will start releasing both updates
and expanding the marketplace a good bit over the coming year. I just hope we see
new things like the photo channel at a better rate than Vista users saw new ultimate
add-ons :S
Source: TeamXbox
Intel360 :) Intel courting Microsoft for XboxNext
Well some industry insiders are having some interesting thoughts considering Intel
might be courting Microsoft for the Next Xbox360. Microsoft is already developing
the next xbox in fact they have been for a very long time kind of right after the
xbox360 was released. We’ve known for a while already that Microsoft Research has
been toiling away at the next CPU for the next xbox project. But the question has
been what will they do for the GPU.
They’ve worked with NVIDIA and ATI… but theirs another player in the market Intel…
and their apparently very anxious to push usage of their Larrabee GPU into the market
in as wide a deployment as possible. What it basically comes down to is the more consoles
and pc’s that have a chip the more developers will specifically target that platform
and be able to fully take advantage of it best. By pushing it out to millions of PC’s
and tens of millions of every “xbox720” they would basically push the developers hands
to cater to the Larabee and make it the #1 next gen GPU platform.
Intel REALLY wants this done so much that the rumors go as far to say that Intel is
willing to sign over the rights so Microsoft can have the GPU made by their own manufacturer
which is the reason they went with ATI this generation. On top of that the rumor also
goes as far as saying they will do the leg work and calculations on the thermal design
for the next box so that we don’t have have another over heading issue as the first
360’s had.
Like watching picture frames in a mirror
theirs a reflection of the deal over at Sony with Intel trying to hedge its bets,
but I can almost guarantee if it comes to Microsoft choosing Larabee it will most
likely be a modified expanded Larrabee for the 360 and a definite exclusive deal to
block Sony. For Intel it’s basically get the console deal or bust, with Nvidia and
ATI being such heavy players in the console market and games going to console before
PC they are the targeted platforms and Intel gets left out in the dust. If Intel can
land the Xbox/PS deal they would guarantee a decent update and developer uptake on
Larrabee and set the way for Larrabee 2
Source: TheInquirer
The GTAIV Limited Edition Elite 360, Not for Public WTF?!
Ok
this kind of rocks and kind of sucks, first of all Microsoft is getting ready to release
probably the most awesome 360’s ever. The GTAIV Limited Edition Elite Xbox360, it’s
some definite heavy weight
equipment. I mean we’re talking the best Xbox360 but instead of the flat black
paint, theirs professional automotive paint with the entire thing done in black with
some pretty wicked GTAIV artwork on the sides. On top of that the console is set to
come in a full-on case with a bunch of peripherals and most likely a shiny limited
edition copy of GTAIV itself.
But as I said it’s good and bad news, the good is how amazing these thing looks and
it makes me wish they would sell customized 360’s like they sell customized Zunes,
I’d definitly order a laser etched 360 with Automotive black paint, it’s just uber
sexy. But the bad news is that only 500 of these super-limited-edition consoles are
being made. What’s even worse is the fact that of the 500, all 500 are already earmarked
to be sent to news outlets and press offices. So you won’t be able to order one no
matter how much you want one.
If you want one of these uber sexy consoles you’ll either have to jack it from a press
office, while running away throwing maltov cocktails and shooting in the air (fitting
for a GTA console eh), or maybe catch one on eBay or in a contest that I’m sure is
bound to happen from one of the news sites.
Source: Xbox360Fanboy
Bungie hooks up Nathaniel with everything except the kitchen sink
You
recall my earlier post about the horrible mishap between gamer Nathaniel and Microsoft
that saw his one of a kind autographed console being restored back to a plain white
console. Well in response Bungie said they were going to hook Nathaniel up big time.
Well as you can see from the above picture Bungie proved once again how much they
care about their gamers with a massive hookup, they went as far as a company can go
without ordering engraved plaques and getting
the guy a office in Bungie studios.
The entire package included …
-
Legendary Edition Helmet signed by most–if not all–of
the studio staff -
Halo 3 Soundtrack (two disc) signed by Marty O’Donnel
(with “DO NOT ERASE!” written under his name) - Bungie Jacket
- Bungie T-Shirt
- Halo 3 Messenger Bag
-
Two Halo 3 Limited Edition Wireless Controllers (one
covenant, one human) - Halo 3 Faceplate and Skins for Xbox 360
-
Four McFarlane Action Figures (MC, EVA Spartan, Brute
Chieftan, Jackal Sniper) -
Halo Actionclix Preview pack (Target exclusive sticker
on the front) - Halo Actionclix Game Pack 4
- Halo 3 Wall Graffix
- Halo 3: Ghosts of Onyx Novel
- Halo Graphic Novel
- Halo 3 Wristband
- Halo 3 Hackeysack
So as you can see the guy lost some artwork from his 360, but in turn got A LOT OF
Goodies in return, but as many people have said, if your going to try to pull a fast
one on Bungie then you might want to forget it as was said by most blogs, the reason
this got handled so swiftly was the massive coverage the story got and on top of that
the fact he was backed up and had his story confirmed by lots of prominent online
figures.
If you are thinking about making up a fake story in
an attempt to score some free swag, don’t do it. Nathaniel had numerous people to
back up his story, from personal mutual friends to people who actually signed his
box to Xbox MVPs he knows in real life. He also saved all of his correspondence with
Microsoft and reference numbers from the phone calls. His story could be verified.
If you make one up, yours cannot and you will not get away with it. So don’t try.
Source: XboxIC
Fable 2 gets demo’d and it’s looking good :)
Another game demo’d today at GDC was the often overlooked Fable, after a lackluster
showing back on the Xbox1 with Fable 1 that was basically due to a lot of promises
that the team made that didn’t come to fruitation in the game because the hardware
just couldn’t handle it people are less than jumping at the chance to believe some
of the astonishing things that Peter Mollunex are promising for Fable 2 on the Xbox
360. But from the looks of the demo so far that was done today things are shaping
up extremely well.
Announced today was full drop in co-op where friends can pop in to play whenever they
want and they join your world and you can fight side by side. Unlike some other games
where the person that drops in doesn’t exactly get the welcome treatment and can’t
do everything player 1 can do, the drop in player in Fable 2 can do everything from
sexing up wenches to planting a tree. What’s even more intriguing though is the news
that the team has made it so that when someone drops into a game you set up
how you want to split money/experience etc when they leave, and when they leave they
take with them the experience and cash and other items that they acquired while playing
on your 360 back to theirs.
They also at the same time managed to show off how your faithful dog (sorry co-op
you can’t bring your dog you’ll have to share :)) is actually your map and guide for
the game and that’s how they get around the fact that their is no HUD in Fable 2.
While you can ignore your faithful dog and go where ever you please, as promised by
peter every fence can be jumped over, and every cliff can be dived off of. The true
genius is that if you do follow the dog’s barks and nudges he will point you towards
things like your next objective or an enemy that’s approaching or hidden nearby.
One of the other big news items was something that might be a bit gimmicky but just
so happens to have people getting excited. You see in Fable their are only 2 ways
to make money, you can work and earn cash, or you can go out gambling to earn some
cash. Why? Well because last time we checked monsters and skeletons don’t carry wallets
with gold inside. But wait, that’s not revolutionary it’s smart but it’s not really
anything to get excited over it just means he’s making the game realistic. What is
new and a bit exciting is the fact that Microsoft and Peter announced that a few weeks
before the final game ships their will be a Fable 2 XBLArcade game that you can play
and do some gambling to earn money before your copy of Fable 2 arrives, and then when
the game arrives you transfer the money from the Fable 2 XBLA MiniGame to the full
game character.
That way your getting a head start on earning for your character before you even get
the game. As far as we’ve heard the XBLA game will be free to download and either
way isn’t required for you to succeed in the retail game as you can gamble and work
in the retail game as you normally wood, but the arcade game will give you a head
start, and if Microsoft gets the Zune XNArcade up perhaps we’ll be able to do some
Fable 2 gambling on our Zune (doubtful given the Zune games are still in early development
and fable 2 comes out later this year) but even if it doesn’t the idea of mixing an
Arcade MiniGame with a Retail Game opens up a lot of possibilities like this, if they
tie to that the new Zune mobile gaming, the possibilities are endless. Perhaps another
XBLA game (mobile as well down the road) consisting of some exercise
equipment where you can work out your character and build up his body and strength
attributes :).
Source: Inhouse /GDC08
Microsoft launches the XNA Game Launcher on Xbox360! Indie games go worldwide!
Now
while theirs some confusion about this the new download Microsoft has released is
not to be mistaken with the “XNA Creators Game Launcher” that is for the creators
club members… The news is that the XNA Game Launcher is out for all members of Xbox
Live it is free to download and gives you access to the XNA Games under the Games
menu.
It’s a bit confusing at first but once you install the XNA Game Launcher you just
go under your games click left twice to the XNA tab, and then press Y to download
some XNA games. They are all free to download and right now are 17 day limited games.
From the way I’m understanding it Microsoft is using the 17 day limit as a way to
rotate games through the marketplace and keep the XNA scene fresh always on the network.
Personally I’d rather them let us keep the XNA games permanently but I guess we’ll
here more about that from Microsoft eventually.
A bit of confusion seems to be amounting from people thinking they have to pay the
49$ or 99$ subscription to play the XNA games, they don’t not anymore, they just need
the free 7MB “launcher” and then they can get and play the XNA games that are being
published to Live so put down your money, save it for the weight
loss pills your going to need from sitting on your butt playing all the new indie
games, because the money is not needed to play the XNA games! End of story if someone
tells you something else their LIEING. The 17 day trial is not because of you not
having a subscription, it’s because that’s how Microsoft has them setup right now,
they will probably explain why relatively soon.
Just remember the xna CREATORS CLUB membership … is for CREATORS, not for PLAYERS.
So if your ready to play some actually pretty great games from some indie developers
then get on Xbox Live download the Free Launcher and then Go tot he game tap to press
Y… I highly suggest getting Dishwasher and Jellycar first their by far 2 of my favorites.
Source: MajorNelson
Crackdown and Saints Row were cool, GTA IV though…
Well
with the upgrade from GTA III to what we saw in crackdown and saints row’s gameplay
and graphics. The no loading times and much better physics and graphics were definitly
impressive. Here’s the thing though if you look at the image to the left your going
to see what’s quite exciting. We all knew that the boys at rockstar said that they
were going to take the Grand Theft Auto series to a new level. But what we’re starting
to see is quite amazing. It’s like a free roaming, weather and environmental world
that has the quality I’ve only really seen previously in PGR3 and 4. I mean this stuff
is probably better looking that most linear games let alone for a full free roaming
GTA game.
If
the size of the world and the physics and gameplay is anything of an improvement especially
if its as big a step up as the graphics have gone between the GTA III to GTA IV transition
from these images. From the look of the images with the day and night scapes and all
of the building lights this may just be one of the most dynamic games I’ve seen in
a long time. I just really hope they can pull off the grand scale and gameplay to
combine it with these great graphics. Because even great graphics won’t make it a
winner unless they can win with the multiplayer and singleplayer gameplay.
Falcon 65nm Xbox360’s starting to hit shelves
Well even though it’s basically only designed to lower Microsoft’s construction costs
people to seem to have been dieing to get their hands on the Falcon 65nm 360’s. The
first Xbox360’s that have the new falcon chips and cooling are the Halo 3 edition
from lot #734 so far which appear to be the first to be adorned with the new chips.
Now before you ask no I have no idea which parts of the country/world have started
getting the new falcon’s so I wont know if Branson
Missouri has them or somewhere else, it’s hit or miss… but then again you really
shouldn’t be looking for them I mean beyond cost lowering theirs no reason to really
target getting a Falcon specifically.
For
those of you that don’t remember what exactly the new 65nm chips mean is that this
new chip will allow for the 360 to operate cooler than past Xbox360’s and while this
is good theirs better things that this will bring forth.
The smaller the chip the better the production from lines of of the CPU’s can be for
manufacturing, this will result in lower costs for Microsoft which will translate
not only into Microsoft moving closer to getting the 360 into profit this season (especially
with Christmas coming up and Halo 3 shipping) it should also allow for Microsoft to
sell the 360’s for even cheaper than they are now in the next say 6 months or so.
The fact these are moving to shelves now along side the Halo 3 launch should mean
that this Christmas season is going to be HUGE for Microsoft especially as Microsoft’s
starts rolling out bundles and puts the marketing muscle on for Christmas. Lower costs
for Microsoft along with HUGE games getting released, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock,
Assassin’s Creed, and god knows how many others all coming out over the next few months
this might be the biggest quarter for Microsoft’s gaming division yet, perhaps finally
a big profit instead of a big loss.
Source: Engadget
Industry begins to feel the impact of Halo 3 big time.
For the longest time the 360 has had good sales but has been beat out by the Wii,
well it turns out that Septembers numbers are in and the boys and Microsoft have some
major things to celebrate. Besides the fact that Halo 3’s opening day sales of several
hundred million dollars making it the biggest entertainment first day in history for
ANYTHING (movie, music, game anything). But we knew that a while back, the big news
I’m discussing now that Microsoft is probably cracking a bottle of wine over is the
NPD September numbers that just hit the street.
The
360’s sales nearly doubled its previos months sales of hardware forcing it past the
Wii and ps3. The 360 managed 527,800 Sales and the Wii a second place sales of 501,000
units, the ps3 on the other hand was a distant third of 119,400 units. On top of this
big jump for the 360 hardware halo 3 numbers for the month also placed it WELLLLL
into the #1 spot of 3.3 million units sold so far Of that the most expensive 179$
Legendary edition even outsold the PS3’s only game to make the top 10, heavenly sword
that had sold 139k units and the legendary outsold it nearly 2 to 1. What makes the
numbers even spectacular is that the software sales of microsofts 1 game were more
than all games sold for both the wii and ps3 combined.
You have to remember this was only month 1, with christmas and all the big specials
and other big blockbuster 360 games on the way to market. Lets just say that when
Microsoft said that it would be the biggest Q4 of this year. I mean with the new bundles,
Assassin’s Creed/Army of Two and a dozen others for this christmas it’s going to be
a huge holiday.
Source: Xboxic
EA explains the ps3’s low Madden FPS, 360 fans laugh
Today
EA in a bid to explain away the reason for the PS3’s much slower framerate in the
upcoming release of the madden series. As many of you might recall EA has announced
a while ago that Madden ‘08 would be locked at 30fps on the PS3 and 60fps on the 360.
While Xbox360 Madden fans were ecstatic, the Sony side of things were quite upset
with Madden fans wanting to know why the 360 version stood to be so inferior to it’s
360 counterpart.
The reason according to EA is development time, and the fact that they don’t have
enough experience with the PS3 yet and due to its difficult nature. Claiming that
their extra time with the 360 has allowed them to make better use of its hardware.
But here’s the interesting tidbit guys, while yes the 360 has been on sale for 1 year
more, devkits for both consoles were out within months of each other. And on top of
that EA has already released a Madden game on the PS3. This isn’t their first PS3
madden game so why are they claiming that the time is the issue when it almost certainly
isn’t unless the 360 dev tools and Xbox Dev helpers at Microsoft really are that much
more helpful and easy to use than their Sony counterparts.
In the end does it really matter? NO It doesn’t because as the USA Today put it when
they reviewed Madden 08,
“However, when you stack them head-to-head, it’s clear which is better.
Madden on 360 is fast and fluid, thanks to a sharp jump in frame rate that allows
the game to move twice as fast.”“PS3 owners, unfortunately, are greeted with a Madden that is sluggish
in comparison. Action stutters far too often, particularly on injuries, penalties
and turnovers.”
So does it really matter the reason, claiming development time and the learning curve
is the issue is a moot point. Because what some analysts seem to forget is that whether
it be 2, 3 or 4 years into the life cycle of this generation of gaming, the Xbox360
will remain 1 year ahead in the “learning curve” for developers, top that off with
killer development tools and wicked support to game developers, and well you can probably
expect quite a few more madden fiascos in the future. Especially if PS3 sales remain
abysmal overall and developers focus their attention on the bigger markets, namely
the 360 and Wii.
Source: GameIndustry
Top 10 Best Selling Games
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