http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1891/Race-Driver-GRID/p1/
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Race Driver: GRID Preview (Xbox 360)
http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1891/Race-Driver-GRID/p1/
GRAW 2 Co-op Collection 2 Revealed
MISSIONS:
Bridges – (Ghost Recon: Island Thunder)
Stronghold – (Ghost Recon: Island Thunder)
Depot – (Ghost Recon: Desert Siege)
Riverbed – (Ghost Recon: Desert Siege)
Ghost Town – (Ghost Recon: Desert Siege)
Roadblock – (Ghost Recon: Desert Siege)
Island – (Ghost Recon: Island Thunder)
Treatment Plant – (Brand New)
Mining Camp – (Brand New)
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Is Gears of War Better Than Halo?
Is Gears of War Better Than Halo? Two heroes. Two evil alien races. Two sweeping sci-fi universes. Two battles for humanity's survival. Two franchises. Two multiplayer kings. Two best-selling, megaton-popular action games beloved by consumers and celebrated by critics. Two shooters competing for the title of Xbox 360 champion.
The Halo and Gears of War series are both incredible, but in a world of internet trolls and blind fanboy allegiance, only one can be crowned. So, in an effort to declare a final victor - or at least ignite a flame war - GamesRadar Editors Charlie Barratt and Chris Antista put aside all professional objectivity and fair minded rationality for a bloody (and juvenile) battle royale.
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/haloradar-gears-of-war-vs-halo/a-20080229153630372055
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Monday, 25 February 2008
Friday, 22 February 2008
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Ninja Gaiden 2 Dated
At the 2008 GDC keynote, Microsoft has announced that Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden 2 will be released on June 3, 2008 in the United States. The game will be released worlwide the same month.
In Ninja Gaiden 2, gamers must guide Ryu Hayabusa on a mission to avenge his clan and prevent the destruction of the human race. Armed with an assortment of ninja weaponry, players must help Ryu skillfully maneuver through a world fraught with peril and danger.
In Ninja Gaiden 2, gamers must guide Ryu Hayabusa on a mission to avenge his clan and prevent the destruction of the human race. Armed with an assortment of ninja weaponry, players must help Ryu skillfully maneuver through a world fraught with peril and danger.
It’s A 3 Console Generation, Get Over It
by Torrence Davis
For those of you who somehow think that there will be a single victor this console generation, think again. Like the days of the SNES and Sega Genesis, we have not only 2, but 3 video game consoles that will fight this generation to a stalemate.
Usually in the war of consoles, there are winners and losers. Nintendo destroyed Sega back in the 8-bit era, but in the 16-bit era, both Sega and Nintendo were equally successful with their consoles. When Sony stepped in the game, Nintendo and Sega couldn’t get a foothold. As awesome as the Sega Saturn was, it was destroyed by Sony’s business sense. They had better hardware, it was easier to develop games on and Sony was buying ip’s left and right. Nintendo had a short success with the N64, but we had already moved on to CD’s. Cartridges were too expensive and not as versatile as optical discs.
I’d have to say the biggest console blow in history was the day that Sega went cold turkey on the Dreamcast. It was almost as if they gave up on the system before it could even finish the fight it started. Did Sega see something coming that we didn’t? The Dreamcast still stands, in my opinion, as one of the greatest consoles ever made.
And what became of the Gamecube? Damn it was a hot little box. It didn’t make sense for developers to make 3 iterations of their games, especially since Gamecube versions sold poorly in comparison to the Xbox and PS2. Many argue that the Xbox was a more powerful machine than the PS2, but Microsoft didn’t have the Japanese 3rd party support to push it to success in Japan. Plus Japanese gamers are fickle when it comes to name brand. Microsoft did well, but lost to Sony’s world domination of 100+ million consoles.
Sony had destroyed the competition for 2 generations in a row. Everyone is banking on them doing the same thing once again for the 3rd time around. This time however, Microsoft and Nintendo are playing with loaded dice. First Nintendo tapped an untappable market; the baby boomer gamers. They managed to get everyone that games and everyone that doesn’t game to buy the Wii. We are talking about a demographic that spans 18 - 70yr old individuals. Non-gamers rushing out to buy a game system is still mind boggling to me. Both my aunt and my mothers friend bought Wii’s and they are in their 50’s.
Next comes Microsoft. They beat Sony to the punch by an entire year. They scored a bunch of great ip’s and finally got some Japanese developers on board. While Xbox 360’s are selling in low numbers in Japan, they are still selling. Microsoft, being the smart company they are, has limited distribution in Japan. So they really aren’t spending as much money in Japan and are getting a small return. They managed to steal some great ip’s from Sony and for the first time get a GTA launch game. The piss poor hardware quality of the Xbox 360 hurt them. I’d go as far as saying that one big mistake cost them a few million console sales. They’ve recovered and managed to stay ahead of Sony.
Sony had a slow start as well. They had a lackluster system launch, high priced hardware and one too many SKUs. They’ve dropped the price several times since launch and are on the turn around with the PS3. This year looks to be the best for the PS3 like 2007 was the best for the 360. Sony is now battling on two fronts: One against Microsoft and another against Nintendo.
The Wii will continue to sell and so will the 360. The Xbox 360 is now a household name in America and it shows. The majority of Xbox 360 sales are made in North America and Europe. Sony makes more sales in Japan and Europe. Nintendo is selling equally worldwide. While Sony has made an incredible 180 degree turn around in 2008 and are finally outselling the Xbox 360 in Europe, they have a long way to go before they can catch the Microsoft. Even if the PS3 outsells the 360 by 100k a month, they are only gaining 1.2 million sales ahead of Microsoft per year. At this rate it would take Sony 6 years just to catch up to Microsoft.
The bottom line, gamers have chosen their sides, all 3 of them. As long as all 3 systems continue selling, there will never be a clear winner of this generation. This is a good thing. No one wants to relive the pain of our beloved Dreamcast going belly up again. Enjoy what you have and stop hoping for world domination. Competition is good for gaming.
For those of you who somehow think that there will be a single victor this console generation, think again. Like the days of the SNES and Sega Genesis, we have not only 2, but 3 video game consoles that will fight this generation to a stalemate.
Usually in the war of consoles, there are winners and losers. Nintendo destroyed Sega back in the 8-bit era, but in the 16-bit era, both Sega and Nintendo were equally successful with their consoles. When Sony stepped in the game, Nintendo and Sega couldn’t get a foothold. As awesome as the Sega Saturn was, it was destroyed by Sony’s business sense. They had better hardware, it was easier to develop games on and Sony was buying ip’s left and right. Nintendo had a short success with the N64, but we had already moved on to CD’s. Cartridges were too expensive and not as versatile as optical discs.
I’d have to say the biggest console blow in history was the day that Sega went cold turkey on the Dreamcast. It was almost as if they gave up on the system before it could even finish the fight it started. Did Sega see something coming that we didn’t? The Dreamcast still stands, in my opinion, as one of the greatest consoles ever made.
And what became of the Gamecube? Damn it was a hot little box. It didn’t make sense for developers to make 3 iterations of their games, especially since Gamecube versions sold poorly in comparison to the Xbox and PS2. Many argue that the Xbox was a more powerful machine than the PS2, but Microsoft didn’t have the Japanese 3rd party support to push it to success in Japan. Plus Japanese gamers are fickle when it comes to name brand. Microsoft did well, but lost to Sony’s world domination of 100+ million consoles.
Sony had destroyed the competition for 2 generations in a row. Everyone is banking on them doing the same thing once again for the 3rd time around. This time however, Microsoft and Nintendo are playing with loaded dice. First Nintendo tapped an untappable market; the baby boomer gamers. They managed to get everyone that games and everyone that doesn’t game to buy the Wii. We are talking about a demographic that spans 18 - 70yr old individuals. Non-gamers rushing out to buy a game system is still mind boggling to me. Both my aunt and my mothers friend bought Wii’s and they are in their 50’s.
Next comes Microsoft. They beat Sony to the punch by an entire year. They scored a bunch of great ip’s and finally got some Japanese developers on board. While Xbox 360’s are selling in low numbers in Japan, they are still selling. Microsoft, being the smart company they are, has limited distribution in Japan. So they really aren’t spending as much money in Japan and are getting a small return. They managed to steal some great ip’s from Sony and for the first time get a GTA launch game. The piss poor hardware quality of the Xbox 360 hurt them. I’d go as far as saying that one big mistake cost them a few million console sales. They’ve recovered and managed to stay ahead of Sony.
Sony had a slow start as well. They had a lackluster system launch, high priced hardware and one too many SKUs. They’ve dropped the price several times since launch and are on the turn around with the PS3. This year looks to be the best for the PS3 like 2007 was the best for the 360. Sony is now battling on two fronts: One against Microsoft and another against Nintendo.
The Wii will continue to sell and so will the 360. The Xbox 360 is now a household name in America and it shows. The majority of Xbox 360 sales are made in North America and Europe. Sony makes more sales in Japan and Europe. Nintendo is selling equally worldwide. While Sony has made an incredible 180 degree turn around in 2008 and are finally outselling the Xbox 360 in Europe, they have a long way to go before they can catch the Microsoft. Even if the PS3 outsells the 360 by 100k a month, they are only gaining 1.2 million sales ahead of Microsoft per year. At this rate it would take Sony 6 years just to catch up to Microsoft.
The bottom line, gamers have chosen their sides, all 3 of them. As long as all 3 systems continue selling, there will never be a clear winner of this generation. This is a good thing. No one wants to relive the pain of our beloved Dreamcast going belly up again. Enjoy what you have and stop hoping for world domination. Competition is good for gaming.
Devil May Cry 4 sells over 2 million units
Capcom have revealed that they have shipped over two million units worldwide of Devil May Cry 4 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Devil May Cry 4 immerses gamers in a gothic supernatural world, where a new protagonist clashes with series mainstay Dante. As new leading man Nero players will be able to unleash incredibly powerful and stylish attacks and non-stop combos using a combination of the Devil Bringer right arm and the Exceed system, both of which are new gameplay mechanics for the series. Taking full advantage of the advanced graphical and processing power of the next-gen systems it draws gamers into the Devil May Cry world like never before with highly detailed and expansive environments, even more enemies to defeat and some of the most breath-taking bosses ever conceived.
Devil May Cry 4 is currently topping the ELSPA Charts for both the Xbox 360 and PS3, while the series has amassed total worldwide sales to date of over 9 million units and become a pillar franchise for Capcom.
Devil May Cry 4 immerses gamers in a gothic supernatural world, where a new protagonist clashes with series mainstay Dante. As new leading man Nero players will be able to unleash incredibly powerful and stylish attacks and non-stop combos using a combination of the Devil Bringer right arm and the Exceed system, both of which are new gameplay mechanics for the series. Taking full advantage of the advanced graphical and processing power of the next-gen systems it draws gamers into the Devil May Cry world like never before with highly detailed and expansive environments, even more enemies to defeat and some of the most breath-taking bosses ever conceived.
Devil May Cry 4 is currently topping the ELSPA Charts for both the Xbox 360 and PS3, while the series has amassed total worldwide sales to date of over 9 million units and become a pillar franchise for Capcom.
Gears of War 2 Announced At GDC
By Brandon Hofer (XBL: ShadowNextGen) - 20 Feb 08
The Microsoft keynote at GDC just ended minutes ago with some big announcements. Along with these big announcements Itagaki was on hand to demo more of Ninja Gaiden 2 as well as Peter Molyneaux showing up to show off more of Fable 2. During the keynote there were some big announcements that came out about upcoming titles.
First of all Itagaki announced that Ninja Gaiden II has a confirmed release date of June 3, 2008. In Ninja Gaiden II you will be abe to upload clips of your videos to XBox Live and people can then dowload them from leaderboards. I would assume that this would work similarly to how the Halo 3 saved films feature work.
Next Peter Molyneaux is on stage and is going through a live demo of Fable 2. Apparently in the game you won't get money from doing quests but rather working jobs or playing games of chance. There will also apparently be an XBLA game outside of Fable 2 specifically that will allow you to build up your money for use in Fable 2 before you even have the game! The next big feature announced for Fable 2 was co-op! You can hop in at any point to join another persons game. Also apparently anything you get in your friends world you can bring back to your own.
After those big announcements a video is then shown for Gears of War 2! There was no gameplay however supposedly a Gears of War 2 teaser video will be available later on today on XBox Live Marketplace. Cliffy B then comes out and announces that this game is a 360 exclusive and will come out in November 2008.
The Microsoft keynote at GDC just ended minutes ago with some big announcements. Along with these big announcements Itagaki was on hand to demo more of Ninja Gaiden 2 as well as Peter Molyneaux showing up to show off more of Fable 2. During the keynote there were some big announcements that came out about upcoming titles.
First of all Itagaki announced that Ninja Gaiden II has a confirmed release date of June 3, 2008. In Ninja Gaiden II you will be abe to upload clips of your videos to XBox Live and people can then dowload them from leaderboards. I would assume that this would work similarly to how the Halo 3 saved films feature work.
Next Peter Molyneaux is on stage and is going through a live demo of Fable 2. Apparently in the game you won't get money from doing quests but rather working jobs or playing games of chance. There will also apparently be an XBLA game outside of Fable 2 specifically that will allow you to build up your money for use in Fable 2 before you even have the game! The next big feature announced for Fable 2 was co-op! You can hop in at any point to join another persons game. Also apparently anything you get in your friends world you can bring back to your own.
After those big announcements a video is then shown for Gears of War 2! There was no gameplay however supposedly a Gears of War 2 teaser video will be available later on today on XBox Live Marketplace. Cliffy B then comes out and announces that this game is a 360 exclusive and will come out in November 2008.
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
BREAKING NEWS: Universal will release on Blu-ray
By Henning Molbaek
FIRST ONLINE Feb 19, 2008
Following the announcement of Toshiba discontinuing HD DVD Universal made a statement to Home Media Magazine.
"While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray," said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
"The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for hi-def´s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."
More when it arrives.
FIRST ONLINE Feb 19, 2008
Following the announcement of Toshiba discontinuing HD DVD Universal made a statement to Home Media Magazine.
"While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray," said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
"The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for hi-def´s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."
More when it arrives.
Left 4 Dead Xbox 360 Revealed as Exclusive
Left 4 Dead Xbox 360 Revealed! - 2/17/08
The March 2008 issue of the Official Xbox Magazine features Left 4 Dead on its cover, revealing the Xbox 360 version for the first time. OXM visited Valve where they played the Hospital and Cornfield scenarios on the PC and they also had the chance to see Cornfield running on Xbox 360 development hardware. This is the first time that the press has been able to see the Xbox 360 version, which still has some ways to go to match the PC: "Valve didn't let us play the 360 edition of Left 4 Dead because it was too early and unbalanced - apparently, the zombies were so overpowered that humans stood no chance." And about the graphics, "'The 360 look is almost to where the PC is, and we'll get it up to the PC look before we ship,' promises Faliszek."
The five page article contains about 8 new screenshots along with some others we've seen before, with some nice lighting going on. The multiplayer capabilities of the Xbox 360 were discussed with Doug Lombardi:
Left 4 Dead will feature four-player co-op and eight-player, 4-on-4 Versus matches via Xbox Live or System Link. What about a split screen mode? "That's the most relevant question that we can't answer for you today," replies Valve's Doug Lombardi with a laugh. "It's a good thing to want. Being able to play two people split-screen ... four player would be even better, but I don't think four- would happen. But for us, the idea of having two people play split-screen, playing co-op on the couch and letting the NPC's fill out the rest ... it's a pretty big feature for us to chase. But right now, we're not ready to say if it's in or it's out."
The other big news from this article is that a separate game company named Certain Affinity is handling the Xbox 360 version. Certain Affinity is a small game developer founded in November 2006 based in Austin, Texas with about 16 employees. Their first product was Halo 2's Blastacular Map Pack for Bungie and Microsoft. Certain Affinity is led by Max Hoberman, a 10-year Bungie veteran who was multiplayer lead for both Halo 2 and Halo 3. OXM explained how the work is divided between the three (now two, since Turtle Rock Studios has been absorbed by Valve):
Left 4 Dead is the work of three companies - Valve Software, Turtle Rock Studios, and Certain Affinity. As the creators of The Orange Box and the Source engine, Valve is handling the games core software functionality. Certain Affinity (the Texas company created by ex-Bungie veteran Max Hoberman) was brought on to handle 360-specific elements like matchmaking, Live support, console customization, and 360 gameplay tweaks. Turtle Rock - developer of Counter-Strike for the original Xbox and the Pc's more recent Counter-Strike: Source - owns Left 4 Dead's design. Monsters, level work, weapons, and especially the game's A.I. all fall to the Turtle Rock crew.
Max Hoberman was in charge of the entire online system for Halo 2 and 3, including matchmaking and the party system. Having that experience behind the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead is very exciting - as I understand it, Halo 2 and 3 did pretty well in the online arena! Some other things of note in the OXM article: The escape vehicle on Cornfield is a "heavily armed flatbed" truck. They played with NPC teammates that "behaved impressively like human players", which is the first time we've seen Survivor AI mentioned.
OXM states the following: "EXCLUSIVE: The PC and 360 versions of Left 4 Dead will ship simultaneously, but there will be no PS3 edition." No quote is given, so until we hear it straight from the mouth of Lombardi or Booth, we're not certain. Thanks to OXM for its great coverage of Left 4 Dead, and we wish luck to Certain Affinity on its task of taming the 360 version of Left 4 Dead!
The March 2008 issue of the Official Xbox Magazine features Left 4 Dead on its cover, revealing the Xbox 360 version for the first time. OXM visited Valve where they played the Hospital and Cornfield scenarios on the PC and they also had the chance to see Cornfield running on Xbox 360 development hardware. This is the first time that the press has been able to see the Xbox 360 version, which still has some ways to go to match the PC: "Valve didn't let us play the 360 edition of Left 4 Dead because it was too early and unbalanced - apparently, the zombies were so overpowered that humans stood no chance." And about the graphics, "'The 360 look is almost to where the PC is, and we'll get it up to the PC look before we ship,' promises Faliszek."
The five page article contains about 8 new screenshots along with some others we've seen before, with some nice lighting going on. The multiplayer capabilities of the Xbox 360 were discussed with Doug Lombardi:
Left 4 Dead will feature four-player co-op and eight-player, 4-on-4 Versus matches via Xbox Live or System Link. What about a split screen mode? "That's the most relevant question that we can't answer for you today," replies Valve's Doug Lombardi with a laugh. "It's a good thing to want. Being able to play two people split-screen ... four player would be even better, but I don't think four- would happen. But for us, the idea of having two people play split-screen, playing co-op on the couch and letting the NPC's fill out the rest ... it's a pretty big feature for us to chase. But right now, we're not ready to say if it's in or it's out."
The other big news from this article is that a separate game company named Certain Affinity is handling the Xbox 360 version. Certain Affinity is a small game developer founded in November 2006 based in Austin, Texas with about 16 employees. Their first product was Halo 2's Blastacular Map Pack for Bungie and Microsoft. Certain Affinity is led by Max Hoberman, a 10-year Bungie veteran who was multiplayer lead for both Halo 2 and Halo 3. OXM explained how the work is divided between the three (now two, since Turtle Rock Studios has been absorbed by Valve):
Left 4 Dead is the work of three companies - Valve Software, Turtle Rock Studios, and Certain Affinity. As the creators of The Orange Box and the Source engine, Valve is handling the games core software functionality. Certain Affinity (the Texas company created by ex-Bungie veteran Max Hoberman) was brought on to handle 360-specific elements like matchmaking, Live support, console customization, and 360 gameplay tweaks. Turtle Rock - developer of Counter-Strike for the original Xbox and the Pc's more recent Counter-Strike: Source - owns Left 4 Dead's design. Monsters, level work, weapons, and especially the game's A.I. all fall to the Turtle Rock crew.
Max Hoberman was in charge of the entire online system for Halo 2 and 3, including matchmaking and the party system. Having that experience behind the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead is very exciting - as I understand it, Halo 2 and 3 did pretty well in the online arena! Some other things of note in the OXM article: The escape vehicle on Cornfield is a "heavily armed flatbed" truck. They played with NPC teammates that "behaved impressively like human players", which is the first time we've seen Survivor AI mentioned.
OXM states the following: "EXCLUSIVE: The PC and 360 versions of Left 4 Dead will ship simultaneously, but there will be no PS3 edition." No quote is given, so until we hear it straight from the mouth of Lombardi or Booth, we're not certain. Thanks to OXM for its great coverage of Left 4 Dead, and we wish luck to Certain Affinity on its task of taming the 360 version of Left 4 Dead!
Is Blu-ray a Microsoft victory?
So Sony have won the format war for HD TV content distribution. The Blu-ray disk has beaten HD DVD to become the new standard. The first Sony media victory since the Microfloppy of 1982.
But it has cost Sony dear. Difficulties mass producing Blu-ray drives in 2005/6 delayed the PS3 getting to market. And when it did the high cost of the drives compared with DVDs contributed to Sony having to charge a premium price for the console, which stunted sales. These factors may possibly result in Sony coming third in this generation of the console wars. For certain they haven’t dominated like they did in the last generation with PS2. A very high cost to pay.
Meanwhile Microsoft did not build an HD drive into the Xbox 360. This enabled them to get their console to market more quickly and for a lower price. So they have maintained a significant lead over Sony in this generation of console. By having the HD drive as an external add on Microsoft hedged it’s bets. It didn’t bother them or effect them commercially whichever format won. They would just make external drives using whichever format won. And so they will.
Of course none of this has any impact on Nintendo. They, quite literally, are playing a different game
Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses
By Neil Vaughan - 19 Feb 08
Toshiba have officially announced that they will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders.
"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation.
"While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."
Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements.
Toshiba have officially announced that they will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders.
"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation.
"While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."
Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements.
Monday, 18 February 2008
Microsoft Building a New Live Experience?
According to a new job posting on Games on Deck, Microsoft is looking for new employees to help build "a totally new Live experience". Here's the job description:
Want to be involved in the next release of Xbox? Join the server-backed games team, part of the Xbox LIVE team that's responsible for creating a completely new way for mainstream audiences to enjoy the Xbox and LIVE.
We're building the games, the console interface and logic, and the server support for a totally new LIVE experience. Both the games and the dashboard experience will be deeply paired with dynamic server support to create a compelling, fresh scenario each time. We're a small, entrepreneurial team working together to get things done very quickly in an agile environment. If you want to work in a space where you'll get all the responsibility you can swallow, and run as fast as you can, this team is for you.
We are looking for a passionate Games Producer to help implement our first generation games that will run in this new environment. Specific job responsibilities include Managing internal and external development of the games, contract negotiation and management, technical design reviews and scheduling. You will also interact with our content team and help them bring their designs to life. As we're a small team, we want independent people that are driven for results and able to wear multiple hats to get things done quickly.
Is a drastic change in store for Xbox Live? I'd be surprised personally, but what's your take?
by Matt Gibbs
Want to be involved in the next release of Xbox? Join the server-backed games team, part of the Xbox LIVE team that's responsible for creating a completely new way for mainstream audiences to enjoy the Xbox and LIVE.
We're building the games, the console interface and logic, and the server support for a totally new LIVE experience. Both the games and the dashboard experience will be deeply paired with dynamic server support to create a compelling, fresh scenario each time. We're a small, entrepreneurial team working together to get things done very quickly in an agile environment. If you want to work in a space where you'll get all the responsibility you can swallow, and run as fast as you can, this team is for you.
We are looking for a passionate Games Producer to help implement our first generation games that will run in this new environment. Specific job responsibilities include Managing internal and external development of the games, contract negotiation and management, technical design reviews and scheduling. You will also interact with our content team and help them bring their designs to life. As we're a small team, we want independent people that are driven for results and able to wear multiple hats to get things done quickly.
Is a drastic change in store for Xbox Live? I'd be surprised personally, but what's your take?
by Matt Gibbs
A Blu Ray Enabled Xbox 360 in May?
With HD-DVD officially dead in the water, rumors have started circulating that Microsoft is about to dump the format too, and bring out a Blu Ray enabled Xbox 360 as earlier as May 2008! Smart House apparently has the inside word and it would seem that internal testing has been underway for quite some time!
Insiders at Microsoft in the USA have told SmartHouse that Microsoft has already configured a standalone Blu-ray player that can be connected into an Xbox 360 and that subject to internal marketing and sales approvals the model could be on sale within 3 months.
The Company has also been working on a built in Blu-ray player however insiders are claiming that Microsoft see the HD format battle moving online with consumers offered 1080p movie and content files as a download as opposed to having to buy a HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.
Both Intel and Microsoft have been supporters of the HD DVD format that is set to be killed off this week.
Furthermore, Smart House report that Sony has already commented on Microsoft coming out with such a Xbox 360, saying, "We would welcome Microsoft to the Blu-ray stable. In fact it is quite logical for them as the PS3 has been very succesful in driving consumers to Blu-ray. In fact we believe that it has done more to win the format war than traditional Blu-ray player".
Insiders at Microsoft in the USA have told SmartHouse that Microsoft has already configured a standalone Blu-ray player that can be connected into an Xbox 360 and that subject to internal marketing and sales approvals the model could be on sale within 3 months.
The Company has also been working on a built in Blu-ray player however insiders are claiming that Microsoft see the HD format battle moving online with consumers offered 1080p movie and content files as a download as opposed to having to buy a HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.
Both Intel and Microsoft have been supporters of the HD DVD format that is set to be killed off this week.
Furthermore, Smart House report that Sony has already commented on Microsoft coming out with such a Xbox 360, saying, "We would welcome Microsoft to the Blu-ray stable. In fact it is quite logical for them as the PS3 has been very succesful in driving consumers to Blu-ray. In fact we believe that it has done more to win the format war than traditional Blu-ray player".
Call of Duty 4 Downloadable Content Confirmed
Activision and Infinity Ward confirm that new downloadable multiplayer maps are on the way this spring. In development for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into new combat zones across a variety of intense multiplayer locales.
Stay tuned for more details, map descriptions and screenshots of the hot new content
Stay tuned for more details, map descriptions and screenshots of the hot new content
Toshiba: HD-DVD Business Is Not Dead - Yet
Toshiba has refused to confirm speculation that it is set to pull the plug on its HD-DVD platform, but has announced that it is “currently assessing its business strategies”.
Media reports this weekend suggested Toshiba was planning to cease HD-DVD production, and hailed Sony and its Blu-ray technology as the victors in the high-definition format war.
However, in a brief statement Toshiba has moved to quell the speculation - for now.
“The media reported that Toshiba will discontinue its HD-DVD business. Toshiba has not made any announcement concerning this. Although Toshiba is currently assessing its business strategies, no decision has been made at this moment.”
According to Reuters, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the format war was over as Toshiba, which has been struck by the defection of most of the major film studios to Sony-backed Blu-ray, prepared to cease HD-DVD production. The report said that Toshiba would continue to sell existing HD-DVD products at stores but not invest further resources in product development.
Should Toshiba withdraw from the format war the firm is expected to suffer losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rumors have begun to circulate that Microsoft, which backed the Toshiba format with the release of an Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, has already configured a standalone Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360, while a new 360 with an in-built Blu-ray player is also said to be in the works.
Microsoft has previously said that the success of the HD-DVD format is not critical to the long-term fortunes of the Xbox 360, noting that it would consider releasing a Blu-ray player for the system should the technology be victorious over Toshiba’s format.
Media reports this weekend suggested Toshiba was planning to cease HD-DVD production, and hailed Sony and its Blu-ray technology as the victors in the high-definition format war.
However, in a brief statement Toshiba has moved to quell the speculation - for now.
“The media reported that Toshiba will discontinue its HD-DVD business. Toshiba has not made any announcement concerning this. Although Toshiba is currently assessing its business strategies, no decision has been made at this moment.”
According to Reuters, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the format war was over as Toshiba, which has been struck by the defection of most of the major film studios to Sony-backed Blu-ray, prepared to cease HD-DVD production. The report said that Toshiba would continue to sell existing HD-DVD products at stores but not invest further resources in product development.
Should Toshiba withdraw from the format war the firm is expected to suffer losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rumors have begun to circulate that Microsoft, which backed the Toshiba format with the release of an Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, has already configured a standalone Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360, while a new 360 with an in-built Blu-ray player is also said to be in the works.
Microsoft has previously said that the success of the HD-DVD format is not critical to the long-term fortunes of the Xbox 360, noting that it would consider releasing a Blu-ray player for the system should the technology be victorious over Toshiba’s format.
Review: Madcatz Xbox 360 HDMI Conversion Kit
Microsoft first balked at the idea of including HDMI in it’s original Xbox 360. While Sony gave it’s gamers everything they needed for high definition gaming, you were stuck with either VGA or Component for your 360. I’ll admit, back then I didn’t care about HDMI either, that is until I ran out of component ports on my TV. Madcatz has come to the rescue with their Xbox 360 HDMI Conversion Kit.
The kit is surprisingly well put together. It comes with the converter and heavily shielded HDMI and optical cables. The kit retails for $89 which is seriously steep, but at least it comes with the cables.
The converter plugs into your Xbox 360 AV slot. On the converter are ports for HDMI and optical cables. Upon powering up your 360, your TV will recognize the HDMI right away. I tested the kit out on a 32″ Sony Bravia KDL-32SL130, which is surprisingly, 1080p capable.
The first test I did was 1080p gaming. I switched to 1080p mode without a hitch. I had to adjust the TV’s brightness because it was too bright. It was already set for extended blacks so I left that setting alone. Supposedly, the signal coming from the Xbox AV connecter is analog. So the conversion kit does an analog to digital conversion before the signal hits your TV. Some might say that there is degradation in the image quality because of the conversion, but I didn’t see any. It ran Assassin’s Creed in full 1080p without a hitch and it looked beautiful. I also tested out Super Puzzle Fighter HD and the Devil May Cry 4 demo. They both looked as gorgeous as HD gaming gets.
The next test was the DVD upconversion to 1080p. Now Madcatz claims in their press release that it does upconvert your DVD movies to 1080p. I tested 2 DVDs and the results were a 480p conversion, which is the same conversion you get with component cables. In fact, the Sony Bravia supports 1080p from the component cables. I can only assume that the analog to digital conversion isn’t converting the 480p signal at all. This is a downer for those that watch movies on their 360.
I like the fact that the 1080p games still maintain that beautifully sharp image through the HDMI. While it doesn’t upconvert your DVDs like it’s supposed to, it’s still a great solution for bringing HDMI to your old Xbox 360. Some however, would rather sell their 360 and buy one equipped with an HDMI port that actually does do the upconversion. Plus the $89 price point hurts the pocket. That’s worth 2 games right there. If you can afford the conversion kit, then you can afford to buy another 360. If you’re a budget gamer, I can’t see paying such a high price for this when you can use the money on games. Also, it may be too little and too late for Madcatz to capitalize on this. I think if this was released shortly after the 360, they would have made some good sales.
HD DVD IS DEAD!!!
The final nail in HD DVD’s coffin has been pounded in as the only independent pressing plant that supported both formats has gone Blu ray only. Press release follows:
The only indie multi-format high definition disc pressing plant, Blue Ray Technologies, will drop its HD-DVD lines without waiting for the widely-reported and anticipated announcement of Toshiba's retreat from HD-DVD.
"This is a victory for the consumers, who can now move in to the stunning high def disc world and build collections with confidence," said industry expert Erick Hansen, a DVD pioneer and chairman of Blue Ray Technologies. "Toshiba can take heart in that there is no shame: it was a battle well-fought and that they have several adaptable technologies and backup plans."
In fact, no orders had come in to the full-service disc manufacturer for HD-DVDs, even partial orders along with Blu-ray clients looking to service both markets, since November. The indie film companies that BRT serves had seen the death of the HD-DVD format long before last week's announcement that Walmart, Blockbuster and Netflix were dropping the format - and even before Warner Bros. announced in January at the CES show they were going Blu-ray only.
"This week we will dismantle our HD-DVD lines and will be adding new equipment to bolster our Blue-ray manufacturing," said Hansen explaining, "Despite our name and preference, we always offered HD-DVDs as a service to our customers. Now we will reconfigure part of that equipment to make DVDs and CDs," said Hansen. "The indie film companies moved quicker than the studios and gradually stopped mixed orders in favor of Blu-ray late last year."
Hansen explained "They preferred the larger capacity and full 1080p quality of the Blu-ray discs going forward. We saw this but since I have been saying HD-DVD was DOA for four years, we still had to wait for the industry to catch up to the inevitable. HD-DVD is dead, all that is left is the burial."
He said "We are waiting this week for the other shoes to drop from Universal and Paramount/DreamWorks, the last studios to support HD-DVD over Blu-ray -- and word from Microsoft, who used the now-obsolete format as an add-on to their Xbox game console."
The only indie multi-format high definition disc pressing plant, Blue Ray Technologies, will drop its HD-DVD lines without waiting for the widely-reported and anticipated announcement of Toshiba's retreat from HD-DVD.
"This is a victory for the consumers, who can now move in to the stunning high def disc world and build collections with confidence," said industry expert Erick Hansen, a DVD pioneer and chairman of Blue Ray Technologies. "Toshiba can take heart in that there is no shame: it was a battle well-fought and that they have several adaptable technologies and backup plans."
In fact, no orders had come in to the full-service disc manufacturer for HD-DVDs, even partial orders along with Blu-ray clients looking to service both markets, since November. The indie film companies that BRT serves had seen the death of the HD-DVD format long before last week's announcement that Walmart, Blockbuster and Netflix were dropping the format - and even before Warner Bros. announced in January at the CES show they were going Blu-ray only.
"This week we will dismantle our HD-DVD lines and will be adding new equipment to bolster our Blue-ray manufacturing," said Hansen explaining, "Despite our name and preference, we always offered HD-DVDs as a service to our customers. Now we will reconfigure part of that equipment to make DVDs and CDs," said Hansen. "The indie film companies moved quicker than the studios and gradually stopped mixed orders in favor of Blu-ray late last year."
Hansen explained "They preferred the larger capacity and full 1080p quality of the Blu-ray discs going forward. We saw this but since I have been saying HD-DVD was DOA for four years, we still had to wait for the industry to catch up to the inevitable. HD-DVD is dead, all that is left is the burial."
He said "We are waiting this week for the other shoes to drop from Universal and Paramount/DreamWorks, the last studios to support HD-DVD over Blu-ray -- and word from Microsoft, who used the now-obsolete format as an add-on to their Xbox game console."
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Microsoft is Bringing it Home again
Microsoft is Bringing it Home again, this time from the upcoming Game Developers Conference. Starting Feb 20th, Xbox LIVE will be introduced to “breaking news” from GDC in the form of delicious new Marketplace content.
What’s already known to pop up for sure is the highlights of the keynote address by Corporate Vice President John Schappert. His keynote address, “A Future Wide Open: Unleashing the Creative Community,” will provide a view into what Microsoft is up to this year when it comes to their Interactive Entertainment Business.
We’ll also see never-before-seen gameplay, demos, screenshots, game trailers and interviews from the GDC show floor. Bring it!
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Call of Duty 4 Patch Heads to Microsoft for Certification
Feb. 13, 2008 7:12 AM PST
The new feature patch (new Kill Cams, Host Migration, and other new features) for the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4 has finished its internal testing and development and has officially been sent off to Microsft.
The new feature patch (new Kill Cams, Host Migration, and other new features) for the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4 has finished its internal testing and development and has officially been sent off to Microsft.
GTA IV Multiplayer Mode Unique to 360?
UPDATE - Don Mattrick says Microsoft’s bagged more than just exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV.
"GTA IV is an amazing piece of software and I'm really excited with its downloadable content and online multiplayer support. Again, that's something that's unique to 360,” Microsoft's senior VP of Interactive Entertainment, Mattrick, told Major Nelson during a recent podcast.
"We think consumers are going to love that and it's going to create, what I would describe again as the premium experience on our platform."
While it was previously announced that downloadable content exclusive to Xbox 360 would follow GTA IV's April release, there has been no previous mention of any multiplayer mode platform exclusivity. We've contacted Rockstar for clarification on the matter.
Additionally, Mattrick said in the podcast that Microsoft was working hard to address Xbox 360 hardware shortage issues that cropped up over the holiday season.
"We'd hoped to have a strong showing in North America this holiday season, and we had a stronger showing than anticipated. We had some shortages, we weren't able to deliver enough hardware against demand that was in the market.
"That's a great problem to have, we're addressing that in the coming year. It's going to take a little bit of time for us to amp up our manufacturing but we're really encouraged that people purchased as many games and as many boxes as they did on our platform and we think that bodes well for the future."
"GTA IV is an amazing piece of software and I'm really excited with its downloadable content and online multiplayer support. Again, that's something that's unique to 360,” Microsoft's senior VP of Interactive Entertainment, Mattrick, told Major Nelson during a recent podcast.
"We think consumers are going to love that and it's going to create, what I would describe again as the premium experience on our platform."
While it was previously announced that downloadable content exclusive to Xbox 360 would follow GTA IV's April release, there has been no previous mention of any multiplayer mode platform exclusivity. We've contacted Rockstar for clarification on the matter.
Additionally, Mattrick said in the podcast that Microsoft was working hard to address Xbox 360 hardware shortage issues that cropped up over the holiday season.
"We'd hoped to have a strong showing in North America this holiday season, and we had a stronger showing than anticipated. We had some shortages, we weren't able to deliver enough hardware against demand that was in the market.
"That's a great problem to have, we're addressing that in the coming year. It's going to take a little bit of time for us to amp up our manufacturing but we're really encouraged that people purchased as many games and as many boxes as they did on our platform and we think that bodes well for the future."
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Devil May Cry 4 Demo Tops Million Download Mark
This morning, Capcom announced that the Xbox 360 demo version of Devil May Cry 4 has hit a million downloads, based on numbers supplied by Microsoft. ...
The one million downloads benchmark makes Devil May Cry 4 the most downloaded demo of 2008 so far. While that may not seem like a big deal, it certainly says a lot about the buzz and interest in the game on Xbox 360.
Strong 360 sales help Devil May Cry 4 debut at No.1
Xbox accounts for 61 per cent of units sold in UK
The latest title in the former Sony exclusive franchise Devil May Cry has debuted in the UK's All Formats charts at number one, with the lion's share of sales on the Xbox 360.
Sixty one per cent of sales were on the Microsoft console, with the rest on Sony's PlayStation 3 and PC. The game is number one in the All Formats charts but also the individual format charts as well.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Shane kim interview
Shane Kim
DICE 08 Interview (February 8, 2008)
scroll on right side for interview
Bizarre Creations Announces PGR 4 DLC
Project Gotham creator Bizarre Creations has just announced the first two DLC packs for the critically acclaimed racer Project Gotham Racing 4. Complete details follow:
Free Challenge Pack (Free)
"Download the new Free PGR 4 Challenge Pack from Bizarre, and you'll drive the hydrogen-powered 2007 Peugeot Flux, winner of the 2007 Peugeot International Design Competition. Plus, you'll get two new game modes-one of them the player-requested Tourist Mode, which lets you tool around any city in the game checking out sights with your friends. Or play Free Roam Cat and Mouse, where a slow mouse vehicle must avoid enemy cats. And you add another 10 achievements. Get more racing fun for the best price-free!"
Premium Challenge Pack (400 points)
"The Premium PGR 4 Challenge Pack from Bizarre, available for 400 Microsoft(r) Points, gives you seven new cars-the 2008 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Concept, 2007 Volkswagen Golf GTI W12-650, 2007 Peugeot Flux, 1987 BMW M3 E30 DTM, 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia, 2008 Honda S2000 CR, and 2008 Callaway C16 Speedster. You get three new bikes-the 2007 Yamaha YZF-R1, 1995 Aprilia RS 250, and 1998 Aprilia RSV 1000 Tuono R."
"Plus, new World Challenge Arcade Mode gives you 20 arcade events in 3 themed chapters, including 5 events that can only be done on platinum. In Tourist Mode, get a free ride with friends around any game city. In Free Roam Cat and Mouse, a slow mouse vehicle runs from enemy cats. Ten new achievements fill out the pack."
Both packs include brand new achievements (10 in total, although 3 are only available to owners of the premium pack). Here's the list:
Tourist Kudos King - Earn more kudos than anyone else in a Tourist event - 15 points
Open Cat Champion - Be a cat on the winning team in a Cat and Mouse Open Event - 15 points
Open Mouse Master - Be a mouse on the winning team in a Cat and Mouse Open Event - 15 points
Platinum Plus - Get all the platinum medals in the Platinum Plus Challenge - 60 points (earnable with Premium Challenge Pack)
Download King - Complete the DLC Challenge chapter - 60 points (earnable with Premium Challenge Pack)
Arcade Challenge- Complete Arcade Challenge chapter - 50 points (earnable with Premium Challenge Pack)
Cheater- Activate one of the cheats in the cheat menu - 5 points
Make the Grade - Attempt to qualify for a Tournament -10 points
01 Yee Haw: Puzzle 4 -10 Points
Are You the One? Puzzle 5 -10 Points
World Challenge Mode
World Challenge Mode is a new option that appears in the single player menu. It contains 20 arcade events split into 3 themed chapters:
1. Platinum Plus - Arcade chapter that is harder than Platinum difficulty
2. DLC Challenge - Arcade chapter that limits vehicles to the Premium Challenge Pack cars
3. Arcade Challenge - Similar to the shipped Arcade mode
Online Race Modes
Free Roam Cat & Mouse Mode
Played in an open city, Free Roam Cat & Mouse is a team based game where each team has a slow 'mouse' vehicle, with the rest of the players in high powered 'cat' vehicles. The mouse earns kudos for every 2 seconds it avoids being hit by enemy cats. On being hit by a cat the mouse is 'wasted' and can't earn kudos for set period of time. Cat players get a kudos reward for hitting an enemy mouse and also for defending their own mouse. The team with the most kudos after a time period set by the host wins the event.
Tourist Mode
This is a simple mode our forum users have requested. Players drive round an open city for a period of time determined by the host. The player with the most kudos is determined the 'winner', but this is really a sandbox mode where players can drive around looking at the environment and making their own games up.
Complete Details at BC's Site
Written by Ice Ac
Official GTA IV Site has Launched
Rockstar has uploaded the official GTAIV website. They have posted a bevy of new information that diehard fans are sure to start analyzing and making pointless youtube videos of. Below are a list of features Rockstar has on their website
New Screen shots
- Official Liberty City Map
- Music (Coming Soon)
- Multiplayer (Coming Soon)
- New Characters Revealed
- New Video Posted
- People and Places
- Recreation & Entertainment
- Good and Services
GTA IV Official Site
New Screen shots
- Official Liberty City Map
- Music (Coming Soon)
- Multiplayer (Coming Soon)
- New Characters Revealed
- New Video Posted
- People and Places
- Recreation & Entertainment
- Good and Services
GTA IV Official Site
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
EA won't "gimp" 360 Dead Space despite tough PS3 dev
EA Redwood Shores will "optimise the crap" out of the PS3 version of upcoming sci-fi survival horror game to make it great.
The executive producer of EA's new sci-fi horror game Dead Space has told VideoGamer.com that the development team won't "gimp" the 360 version because the "PS3 can't do it".
Speaking at an event in London today, where we got some hands-on time with what's looking like one of 2008's most interesting new IPs, Glen Schofield said that currently the development team is leading on the 360, but will switch to the PS3 in a "month or two".
He stressed that both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 versions of the game will "be the same" when it's eventually released, planned for late 2008.
Dead Space, set for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, is a gory sci-fi survival horror game which sees engineer Isaac Clarke battling against a horde of mysterious aliens who have infested a huge ship. It is one of a number of brand new games from EA planned for 2008 and beyond.
Numerous EA Sports games have faced criticism from PS3 owners who have suffered poor quality ports of games like Madden, with frame rate issues the chief culprit.
When asked how the Dead Space team was finding multi-platform development, Schofield responded: "Difficult."
He added: "Right now we're leading and building and doing everything on the 360. Pretty soon in a month or two we will switch and lead on the PS3. That is so that you're not downgrading the PS3 later. We're putting all our engineering muscle into making the PS3 great, and then we'll know that the 360 will be great."
However, when asked if there will be any differences between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, Schofield said: "The plan has to be, and it will be, on parity with the 360."
He said: "Sony has seen the game so they know that that's what they want out of us. But I can absolutely assure you that the PS3 and the 360 will be the same. We're not going to gimp the 360 because the PS3 can't do it. We're going to optimise the crap out of it and make the PS3 really good, sort of like Burnout."
On the issues surrounding PS3 development, Schofield said: "I'm from an artist background. But from a developer point of view it's called the Fill Rate. It (the PS3) can't handle the physics as well. I mean it can, you just have to get at it. Just more and more engineering. Special effects are tough. It's a beautiful machine and it is very powerful. It's just it's not as easy to develop for right now.
"What happened was the 360 came out a year ahead, so we started developing early on it. Then all of a sudden it was the lead SKU. So it won for two years. For two years it was the one we were just working on. And so our knowledge base is around that. Now you see the tide is starting to turn especially in Europe. So it's really just engineering catching up with it."
Expect a hands-on preview of Dead Space right here at VideoGamer.com very soon.
Do you think developers "gimp" Xbox 360 versions of multi-platform games because of the PS3? Let us know in the comments section below.
Red Faction 3 Announced for Xbox 360
Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ, has revealed that Red Faction 3 is now in development for the Xbox 360
Duke Nukem Forever and 3D Confirmed for Xbox 360
3D Realms has confirmed a release date for Duke Nukem Forever and at the same time confirmed Duke Nukem 3D for the Xbox Live Arcade. …
"We haven't formally announced any platforms for DNF," said 3D Realms President Scott. "But, of course hitting the big three makes the most sense (PC, PS3, 360)."
Miller added a note of caution on the 12-years-coming sequel and its release window, claiming, "we may miss the mark by a month or two, but I feel very confident that we're on target this time."
Duke Nukem Forever is not the only 3D Realms title coming to home video game consoles in 2008. Miller also confirmed the existence of a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade version of Duke Nukem 3D, which will feature on-line multiplayer support, Xbox Live achievements, on-line score boards, and a co-op mode.
"We're really excited about bringing classic Duke to the 360," said Miller during an interview. "We're talking to Microsoft about getting a release slot sometime this year."
For more about Duke Nukem Forever and developer 3D Realms, visit the official website at www.3DRealms.com.
HD DVD add-on Sells Out on Amazon.com
Todays "Gold Box" deal of the day on Amazon.com included the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player for $79.99. It is now currently sold out!
February 06, 2008
Early this morning Amazon.com sold out of their stock of the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 after being highlighted in today's Gold Box deal of the day with $100 off of the list price.
At $79.99, and after only a few hours, the intial stock sold out. A few additional stock have been added to their inventory sporadically throughout the morning, but currently it looks like the stock is COMPLETELY sold out.
Mass Effect Downloadable Content Announced
The Bring Down the Sky downloadable content pack will be released to Xbox LIVE Marketplace on Monday, March 10 at 2 a.m. PST, and will be available for 400 MS points.
by: Evan Fecko
February 06, 2008
To date, over 1.6 million gamers have explored the engaging sci-fi universe of Mass Effect. Beginning on March 10, fans everywhere will be able to expand the “Mass Effect” experience with the release of the first ever downloadable content for the award-winning saga.
The Bring Down the Sky downloadable content pack will be released to Xbox LIVE Marketplace on Monday, March 10 at 2 a.m. PST, and will be available for 400 MS points. This is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that further expands the Mass Effect universe and continues the adventures of Commander Shepard and the Normandy crew.
Bring Down the Sky includes a new uncharted world that introduces the notorious and feared alien race of the Batarians. A Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.
Bring Down the Sky contains approximately 90 minutes of heart-pounding action and a new Achievement worth 50 Gamerscore points.
Mass Effect is exclusively available on Xbox 360 and is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.
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Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Halo 3 DLC: "Purple Reign" Map Falls to "Moonlight Sonata" Map
by: David Oxford
In Bungie's latest Weekly Update, one of the items of note was in regards to the upcoming Spring DLC lineup, specifically the "Purple Reign" multiplayer map, which has been revealed to not be ready in time.
Fortunately, the good folk at Bungie won't be leaving their Spartans high and dry, instead replacing it with another "universally adored" multiplayer map codenamed "Moonlight Sonata," which was initially behind the others in development, but seems to have picked up the pace significantly. And now, they're passing the savings on to you... or something.
Bungie also promises to go into specifics about the update soon, including the biggest change, a new and improved melee combat system.
In Bungie's latest Weekly Update, one of the items of note was in regards to the upcoming Spring DLC lineup, specifically the "Purple Reign" multiplayer map, which has been revealed to not be ready in time.
Fortunately, the good folk at Bungie won't be leaving their Spartans high and dry, instead replacing it with another "universally adored" multiplayer map codenamed "Moonlight Sonata," which was initially behind the others in development, but seems to have picked up the pace significantly. And now, they're passing the savings on to you... or something.
Bungie also promises to go into specifics about the update soon, including the biggest change, a new and improved melee combat system.
A Closer Look at the Console War: Why Xbox 360 Won 2007
Who's winning the console war right now? If you answered "Wii", then guess again.
Although the Wii has indisputably made its way into more homes than the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3, it should not be considered the most successful console of this generation so far. No, I'm not trying to trip you up, either: Nintendo DS is not the answer. Despite falling a few million units behind in terms of console sales, the Xbox 360 is actually winning this generation. Let me explain why.
There's more to winning the console race than simply selling more units than your competitors. This has always been a fact, but was more difficult to see in the two-competitor, Sega/Nintendo or Sony/Nintendo eras, because the winner in both cases just so happened to sell more units. Indeed, there is obviously a strong correlation between overall success and the number of consoles sold. A more fair system in today's environment, though, would be to look at five different metrics.
TOTAL PLATFORM SPENDING
First, let's take a look at total console revenue for 2007. Worldwide data for this particular category is difficult to find, so we'll stick with the NPD data for the United States. During 2007, the Xbox 360 controlled $4,800,000,000 ($4.8 billion, if that's too many zeroes for you) of total consumer revenue. Let's compare this to its competition: the Wii earned $3.5 billion and the PS3 won $2.2 billion of sales, with all other platforms accounting for another $3.2 billion.
How could the Xbox 360 control so much more of the market? First, recall that this is total revenue, so the fact that the 360 costs more on average than the Wii certainly takes effect here. But this also suggests that the 360 platform persuades more customers to invest in accessories and services. Indeed, Xbox Live now has over 10 million members, although that includes non-paying silver members. Games are also an important part of this number, but that leads us into the next
ATTACHMENT RATE
One of the most important numbers one can use to determine whether a console's success is based on lasting value or fad power is by looking at the "attachment rate." This measures how many games have been sold, divided by the number of consoles sold. In other words, it's the average number of games each console owner has for that system. The Xbox 360 has an attach rate of 7, while the Wii has a rate of about 5 and the PS3 trails with slightly less than the Wii.
The PS3 presents an interesting case here as the counter-argument to this particular gauge of success. Obviously, the PS3 is trailing in third place so far this generation, so remember that the PS3 is able to attain that attach rate with a much smaller number of both hardware and software sold than the Wii. The key to success here is to have a high attach rate while also maintaining strong platform sales. Few would argue that the Xbox 360's sales have been lackluster, so having a high attach rate is a sign that customers aren't simply buying their 360s for one game (say, Halo 3) and then putting them away.
On the other hand, this is exactly what the Wii is facing. A worryingly large number of consumers are buying Wiis purely for Wii Sports, which is included in the box. These consumers are great for Nintendo's bottom line but do not provide any lasting value to the company. Furthermore, having a large contingent of one-game consumers makes it difficult for Nintendo to woo third parties that otherwise would be dazzled by the Wii's sales numbers.
THIRD PART SUPPORT
Three issues keep the Wii from hosting the very best third party content. First, the console's gimpy power precludes it from running truly next-gen titles like Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect or Uncharted. Second, third parties have difficulty jumping into bed with Nintendo because they know from past experience that Nintendo's own franchises will always be the star of the show on Nintendo platforms. Third, the hype effect from point two plays directly into sales. Look at the numbers for Zack and Wiki, for example, and compare those to the sales of Mario and Sonic's 2008 Olympics game. It's enough to make grown men cry.
The 360 wins in this bout as well. While the PS3 is powerful enough, for sure, it's also the most difficult platform of this generation for development. The 360 combines a balance of development efficiency and raw power. Further, the Live Arcade system, while under assault from both Nintendo and Sony, continues to offer the widest range of downloadable games and the lowest barriers to entry by smaller developers
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
This is a category that is being won by all three consoles, and in different ways. Nintendo obviously has enjoyed a meteoric resurrection from the cusp of destruction at the end of the GameCube era to once again sitting in the driver's seat of the industry with the Wii. Nintendo's stock value has shot up over the past few years, and although it has cooled as of late, it still sits many times higher than where it was even in the best days of the GameCube era. Profits in the Mushroom Kingdom are also huge, as the Wii appears to all but print money for the company. Due to the system's basic architecture, development costs were not as high as the competition (Sony, for example, spent over a billion dollars developing the Cell processor, according to some reports). Although this is certainly good news for them, the perspectives of the other two players make clear that "winning" doesn't have to mean selling the most systems.
Microsoft has successfully made the Xbox line a permanent part of the gaming industry. If the 360 had flopped, the original Xbox could have been looked back upon as a mere flash in the pan. Rather, the 360 is more dominant than its predecessor and plays a pivotal role in Microsoft's larger strategy moving forward. With the era of Windows-monopolized computing drawing to a close and its venerable Office suite under constant attack by competitors, Microsoft desperately needs to establish itself as the number one entity in a new industry.
We saw the signs of this again with their acquisition announcement of Yahoo last week. Microsoft needs to succeed in the console space because that is their way of moving from the desktop into the consumer electronics area. The Zune has been a dud, but the 360 shows promise. Even if the 360 continues to be a loss leader (although it seems to have finally begin showing signs of profit potential), it's an important investment in Microsoft's future.
Sony is in a similar boat. The company had already bet the farm on the PlayStation brand long before the launch of their most recent console. Yet even more important this time around was that they made the Blu-ray spec the gold standard of HD content. By including the drive in the PS3, they quite literally put all of their eggs in one basket. Although the PS3 has not performed exceptionally well since launch, it appears to have sold enough to seal the fate of the HD war.
Even if the PlayStation 3 does not reach the same success the PS2 enjoyed, the fact that the system allowed Sony to control what may be the last major optical media format is a big deal and earns them residuals on every disc and player sold, even if they're made by other companies. Indeed, especially if the PS3 does not sell terribly well, this new source of income will be vital to the company
FUTURE POSITIONING
This really should be the year of the PlayStation 3, with a variety of very important exclusive titles only months away. Nintendo will continue to reap rewards from their first party games, and the Wii should continue to sell well. Microsoft has a relatively strong lineup, but it will be difficult to replicate the truly outstanding library additions of 2007. It's really a tossup, here. The PS3 has the least momentum but the most left in the tank. The Wii has already leapt ahead but may have difficulty sustaining that growth in the months ahead. The 360 has followed the most stable pattern of growth, but may get truly overtaken if one of its competitors does as well as they hope.
So Who Won?
In my book, the Xbox 360 wins in terms of revenue, third party support and attachment rate. It's in a close race with the others in terms of Return on Investment, which the Wii wins and Future Positioning, where Sony shows an edge. The idea here is not to cause a massive outrage among the fanboys, but to simply point out an important fact: the console race is not as clear cut as it looks. In a three-console environment, it's important to look past the simple "units sold" number, and dig deeper for the facts. Let's hope that 2008 provides just as interesting an environment for gaming as 2007 did.
Casey Ayers.
Although the Wii has indisputably made its way into more homes than the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3, it should not be considered the most successful console of this generation so far. No, I'm not trying to trip you up, either: Nintendo DS is not the answer. Despite falling a few million units behind in terms of console sales, the Xbox 360 is actually winning this generation. Let me explain why.
There's more to winning the console race than simply selling more units than your competitors. This has always been a fact, but was more difficult to see in the two-competitor, Sega/Nintendo or Sony/Nintendo eras, because the winner in both cases just so happened to sell more units. Indeed, there is obviously a strong correlation between overall success and the number of consoles sold. A more fair system in today's environment, though, would be to look at five different metrics.
TOTAL PLATFORM SPENDING
First, let's take a look at total console revenue for 2007. Worldwide data for this particular category is difficult to find, so we'll stick with the NPD data for the United States. During 2007, the Xbox 360 controlled $4,800,000,000 ($4.8 billion, if that's too many zeroes for you) of total consumer revenue. Let's compare this to its competition: the Wii earned $3.5 billion and the PS3 won $2.2 billion of sales, with all other platforms accounting for another $3.2 billion.
How could the Xbox 360 control so much more of the market? First, recall that this is total revenue, so the fact that the 360 costs more on average than the Wii certainly takes effect here. But this also suggests that the 360 platform persuades more customers to invest in accessories and services. Indeed, Xbox Live now has over 10 million members, although that includes non-paying silver members. Games are also an important part of this number, but that leads us into the next
ATTACHMENT RATE
One of the most important numbers one can use to determine whether a console's success is based on lasting value or fad power is by looking at the "attachment rate." This measures how many games have been sold, divided by the number of consoles sold. In other words, it's the average number of games each console owner has for that system. The Xbox 360 has an attach rate of 7, while the Wii has a rate of about 5 and the PS3 trails with slightly less than the Wii.
The PS3 presents an interesting case here as the counter-argument to this particular gauge of success. Obviously, the PS3 is trailing in third place so far this generation, so remember that the PS3 is able to attain that attach rate with a much smaller number of both hardware and software sold than the Wii. The key to success here is to have a high attach rate while also maintaining strong platform sales. Few would argue that the Xbox 360's sales have been lackluster, so having a high attach rate is a sign that customers aren't simply buying their 360s for one game (say, Halo 3) and then putting them away.
On the other hand, this is exactly what the Wii is facing. A worryingly large number of consumers are buying Wiis purely for Wii Sports, which is included in the box. These consumers are great for Nintendo's bottom line but do not provide any lasting value to the company. Furthermore, having a large contingent of one-game consumers makes it difficult for Nintendo to woo third parties that otherwise would be dazzled by the Wii's sales numbers.
THIRD PART SUPPORT
Three issues keep the Wii from hosting the very best third party content. First, the console's gimpy power precludes it from running truly next-gen titles like Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect or Uncharted. Second, third parties have difficulty jumping into bed with Nintendo because they know from past experience that Nintendo's own franchises will always be the star of the show on Nintendo platforms. Third, the hype effect from point two plays directly into sales. Look at the numbers for Zack and Wiki, for example, and compare those to the sales of Mario and Sonic's 2008 Olympics game. It's enough to make grown men cry.
The 360 wins in this bout as well. While the PS3 is powerful enough, for sure, it's also the most difficult platform of this generation for development. The 360 combines a balance of development efficiency and raw power. Further, the Live Arcade system, while under assault from both Nintendo and Sony, continues to offer the widest range of downloadable games and the lowest barriers to entry by smaller developers
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
This is a category that is being won by all three consoles, and in different ways. Nintendo obviously has enjoyed a meteoric resurrection from the cusp of destruction at the end of the GameCube era to once again sitting in the driver's seat of the industry with the Wii. Nintendo's stock value has shot up over the past few years, and although it has cooled as of late, it still sits many times higher than where it was even in the best days of the GameCube era. Profits in the Mushroom Kingdom are also huge, as the Wii appears to all but print money for the company. Due to the system's basic architecture, development costs were not as high as the competition (Sony, for example, spent over a billion dollars developing the Cell processor, according to some reports). Although this is certainly good news for them, the perspectives of the other two players make clear that "winning" doesn't have to mean selling the most systems.
Microsoft has successfully made the Xbox line a permanent part of the gaming industry. If the 360 had flopped, the original Xbox could have been looked back upon as a mere flash in the pan. Rather, the 360 is more dominant than its predecessor and plays a pivotal role in Microsoft's larger strategy moving forward. With the era of Windows-monopolized computing drawing to a close and its venerable Office suite under constant attack by competitors, Microsoft desperately needs to establish itself as the number one entity in a new industry.
We saw the signs of this again with their acquisition announcement of Yahoo last week. Microsoft needs to succeed in the console space because that is their way of moving from the desktop into the consumer electronics area. The Zune has been a dud, but the 360 shows promise. Even if the 360 continues to be a loss leader (although it seems to have finally begin showing signs of profit potential), it's an important investment in Microsoft's future.
Sony is in a similar boat. The company had already bet the farm on the PlayStation brand long before the launch of their most recent console. Yet even more important this time around was that they made the Blu-ray spec the gold standard of HD content. By including the drive in the PS3, they quite literally put all of their eggs in one basket. Although the PS3 has not performed exceptionally well since launch, it appears to have sold enough to seal the fate of the HD war.
Even if the PlayStation 3 does not reach the same success the PS2 enjoyed, the fact that the system allowed Sony to control what may be the last major optical media format is a big deal and earns them residuals on every disc and player sold, even if they're made by other companies. Indeed, especially if the PS3 does not sell terribly well, this new source of income will be vital to the company
FUTURE POSITIONING
This really should be the year of the PlayStation 3, with a variety of very important exclusive titles only months away. Nintendo will continue to reap rewards from their first party games, and the Wii should continue to sell well. Microsoft has a relatively strong lineup, but it will be difficult to replicate the truly outstanding library additions of 2007. It's really a tossup, here. The PS3 has the least momentum but the most left in the tank. The Wii has already leapt ahead but may have difficulty sustaining that growth in the months ahead. The 360 has followed the most stable pattern of growth, but may get truly overtaken if one of its competitors does as well as they hope.
So Who Won?
In my book, the Xbox 360 wins in terms of revenue, third party support and attachment rate. It's in a close race with the others in terms of Return on Investment, which the Wii wins and Future Positioning, where Sony shows an edge. The idea here is not to cause a massive outrage among the fanboys, but to simply point out an important fact: the console race is not as clear cut as it looks. In a three-console environment, it's important to look past the simple "units sold" number, and dig deeper for the facts. Let's hope that 2008 provides just as interesting an environment for gaming as 2007 did.
Casey Ayers.
DMC4 is 720p on PS3 & Xbox 360 Despite Blog’s “Press Release”
A certain Gaming Blog got a tad worked up over a supposed Capcom Press Release, which states that the console versions of Devil May Cry 4 run at a sub-HD resolution. This press release was fake.
The press release reads thus:
PC version will supports DX9 and DX10 versions.The PC version support higher resolution (In order to maintain stability in the game at 60 FPS, XBOX360, PS3 supports only 1024 * 640 resolution).
Apart form the questionable English, which could be explained by being a poor translation, the “press release” is wrong. Both console demos of DMC4 have been confirmed by Beyond3d’s pixel counters to run natively at 720p. That is, 1280 by 720 pixels.
Although the blogger asks for confirmation from the retail game and not the demo, his fears should be put to rest. In my experience there has yet to be a game that has reduced its resolution from the demo to the full retail release release.
Furthermore, games are designed with a particular resolution in mind and a decision to lower the resolution would not be made at the
The press release reads thus:
PC version will supports DX9 and DX10 versions.The PC version support higher resolution (In order to maintain stability in the game at 60 FPS, XBOX360, PS3 supports only 1024 * 640 resolution).
Apart form the questionable English, which could be explained by being a poor translation, the “press release” is wrong. Both console demos of DMC4 have been confirmed by Beyond3d’s pixel counters to run natively at 720p. That is, 1280 by 720 pixels.
Although the blogger asks for confirmation from the retail game and not the demo, his fears should be put to rest. In my experience there has yet to be a game that has reduced its resolution from the demo to the full retail release release.
Furthermore, games are designed with a particular resolution in mind and a decision to lower the resolution would not be made at the
Devil May Compare: The DMC4 Demo Head-To-Head On Both Systems
Fortuitous circumstance gave me the opportunity to play the (you should pardon the pun) devil out of both demo versions of DMC4, on a gigantic 60″ 1080p Plasma HDTV with superb overall picture quality. Impressions follow. Please let me make one thing very clear. I am, with sincere regret, going to declare a visual favorite, but will clarify that impression as best as possible. That subjective choice on my part is also not intended as any sort of sweeping endorsement of one system over another, or a criticism of the second-place choice. The game looks splendid on both systems and, if the final product lives up to the demo’s promise, should not disappoint.
So? Let’s get started.
First, loading times. These are quite brief in both versions, both in the pre-mission screens and transitioning between areas. No clear favorite can be chosen here as (thus far, for the demo) load times are inconsequential enough to be a non-issue. Bravo Capcom! Further, the PS3 version will reportedly have HDD-installation as an option, almost certainly giving it the overall load-time advantage.
Second, sound. It’s a dead tie, as should be expected really. Gunfire, sword slashes, items breaking, and impact sounds are all suitably meaty and well-suited to the game. If there’s a negative aspect here, it’s Nero’s rather lame hyper-American sounding voice samples. Some of the word choices are, to put it mildly, rather silly. “Get lost?” Why, gentlemen? Why? I think at least the option to hear original Japanese voice samples, at least for the fight sequences, would really be welcome. I’m sure players will get used to the English samples, they’re just a bit weak.
Third, visuals. Here the difference is most stark between the two systems. The PS3 version has a visible blur/softening filter overlaying everything, even cutscenes. The significant benefit is that there is almost no aliasing visible on angled lines, even at very close viewpoints; the negative is that textures on the PS3 version are so softened as to lose visual depth and clarity. The filter appears also to affect overall brightness and black-depth. Darker hues look slightly faded on the PS3 version, and brighter areas may look very mildly washed-out. This said, the lighting is remarkable and manages to be evocative in a pastel-like, almost Thomas Kincaid influenced style. Also, in one particular scene, Nero’s face looks much more humanlike (if stylized) on the PS3 than the 360, due to smoothing.
The 360’s visuals are, in a word, starker. Blacks are blacker, brights cleaner and higher-contrast for the most part. Diminution of texture depth is nowhere to be found here. Ridged textures look ridged; you expect to run your hand down them and feel the grain of the fabric, or whatnot. Enemies look mostly the same but Nero himself shows detail more clearly, especially in a particular cutscene, and the background surfaces have more visual impact overall. The negative, predictably, is a general lack of smoothing and anti-aliasing. In the aforementioned later cutscene, when Nero looks up towards a falling object, his face on 360 looks very much like a computer-generated image, losing some of its clarity of form in the polygon edges. Lighting still manages to be impressive, in a starker way with slightly less (sometimes, mostly in two outdoor wide-angle camera pans) of an ambient feel.
I don’t like the fact that I have a visual preference here at all, as I would have preferred both presentations be a dead tie with no clear victor. I have to say, despite the aliasing, that I do like the 360’s visually sharper presentation better, but the difference is thoroughly minor. The DMC4 demo is gorgeous on both systems, with plenty of impressive light-effects on Nero, enemies, and background objects (force fields and such). Assuming the final product holds interest as well as the demo, no-one should feel bad about buying DMC4, regardless of platform. That is an important assumption, however.
Good news for the gameplay (for those who haven’t sampled it) is that DMC4 feels rather more like earlier DMC games, in that the emphasis is more on having fun being creatively sadistic than worrying about hair-fine dodging tolerances and extreme difficulty. The first few enemies, if anything, are rather too easy, only occasionally flailing out with a single melee attack. Ice-based enemies in the later part of the demo have defensive, healing, and area-attack animations which make them more interesting, but (encouragingly) the game per demo doesn’t fall victim to one of God of War’s very few flaws - specifically, giving the player a ton of cool moves and combos, then making them mostly useless against certain enemies and bosses. In fact, the single boss available in the demo requires use of a special ability the player has gained en route to the fight. The demo is overall fun and replayable, and should nicely serve the purpose of getting players interested in the final game. Try it if you haven’t!
Epic Games reply to Gears of War 2 rumours
By Neil Vaughan - 05 Feb 08
Epic Games have moved quickly to shoot down rumours of an announcement about Gears of War 2.
As we reported on Friday, GamePro magazine had claimed to have an exclusive about a possible sequel, but Mark Rein at Epic was on hand to shoot down the rumour.
He said in reply to the news of a sequel: "It is complete nonsense. We have not announced a sequel to Gears of War to Gamepro or anyone else for that matter."
Well at least that's that one cleared up
Epic Games have moved quickly to shoot down rumours of an announcement about Gears of War 2.
As we reported on Friday, GamePro magazine had claimed to have an exclusive about a possible sequel, but Mark Rein at Epic was on hand to shoot down the rumour.
He said in reply to the news of a sequel: "It is complete nonsense. We have not announced a sequel to Gears of War to Gamepro or anyone else for that matter."
Well at least that's that one cleared up
Dead Rising 2 in Development for Xbox 360 and PS3
According to reports, Dead Rising 2, the sequel to the Xbox 360 exclusive developed by Capcom, is in development for the Sony PS3 and Xbox 360. …
For those unfamiliar with the game, Dead Rising was an extremely popular game during Xbox 360’s first year after launch. The game threw you in a mall filled with thousands of zombies, with hundreds on the screen at once in some instances. The fun (and novelty) came by way of you be able to use anything around you, whether it be a traffic cones, shovels, bench, plant, etc. to kill these zombies.
The game was a huge seller and according to reports from EGM and other sources, is now heading to multiple consoles as Dead Rising 2 will not be an Xbox 360 exclusive.
According to reports the game is going to be developed by a developer in Los Angeles who will do all of the actual coding for the game.
According to EGM this is still a rumor, but one with some weight.
Microsoft Game Studios Inks New Deal with IDV Inc
COLUMBIA, SC– Interactive Data Visualization recently inked a major agreement with Microsoft Game Studios for use of the SpeedTree®RT foliage software into 2008.
Best selling Microsoft racing game Project Gotham Racing® 3 and the newly-released Project Gotham Racing® 4 feature extensive use of SpeedTree.
IDV’s award-winning technology will also be appearing in a number of Microsoft projects yet to be announced. These new titles will be published on Games for Windows® and Xbox 360™.
“Our partnership with Microsoft ensures that their customers will continue to experience richer, more enjoyable gaming worlds,” said IDV President Michael Sechrest.“We are very grateful that our technology will be included with Microsoft’s offerings.”
SpeedTreeRT, winner of the 2005 Front Line Award for middleware, delivers highly realistic trees and plants, with adjustable wind effects, user-configurable and seamless LOD transitions, and an included library of hundreds of tree, plant and marine models representing more than 200 core species. SpeedTreeRT includes SpeedTreeCAD, a Windows application used to create and edit animated trees in real-time.
Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) develops software products with a focus on real-time three dimensional applications for the game development, visual simulation, engineering visualization, and animation industries. IDV, a privately held corporation, was founded in 1999 in Columbia, South Carolina. For more information about IDV, visit www.idvinc.com.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Downloadable Maps on the Way!
New multiplayer maps are coming this Spring! No word yet on the number of maps or their pricing.
by: Evan Fecko
Fresh intel from Activision headquarters reports that new global conflicts are planned in the form of downloadable multiplayer maps for the award-winning Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. In development for both Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation3 computer entertainment system, the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into a hot zone of added combat across a variety of intense multiplayer locales.
“We’ve demonstrated our commitment to delivering the best multiplayer experience in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and that continues with our plans for new downloadable content,” explains Infinity Ward’s Community Manager, Robert Bowling. “We’re excited about the new maps, and the added gameplay variety, and we can’t wait to wrap things up and get online with everyone.”
The new downloadable content is scheduled for release this spring, and will be available on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network.
Sunday, 3 February 2008
4 big secret games ?
Xbox 360's Four Secret Games: Gears of War 2, DOA5, Forza 3 and Halo: Chronicles. UK's best selling independent 360 magazine XboxWorld 360 has a scoop on what could be four big unannounced exclusive 360 games in their March issue.
Please take note that XboxWorld 360 is part of online gaming news website CVG.
The article is called "The secret is out"
The games in question are:
Gears of War 2
Dead or Alive 5
Forza 3
Halo: Chronicles
Of course these are only rumors but could these be the games Microsoft is going to announce at GDC 2008, XboxWorld 360 Certainly do.
Please take note that XboxWorld 360 is part of online gaming news website CVG.
The article is called "The secret is out"
The games in question are:
Gears of War 2
Dead or Alive 5
Forza 3
Halo: Chronicles
Of course these are only rumors but could these be the games Microsoft is going to announce at GDC 2008, XboxWorld 360 Certainly do.
Eidos confirm Just Cause 2 is in development
Eidos have today officially announced that they will be releasing Just Cause 2.
The game will once again be developed by Avalanche Studios and will see players reprise the role of Rico Rodriquez, but this time he will be in the South East Asian islands of Panau.
With more stunts, vehicles and weapons than ever before and an incredible overhauled grappling hook, Rico returns to action in Panau, an incredibly detailed and vast 1000 sq km game world of different climates and ultra-realistic weather effects. Leap from your plane and skydive from 10,000 feet down into a tropical jungle, tear across an arid desert in a dune buggy or climb your way up a snowy mountain in a 4x4. The vast open-ended, unique gameplay is back, allowing you full freedom once again to free roam and explore the massive world of Panau and tackle your assignments however you want.
With a new and improved air, land and sea stunt system featuring Rico’s notorious parachute and grappling hook, taken to incredible new extremes and a massive array of new vehicles featuring an advanced driving model, players can now pull off some of the finest action stunts ever seen in a video game in a truly massive and beautifully rendered environment.
“Remember everything you loved about Just Cause, then take it to the next level: vehicles, stunts, weapons, freedom, grappling hook, action, everything,” said Alex Price, Brand Manager. “The game world is even more incredible in Just Cause 2 and Rico has done a bit of growing up, so expect quite a few new surprises up his sleeves.”
Just Cause 2 will be released on the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 sometime this year.
The game will once again be developed by Avalanche Studios and will see players reprise the role of Rico Rodriquez, but this time he will be in the South East Asian islands of Panau.
With more stunts, vehicles and weapons than ever before and an incredible overhauled grappling hook, Rico returns to action in Panau, an incredibly detailed and vast 1000 sq km game world of different climates and ultra-realistic weather effects. Leap from your plane and skydive from 10,000 feet down into a tropical jungle, tear across an arid desert in a dune buggy or climb your way up a snowy mountain in a 4x4. The vast open-ended, unique gameplay is back, allowing you full freedom once again to free roam and explore the massive world of Panau and tackle your assignments however you want.
With a new and improved air, land and sea stunt system featuring Rico’s notorious parachute and grappling hook, taken to incredible new extremes and a massive array of new vehicles featuring an advanced driving model, players can now pull off some of the finest action stunts ever seen in a video game in a truly massive and beautifully rendered environment.
“Remember everything you loved about Just Cause, then take it to the next level: vehicles, stunts, weapons, freedom, grappling hook, action, everything,” said Alex Price, Brand Manager. “The game world is even more incredible in Just Cause 2 and Rico has done a bit of growing up, so expect quite a few new surprises up his sleeves.”
Just Cause 2 will be released on the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 sometime this year.
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