Tag: xbox
New Xbox planned for 2010? Microsoft doesn't even seem to know
There’s mixed messages coming out of Microsoft with regards to Xbox developments. First off CEO Steve Ballmer hints that there would be a new Xbox coming out in 2010 with motion sensing Project Natal cameras built-in. Now Microsoft’s Xbox boss, Aaron Greenberg, has stated that there are no plans for a new console.
Greenberg was keen to play down any talk of an entirely new console and insisted that Ballmer wasn’t referring to a new generation Xbox: “We are saying that the Natal will run on the Xbox 360, so there’s no new hardware to purchase. We’re barely halfway through this generation. We’re happy with the Xbox 360, so there are no changes from that standpoint.”
Project Natal was unveiled at E3 at the beginning of June and Microsoft hopes that the technology will allow them to compete with the Wii in terms of motion based games. If they can match the Wii’s fun factor then the Xbox certainly contains the hardware to blow the Japanese firm out of the water. Not literally.
(via Kotaku)
Calls for Iraq-based first person shooter to be banned
British Army officers are calling for a Konami video game to be banned because it’s set during the Second Battle of Fallujah which took place between 7th November and 23rd December 2004 in Iraq.
Six Days in Fallujah was developed using the photos, videos, memories and stories of the US Marines at the battle, known at the time as Operation Phantom Fury, and it’s intended for worldwide release on PS3 and Xbox next year.
Tim Collins OBE, a former army colonel told the Telegraph:
“It’s much too soon to start making video games about a war that’s still going on, and an extremely flippant response to one of the most important events in modern history.”
“It’s particularly insensitive given what happened in Fallujah, and I will certainly oppose the release of this game.”
With the war still going on it’s quite easy to see Mr Collin’s point but the president of the US firm developing the game, Atomic Games, said:
“For us, the challenge was how to present the horrors of war in a game that is entertaining, but also gives people insight into a historical situation in a way that only a video game can provide.”
“Our goal is to give people that insight, of what it’s like to be a Marine during that event, what it’s like to be a civilian in the city, and what it’s like to be an insurgent.”
It’s clearly a very delicate subject with the true test being exactly how well the game deals with the subject matter, how sensitively it shows the issues on both sides of the conflict and whether you’re able to play from the perspective of both the inhabitants of the city and the soldiers.
What I do know for sure is that until someone plays it, it seems a little early to go calling for a ban, particularly when it’s been effectively endorsed by people who were actually there. Doubtless more on this as the release draws near.
(via Telegraph)
Microsoft announces improvements to Xbox Live
Microsoft today announced plans to extend the services offered on Xbox live, pushing the console even further from being a pure games machine to include movies too. There’s also plenty of content for existing games, and a gameshow.
Starting with the movies, Microsoft has done a deal with NBC Universal, which means that a limited selection of films will be offered for people to buy using Microsoft points, in both standard and high definition. Average price is £3 – £5, depending on which format you want, and how new the film is.
Then there’s a selection of bonus content for a variety of games. More content for Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Tomb Raider, Fable 2, Lips, Rock Band, Guitar Hero World Tour and Scene It will be available, all of which will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 platform.
Lastly, there’s going to be some sort of weird quiz show thing called 1 vs 100. Over to Microsoft to explain it: “a completely exclusive, completely interactive television quiz show game giving gamers the chance to compete against each other and win real prizes”. Is anyone even remotely excited about that?
Overall, it’s a decent upgrade to the system and a ‘thankyou’ to owners, but I don’t think it’s going to be selling any new consoles over this. Especially when the company is banning people who identify themselves as a lesbian.
50 Cent challenges anyone to beat him at his own game – literally
The making of Fiddy’s computer game hasn’t been without difficulty, but after two years, it’s finally due for a release in January. Still, the delay means one thing – the man himself has had a chance to get good at it:
“I actually had the opportunity to play it, and I’m pretty good at it. If anybody out there wants to create a challenge or wants to bet some money online, we could play the game right now.”
It’ll have 19 new, exclusive, tracks, as well as a bunch of Fiddy’s older stuff, including the big hits. Oh, and bizarrely, it’s apparently inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2006 film “Blood Diamond”. Still, I bet I could kick his arse at it, without too much trouble. You’re on, Fiddy.
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (via MTV.com)
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VIDEO: Terrifying Xbox 360 fanatic shows off his "Xbox Room"
You can sometimes forget that the etymology of ‘fan’ is ‘fanatic’, but the video above will bring that particular recollection screaming back. The best bit? The ‘Silence of the Lambs’ voiceover, and the creepy dim green light. How many hours of his life do you think he’s spent in there?
(via Kotaku)
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Microsoft sued over Red Ring of Death defects
A bloke in California isn’t happy about Microsoft’s handling of the “Red Ring of Death” issues that plague the Xbox360. Reshelle Cable of Folsom, California, is alleging that an excessive number of Xbox 360 consoles have failed and that Microsoft concealed the excessive failure rate of its Xbox 360 consoles so that it could get into the market ahead of Sony and Nintendo…
GTA San Andreas headed for Xbox Originals
The game that launched a thousand lawsuits, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, will be released next week under Microsoft’s “Xbox Originals” service, which lets you get older games for cheap. It’s like the modern version of those ‘budget’ games that used to cost five or ten quid, but were a few years old…
Microsoft offers memory cards and subsidised hard drives to low-end Xboxers
Owners of spec-challenged Xbox 360s hoping to get onboard the new Experience are being handed a lifeline by Microsoft. The company has graciously decided to give away free 512MB memory cards, or dirt cheap 20GB hard drives, to anyone with a pitiful Xbox having less than 128MB of storage space.
Active Xbox users can get the hard drive for £12.99, while inactive ones must pay £19.99…
Microsoft says "Mii too!" and will join the casual fun on November 19th
We’ve known for a while now that Microsoft has been planning to change the Xbox dashboard into something less bewildering for casual gamers and now we can finally put a date on when to expect the Xbox 360 to change overnight from a machine almost exclusively dedicated to first-person shooters to a machine almost exclusively dedicated to mini-game collections and rhythm games…
RUMOUR: Microsoft to merge Zune and Xbox Live
As a Zune owner, I got an email late last week telling me that the Zune store was going to be down for 48 hours, starting today. Not a problem for me, given that I don’t use it, but a bit of a pain for American Zuners, I would have thought. It would be like the iTunes Store going down for two days.
