Xbox360: No HD / DVD-speed affecting game possibilities?
>> Two different reports I found today that say about the same ... the lack of a default HD on each Xbox 360 (that would allow to cache data) or faster optical drive could very well affect the game possibilities.
From aussiexbox.com.au (in an article about Saint's Row, a game currently in development by Volition and published by THQ): [QUOTE] Last but not least, after we were told that there was no ability to fly aircrafts in the game due to the DVD drive's inability to stream the environment fast enough in full 720p resolution. We asked Jacques Hennequet (Producer for Saint's Row), "If the Xbox 360 Hard Drive was standard across both SKU's, would flying aircrafts in the game have been a reality?", Jacques simply answered "Yes". While he completely understands why MS made the decision to not include a hard drive in the Core System, I think he felt somewhat disappointed, as it could have opened up much more possibilities within the gameplay for Volition's first Xbox 360 title. [/QUOTE]
From computerandvideogames.com (in an interview with David Braben currently developing The Outsider for the Xbox360): [QUOTE] * CVG: Looking across all three consoles - 360, PS3 and Revolution - what possibilities does the next gen offer to you as developer? * David Braben: They offer both huge technical opportunities to shine by making the best use of the machine, but also big risks. The quality expected for games on these consoles is very high, and this requires a great deal of work to produce the games. The 360 is pretty well here now, and I think we all have a good idea of what to expect; the PS3 and Revolution are perhaps darker horses. Perhaps one of the most significant elements of the PS3 is the Blu-Ray disc technology. I am a little nervous that with streamed data (ie where data is loaded constantly from disc), the Xbox 360 will still be quite restricted because of the DVD format disc. Revolution is (I think) different again, and is perhaps less powerful, but to be honest it is the platform we know the least about. [/QUOTE]
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(Saturday 24 September 2005 21:45 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Nintendo Revolution specs revealed?
>> From arstechnica.com: [QUOTE] A Factor 5 employee who goes by the name "Han Solo" claims to know the Revolution's specs, and has leaked them (middle of page 3). Why listen to some guy trapped in 1977? Senor Solo, as I'm sure he's known to his Spanish-speaking friends, proved worth listening to when he nearly nailed the Xbox 360 stats before the official details came out. That said, we can't treat this as reliable information.
The brains of the console are rumored to be a single dual-threaded IBM "custom" PowerPC 2.5 GHz CPU, with 256 KB L1 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache (L3 cache is rumored). The system will also sport a Physical Processing Chip (PPU) with 32MB of dedicated RAM, while the CPU itself will saddled up next to 512MB of system RAM. The custom ATI GPU solution is rumored to consist of a RN520 600MHz core, backed with 256MB of RAM and "32 parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines." While the output will theoretically be capable of putting out 1080p resolution (higher even, at 2048x1268), Solo says that HD support has not yet been decided (which fits with Nintendo's own comments). [/QUOTE]
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(Saturday 24 September 2005 13:38 EST) - (Category: GamingGeneral) - (Posted by::
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Tomonobu Itagaki Interview
>> GameInformer.com posted an interview with Tomonobu Itagaki of Team Ninja (Tecmo / Dead or Alive 4). Here's a short excerpt: [QUOTE] * GI: You've always pushed the hardware you're working on quite a bit. What have you been able to do on the Xbox 360 that you haven't been able to do on the first Xbox? * Itagaki: At E3 we were one of the few developers to show their game demo on Xbox 360. Although it wasn't playable. Most of the games were 15 fps. Our E3 trailer we tried getting it to 60 fps, but it ended up turning out to be around 45. That was E3. Now we've brought it up to 60. To be more specific, maybe it's about 55 fps. From now until launch we'll bring it up to 60. Other developers are now trying to bring their games up to 30fps. That's a fact. Can you think of any other games that are running at 60 fps? Every Party? (laughs)
* GI: You've said before you want to develop for the most powerful console out there. You must be pretty confident in the Xbox 360. * Itagaki: Yes. I hope so. I think Xbox 360 is the best game console on the earth. It's better than PlayStation 3. * GI: Can I ask you why? * Itagaki: PS3 has too complicated of architecture. [/QUOTE]
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(Saturday 24 September 2005 01:56 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Changing your Gamertag will be possible with Xbox Live - Confirmed
>> From joystiq.com: [QUOTE] Earlier in the week you may have read that it'll be possible to change your Gamertag with the Xbox 360. We thought this sounded cool since in the current Xbox Live once you've chosen a Gamertag, you're stuck with it. Unfortunately we couldn't find a source legit enough to confirm this, so naturally we fired off an email to the people that know: Microsoft's PR team. They got back to us over the phone and confirmed this as a feature of the new Xbox Live. You will be able to change your Gamertag. Here's how it's all going to work: If you opt to change your Gamertag, all of the information associated with your old Gamertag will stay with you - Friends List, achievements, ranking, feedback, stats, tournaments, etc. The only thing that changes is your Gamertag. Your new Gamertag will automatically appear on your Friends List. You can send a single message to all your friends via the message center to let them know about your new Gamertag. [/QUOTE]
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(Friday 23 September 2005 18:03 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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New Interview with Peter Moore
>> News0r.com talked with Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing for the Home and Entertainment Division of Microsoft Corp. Here's a short excerpt: [QUOTE] XCN: Why the choice of only one system in Japan? Don't you feel that the gamers in Europe and America will feel cheated especially with regards to the pricing? Peter Moore: Is 299 euros a good price, 209 pounds a good price is 299 dollars a good price. I'm not worried about what some guy in Osaka can buy something for that is in a currency that he's have never seen before in his life or doesn't understand the sales tax or value added tax. Believe me it all balances out. I don't think they are going to feel cheated; our concept very much was look, lets start with the Xbox 360 system; wireless controller, HD AV pack, 20 GB HD, Seamless connection to internet Xbox Live, headset you get a ton of stuff for $399 a ton of stuff for 279 GBP. And people should look at that and say "is this good value for money" and then go test drive this thing; it controls my digital camera it connect to my PC my iPod or my MP3 player or my windows media centre edition PC it opens up the entire living room for me and I'm not worrying about what someone else is going to get. As you find in any industry products are priced in their local market depending on what the supply and demand situation is. I haven't got the calculations 106 yen to the dollar what 37800 yen is and I'm sure the boards have got their calculators out done their maths; there's uproar! If they want to play in the foreign exchange game business and put some takes on... fine. We priced according to the local market and built a SKU platform for the market. Remember Maruyama San said, a week after launch who knows we might have the core system as well. Japan is focused on having a hard drive because there is uniqueness about this market, particularly the MMORPGS that we feel having a HD at the beginning is going to be important. Final Fantasy XI will come out at launch and in the Beta form as we announced and you know, the utilisation of the HD is important there is common data that you need when playing an RPG of that complexity they shouldn't worry. I know people get excited and agitated by these things but they shouldn't worry. They should focus on "is this good value?" Is this what I want under the tree this Christmas? [/QUOTE]
Read the whole interview on news0r.com (notice the small 'next' link on the bottom right to navigate through the pages (6 in total)). News via gamersreports.com.
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(Friday 23 September 2005 17:13 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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More Colleges Offering Game Theory Courses
>> From forbes.com: [QUOTE] More and more, video game-related courses are being offered in colleges around the country in response to the digital media industry's appetite for skilled workers and the tastes of a new generation of students raised on Game Boy and Xbox.
Animation I, Cognition & Gaming and Computer Music are being offered as part of the year-old minor in game studies at RPI, one of dozens of schools that have added courses or degree programs related to video gaming in recent years. RPI, which plans to offer a major in the field next year, graduated 27 gaming minors in its first year and expects a jump this year. Some of the schools offer full-blown academic programs. The University of Washington offers a certificate in game design; the Art Institute of Phoenix gives a bachelor of arts in game art and design; and the University of Pennsylvania has a master's in computer graphics and game technology. [/QUOTE]
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(Friday 23 September 2005 09:42 EST) - (Category: GamingGeneral) - (Posted by::
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Gentoox Resctoox v2.1
>> ShALLaX released a new version of Resctoox(info). From gentoox.shallax.com: [QUOTE] Here we go, a new release as promised with a built in FTPd. The FTPd is actually oftpd so credit Shane Kerr, its creator. The only problem with oftpd was that it didn't support writing and deleting files. After about 20 minutes of hacking (really, it only took this long because he has coded it so cleanly) I added EXTREMELY basic routines to handle the STOR and DELE FTP commands. They have minimalistic error checking so if you are sending vast amounts of important data to the Xbox you should always check the MD5 sum(s) of the transferred file(s). There is no resume support for sending files TO the Xbox! I quickly decided I'd try adding MKD and RMD commands to the FTP server so that one can create and delete directories. This seems to work fine. Directories will be created with rwxr-xr-x (755) permissions. The source code for the modified version of oftpd can be found in the Magic/ Developer repository. [/QUOTE]
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(Friday 23 September 2005 00:06 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
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Interview with Jeff Minter - Neon visualisation software
>> ComputerandVideoGames.com has an interview with Jeff Minter, the guy behind 'Neon' - the software synth and visualisation software in the Xbox360. Here's a short excerpt: [QUOTE] Q (CVG): Is Neon a game, is it an orchestration kit, or is it so alien to the common conception of technology that it doesn't really fit into any category? A (Jeff Minter): It's definitely not a game in that there's no objective, no boss. It's an interactive entertainment experience. I men one of the things I've always striven to do is to interact, where you can do something where you can get involved, so you're not just listening to the music, you're performing along with it. With Neon, multiple users can use it at once, the first time a couple of guys came down to try it out, we were jamming for nine hours together, just us, a big screen and some good music. [/QUOTE]
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(Thursday 22 September 2005 23:38 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Australia Gets Xbox Roadshow
>> From palgn.com.au: [QUOTE] Microsoft Australia announced today that they'll be holding gaming nights in most states across Australia. Australia may not be seeing the Xbox 360 until March 2006, however these events will give the gaming public a sneak peak at the console (possibly in action). The gaming nights will be held on September 26th in Adelaide, September 28th in Freemantle, October 4th in Melbourne, October 6th in Hobart, October 11th in Manuka, October 12th in Sydney and October 17th in Fortitude Valley. [/QUOTE]
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(Thursday 22 September 2005 20:50 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Xbox 360: poll shows rising interest in Japan
>> From joystiq.com: [QUOTE] According to Famitsu Weekly, TGS provided a big boost for Microsoft, generating a huge Xbox 360 buzz in Japan. Japanese gamers' interest in purchasing the Xbox 360 nearly quadrupled after TGS, jumping from 6% to 22%. It's difficult to know if this new figure includes consumers that were previously interested in the PS3 or Revolution, or instead, were simply undecided--the Nikkei poll that first revealed a 6% interest in the Xbox 360 also reported that 21% of those polled were undecided about which next-gen console they expected to buy. [/QUOTE]
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(Thursday 22 September 2005 15:39 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Interview with Jim Barber: Xbox Live
>> From majornelson.com/geekspeakradio.com: [QUOTE] Geek Speak Radio did an interview with Jim Barber. Jim's team runs the Xbox Live Router Certification program. This is a program that we run where we work with networking manufactureres to make sure that their routers will work with Xbox Live. It's a really cool program that makes sure Xbox Live members can have the best experience possible on Xbox Live...just by selecting the right hardware.
Here are a few sample questions from the interview... Q: Occasionally we can play our friends, but can't hear them. Why is that? A: NAT's usually to blame... but is it your router or theirs? http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live/connect/diagnosing.htm Q: Why is matching making in Halo 2 seem to work better than other games? A: Bungie cares about the experience and makes sure NT: 1 Router host. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/connect/routerlanding.htm Q: What do you see as the future for networking? A: 802.11N, E, Windows Connect Now, Xbox 360 and more... [/QUOTE]
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(Thursday 22 September 2005 14:22 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2005-09-21 CVS build
>> A new CVS compile (by T3CH) of XboxMediaCenter(info) has been released. This T3CH-compile is a BAREBONE package (with just a few thirdparty scripts and with just the default skin) compiled with XDK v5849. Here's the full changelog since the 2005-09-12 CVS release: * added: wrapper class for dll's (See DynamicDll.h for more info) * added: Milk(info)drop now supports stereo 3d mode. * added: AC3-wav, AC3-cdda, DTS-wav and DTS-cdda playback to paplayer. NOTE: DTS-wav and DTS-cdda will always output as AC3. * added: MasterPassword: Audio & Video & Picture -> Context menu - Settings will now also check for MasterPassword if Lock Settings is enabled! [GeminiServer] * added: logpath for xbmc.log file! Set the path where the log file should be created. [GeminiServer] If no path is set the Default Q:\ path will be used. Example: E:\TDATA\0face008\ * added: New builtin command: XBMC.Notification(,). Will show a KAI toast dialog with the specified header and message. * added: Display of type of audiostream (Commentary, For Hearing impaired on those dvd's that support it) * added: Alternative ascii-gfx Filezilla (FTP) Welcome MSG. Disabled by default, to enable, first disable (comment) org. MSG, then uncomment new MSG. Use an ASCII capable font for display in ftpCLIENT. Thx to h8! * changed: reversed and fixed double xboxmediacenter.xml settings issue if home path was set [GeminiServer] * changed: reorganized the Homedir log structure! [GeminiServer] * changed: disabled software upsampling for multichannel audio (>2). (MPlayer, DVDPlayer) * changed: disabled software upsampling for multichannel audio (>2). (PAPlayer) * changed: disabled crossfading for cdda. * changed: context menu Audio & Video & Picture -> to avoid large context menu, grayed out context menu items are now removed! They will displayed if required! * changed: minor improvement for vertical chroma alignment in PixelShader Renderers. it was off by half a pixel. * changed: XBMC.AlarmClock() can now execute any builtin. NEW SYNTAX! XBMC.AlarmClock(,
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(Wednesday 21 September 2005 20:12 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
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Microsoft Announces Full Xbox 360 Pricing in Japan: Accesoires and LIVE
>> We learned last week at the Tokyo Game Show that the Xbox 360 will be launched Dec 10th in Japan for 39,795 yen (~350 USD). The single package Microsoft offers in Japan will include everything we (US/EU) get in the 'Premium' package (20gb HD, media remote, wireless controller, combo D-terminal/AV-cable, LAN cable, AC adapter, batteries and instruction manual). But while we get the media remote control as temporary launch promotion, Japanese will get the remote by default in the package and the Xbox LIVE headset as extra launch promotion. Today xbox360.ign.com also released the Japanese prices of accesoires and Xbox LIVE accounts: Wireless Controller: 4725 yen (~42.5 USD) Controller: 3675 yen (~33 USD) Face Plate: 2100 yen (~19 USD) Memory Unit (64 Megabytes): 3360 yen (~30 USD) Wireless LAN Adapter: 8925 yen (~80 USD) Play & Charge Kit: 2100 yen (~19 USD) Rechargeable Battery Pack: 1365 yen (~12 USD) D-terminal/HD-AV cable: 3675 yen (~33 USD) Component/HD-AV cable: 3675 yen (~33 USD) VGA HD AV Cable 3675 yen (~33 USD) S Video AV Cable: 2625 yen (~23.5 USD) Head Set: 2625 yen (~23.5 USD) Universal Media Remote Controller: 2625 yen (~23.5 USD)
Xbox LIVE: Silver - free (just like in the rest of the world) Gold 1m - 819 yen (~7.36 USD) Gold 6m - 2079 yen (~18.70 USD) Gold 12m - 5229 yen (~47 USD)
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(Wednesday 21 September 2005 19:43 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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GI.biz Peter Moore Interview (Part2)
>> GamesIndustry.biz posted part 2 of their interview with Microsoft's Peter Moore today (Part 1 was posted yesterday): [QUOTE] Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz at the Tokyo Games Show, Xbox VP Peter Moore has praised Nintendo's "innovation with the new [Revolution] controller", and reiterated the need for the industry to grow into new markets. "I want to give kudos for Nintendo for its attempt at innovation with the new controller," Moore commented, saying that the new device would -"bring people in that, as Iwata-san said, are either lapsed gamers or gamers that are intimidated by the complexity of the controller."
Moore went on to argue that the digital lifestyle functionality of Xbox 360 will offer non-gaming consumers a similar incentive to get involved in the market - and reiterated the company's controversial one-billion-consumers message from E3. [/QUOTE]
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(Wednesday 21 September 2005 13:45 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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TGS2005: PlayStation 3 vs. Xbox 360 booths
>> The Tokyo Game Show 2005 closed on sunday, but the guys at joystiq.com posted a interesting comparison today between Microsoft's Xbox360 and Sony's PS3 booth: [QUOTE] How did the two booths compare? The Sony booth seemed to have been designed to exude a dark power and evoke that same sense of awe that the apes must have felt standing before the black obelisk in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The booth seemed to say, "here is a technology of great power beyond your comprehension. Watch some pretty movies and don't forget to take your jaw with you when you leave." The placement of the PlayStation 3 consoles themselves also gave off the feeling that the console was an object of great value to be admired but not touched.
The Xbox 360 booth, by comparison, was accessible and inviting, but that lack of exclusivity and the accessibility of the booth didn't play as well to American sensibilities which make tend to make us desire less any object that's within our reach. In the end, we'd have to award Microsoft with the better booth simply because there were no mirrors and there was no smoke. The booth seemed to be honest and frank: "Here's the console. Here's a controller. Give it a go." [/QUOTE]
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(Wednesday 21 September 2005 00:26 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Microsoft Reorganizes to Compete Better
>> From forbes.com/bbc.co.uk: [QUOTE] Microsoft Corp. is reorganizing its corporate structure and giving one of its newest executives broader powers in an effort to better compete against its rivals, including Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
The company's reorganization will merge seven business units into three divisions. That is aimed at helping the company become more nimble and giving executives broader power to make decisions without bringing in top leaders. One of the three new divisions, Microsoft Platform Products and Services, will include the company's Windows, server and tools, and MSN online divisions. The other two units are Microsoft Business Divison, which will include its Office products and products for small- and mid-sized businesses, and Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division, which will include its Xbox game console, other games, mobile phone and handheld devices products. Robbie Bach, who was responsible for launching the Xbox video game business, will become president of the entertainment and devices arm. [/QUOTE]
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(Tuesday 20 September 2005 20:25 EST) - (Category: Xbox_Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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XLink Kai XLIL v1.0
>> From TD on teamxlink.co.uk: [QUOTE] After about 2 months of development, XLIL v1.0 has been released - (XLIL - XLink Linux Installer and Launcher). Like the name says, it's a GUI application to assist users who wish to use Kai(info) on Linux.
Cyborgas' intention was to publish a distro independant application, both easy to use and easy to install. The code is written in Python using pyQt and can run on both KDE and Gnome. Many people have been asking for this software, because running XLink Kai Linux from the command line is too geeky for some folks.
You can visit the SourceForge website for the project at: http://xlil.sf.net Or check out a movie of XLIL in action by clicking here. Soon XLIL will be available to download from the main TX website - but for now, head to the project site above to get a copy.
Features in v1.0: + Installer script to add an application entry in KDE/Gnome menu. + Intuitive configuration of kaid with a visual form. + Control Center where kaid can be started/stoped. + Control Center where jKaiUI can be launched. + Control Center with sensors for: - UI atached/detached; - Orbital connected/disconnected; - Console discovered/lost. + Easy downloader and installer for java runtime. For people who don't have java runtime installed. Needed for jKaiUI. [/QUOTE]
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(Tuesday 20 September 2005 15:34 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
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GI.biz Peter Moore Interview (Part1)
>> From gamesindustry.biz: [QUOTE] Responding to a question about the pricing of next-generation games, Moore refused to be drawn on overall pricing strategies - saying that software prices are the perogative of individual publishers, not of Microsoft.
However, he predicted that many games may be offered in limited edition bundles, similar to the already announced Perfect Dark Zero bundle, which costs an additional $10 but adds a significant amount of bonus content to the title, and that premium downloads costing "maybe another $5" will also be a key strategy for publishers. "I think consumers will get excellent value for money for what they're going to be paying in the next generation," he concluded. [/QUOTE]
You can read the rest of the 1st part of the interview posted today on gamesindustry.biz where they talk about High Definition gaming requiring a HDTV, Microsoft's software strategies in the different worldwide markets, the challenges in Japan, and the company's plans to meet global demand for the Xbox 360 launch. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.
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(Tuesday 20 September 2005 11:32 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Tokyo Games Show attracts visitors in record numbers
>> From gamesindustry.biz: [QUOTE] Taking place at the Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention centre on 16th-18th September 2005, CESA reports that a total of 176,056 visitors attended, smashing the event's previous record of 163,866 visitors in the spring of 1999; just prior to Sony's Japanese launch of the PS2. The imminent launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, Sony's planned launch of the PS3 and Nintendo's next generation plans for the Nintendo Revolution are said to be key in the massive attendance record, especially given the number of high profile next generation software titles on show for the first time. [/QUOTE]
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(Tuesday 20 September 2005 11:06 EST) - (Category: GamingGeneral) - (Posted by::
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Quake3 port to Xbox W.I.P.
>> Carcharius posted a new update about the progress he has made on the port of the Quake 3 engine, who's sources have recently been released, to the Xbox. Here's his latest W.I.P. update from his blog on carcharius.xbox-scene.com: [QUOTE] Wow, I didn't realise it had been almost 2 weeks since I last posted an update. I should take the opportunity to say thanks to everyone who has shown an interest in this project.
I've spent the last couple of weeks fixing a few things and trying to make Quake 3 work as an xbox game. At this moment I'm concentrating on getting the original Quake 3: Arena running. I've tried Team Arena but, that brings a few problems of its own to the table. So I'll leave that for a later date. There's not really anything new to see, most of the work has been non-visible stuff, so there aren't any new screenshots I'm afraid.
One thing that might be of interest is that I did try running Threewave CTF. I can't remember exactly what happened though, I know it did get as far as loading the mod but for the life of me I can't remember what happened from there! I must be getting old! I think I got as far as trying to find a game to join but at the time I was running without a cd key so any online adventures were right out. Anyway, I'm sure some people will be pleased to know that it at least loads the Threewave front screen! ;) [/QUOTE]
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(Tuesday 20 September 2005 00:53 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
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Activison sees price cuts on last-generation games
>> From reuters.co.uk: [QUOTE] Activision Inc. Chief Executive Robert Kotick said on Monday he expects video game prices for older consoles to fall as titles for next-generation boxes become available in the coming months. "You're likely to see price declines on the older- generation software," said Kotick, who was speaking at an investor conference here. [/QUOTE]
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(Tuesday 20 September 2005 00:42 EST) - (Category: GamingGeneral) - (Posted by::
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Gamespot Peter Moore Video Inteview
>> Gamespot posted a new video interview today where Peter Moore talks strategy and business about Microsoft's approach to the Japanese market for the Xbox 360.
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(Monday 19 September 2005 20:41 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Microsoft reacts to MGS4 PS3 Trailer
>> Xbox VP Peter Moore talked with gamesindustry.biz about the trailer of Metal Gear Solid 4 for PS3 presented at the Tokyo Game Show 2005: [QUOTE] Xbox VP Peter Moore certainly doesn't seem perturbed by the MGS4 video - telling GamesIndustry.biz at TGS that "Cell processor or not, when I look at the technical specs, I don't see anything that concerns me overly from a performance point of view. Quite frankly, having the ability to move first in this space, I think, provides us with the opportunity for a huge advantage." "If we look at the capabilities of the Xbox 360 from a technical aspect, and we lay against it the capabilities from a technical aspect of the PS3, everybody that works at a technical level that I respect says... It's a wash," he continued. "It really is. Both companies have incredibly powerful machines, and it will be about what the developers can do with them." [/QUOTE]
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(Monday 19 September 2005 14:56 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Microsoft pledges annual price cuts for 360
>> From GamesIndustry.biz: [QUOTE] With more than two months to go before the Xbox 360 launches in Europe, a top Microsoft executive has announced that yearly price cuts are planned for the console. "We will wind up cost-reducing the product every year," Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president of the Xbox product group, told Reuters. It's estimated that the 360 costs approximately $100 less per unit to manufacture than Sony's PS3, giving Microsoft more scope for price cuts. [/QUOTE]
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(Monday 19 September 2005 12:27 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Xbox 360: 2 Remotes , Production started week of Sept. 5th
>> Crave.cnet.co.uk attended a lecture by Jonathan Hayes, lead designer for the Xbox 360, at London's Design Museum last week where they saw the final retail Xbox360. They posted a few interesting details: * Full production of the Xbox 360 started in the week of september 5th 2005. * There will be two versions of the Xbox 360 remote control, used to navigate the console's media menus. The one you'll get (free) in the premium package as launch promotion will be the basic model. The larger one will sell separately, has more buttons and lights up, which will be useful for home cinema use. * They also talked about the design of the Xbox360: "Microsoft used a four-axis design template, with 'Wild' and 'Mild' on the horizontal, and 'Organic' to 'Architectural' on the vertical. Gamers erred more towards organic when shown potential Xbox 360 designs, and Microsoft is offering interchangeable faceplates to let people decide whether they want to take a walk on the Wild or Mild side."
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(Monday 19 September 2005 00:37 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
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Halo 2 Map Mod: Induction - BSP Conversion
>> From 'The Swamp Fox' on halomods.com: [QUOTE] And so the time returns again where we push our knowledge of map structure to the limit, where we attempt to break the barriers of what is known as possible, where some fail, and some succede. We return again to the idea of BSP conversions [BSP = Binary Separation Plane, or in other words, a great big chunk of level]. It has been 11 months of the same old same old... A few decent mods here and there, diluted by an influx of people who couldn't change a tag reference using a hex editor if their life depended on it. And to break this tragic cycle of "New Button, New Mod", I present you with Induction... A Halo 2 bsp conversion. This map throws you into a covenant wind tunnel of sorts; it resembles the firing chamber of the Forerunner Ship from High Charity. Due to the lack of a decent program written to accomplish a mod of this calibur, holes exist in the map structure from hex editing. This prevents Serenity(info) from working with the map. You will have to acquire it from Mimesis. After 6 or 7 months of work being put into this particular research effort, enjoy... and expect good things to come.
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(Sunday 18 September 2005 17:36 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
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PGR3 will be Launch Title after all
>> PlanetXbox360.com reports that the rumors from end August that PGR3 would not be ready for the Xbox 360 launch are false: [QUOTE] Gamespot have posted a "video tour" from TGS2005 of the game during which the Bizarre representative showing off the game specifically states that PGR3 is on track for the launch of the Xbox 360. [/QUOTE]
