Filed under: News
In a move that came out of the blue, but somehow feels right, Epic games (of Unreal and Gears fame) has acquired Chair Entertainment, the developers of Undertow for XBLA. Undertow was one of the earlier games to experiment with using Unreal Engine 3 on the Live Arcade and the fact that they’re now owned by the makers of stated engine seems to sit right. Chair Entertainment will still be known as such, and they are currently at work on two new projects, both of which have no announced platform (though XBLA is likeliest). The two games’ titles are Empire: Alpha Complex and Ender’s Game: Battle Room, both of which are based on properties of the novelist Orson Scott Card. Nothing else is known, but given the titles and properties that they correspond to, color us intrigued.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Via Xbox360fanboy
After all the issues that surrounded the game’s shut beta, all on the web players will be able to try it for themselves come the beginning of June. For those who pre-ordered the game though, the demo will be available Might 29, presumably via a download code. Some of the major issues in the beta were of course the much discussed purchasable weapons, as well as a few graphical issues. With the demo being seen by far more eyes than the beta, EA needs to make sure that they can show something that won’t disappoint those who try it. Battlefield: Bad Company’s combined single and multiplayer demo will be live for public download on June 5.
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Via Xbox360fanboy
Filed under: News
After being announced at GDC 08 the only questioned that lingered about Microsoft’s new Community Games initiative was when the program would officially begin. Today Microsoft inched the program closer to launch by announcing the Beta test for Community Games is available to premium XNA membership owners and the new XNA Creators Club Online community site.
The beta grants creators to submit games for review to the newly formed creators site and once reviewed and approved the game is made available on Xbox Live.
According to Microsoft during GDC, Community Games will land on all Xbox Live connected consoles this holiday season and hopefully the early beta means we can have a healthy catalog of titles to choose from.
Make sure to check out the XNA Community Games tutorial video after the jump.
Continue reading Xbox Live Community Games launches beta test
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Via Xbox360fanboy
Filed under: News, Console wars, Xbox Live Arcade
In the same interview that brought word of the 350MB XBLA restriction increase, Microsoft’s David Edery wanted to make it known that the Xbox Live Arcade is where it’s at and thinks that it will “leapfrog” the competition with the user-created XNA roll-out later this year.
Speaking about both Nintendo’s WiiWare and Sony’s PSN, Edery mentioned that XBLA’s XNA component “from an innovation perspective it’s going to help us leapfrog the competition, effectively until they find a way to copy it, assuming they ever do.” Zing! Zing! Zing! But before we begin the mudslinging, we’ve a bunch of questions that need to be answered. Questions like: Can user-created XNA content releasing to the XBLA differentiate it from what Nintendo and Sony are doing? Will it be easy to use and navigate? Will the XNA integration actually happen in 2008? Will it rain today? We can only hope our mountain of questions will be answered soon …
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Via Xbox360fanboy
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Online
The Creators Club and Community games are the next stage of Microsoft’s XNA initiative, which saw the introduction of XNA Game Studio 2.0 — a suite of tools for creating Xbox 360 and Windows games — earlier this year. The free software package is intended to simplify the development process and encourage upstarts to make Xbox 360 their platform of choice. It includes a variety of tutorials and samples, which MS added to this day with the introduction of a free Role-Playing Game Starter Kit.
News of today’s beta launch comes in the wake of our earlier post on MS’s intention to “leapfrog” PSN and WiiWare with the help of indie developers.
Filed under: On the web, Meta (about Joystiq), MMO
News
- The /gquit Macro
Don’t just /gquit — /gquit in style. - Wrath of the Lich King Friends and Family Alpha patch notes leaked
Spells and talents past 70 are available — you just can’t play them yet. - Is Karazhan no longer for entry-level raiders?
Moroes and Attumen is, but the rest of Kara might be too tough for those folks in blue gear. - Death and Taxes guild disbands
They used to get world first kills regularly, but now they’re rerolling. - Keys to a successful alt
Ways to make sure that other character you’ve got is as successful as your main.
Features
- Officers’ Quarters: Jerk message of the day
“Go f&$# yourselves, San Diego.” - Guildwatch: “Makes it sound like Teapot Dome up in here”
Of corrupt guilds and the guildleaders who ruin them. - Hybrid Theory: Death Knight distress
Will the coming of another tanking class unseat the hybrids that are already there? - Ready Check: Death and raid guilds
How can your guild make it past the expansion leap? - Breakfast Topic: Biggest AH sale
What’s the biggest cash-in you ever did at the ingame Auction House?
The Cars drive up next week as Rock Band’s second full DLC album
Posted by: admin in Online GamingFiled under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, On the web, Rhythm
The Cars’ 1978 self-titled debut album will become Rock Band’s second full album available for download. The DLC will be available as part of next week’s normal update at a price of $15 (1200 MS Points) for the full album and $2 (160 MS Points) per track. The Cars will include all master recordings:
- “Good Times Roll”
- “My Ideal Friend’s Girl”
- “Just What I Needed”
- “I’m in Touch with Your World”
- “Don’t Cha Stop”
- “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”
- “Bye Bye Love”
- “Moving in Stereo”
- “All Mixed Up”
For those with short-term memory, we’ll be sure to repeat all this info again (including videos) with Rock Band Weekly.
Microsoft talks XBLA future, loosening download size limit
Posted by: admin in Online GamingFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Online, Business, Casual
No pressure or anything, but you’re the future of Xbox Live Arcade, ‘kay? In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft’s worldwide Xbox Live Arcade games portfolio manager, David Edery, says that user-created games are “going to help [Microsoft] leapfrog the competition” — stated competition being PlayStation Network and WiiWare. Edery also questions whether Sony or Nintendo will ever attempt to emulate Microsoft’s initiative.
Revealed at GDC 2008, Microsoft’s Community Games Initiative is set to launch later this year and will grant indie devs to submit games created using XNA Game Studio 2.0 for other Community members to review. The top-rated submissions will be made available via XBLA for all users to download.
Some other interesting tidbits from the Edry interview: MS is planning to increase the maximum file size for future XBLA releases from 150 megabytes to 350MB, although he wouldn’t divulge when. (MS had already made an exception for Capcom’s upcoming Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, affording it 250MB for all its high-res 2D goodness.) Edery also confirms that MS has a “large” number of upcoming XBLA releases in its queue, and might consider more multi-release XBLA Wednesdays as a result.
