Games News for Games Heroes
MLB.com Games Available on Set-tops In Dec.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Interactive Television Networks Inc. on Wednesday said it signed a distribution deal with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., which includes next-day condensed games, daily highlights and full-length classic games. Irvine, California-based ITVN said the MLB.com programming will be available in December, but declined to give a specific date.
ITVN is an Internet Protocol Television provider that delivers content to TVs through a set-top box linked to a broadband Internet connection. Rather than paying a flat fee for the service, ITVN users are on an a la carte system and pay only for the programs they view.
ITVN, which offers 150 on-demand movies that refresh weekly, also has content deals with providers such as General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures, Starz Entertainment and Setanta Sports.
yahoo news
ITVN, which offers 150 on-demand movies that refresh weekly, also has content deals with providers such as General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures, Starz Entertainment and Setanta Sports.
yahoo news
Labels: News
Microsoft to ship over 10 million Xbox 360 units
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) on Wednesday said it expects to have shipped more than 10 million. Xbox 360 video game consoles to retailers by the end of calendar 2006. "This holiday, we expect to have sold in excess of 10 million units worldwide," a Microsoft spokeswoman said.
That "sold" number refers to units "sold into retail," which refers to units in transit, units sitting in store inventories and machines sold to consumers.
The Xbox 360 debuted in November 2005, roughly a year ahead of machines from rivals Sony Corp. (6758.T)(NYSE:SNE - news) and Nintendo Co. Ltd. (7974.OS), whose PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles went on sale in the United States last month.
Microsoft has previously forecast global shipments of 10 million by the end of 2006, as well as shipments of 13 million by 15 million by the end of its 2007 fiscal year that ends June 30. The company's latest Xbox 360 shipment count stands at around 6 million units.
Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell spoke at a Nasdaq investor conference in London on Tuesday and his accompanying power point presentation included a slide showing the Xbox 360 outpacing the original Xbox, which launched in November 2001.
That presentation, at http://www.microsoft.com/msft/events/default.mspx, showed Microsoft had shipped more than 5.7 million Xbox 360 units in the three quarters following the launch period, compared with 4.7 million Xbox units in the same post-debut time frame.
The world's biggest software maker offered no further updates.
Microsoft shares were off 21 cents to $28.92 in late Nasdaq trade.
Lisa Baertlein
reuters
The Xbox 360 debuted in November 2005, roughly a year ahead of machines from rivals Sony Corp. (6758.T)(NYSE:SNE - news) and Nintendo Co. Ltd. (7974.OS), whose PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles went on sale in the United States last month.
Microsoft has previously forecast global shipments of 10 million by the end of 2006, as well as shipments of 13 million by 15 million by the end of its 2007 fiscal year that ends June 30. The company's latest Xbox 360 shipment count stands at around 6 million units.
Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell spoke at a Nasdaq investor conference in London on Tuesday and his accompanying power point presentation included a slide showing the Xbox 360 outpacing the original Xbox, which launched in November 2001.
That presentation, at http://www.microsoft.com/msft/events/default.mspx, showed Microsoft had shipped more than 5.7 million Xbox 360 units in the three quarters following the launch period, compared with 4.7 million Xbox units in the same post-debut time frame.
The world's biggest software maker offered no further updates.
Microsoft shares were off 21 cents to $28.92 in late Nasdaq trade.
Lisa Baertlein
reuters
Labels: xbox 360
The first batch of PSone games available on the PS3... but you can't actually play them on the system
Sony has released the first round of PSone games for download on the PS3. What titles did they launch with? It's a solid—if slightly obvious—lineup. Right now you can get Cool Boarders, Crash Bandicoot, Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter, and Tekken 2. Each of these games is a good buy at $5.99, but I'm going to hold off before I buy any of them.
The reason is simple: I'd like to play them on the PS3. I don't want to have to upgrade my PSP's firmware and move the games over there, which right now is the only way to actually play the games. That's right, there is no way at the moment to play these titles you've downloaded onto your PS3's hard drive on the system itself. The idea of Tekken 2 on the big screen with a wireless controller is pretty tempting, but the idea of playing it on the PSP doesn't do much for me.
What the hell is wrong with Sony? Keep in mind that the PS3 is backwards compatible with the PSone—I was playing Colony Wars (AWESOME GAME) on the machine not five minutes ago. So why can't they get the downloadable PSone games to work? Why can I put my Tekken 2 disc in and play it perfectly, but the downloaded game won't run at all?
I know the point has always been to play these games on the PSP, and that's cool and all, but why can't I download the games via my PSP then? Why does this setup require both a PS3 and a PSP, except I can only play the games on the PSP?
Hopefully one day I'll be able to download these games onto my PSP directly, without using the PS3. Hopefully one day I'll be able to play the games I have downloaded on my PS3... on the PS3. Until then, this is just another unfinished feature that we're hoping for Sony to fix at some future date.
Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com
What the hell is wrong with Sony? Keep in mind that the PS3 is backwards compatible with the PSone—I was playing Colony Wars (AWESOME GAME) on the machine not five minutes ago. So why can't they get the downloadable PSone games to work? Why can I put my Tekken 2 disc in and play it perfectly, but the downloaded game won't run at all?
I know the point has always been to play these games on the PSP, and that's cool and all, but why can't I download the games via my PSP then? Why does this setup require both a PS3 and a PSP, except I can only play the games on the PSP?
Hopefully one day I'll be able to download these games onto my PSP directly, without using the PS3. Hopefully one day I'll be able to play the games I have downloaded on my PS3... on the PS3. Until then, this is just another unfinished feature that we're hoping for Sony to fix at some future date.
Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com
Labels: PS2 Games
Bully
What Jack Thompson really did for Bully was make sure that everyone talked about it for months before its release. Sure, brand-new IP from Rockstar is always going to be a big story, but Thompson and the rest of the talking heads who tried to make a name for themselves by calling the game a "Columbine Simulator" and saying it advocated bullying and various other nefarious activities only gave the game more buzz.
If someone is trying this hard to keep something from me, I feel like it's almost a moral obligation to try to track down whatever it is and find out what's so terrible that I can't be trusted with it. Bully even scored a Teen rating, which means anyone can go into any retail establishment and buy it. That's why I enjoyed this review so much.
While I had a good time with the game at Rockstar's New York offices, being able to strip away the hype surrounding the game and spend hours on hours playing it in my own home has been a joy. It's doesn't hurt that the game is really, really good. That's right: I'm not holding back on my judgment for the end of the review. This is a great game and you're wondering if you should buy it, the answer is yes. It's only $40, it has many hours of game play and much to see and do. This is one of those games that make game design look easy, and makes me wonder why everyone can't make games of this quality.
This isn't a game set in space, the future, or in the criminal underworld. You're just a kid going to school, and that may be one of the scariest premises and recent history. Jimmy Hopkins isn't a very good-looking boy. He looks like the kid who always has scabs on his knuckles and is usually up to no good. The truth is that he just wants to be left alone; he's not looking to control anything. Of course, he's also the type of guy who doesn't have a lot of patience for other people's nastiness.
His mother has dropped him off at Bullworth Academy for the year, and it's up to him to either sink or swim. Bullworth's motto is Canis Canem Edit, which is Latin for dog eat dog. You get the picture. You have the greasers, the jocks, the rich kids, the nerds, and a lot of students just trying to get by and stay out of the way of everyone else. Where does Jimmy fit in? Nowhere, and he seems to know it. So does everyone else.
This isn't going to be a very pleasant school year. Rockstar wanted to talk about going to school in the same way movies like School Ties or Heathers treat the subject. When you're 15, school is a huge, scary, violent, hilarious, and surreal place. Bullworth Academy is all these things—and a little more. If you don't think kids go through this kind of madness at that age, you don't remember what it was like.
Bullworth feels like every school, or maybe none of them. It's all the things that are broken about putting a lot of kids together and trying to teach them something. Violence is described by Bullworth's principal as "spirit," and the people tasked with keeping the peace don't seem very interested in actually doing that. This is your playground, this is your hell.
Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com
While I had a good time with the game at Rockstar's New York offices, being able to strip away the hype surrounding the game and spend hours on hours playing it in my own home has been a joy. It's doesn't hurt that the game is really, really good. That's right: I'm not holding back on my judgment for the end of the review. This is a great game and you're wondering if you should buy it, the answer is yes. It's only $40, it has many hours of game play and much to see and do. This is one of those games that make game design look easy, and makes me wonder why everyone can't make games of this quality.
This isn't a game set in space, the future, or in the criminal underworld. You're just a kid going to school, and that may be one of the scariest premises and recent history. Jimmy Hopkins isn't a very good-looking boy. He looks like the kid who always has scabs on his knuckles and is usually up to no good. The truth is that he just wants to be left alone; he's not looking to control anything. Of course, he's also the type of guy who doesn't have a lot of patience for other people's nastiness.
His mother has dropped him off at Bullworth Academy for the year, and it's up to him to either sink or swim. Bullworth's motto is Canis Canem Edit, which is Latin for dog eat dog. You get the picture. You have the greasers, the jocks, the rich kids, the nerds, and a lot of students just trying to get by and stay out of the way of everyone else. Where does Jimmy fit in? Nowhere, and he seems to know it. So does everyone else.
This isn't going to be a very pleasant school year. Rockstar wanted to talk about going to school in the same way movies like School Ties or Heathers treat the subject. When you're 15, school is a huge, scary, violent, hilarious, and surreal place. Bullworth Academy is all these things—and a little more. If you don't think kids go through this kind of madness at that age, you don't remember what it was like.
Bullworth feels like every school, or maybe none of them. It's all the things that are broken about putting a lot of kids together and trying to teach them something. Violence is described by Bullworth's principal as "spirit," and the people tasked with keeping the peace don't seem very interested in actually doing that. This is your playground, this is your hell.
Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com
Labels: PS2 Games
Apple moving into gaming?
Via AppleInsider, a six-figure analyst at Prudential ruminates on the possibility of Apple Computer entering into the hotly contested console market. Jesse Tortora writes in a research note that the hiring of game developers may have larger implications for the "digital hub" strategy Apple has been pursuing, most recently with the iTV product.
"The game console device could be morphed out of some combination of the MacMini and iTV, while the handheld player could be developed as an enhancement to a future version of the widescreen iPod," the analyst explained.
Okay, right there you can pretty much ignore this. Anyone who knows anything about the Mac Mini knows that making it into a gaming "ecosystem" competitive with today's consoles would require something like the discovery of super-futuristic alien technology buried for a million years beneath the The Campus in Cupertino. Setting aside technical hurdles, Tortora's logic comes down to the need for Apple to compete for the box that goes by the TV. Presumably, Microsoft and Sony have an advantage because their consoles can be used for games and movies. Of course, Apple has done quite well ignoring the need for convergence with the iPod, the ubiquitous device predominatly being a media player, but this brings us to the obvious.
Apple is making games for the iPod.
Having introduced nine games, two of which were made by Apple, it only makes sense that the company wants a larger piece of the potentially lucrative market. Also, consider the fact that longtime Mac game makers have been shut out of the iPod game market, as Macworld reports.
“It was lame of Apple to ignore the guys that have been loyal to them,” said a developer who asked not to be named. “We were ready, willing and able to create anything they wanted.”
While one could argue that shunning third-party developers is unfair, business is not about being fair, and eight million iPods a quarter is a lot of gaming business to ignore. Still, it would be nice if Apple could get Dark Castle on an iPod.
Charles Jade
arstechnica.com
Okay, right there you can pretty much ignore this. Anyone who knows anything about the Mac Mini knows that making it into a gaming "ecosystem" competitive with today's consoles would require something like the discovery of super-futuristic alien technology buried for a million years beneath the The Campus in Cupertino. Setting aside technical hurdles, Tortora's logic comes down to the need for Apple to compete for the box that goes by the TV. Presumably, Microsoft and Sony have an advantage because their consoles can be used for games and movies. Of course, Apple has done quite well ignoring the need for convergence with the iPod, the ubiquitous device predominatly being a media player, but this brings us to the obvious.
Apple is making games for the iPod.
Having introduced nine games, two of which were made by Apple, it only makes sense that the company wants a larger piece of the potentially lucrative market. Also, consider the fact that longtime Mac game makers have been shut out of the iPod game market, as Macworld reports.
“It was lame of Apple to ignore the guys that have been loyal to them,” said a developer who asked not to be named. “We were ready, willing and able to create anything they wanted.”
While one could argue that shunning third-party developers is unfair, business is not about being fair, and eight million iPods a quarter is a lot of gaming business to ignore. Still, it would be nice if Apple could get Dark Castle on an iPod.
Charles Jade
arstechnica.com
Labels: News
Online gaming titles coming to Wii
The Nintendo Wii's launch has been a smash success, with stores all over North America continuing to sell out every time they receive new stock. However, the launch of the Wii's online service has been somewhat less stellar, with few titles available to take advantage of multiplayer action. Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime promises that is all about to change.
Speaking on Spike TV's Game Head television program, the amiable Fils-Aime mentioned that the first round of multiplayer-enabled Wii titles would be coming out in the second quarter of 2007.
Japanese Wii gamers have already sampled a taste of online goodness with the launch title Pokemon Battle Revolution, but North American Wii owners are still waiting for titles to properly utilize the Wii's online connection. Many games still in development for the Wii are designed around playing with people who are physically present: a recent preview of a new anime-themed golf game for the Wii on Electric Playground revealed that the developers had not included online multiplayer modes.
Fils-Aime also indicated that new multiplayer channels were on their way for the Wii's online service, but declined to give any details about what new features might be enabled on them. The Wii's "always-online" feature, which maintains background downloads and other Internet connections even when in sleep mode, could potentially enable all sorts of interesting online community features, but Nintendo has been reticent to give out any details.
The new online-enabled titles and Wii channels are expected to launch around March or April of next year.
Jeremy Reimer
arstechnica.com
Japanese Wii gamers have already sampled a taste of online goodness with the launch title Pokemon Battle Revolution, but North American Wii owners are still waiting for titles to properly utilize the Wii's online connection. Many games still in development for the Wii are designed around playing with people who are physically present: a recent preview of a new anime-themed golf game for the Wii on Electric Playground revealed that the developers had not included online multiplayer modes.
Fils-Aime also indicated that new multiplayer channels were on their way for the Wii's online service, but declined to give any details about what new features might be enabled on them. The Wii's "always-online" feature, which maintains background downloads and other Internet connections even when in sleep mode, could potentially enable all sorts of interesting online community features, but Nintendo has been reticent to give out any details.
The new online-enabled titles and Wii channels are expected to launch around March or April of next year.
Jeremy Reimer
arstechnica.com
Labels: internet games, nintendo wii
Roboblitz to hit 360 Arcade this Wednesday
It has just been announced by Microsoft that Roboblitz will be the 360 Arcade game to be released this Wednesday, and I can't be happier. I loved the game when I reviewed it for the PC, and the idea of playing it with even better graphics than my computer can provide and with a controllers gives me the joy joy joy joy deep in my heart. Where? Deep in my heart. And if Nintendo doesn't like it they can sit on the tack.
OUCH!
Be sure to at least download the demo this Wednesday. I think you'll be very impressed with what you play. From Microsoft:
Experience the power of the Unreal Engine 3 for the first time in an Xbox Live Arcade game in “RoboBlitz,” this week’s Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday’s release. This independently developed breakthrough game will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, December 6, after 0800 GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).
Independent developer Naked Sky Entertainment created “RoboBlitz” using the latest in game technology to deliver an innovative, high definition experience. “RoboBlitz” is a fast-paced, 3D action game with unique physics, inventive gizmos, creative weapons, and robotic characters. Players take on the role of Blitz, a multi-talented robot who must activate an aging space cannon to save his world from a band of maladjusted space pirates. Set in seven distinct environments, RoboBlitz features 19 levels of puzzle-solving and high-intensity action.
“RoboBlitz” will be available worldwide for 1200 Microsoft Points.
1200 Microsoft points translates into $15, which is on the upper limits of Arcade pricing, but this game is worth it. I'm happy about this finally getting a 360 release.
Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com
Be sure to at least download the demo this Wednesday. I think you'll be very impressed with what you play. From Microsoft:
Experience the power of the Unreal Engine 3 for the first time in an Xbox Live Arcade game in “RoboBlitz,” this week’s Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday’s release. This independently developed breakthrough game will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, December 6, after 0800 GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).
Independent developer Naked Sky Entertainment created “RoboBlitz” using the latest in game technology to deliver an innovative, high definition experience. “RoboBlitz” is a fast-paced, 3D action game with unique physics, inventive gizmos, creative weapons, and robotic characters. Players take on the role of Blitz, a multi-talented robot who must activate an aging space cannon to save his world from a band of maladjusted space pirates. Set in seven distinct environments, RoboBlitz features 19 levels of puzzle-solving and high-intensity action.
“RoboBlitz” will be available worldwide for 1200 Microsoft Points.
1200 Microsoft points translates into $15, which is on the upper limits of Arcade pricing, but this game is worth it. I'm happy about this finally getting a 360 release.
Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com
Labels: xbox 360
Nintendo's Wii hits Japanese stores
TOKYO - Nintendo's Wii video game system hit Japanese stores Saturday with long lineups and shortages, following its sellout U.S. launch last month. More than 3,000 people braved frosty weather to line up at downtown Tokyo electronics retailer Bic Camera, hoping to get their hands on the console, said store spokeswoman Naoko Ito.
The store started turning people away at 5:40 a.m. local time — more than an hour before doors opened — and Wiis were sold out "for the foreseeable future," Ito said.
Earlier, crowd-control staff at the store, trying to avoid a stampede, used megaphones to urge shoppers to stop pushing.
Short supplies were reported elsewhere in the capital.
With the Wii, Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. — which brought the world the mustachioed plumber Super Mario, and Game Boy hand-held game machines — hopes to challenge the dominance of Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). and Microsoft Corp. in the game console market.
Unlike its rivals' high-powered consoles, Nintendo's Wii puts simplicity above fancy graphics and computing horsepower.
Wii's remote-control wand can be swung like a tennis racket, fishing pole, or orchestra baton in easy-to-play games the company hopes will appeal to a wider audience than the traditional young male demographic.
That will be especially crucial in Japan, where a graying population has made the game industry's growth sluggish in recent years.
Wii has a price advantage at US$250 — about half of PlayStation 3 at roughly US$500 or US$600, depending on the model.
The
Xbox 360, which launched last year, sells for US$300 to US$400.
Nintendo also has more machines for sale. Nearly 400,000 Wiis were available for the Japan launch date. U.S. shoppers snapped up more than 600,000 of its Wii video game systems in the week after its launch there on Nov. 19.
Sony had just 100,000 PS3s in Japan and 400,000 consoles in the U.S. when they debuted last month.
Production problems have pushed PlayStation's European launch back to March.
Analysts expect Wii to mount a serious challenge to Sony's 70 percent market share, which it built with previous PlayStation consoles.
Sony has sold more than 200 million PlayStation series machines over the years.
Nomura Securities Co. analyst Yuta Sakurai said last month he expected Nintendo to sell 40 million machines, compared with 70 million PlayStation 3 consoles in the next five years.
More critically, the profit is also likely to be better for Nintendo, while Sony is losing money for every PS3 console it sells until it gets a return on its huge investments.
Sony is expecting to rack up 200 billion yen (US$1.7 billion) in red ink in its game unit for the fiscal year ending March 2007, much of it in startup costs for PlayStation 3. By contrast, Nintendo is forecasting profit of 100 billion yen (US$845 million) for the fiscal year, as Wii buoys earnings in the second half.
yahoo news
By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press
Earlier, crowd-control staff at the store, trying to avoid a stampede, used megaphones to urge shoppers to stop pushing.
Short supplies were reported elsewhere in the capital.
With the Wii, Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. — which brought the world the mustachioed plumber Super Mario, and Game Boy hand-held game machines — hopes to challenge the dominance of Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). and Microsoft Corp. in the game console market.
Unlike its rivals' high-powered consoles, Nintendo's Wii puts simplicity above fancy graphics and computing horsepower.
Wii's remote-control wand can be swung like a tennis racket, fishing pole, or orchestra baton in easy-to-play games the company hopes will appeal to a wider audience than the traditional young male demographic.
That will be especially crucial in Japan, where a graying population has made the game industry's growth sluggish in recent years.
Wii has a price advantage at US$250 — about half of PlayStation 3 at roughly US$500 or US$600, depending on the model.
The
Xbox 360, which launched last year, sells for US$300 to US$400.
Nintendo also has more machines for sale. Nearly 400,000 Wiis were available for the Japan launch date. U.S. shoppers snapped up more than 600,000 of its Wii video game systems in the week after its launch there on Nov. 19.
Sony had just 100,000 PS3s in Japan and 400,000 consoles in the U.S. when they debuted last month.
Production problems have pushed PlayStation's European launch back to March.
Analysts expect Wii to mount a serious challenge to Sony's 70 percent market share, which it built with previous PlayStation consoles.
Sony has sold more than 200 million PlayStation series machines over the years.
Nomura Securities Co. analyst Yuta Sakurai said last month he expected Nintendo to sell 40 million machines, compared with 70 million PlayStation 3 consoles in the next five years.
More critically, the profit is also likely to be better for Nintendo, while Sony is losing money for every PS3 console it sells until it gets a return on its huge investments.
Sony is expecting to rack up 200 billion yen (US$1.7 billion) in red ink in its game unit for the fiscal year ending March 2007, much of it in startup costs for PlayStation 3. By contrast, Nintendo is forecasting profit of 100 billion yen (US$845 million) for the fiscal year, as Wii buoys earnings in the second half.
yahoo news
By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press
Labels: nintendo wii
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