Centipede and Asteroids on Xbox via Xbox LIVE Game Room
Come spring 2010, Microsoft plans to dust off a plethora of arcade titles and to make them available to Xbox console owners via the upcoming Xbox LIVE Game Room. At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas the past week, the Redmond company announced that Xbox LIVE Game Room would go live this spring and that it would bring to the table no less than 30 classics, including Centipede and Asteroids Deluxe.
“There’s a generation of people who grew up with a set of games like Centipede that are favorites,” says Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division. “They look almost like casual, fun games today, (but) at the time they were high-end, edgy games. Game Room is the idea of bringing that back to the market and bringing that to a very broad audience.” Read more
Zune HD
Microsoft is introducing the fourth generation of its digital media player devices today, September 15th, 2009. Taking center stage is Zune HD, a product positioned as a direct rival for Apple’s iPod touch, and which is now available for purchase via retail channels. Zune HD models have been available for pre-order since the first half of August 2009. The 16GB flavor of Zune HD costs $219.99, while the Zune HD 32GB features a price of $289.99. At the end of the past week, leaked video demonstrations/advertisements of Zune HD offered an insight into what the digital media player brings to the market.
“Our research indicates that there’s strong consumer demand for dedicated media players and Zune HD offers visible differentiation in this market,” noted Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret LLC. “Microsoft is also offering some compelling software and services with the Zune ecosystem that will help Zune HD stand out from other offerings.”
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NBA 2K Goes Online and Moves to China
2K Sports has always held the second place in the sports games race, which has been dominated by EA Sports. So, it needs to offer some pretty good and innovative concepts in order to gain ground on the dominating force of the market.
One such innovative idea has just been announced, as the company is saying that NBA 2K10, its fully-licensed basketball simulator, is being brought to China and the larger South East Asian market via a partnership with Tencent Holdings. And as if this wasn’t enough, the game is also being offered online.
Ben Feder, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Take Two, declared that “I’m pleased to announce our first strategic move in what is now the fastest growing online game market in the world. Given the universal appeal of sports, specifically NBA basketball, we believe that our partnership with Tencent to make NBA 2K Online is the perfect entry point for Take Two into this market. NBA 2K has revolutionized the basketball gaming genre and we are confident that its best-in-breed pedigree can be fully leveraged in China with the support of our valued partners at Tencent and the NBA.” Read more
XNA Game Studio 3.1 for Vista SP1 and XP SP3
Microsoft has released and made available for download the latest iteration of its gaming development solution designed to permit developers to build video games for Windows-based PCs, Xbox 360 consoles, but also Zune digital media player devices. XNA Game Studio 3.1 went live on the Microsoft Download Center on June 11, 2009, and is now up for grabs for free. According to the Redmond company, Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 are the supported operating systems for XNA Game Studio 3.1.
“This release is incremental to XNA Game Studio 3.0 and contains many new features, including avatars, Xbox LIVE Party support, and video as well as enhancements to existing features. For the full list of improvements in this release, see the “What’s New in XNA Game Studio 3.1” section of the documentation once you have installed the product,” revealed Rob Cameron, Microsoft industry evangelist. Read more
Altair Leaps on iPhone, iPod touch
Published by Gameloft under license from Ubisoft Entertainment, Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles is now available for iPhone and iPod touch users running Software Update 2.2.1. The publishers tout the title as being recommended for fans of action, adventure, and historical games.
Connoisseurs (console players) needn’t any updates as far as the game’s plot goes, but iPhone and iPod touch owners might be interested in knowing that Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles takes place in Jerusalem, 1191 AD – the time when the Third Crusade between the Crusaders and Saracens was tearing the Holy Land apart. Read more
These Are the Best-Selling PC Games of March
PC gaming hasn’t been going through the best times in recent years, and, at least according to some analysts, it will be dying out in a matter of months or possibly years, succumbing to the popularity of consoles, which are more user friendly to gamers and, in some cases, piracy free.
But the platform is still very stubborn and keeps on going, with the help of organizations such as the PC Gaming Alliance and with companies that are still devoted to their early roots on the old platform, like Blizzard, Electronic Arts or Bethesda. Read more
3 New Windows Games for Windows 7
As it is the case with previous versions of Windows clients, Windows 7 comes to the table with its fair share of components. Among them is a collection of games, some traditionally associated with Windows, and some new additions. There are a total of 11 games in Windows 7 by default including: Chess Titans, FreeCell, Hearts, Mahjong Titans, Minesweeper, Purble Face, Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Internet Backgammon, Internet Spades, and Internet Checkers. Some of theme, like Minesweeper and Solitaire, are nothing short of Windows classics, while others, especially the Internet-based ones, have been added to Windows 7. Read more
2009 new Need For Speed 3 is coming!
In the past year, Need For Speed: Underground’u managed to achieve the targeted revenue figure was not related to many speculations. Estimates because of the failure of the racing game Need For EA’nin popular Speed’i a while “will rest” it was. But was not expected and EA decided to go over questions. And the more insistent.
Company official in 2009 as it plans to issue three new NFS’yi announced. The first NFS: Shift the name will be removed and will target the more serious racers. PSP, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 will be ready for the Shift except NFS: Nitro, EA’in Montreal studio will be prepared and only the Wii and DS will be released for. Read more
Wave Hello to Air Mouse
I predict fun and games learning to drive the Gyration Air Mouse but it looks like it could be worth it. Unlike an ordinary rolling ball or optical mouse this one doesn’t need a flat surface to work. Just wave it around and motion sensors inside the case tracks your movements. This information is translated by ‘intuitive’ software, which works out where on the PC screen you want the mouse pointer to go. It also responds to a range of simple ‘gestures’ that are basically shortcuts for frequently used functions, like highlighting or magnifying text. It communicates wirelessly with a small dongle that plugs into a vacant USB socket on the PC, and for good measure, it also works as normal mouse on flat surfaces, so lie back in your easy chair, wave at your laptop and it will do as it is told, probably… In the shops soon, expect it to cost upwards of £60.
Zune 3.0 Is Here
The fall 2008 update for Zune takes Microsoft’s iPod killer at version 3.0. The Redmond company is preparing to release a new lineup of devices, including a new 120 GB model for $249.99, but also variants of 80 GB for $229.99, 16 GB for $199; 8 GB – $149.99 and 4 GB – $129.99. But the new devices are only a part of the Zune 3.0 evolution. According to the software giant, the new models will be accompanied by the introduction of fresh color schemes: blue-on-silver and sleek all-black. And as the new Microsoft digital media players will hit the shelves, consumers will be able to enjoy new features and upgraded firmware.
“Digital music services really come alive when they help people find not only the music they know they like, but the music they didn’t know they would love. With the combination of subscription, wireless access to millions of tracks, and powerful discovery features like personal recommendations and the ability to buy music from FM radio, Zune is taking the digital music experience to the next level,” explained Chris Stephenson, general manager of Global Marketing for Zune at Microsoft. Read more
