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Microsoft's Xbox Network is a reaction to the free-to-play boom
Microsoft is using a new "Xbox Network" moniker for parts of its free online gaming service after recently enabling free multiplayer for free-to-play games like 'Fortnite.'
How to optimize your online gaming setup
Whether you play Fortnite, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or Overwatch, you're going to want as little latency as possible between your hands and the game's servers. While you can't really account for how reliable your ISP is, by making a few smart choices you can ensure that your side of the equation is as speedy as possible. Everything from your controller to your keyboard and mouse to your display and router can affect how long it takes for a game to recognize when you put a few rounds at an enemy. It might not seem like a big deal at first, but every millisecond of delay adds up and could mean the difference between that ever-elusive chicken dinner in PUBG and going home hungry. Let's take a look at a few things you can do to optimize your online gaming experience at home.
Nintendo classics get online multiplayer on the Switch
The Nintendo Switch features a new, paid subscription model that grants players access to online multiplayer features -- and something extra. According to the Nintendo Switch Online Service website, anyone who subscribes will be able to download and play one classic game from the Nintendo Entertainment System or Super Nintendo Entertainment System per month, "with newly added online play."
Xbox One update preview shows off new social features
Clubs and Looking for Group features are being rolled out to Preview members on Xbox One today and then the Xbox app on Windows 10, iOS and Android devices in the near future. Both features were originally announced during E3 2016, but now there's a chance to actually try them out in the wild.
Ubisoft breaks out the banhammer for 'The Division' cheaters
Ubisoft knows that cheating is running rampant in Tom Clancy's The Division and it's out to change that. Between hacks where enemy bullets can travel through walls to homing bullets, trying to enjoy the game the way its meant to be played is a bit fraught at the moment. But come the game's April 12th update, PC players, at least, will have platform-specific tools at their disposal to report the jerks according to a Ubisoft Twitch stream.
New Xbox One notifications let you know when other gamers think you're being a jerk
The Xbox One's simplified Reputation system aims to keep like-minded gamers playing together, and now the folks in Redmond plan to notify you if you fall of out the community's good graces. Are you the sort of player who doesn't ruffle too many feathers? You'll be just fine -- the occasional bad report won't do much harm. Starting this month though, Microsoft will reach out to trollish gamers when negative feedback from fellow players drags their reputations down into "needs work" territory. Prolonged abrasiveness will ultimately land them in the red "avoid me" zone, where matchmaking for games becomes more difficult and certain features like Twitch livestreaming could be restricted. Seems like a pretty big price to pay when the alternative is to behave like a civilized human being, doesn't it?
More OnLive management moves: Perlman out, as investor Lauder settles for Chairman
As the OnLive storm continues to ride itself out, details of who the winners and losers are (mainly losers) keep washing up on the shore. Today's casualty seems to be CEO Steve Perlman himself, who -- just days after the firm reinventing itself -- is "departing to work on his myriad of other projects." In his place the former COO, Charlie Jablonski, is temporarily taking the reins, as well as continuing his role as head of operations in the new organization. Finally, completing this wave of announcements, is the news that chief investor, Gary lauder, will officially take the title of Chairman. So, as the new incarnation settles into its new structure, we'll just have to sit tight, waiting to see what the next chapter in the OnLive story is.
OnLive officially announces asset acquisition, notes that its newly formed company will keep OnLive name
Amid the rumors, sourced reports and statements, it was easy to lose track of the facts surrounding OnLive's recent restructuring efforts. No surprise then, that the newly formed outfit has issued a press release and FAQ (after the break) in hopes will clear things up. First and foremost, the firm reiterates that the streaming game service will continue operating uninterrupted, and that the "newly formed company" that acquired the firm's assets will continue to do business under the OnLive name. The announcement also mentions the Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) process OnLive used to settle its debts, noting that "an affiliate" of Lauder Partners, a technology investment firm, was the new OnLive's first investor. Finally, the firm laments the necessity of laying off its staff, stating that "neither OnLive, Inc. shares nor OnLive staff could transfer under this type of transaction," confirming that nearly half of the previous staff had been offered positions at the new company, and optimistically projecting future hires culled from both previous and new employees. The new OnLive calls the asset acquisition "a heartbreaking transition for everyone involved," but looks optimistically to a future of "transforming the OnLive vision into reality." Check out OnLive's full, official word on the matter below.
OnLive reportedly shutting down, new company forming in its wake (update: OnLive says 'of course not')
Well, here's a bit of a shocker. After a strong showing at E3 and partnerships with companies like OUYA, gaming service OnLive is reportedly closing down, with an entire staff layoff resulting. At a glance, this sure feels a lot like the similar rise and fall of InstantAction, which was attempting to pull off something similar with cloud-based gaming. Polygon is reporting the story as relayed to the site by game developer Brian Fargo. We've reached out to the company and received a non-comment comment, "We don't respond to rumors and have no comment." Our OnLive contact also used the opportunity to plug its Google TV tie-ins and few giveaways -- so, for the moment at least, things seem to be moving along as usual. Update: Joystiq has reached out for comment as well, getting a similar, yet decidedly more blunt response: "We don't respond to rumors, but of course not." Blunt response or no, we're sure this isn't the last we'll be hearing about this one. Update 2: We reached out to OnLive again for clarification on whether the denial pertained to both the shutdown and layoff rumors. The response reads thusly: "I have no comment on the news other than to say the OnLive service is not shutting down. I'm sorry I cannot be more specific." Update 3: Martyn Williams from IDG has reported there are employees leaving the OnLive offices with moving boxes.
PSA: PlayStation Network scheduled maintenance in Europe starts tomorrow
European gamers are warned to get something else to do from Thursday afternoon. Sony's PlayStation Network is set to go offline on that side of the Atlantic starting from 4PM GMT tomorrow, through to 8AM Friday. Maintenance work will pull the PlayStation Store, account management and registration offline for this time, although anyone looking to play online can still do so -- as long as they're signed in to PSN before network... work begins. Updates on Sony's network tinkering will be posted on both on its own blog and twitter -- linked below for your convenience.
Nintendo takes on Disney veteran as senior VP for digital in US, gets serious about this whole internet thing
Nintendo hinted it was improving its notoriously rudimentary online access with word of the Nintendo Network early this year, and was even more adamant at E3 about making a big push into digital video. Some have accused the company of nothing but flag-waving -- if that's true, the waving is about to turn into a full parade through a new hire. As of July 1st, Nintendo is bringing on Disney's former Interactive Media Group senior VP Duncan Orrell-Jones to take on the just-minted role of senior VP for the company's Network Business group in the US. He'll be handling the overall American digital strategy, which covers both gaming as well as content. We'll need to wait awhile before we see the results, but if it helps make sure friend codes never rise from the dead to haunt our Wii U, we're all for it.
SOEmote tracks our face, transplants our expressions onto an Everquest II persona (faces-on)
Sony's PlayStation division may have been the main focus this week at E3, but Sony Online Entertainment has something unique of its own to show off for MMORG players. Specifically, folks who are into the PC title Everquest II will soon be able to access a facial recognition feature called SOEmote (S-O Emote). It's no secret that these types of games require massive amounts of communication between players, and SOEmote is an attempt to make in-game conversations more personal than ever. Utilizing any webcam, the software is able map and track your noggin at 64 points, allowing your onscreen character to replicate any facial movements you make. We got a chance to mess around with a beta version of the software, and the results are impressive to say the least -- pretty much all of our facial expressions were accurately recreated. Join us past the break for more details and a hands-on faces-on video demo of it in action. %Gallery-157578%
PSP gets its own homebrew online gaming network, outweighs Sony's own efforts (video)
Sony made much ado of the PSP's position as one of the first online gaming consoles, but unless your idea of online play involves Skype calls, there hasn't been a lot to go on since 2004. Team PRO is addressing that deficit through Prometheus, a completely community-driven rival to PSN. The hack lets PSP games with support for ad hoc WiFi play go online by wrapping the normal local-only multiplayer in an emulator library that broadcasts to other Prometheus players. It requires a second-generation or newer PSP as well as a wireless router that can expose the PSP in DMZ mode, but there's a live who's-playing board and even an in-game chat mode to coordinate that round of Fat Princess as it happens. Of course, using a wholly separate gaming network outside of Sony's rubric involves a whole lot of warranty-voiding risk; if you're willing to live on the edge, though, Internet games of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker or Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will let you put off that possible PlayStation Vita purchase for a little longer.
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says 'no thanks' to console gaming, isn't worried about a life detached from Facebook
Zynga CEO and founder Mark Pincus just took the stage here at D10, and in a wide-ranging interview with Kara Swisher, he sidestepped conversation about Words With Friends and Farmville long enough to touch on the murky world of console gaming. In a bid to quell any potential surprises at E3 next month, Mark said outrightly that his company is not interested in getting into the console world. "We're aiming for you," he said while pointing at Swisher. "We're going after the mainstream market. There's too much friction [in the console world]." He also made clear that he tries to not look too far ahead of where the world really is. When talking about the undeniable shift to mobile, he made clear that there's still a huge amount of desktop traffic on Zynga's games -- "lots of people play while bored on conference calls at work," he quipped. It's an interesting viewpoint in a world where PSN and Xbox Live Arcade has given independent developers all new distribution platforms to reach users, but it also highlights the outfit's intrinsic attachment to Facebook in particular.
Friendster reborn as a gaming site, wishes Facebook cared
Friendster's as good as dead to the western world (it hasn't really crossed our radar since 2002), but Forbes reports that the site is still huge in Southeast Asia -- though not for the reasons you might think. It was the original social network when in launched in 2002, but its acquisition by e-payment provider MOL Global in 2009 led to its reincarnation as a top online gaming destination for countries such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia. The new Friendster just officially emerged from beta as a game-centric site, and the remaining vestiges of its social networking past -- you can still add friends, after all -- are gamified with reward points. Moreover, owner MOL Global has added e-payments to the mix, letting users buy Friendster Coins to purchase virtual goods. Given predictions that the Asian gaming community will exceed 1 billion by 2016, the site's future is looking rosier than ever. That might lessen the sting of being plum blown out of the social networking game by the big dogs.
PSA: PlayStation Network goes down for maintenance from 9am EST
Sony is taking its PlayStation Network offline for another health check, starting this morning. During the 13-hour tune-up, you won't be able to access PlayStation Home, Store, their account or play online. Similarly, official PlayStation sites will also go down, but you can steel yourself through those offline hours by checking on the PlayStation Twitter account, which will provide all the latest details.
EverQuest turns 13, blows out the subscription candles (video)
EverQuest? More like Ever-cost -- until now that is. The popular subscription-based game has dropped the need for recurring charges as the franchise marks its thirteenth year on the scene. If you're still set on forking out that $14.99 for full access, you can, but there's now a one-time $5 silver membership as well as the totally free option. Of course, it's free as in beer, with parts of the game restricted (only four character races and classes etc) meaning it mightn't be long before you're opening up the wallet again. But, if this doesn't turn you off, saving up for another classic just got a lot easier.
PSA: PlayStation Network goes down for maintenance tomorrow, will last around 15 hours
We know that it's become all too easy to assume that the PlayStation Network is getting hacked again whenever it goes down. That said, consider this another heads-up in long line of previous friendly reminders: Since being postponed last Thursday, Sony's announced that the PSN will go down for "significant maintenance" tomorrow, March 4th starting at 2 3 PM EST until approx 5 AM on Monday, March 5th. Unlike February's fixin', you'll still be booted offline even if you've logged-in with your SEN ID prior to the scheduled maintenance window. This means you won't be able to hop into a game of Domination on MW3, along with being restricted from accessing your account, the PlayStation Store, Home etc., as per usual. You can stay glued to PlayStation on Twitter to get the official word on when everything's back up, but may we suggest it could be a good chance for a lazy Sunday stroll? Hey, consider it an excuse to try out Near if you were one of the 1.2 million to snag yourself a PS Vita -- oh wait, that requires being logged into the PSN, too. Sigh.
MLG tinkering with streaming fees during Winter Arena tourny
Sometimes being successful at certain bits comes with a cost, and that's exactly what's happening over at MLG HQ. According to Forbes, the Major League Gaming circuit has seen tremendous demand for its streaming services during tournaments, which up until now could be enjoyed in low-res without taking a hit on your wallet. However, that success is pushing the org to experiment with a different, pricier content model. During the upcoming Winter Arena tourny, those of you who want to watch the Mad Catz-sporting pros will have to pay 20 bucks or $15 if you're already rockin' a gold membership. While the move won't be permanent, it could indeed be a sign of things to come. Do you plan to shell over some cash or sit this round out on the bench? Let us know in the comments below.
PlayStation Network ID moniter sacked, falls under Sony Entertainment Network umbrella on Feb. 7
Listen up, those of you with PlayStation Network IDs. Sony Computer Entertainment International has announced that, as of February 7th, PSN IDs will change into SEN IDs as a part of its existing Sony Entertainment Network The company has aimed the move at clearly unifying the services of PSN and SEN, such as Music Unlimited. Fret not, however, as Joystiq notes that the change is basically a looks-only affair, meaning your current account information and related services will remain the same. Notably, the moniker refresh won't apply to the PSP, which will curiously remain under the PSN moniker for network services. The news comes as a part of SCEI's updated Terms of Service and privacy policy, both of which take effect on the same day. Those changes, by the way, appear to mainly be regarding location-based services for PS Vita, and parental controls for sub-master accounts. After all of the bad times PSN has been through, partnering up closer to SEN might just be the refreshed outlook on (online) life it needed all along -- and hopefully with less downtime. Hit up the source link below for the full details.Update: We've adjusted the post to clarify that the PlayStation Network will remain named as such, but that PSN IDs have now become SEN IDs.
