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Microsoft pushing Xbox 360 update allowing Xbox Live purchases with real money (update: too soon)
Remember when Microsoft said that you could soon buy Xbox Live content using real money? Well, check your Xbox 360: following an update to one of our consoles, we're now seeing content available in local currency. It's unclear at this stage how many gamers are seeing the change, although Microsoft has already mentioned that the next update will flip the switch. We've reached out to the company for confirmation of the rollout. If you get the update as well, don't worry about your account balance -- as Microsoft mentioned before, any existing points will be converted to their cash equivalent. Update: Microsoft says that real money purchases are still limited to beta program participants, and you'll have to wait until the fall to see the currency change -- false alarm, folks.
Microsoft's Marc Whitten on all things Xbox One (video)
Microsoft Xbox chief product officer Marc Whitten has been with the company for quite some time -- from before the launch of the first Xbox through the company's latest gaming effort, the Xbox One. As such, he's got a longer term perspective on the Xbox brand than most folks in Redmond, so we put those kind of questions to him when we spoke for 20 minutes yesterday following the company's big stage show at The Galen Center. First and foremost, we asked about the fate of Xbox Live Arcade. Given that Xbox One will have all its games available digitally as well as physically at launch, what would become of the traditionally small game digital service? Will the marketplace change dramatically given the changing nature of game formats? Find out that and much more in the full interview, dropped just below the break.
Microsoft execs' Xbox Live accounts hacked, investigation still underway
Microsoft has just confirmed that a group of hackers have indeed accessed the Xbox Live accounts of several of its past and present "high-profile" employees. News of the breach was first reported by Ars Technica, which itself had been the victim of a DoS attack this last weekend, potentially linked to the same group. Evidence pointing to hacking collective Team Hype's alleged involvement surfaced when videos depicting its efforts were found online; videos that demonstrated the group's reported use of illegally obtained Social Security data to gain access to and sell off Xbox Live user accounts. According to Microsoft's recently issued statement, the company's working with authorities to "disable this current method" and cut off the possibility of future attacks. For now, it appears this security compromise is unrelated to a UK incident which saw Microsoft's Xbox Entertainment Award voting app temporarily expose user data. We'll update you as soon as we hear more.
PBS mini-documentary explores indie game creation, shows what they do that majors can't (video)
The indie game world has undergone a metamorphosis over the past few years, transforming from an often overlooked niche into as much a staple of the game industry as once-every-year blockbusters like the Call of Duty series. It's that fast-rising side of gaming that PBS' Off Book has explored in a succinct documentary. As both developers and game journalists explain, the small and more flexible nature of indie teams lets them delve into game concepts, art and sound that major developers typically avoid -- you probably wouldn't get Bastion, Fez or Super Meat Boy out of a company focused mostly on hitting its quarterly revenue targets. Crowdfunding and internet distribution methods like Steam and Xbox Live Arcade have similarly removed many of the barriers that either kept these games from commercial success or forced uncomfortable deals with large publishers in the past. Accordingly, the indie sphere that PBS sees in 2012 is less about trying to become the next Activision or EA and more about experimentation and personal expression. If you've ever wanted an elegant summary of what makes Spelunky feel so special, the whole Off Book episode awaits after the break.
Developer won't patch XBLA game because Microsoft would charge 'tens of thousands' of dollars
Seeing as how so much software is moving to online distribution, the significance of this controversy might extend far beyond gaming and XBLA. For now, however, the spotlight is firmly on Microsoft and the way it charges developers for testing their games and patches, after a well-known developer made an unusually public complaint. In a post on its official blog, Polytron said it would not patch a rare game-saving bug in its popular title Fez, because Microsoft would charge it "tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game." It added that "had Fez been released on Steam instead of XBLA," the problem would have been fixed "right away" and at no cost to the developer, which strongly hints that it'll jump to another platform as soon as its XBLA exclusivity expires. Responses to the story over at our sister site Joystiq are decidedly mixed, with some folks outraged that Microsoft's high maintenance attitude could hold back improvements in this way while others suspect Polytron of blame-shifting.
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.
Dragon's Lair landing on XBLA with Kinect support, lets you act out your princess-saving fantasies
The 1983 laserdisc classic Dragon's Lair is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade. That much we knew. What has us excited is that it'll come with a new control scheme, one that relies not on well-timed button mashing, but well-timed body flailing. That's right, whenever it does make its way to virtual shelves, the updated playable cartoon will sport Kinect support. Now, instead of making sure you press the button (yes, the one and only button) or flick the joystick in the right direction, you can mime sword swipes and swing from imaginary ropes. We can hardly wait. One more screen shot after the break.
Angry Birds spreading to consoles, sequels, feature films
The whole premise seems pretty simple, right? Evil piggies steal eggs, birds get angry, angry birds attack pigs, gamers struggle with addiction. But not so fast: have you ever wondered what the pigs think of all of this? Speaking at the Virtual Goods Summit in London, Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka let it drop that there was, indeed, a sequel to Angry Birds in development, going on to say that it would "surprise people. No one has told the story from the pigs point of view." But that ain't all! The company is apparently planning to milk this franchise for all it's worth, a multiplayer game "like old school Worms games" and a Facebook game taking priority, as well as porting the game to PSN, Wii, and Xbox, and some sort of film or TV show. We have to wonder who's going to play the red bird. Please let it be Alan Thicke. This is the best news since we heard there was a possible Asteroids movie in the works!
Dreamcast resurrection: classic Sega titles coming to XBLA and PSN later this year
The Dreamcast lives on! Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure are reviving Sega's final console, only this time on Microsoft and Sony's hardware. They are the two inaugural titles that will hit the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network later this year, to be followed by other classics from Sega's better days. As the now software-only company tells it, you'll basically be getting the original games, replete with (slightly) higher-res visuals, surround sound, online leaderboards, and Trophy and Achievement integration. We don't know what pricing will be like just yet, but Sonic Adventure will be coming at us in time for the 11th anniversary of the Dreamcast's original launch in the US (September 9, 1999).
Xbox Live update details announced, includes Games on Demand support, Netflix Movie Parties, game ratings
Microsoft just announced the details of the next Xbox Live dashboard update, which should start rolling out in waves later this summer. Highlight features include support for Games on Demand (coming in August), a slew of Netflix updates including the ability to browse the library and manage your queue, the long-awaited Movie Party system that allows Gold members to share a flick in a virtual theater, and a ton of other little tweaks like user ratings, avatar enhancements, friends list sorting, and a streamlined Party invite system. Yeah, we think we'll take it. Full release after the break.
Zune HD (xYz) positioned to take on Apple, Sony, Nintendo and Google?
Sounding too good to be true, the cats at Teamxbox have posted a lengthy piece quoting multiple sources from Redmond and Santa Clara who anonymously spill the beans on what the Zune HD is and isn't. The "digital entertainment handheld," dubbed unanimously as product "xYz" by said sources to emphasize its purpose of bridging the Xbox and Zune platforms, is not a phone (that's Project Pink) but a converged "mashup" of devices like the Sony Mylo, PSP, and iPod touch. The emphasis of the device is not the hardware but the software, services, and entertainment experience if offers while remaining primarily "a portable game console and media player." It's said to link into Microsoft's Skybox computing services for mobiles and blur the lines between Xbox Live and the Zune and Sky Marketplaces. Even the Xbox 360's NXE interface will be making its way onto the new Microsoft handheld. As Teamxbox summarizes: Buy a song, a movie or a TV show on your Xbox, play the content later on the handheld or the other way around. Play an Xbox Live Arcade game either on your Xbox or in this handheld. At the moment, we have no way to authenticate any of this beyond what we've brought to the table already. Honestly, having had our hopes crushed by a tepid reaction to market trends from Microsoft in the past makes it difficult to believe all these seemingly fanboi fantasy claims of specs and convergence. However, if true, if Microsoft finally breaks free from the rigid silos of its own making and delivers an integrated living room, gaming, and portable media experience along with a stable Windows 7 computing environment... well, wait this just can't be happening.[Via wmpoweruser and SlashGear]
Amazon now selling Xbox Live Arcade games
Amazon might still make most of its money by shipping physical items to your door, but it's clear that the retail giant knows the future of media is digital -- not only is it pushing the Kindle and services like Amazon Video On Demand, it's expanding its downloadable video game catalog to include Xbox Live Arcade games today. The process seems a little clunky at the moment -- you buy a code from Amazon that you have enter into your Xbox -- and it's not exactly easy to compare prices, since Amazon charges you real money instead of Xbox Live points, but we're not going to complain too much about anything that increases gamer choice. (Using real money actually seems like a benefit to us -- we've never really loved the idea of points.) The service is live now, anyone going to do a little shopping?[Via Joystiq]
PSN boss disses Xbox Live's interface, game delisting
No sooner does Sony (briefly) improve the PS3 user interface with the much-talked-about version 2.4 firmware update, than some at the company feel cocky enough to start badmouthing the competition's interface. Speaking to Next-Gen, PlayStation Network Director of Operations Eric Lempel took the bait, comparing Sony's redesigned PlayStation Store to Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace. "I think if I look over at the competitors' UI they may have some issues just displaying content," Lempel said, "and scrolling up and down lists isn't the easiest way to find things." Tell that to McSweeny's, why don'tcha?Lempel also pointed out that the PlayStation Store interface has "a lot of room with virtual shelf space to put a lot of things," a not-so-subtle jab at Microsoft's recently announced plan to de-list some Xbox Live Arcade games. "Depending on what type of UI you have you can accommodate a lot of titles," Lempel continued, "and specifically with our new store redesign which launched back in April we have a great ability to merchandise a wide variety of titles." That's all well and good, assuming your PS3 is currently working.[Via X3F]
Castle Crashers jumps through another hoop, gets rated 'Teen'
We love the Xbox Live Arcade Service (fanboy placation: we love the PlayStation Network and WiiWare too), but it's a well-known fact that there are a number of hurdles a finished game has to clear before it can find its way onto the imponderable internets. One of said hurdles, labeled "the rating process" is actually three-hundred feet tall, covered in flaming, poison-coated spikes, and surrounded by a moat filled with bull sharks in mating season. Metaphorically speaking, of course.Thankfully, in an act of incredible vaulting prowess, Behemoth's upcoming racist multiplayer beat-'em-up Castle Crashers recently cleared said hurdle, receiving a decisive "Teen" rating (the German judges, obviously confused and unimpressed, gave the effort a 7.5). There are a number of other hoops the adorable brawler must jump through before attaining that coveted XBLA certification, but we're hopeful that we'll be storming cartoon strongholds relatively soon.
Download now, or forever hold your points: Potential delisted Xbox Live Arcade titles
Our Xbox-toting brethren at 360 Fanboy recently came across a list of Xbox Live Arcade titles which may be up for expungement in Microsoft's spring cleaning of their online store. The list (available after the break) includes all titles that fulfill the first and second criteria of Microsoft's new standards -- that is, they've been available for six months, and currently hold a 65 percent or lower average score on Metacritic. A steady conversion rate (the number of people who purchase the complete title after downloading the demo, a figure only Microsoft has access to) is the only thing standing between these games and a date with the delete button -- so if you've been holding out on downloading Shrek-N-Roll, you may want to pick it up in an expedient manner.
N+ developers rail against glut of bad XBLA games
Here at Joystiq, we think Metanet's sadistic platformer N+ is one of the best original games we've seen on Xbox Live Arcade for a while. So maybe it's not too surprising that the game's developers feel the same way. What is surprising is their willingness to diss the entire download service in public.Talking to Gamasutra, N+ creators Raigan Burns and Mare Sheppard railed against Xbox Live Arcade's bloated catalog of copycat games. "The real problem, I think, is that the same people who are deciding what retail games get greenlit are deciding what Live Arcade games get greenlit," Burns said. "Those decisions that are ruining Live Arcade... it's like, who greenlit Word Puzzle? Who greenlit that hoverboard game that's just shit?" It wasn't always like this, according to Burns. "When we started out ... there were 30 games on Live Arcade. If N was one of them, it would stand out. Now there's like a hundred games, and they're all shit. ... If I was a consumer, I could see not even looking at Live Arcade games anymore if I had downloaded 10 or 20 demos, because at a certain point, you're like, 'Whatever. Maybe there's a good game in here.'"The full interview contains more thoughts on the Xbox Live certification process, the effect of game demos on buzz, and the stupidity of charging for gamerpics and themes. A word of warning: Microsoft fanboys should take their heart medicine before clicking the read link.
22 unlockable characters confirmed for Castle Crashers
You'll need more than your fingers and toes when counting up the number of playable characters in The Behemoth's upcoming (and long awaited) XBLA opus Castle Crashers, as the devs have confirmed that the game's roster will pack in "about" twenty-two unlockable slots. How exactly characters will be unlocked remains, much like the game's eventual release date, a mystery, with Behemoth blogger Emil teasing only that characters will be added "by various different means." However, given that since it was first announced some two years ago the heavily-stylized side scroller has remained near the top of a short list of titles we cannot wait to sink our thumbs into, it's just shy of hyperbole to say that we'd do anything Castle Crashers asked of us anyway. [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Puzzle Quest getting XBLA expansion, fans asked to name it
Puzzle Quest was among our favorite titles released last year over Xbox Live Arcade, with the unlikely mix of casual puzzling and role-playing edging its way into several of our staff's top picks for 2007. Now publisher D3 has announced that the game will soon be getting what it calls a "tremendous amount" of new content by way of an upcoming downloadable expansion. There's just one problem -- it needs a name.The add-on, which promises a new villain in Antharg, the Lord of Plague, as well as new spells, items, and quests on top of four new hero professions (Bard, Rogue, Ranger and Warlock), is currently being dubbed " Puzzle Quest: 1.5," but that name is hardly appropriate. To this end, D3 is calling for players to submit name suggestions on the official Puzzle Quest website starting today at noon through Friday, March 21. Once a name has been decided, the expansion will be made available this spring over Xbox Live. We're already brainstorming our ideas -- might we suggest Puzzle Quest: The Addictioning?
GDC08: Microsoft announces "community arcade"
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Microsoft_announces_user_created_Xbox_Live_games'; Update: The official press release has more details on the program and a few of the first available games. It also mentions that community-created games "will quickly double the size of the Xbox 360 game library."At Microsoft's GDC 2008 keynote address, the company announced a "community arcade" allowing user-created games to be distributed to Xbox 360 owners worldwide. "Now, 10 million people on Xbox Live get to play your game," said Microsoft Game Developer Group General Manager Chris Satchell. Free trials of these community created games should be available on Xbox Live "immediately" according to Satchell. "For the first time, community games will be distributed through Xbox Live," Satchell said. "'Xbox Live Community Games will give creators a huge audience to share their creativity with. Game distribution will be democratized, allowing the community to control the content. Create, Submit, Peer Review, Play are the four key steps ... We want creativity to flow through this pipeline. Users will be able to upload games using a Gamertag-like "creator identity" which will keep track of your game creation history. Creators can use descriptive sliders to describe a game's content, and peer reviewers can also evaluate the content for appropriateness. At the keynote, Satchell showed off a short demo of user-created game Jellycar (pictured below), featuring an adorable bouncy, 2D car that drives along on a sketchpad, bouncing up and down on a cartoon road. More as it becomes available.
N+ coming to Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday
We've known it was coming for about a month now ... now we know exactly when it's coming. Metanet Software announced via their blog this morning that the Xbox Live Arcade version of 2D Ninja platformer N+ will be available for 800 MS points at 9 a.m. GMT (1 a.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, Feb. 20.The Wednesday release will come with the obligatory Gamerpics and Dashboard themes which, unfortunately, will cost even more of your hard earned Microsoft points. Metanet also announced "one or two level packs coming in the future," although, really, if you manage to beat all 450 levels included in the main game, it's probably time to move on to another title. We're just saying ...[Thank Robber Tom]
