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Joy Ride Turbo skids onto Xbox Live Arcade May 23
Joy Ride Turbo, the Kinect-free sequel to Kinect Joy Ride, will be released on Xbox Live Arcade on May 23, according to a new release schedule from Major Nelson. As previously revealed, Joy Ride Turbo features several different modes, including a new Stunt Park, and generally sounds a lot more like the Joy Ride Microsoft originally announced way back in 2009.If your Kinect is feeling lonely as a result, this week's Xbox Live Deal of the Week revolves entirely around downloadable Kinect titles. You can grab Fruit Ninja Kinect for $7, while Hole in the Wall, Leedmees, Double Fine Happy Action Theater, Rhythm Party and Haunt have been knocked down to $5 each.If your 360 controller is now feeling double-reverse lonely, next week will see discounts to some old-fashioned regular XBLA games. Specifically, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes will be reduced to $7.50, while Outland and Beyond Good & Evil HD will be available for $5 each.
Joy Ride Turbo is the Kinectless sequel to Kinect Joy Ride
So uh, you guys remember Kinect Joy Ride, that launch-window Kinect kart racing title from November of 2010? Well, developer BigPark is making a sequel: Joy Ride Turbo. As you can surmise from the peculiar lack of the word "Kinect" in the title, Joy Ride Turbo will, in fact, not be a Kinect game when it launches in the coming weeks.The game will launch as an XBLA title, rather than a full retail release like its predecessor. It features Battle Race, Pro Race and Time Trial modes, as well as a new "Stunt Park," which allows players to drive over cliffs and out of cannons at (presumably) very high speeds.Exploring the park yields new rides (42 in total), upgrades, as well as coins and trophies of unknown significance. Local multiplayer is supported for up to four players, with races capping out at eight drivers online. Steal a glance at some aerial automotive avatar acrobatics in the gallery below. %Gallery-154329%
Kinect Sports: Season 2, Kinectimals Now With Bears dated
Halloween gatherings are about to get a lot scarier. Kinect owners will be able to inject their world of furry friends with pure ursine terror when Kinectimals Now With Bears! launches on October 11, both as a standalone disc and DLC. What's that? You don't think bears are terrifying? We can only presume then that you've never seen a shaved bear.* Things get even hairier on Oct. 25 when Kinect Sports: Season Two: Now With Beards sprints its way to store shelves. And no, it's not really called that, we assume it has, you know, the regular number of beards in it. But we can dream, can't we? *If you were thinking of doing a Google Image Search for "shaved bears" with SafeSearch turned off ... well, maybe just don't do that, OK? Promise us.
Free Kinect Sports 'Party Pack' DLC available now, Joy Ride DLC coming Jan. 4
If you'd like to freshen up your Kinect Sports experience with fresh fruit and fresh ... chicken, head to the Xbox Live Marketplace right now. Microsoft has posted a free DLC suite, the "Party Pack." The free download adds a "Challenge" feature to track friends' minigame scores. Appropriately, the DLC adds six new minigames: Super Striker (for Soccer), Pinvaders (for Bowling), Rapid Runner (for Track & Field), Target Smash (for Table Tennis), Fruit Splatter (for Volleyball), and King of the Ring (for Boxing). It also includes new games for the multiplayer Party Play mode, and three new "crazy" Party Play mascots: "Zippy Zombie" (okay, so maybe it's not all fresh), Champion Chicken, and Sportastico. Check after the break for descriptions of the minigames. MS also announced that new DLC will arrive for Kinect Joy Ride on January 4. The "Chevrolet Car Pack" adds the Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze to your game. It's free -- all you'll have to do is ... select a Chevy ad in XBLM. Update: Catch a trailer after the break -- a trailer that refers to the set as the "Samsung Party Pack."
Kinect Joy Ride review: Driving in the 'so?' lane
If you don't know the story behind Kinect Joy Ride, let me sum it up: It was originally announced as a "freemium" Xbox Live Arcade game, in which players would race together and unlock new content through their combined efforts in an ever-evolving world. What it ended up being is a pseudo kart racer with set tracks, a few race modes and Kinect-only controls that have you pantomiming holding a steering wheel and "turning" it to steer. If that sounds gimmicky, it is.%Gallery-106496%
Sources: Kinect beta kits going out, Dashboard update live for participants (with pics!) [Update: and video!]
That email purportedly sent out by Microsoft a couple weeks back inviting its recipients into a Kinect beta program? Yeah -- it was legit. Joystiq has received corroborating evidence confirming the program, including pictures of the promised Kinect-enabled Dashboard update running on a participant's retail console. In them, you can clearly see the flatter presentation, new mini-guide and revamped Avatar editor -- complete with a re-proportioned Avatar. Our tipsters clearly didn't read the included guidelines, pictured in the gallery bellow. Apart from the laundry list of methods via which participants aren't supposed to talk about the program, there's confirmation that Kinect hardware is indeed part of the beta, "is being packed" and will presumably be on its way to testers soon. These same sources report that the beta support site mentions Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride as titles they can expect to receive for testing purposes. We'll have more on the program as its participants continue to refuse acknowledgment of Microsoft's terms and conditions. [Update 8/27, 9am: And we've got a video of the new Dash posted just after the break, featuring much more than the boot-up screen. Thanks, Bradley!] %Gallery-100536%
Joy Ride MIA, but Microsoft insists 'BigPark's vision' will come to life in 2010
It appears that Joy Ride has been wiped as cleanly as possible from Xbox.com. Its game page is missing, and even the link to it from MS's E3 page has been removed. Joystiq contacted Microsoft for clarification and a spokesperson responded, "We're excited to bring BigPark's vision to life in 2010. However, we have nothing further to announce at this time." We followed up, specifically asking if "BigPark's vision" was still Joy Ride, if the game was currently in development and if it'd be shown at E3. The company has yet to respond to the request for clarification. The latest on Joy Ride's status after it missed its 2009 launch was that it was going to be released sometime in 2010. Microsoft purchased Joy Ride developer BigPark last year and announced the kart racer with Avatar support at E3 2009. We'll update if Microsoft decides to let us see what's going on under the hood. [Thanks, Pibs] %Gallery-65168%
Joy Ride slides into 2010, BigPark still tinkering under the hood
At E3 2009, Microsoft confessed to the secret Xbox 360 exclusive that (then newly acquired) BigPark would create: Joy Ride, a free-to-play, Avatar-based racing game. As you might have concluded after it missed its holiday 2009 launch window, Joy Ride has been delayed until later in 2010, though Microsoft wouldn't share anything more specific. The full statement to Joystiq reads: "We're thrilled to have unveiled Joy Ride at E3 2009, which will deliver a revolutionary gaming experience to the Xbox 360 community and put your Avatar behind the wheel. We're committed to delivering the most robust experience to the community and are taking additional time to ensure we provide the best experience possible. We're looking forward to launching Joy Ride in 2010. Stay tuned!" With a slew of upcoming media events leading up to this year's E3, we're sure to hear more about the title in the coming months and see how the extra development time has been put to use. %Gallery-65168%
TGS 2009: Joy Ride community can unlock 'Perilous Peaks' stunt track
During a brief closed-door Xbox Live Arcade showcase at Tokyo Game Show 2009, Microsoft revealed that a new stunt track in the upcoming Xbox Avatar title, Joy Ride, will be unlocked by the community. When the Joy Ride community reach a collective experience level, the mountain landscape of Perilous Peaks will become available -- similar to the unlock challenge of EA's Battlefield 1943. Microsoft also showcased three new modes for Joy Ride: Delivery Dash pits players against each other, attempting to collect and deliver a pizza at random spots within the world; Coin Frenzy has players (alone or in teams) racing against the clock to collect as many coins within the world; and Trick Showdown requires players work alone or as a team to pull off as many stunts before time expires. As an added bonus, collected coins can be used to customize each player's ride -- a nice alternative to customization options available for purchase with Microsoft Points. Joy Ride will be available on the Xbox Live Arcade (free to Gold Subscribers all Xbox Live members) this holiday. %Gallery-73871%
Hands-on: Joy Ride
Joy Ride is a game with an agenda. As a free downloadable title with lots of accessibility, Avatar support and plenty of customization options, we're sure Microsoft sees it as a great gateway game to Xbox Live. At any rate, Microsoft saw something in the game, as the company decided to acquire developer BigPark based on its merits. Having spent some time with Joy Ride -- which is still pre-alpha, mind you -- we think Microsoft might be on to something. %Gallery-65168%
Take a joyride with the first trailer for Joy Ride
When Microsoft announced the free-to-play, avatar-based Joy Ride at its press conference yesterday, the company also revealed a fancy new trailer for the microtransaction vehicle. The gameplay looks to be rather simplistic, with a heavy focus on vehicle customization and arcade-style racing, so if that's your kind of thang, have at it! The game's set to go live on ... Xbox Live this winter.
BigPark's 'Joy Ride' free to play, download ... then you pay
Microsoft announced during its press conference that BigPark's big secret project is Joy Ride, a kart racer that'll be free to download and play. Of course, that's where the free ends and the microtransactions begin. It'll go live this winter, start saving those nickles and dimes.
BigPark CEO: Xbox 360 exclusive will broaden audience, be playable at E3
What prompts a giant like Microsoft -- amidst layoffs and studio closures -- to purchase a Vancouver-based developer that's barely two years old? Aside from boasting a collection of 20-year industry veterans that have had their hands in franchises like Need For Speed, SSX and NBA Street, BigPark Inc. benefited from having its ideas being "very compatible" with those of Microsoft. That's according to BigPark CEO and co-founder Hanno Lemke, who spoke to us regarding Microsoft's recently announced plans to acquire the studio and its "extremely talented group of people." BigPark's titles (including free-to-play tower defense game, Wizard Defense) focus on online social play, digital distribution and a direct-to-consumer model. Lemke suggested that his company's upcoming Xbox 360-exclusive game, which has been in development for more than a year, would be in line with what it had released before. Resulting from a fortuitous "meeting of the minds" between BigPark and Microsoft, the game is unlikely to be a typical product aimed at the Xbox's hardcore audience (no space marines here!), instead fitting in with Microsoft's "big push to broaden the audience." A casual, free-to-play title would certainly fit the description, if one were to speculate. Though Lemke refrained from offering much detail, he confirmed that the "very new and different" title would be playable at next month's E3 -- and that it would break some rules. "[It's] pretty innovative in how it's delivered to consumers," he remarked. And if there's any doubt that the game plays a pivotal role in an audience expansion strategy, consider just what prompts a giant like Microsoft to purchase a Vancouver-based developer that's barely two years old. "It obviously goes beyond one game, right?"
Microsoft to acquire BigPark, working on Xbox 360 exclusive
What you know about BigPark probably isn't enough to fill a small garden -- but you'll likely be hearing a lot about the Vancouver-based company in the coming weeks. Microsoft has announced plans to acquire the group, which bills itself as an "interactive online entertainment company." Its founders, who came together in 2007, claim to share a goal of creating "great games in an inspiring and collaborative environment for highly talented and creative people." Though BigPark itself has yet to do so on its own, its members are said to have produced popular franchises such as Need for Speed and SSX. Update: BigPark's first project was a free-to-play tower defense game, called Wizard Defense. Microsoft and BigPark -- now reporting to Microsoft Game Studios -- will "continue" collaborating on an Xbox 360-exclusive title, one that is likely to be unveiled at next month's E3. "We're looking forward to being part of the Microsoft Game Studios team, where we believe we can successfully contribute to shaping key Microsoft initiatives through fresh and engaging consumer experiences," said Wil Mozell , studio president and co-founder of BigPark. Mozell's name doesn't ring a bell, but another co-founder does: Don Mattrick, Microsoft's current VP of Interactive Entertainment Business. According to BigPark's rather ambiguous website, its goal is to "expand gaming audiences around the world and bring them together through accessible and highly entertaining interactive experiences." Expanding audiences through accessible experiences? That definitely sounds like a part of Microsoft's ongoing attempts to put the Xbox 360 in the same space as Nintendo's Wii. [Thanks, DanteSparda504]
