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Comcast's new Chief Product Officer hails from Xbox, Nike
As Comcast keeps trying to turn around the negative reputation that it (and the rest of the pay-TV industry) has, it has a new Chief Product Officer to help. Enter Chris Satchell, who comes from Nike where he was the Consumer Technology Officer working on products like the FuelBand. According to Satchell, Nike ditched that gadget because sensors proliferated in other devices, and it chose to focus on building systems to track and handle its customers workout data. Other than the distinctive light up bangle, Satchell also previously worked at Microsoft where his work included leading its XNA game development program through the Xbox 360's early days, plus talking smack about Nintendo and Sony on the side.
Microsoft pulling free development tools for Windows 8 desktop apps, only lets you ride the Metro for free (update: confirmed)
Microsoft has instituted a big change with its free Visual Studio 11 Express suite that's leaving some current- and soon-to-be Windows 8 developers up in arms: it's pulling support for creating anything but Metro-native apps. After 11 becomes the norm, desktop developers will need to either cling to Visual Studio 2010 for dear life or fork over the $500 for Visual Studio 11 Professional. Programmers won't have the option of backdoor coding, either, with both the compiler and toolchain being pulled from Windows' framework. The situation doesn't represent the end of the world for some developers -- more established pros don't balk at a $500 price, and third-party tools will likely live on -- but it sets a much higher price of entry for desktop apps developed through the official route, especially if you want to write games using XNA. We've reached out to Microsoft for a response, but for now we'd suggest setting aside five Benjamins if Start screen tiles and app charms aren't your cups of tea. Update: We've confirmed with a Microsoft spokesperson that it's true you'll need Professional if you want to write desktop apps using Visual Studio. It's equally correct, though, that third-party developer kits will keep building desktop apps as long as they have their own compilers and related tools. Students can get Professional for free if they're in the Dreamspark program.
Kinect app promises you'll wear flowery skirts, and you'll like it (video)
Don't be shy now: which of you doesn't love raiding your mother's closet and trying on her paisley dresses and velour tracksuits? That's more or less the idea behind Virtual Dressing Room, a Kinect program that taps into the clandestine thrill of sneaking into other people's boudoirs. Unlike some other shopping hacks we've seen, the app goes beyond just pilling on 2D pieces, but uses 3D models so that the items mold to your limbs, with the shadows and creases in the virtual fabric changing as you preen for the camera. That all comes courtesy of a special physics engine, while the app itself was written in C# along with Microsoft's XNA tools. Arbuzz, the group that dreamed this up, says the project's still a work in progress, though we can see this, too, being used to relieve those of who are allergic to shopping malls. Until then, you'll just have to settle for watching some other guy work a knee-length skirt.
New developer tool will port Xbox 360 games to iOS
ExEn is a brand new tool for developers that's designed to bridge the gap between XNA, Silverlight and iOS (and eventually Android). XNA stands for "Xbox New Architecture," and is the general API used by developers to create games for Microsoft's Xbox console, and ExEn purports to take those games, and bring them over to Microsoft's Silverlight platform as well as Apple's iOS. It's still a work in progress, so some features are missing (the biggest of these being, of course, that Android compatibility), but it's completely free and open source, so any developers who have XNA code that they want to try and port are welcome to go grab it and give it a shot. If it works (I'm not a developer, so I haven't actually used it), this might put an interesting wrinkle in the developer ecosystem. I had a nice chat with the creator of I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1 (yes, that's really the name) a few weeks ago -- that strangely-named dual stick shooter is perhaps the most famous Xbox Live Indie game title, and he recently ported his title over to Windows Phone 7 with the blessing (if not the full support) of Microsoft. But I wonder what his options would have looked like if a tool like this could have allowed him to easily and quickly bring the game over to iOS. At any rate, we'll see if any big XNA developers try to take advantage of a system like this. If it works, hopefully we'll see great XNA games, like Cthulu Saves the World, appear on the iPad and iPhone. [via BGR]
Magicka sequel planned, first game and Vietnam expansion sold 'over expectations'
Arrowhead Studios' first game, Magicka, has been a runaway success. Publisher Paradox Interactive told Joystiq in a recent interview that the game "sold over 30,000 copies in the first 24 hours," and the five dollar Vietnam-themed expansion has moved "well over 100,000" copies since launching in mid-April. Even at just $5, that's plenty of extra ducats. Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester also confirmed a Magicka sequel on the books, though the folks at Arrowhead are still hard at work on the first game's PvP, set for a free release in the near future. "When we -- and I'm not saying 'if' -- but 'when' we are doing a sequel to this game, it's going to be done on a totally different technology," Wester explained, airing some of his company's grievances with Magicka's game engine, XNA Studios. "It was super buggy at release," he added, speaking to Magicka's less-than-perfect state at launch. "We addressed most of them in the first week, but there are still issues with laptops and a few other things. It's due to the engine that we produced the game on." As for the oft-requested console version of Magicka, Wester and his company are taking an all-or-nothing approach at this point. "We wanna do XBLA or nothing for the Xbox," Wester matter-of-factly stated when asked about the possibility of the game still heading to Xbox Live Indie Games. Beyond it being a smaller marketplace, he noted, "We looked into that, but it was not as simple as it seemed at first." PlayStation Network, thankfully, is an easier task. "PSN should be a no brainer, and I'm saying should because ... I can't really say anything more at the moment," he coyly added, noting, "I'll let you know as soon as I can say more." ESRB listings discovered earlier this year certainly indicate that something is in the cards.
Microsoft kicks off Dream Build Play 2011 with $75K prize pool
Registration for Microsoft's fifth annual Dream Build Play competition opened today. Submissions will be accepted from May 17 through June 14. Dream Build Play challenges amateur developers to create a game using Microsoft's XNA Game Studio and rewards winners with a cash prize and "the opportunity" for an Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract (though it's a big commitment, previous winner James Silva warns). A total of $75,000 will be up for grabs this year, with $40,000 going to the grand prize winner, $20K to first prize, $10K to second and the remaining $5K to the third prize winner. Last year's grand prize winner, Lumi (pictured), is available now as an Xbox Live Indie Game. Previous winners include Dust: An Elysian Tale and Silva's The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. The latter was released on XBLA and its sequel is in the works, while Dust should arrive on XBLA in the near future. Those wishing to enter this year's competition should head over to the Dream Build Play website.
Microsoft's XNA Creator's Club is now 'App Hub'
If you fancy yourself an Xbox Live Indie Games developer, you might have noticed a change to the XNA Creators Club today. In conjunction with the unveiling of Windows Phone 7, it appears that Microsoft has quietly changed the Creators Club to the much more generalized "App Hub." The site purports to offer resources for developers to create applications for both Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360, though the site currently seems to favor the former. In fact, the Education Roadmap section -- which introduces would-be programmers to XNA Game Studio -- only offers tutorials for Windows Phone 7. Of course, it's understandable that Microsoft would want to recruit as many programmers as possible for its new baby. There are still examples and code snippets for Windows and Xbox 360 programming, but hopefully we'll see some more robust introductory tutorials in the future. [Thanks, Niko]
Xbox Live launch titles for Windows Phone 7 finally revealed, we've got the full preview
We've known that proper Xbox Live gaming (powered by XNA) was coming to Windows Phone 7 devices, but we'd yet to see any of that thumb-spraining goodness in action besides a brief demo and a few developer videos. Well, Microsoft has finally come clean with details about its launch strategy for the platform, and from where we sit, it's definitely looking pretty promising. First off, the company has announced a full list of launch titles for WP7 handsets, including some familiar names and franchises like Castlevania, Halo: Waypoint, Star Wars, Crackdown, and Guitar Hero, alongside a handful of newer properties like the ultra-cute ilomilo, produced in-house by Microsoft Game Studios. In total, the company will launch with over 60 game titles, with new offerings appearing every week in the Xbox Live Marketplace, just like its big brother console version. We've got all the details, a full list of the launch titles, and our hands-on preview after the break -- so read on to get the scoop! %Gallery-99556%
Xenome: Episode 1 is a fully immersive post-apocalyptic RPG on your iPhone
As I kid I burned up an entire summer playing Wasteland on my Apple II. I spent countless hours playing Fallout many years later. Xenome is clearly inspired by these two games, and promises to chew up yet more of my time. You play a lone wanderer in the desert, searching for something and having a few nasty encounters with mutated animals and people along the way. Xenome: Episode 1 is also the first sliver in a much larger story, with an MMORPG to follow after other episodes (which will be single-player RPGs) have been released. I had become pretty jaded with iPhone games in general, and words like "immersive" are trotted out so often I rarely believe the claims. But the first thing that struck me about Xenome's in-game world was the large, open landscape. There is a fantastic sense of scale in the game, with beat up old buildings jutting out of the desert landscape, looming over your character. You can go anywhere and do nearly anything, although your character is quite weak at first. The graphics are as good as you can get on the iPhone whilst providing ample geometry, although the game isn't yet tuned for Retina displays. This didn't matter so much to me, however, as the overall polish of the game is impeccable. The 3rd-person camera, for example, floats perfectly. It's clear Nine Pound Studios spent a lot of time on the artwork, music, sounds and in-game graphics because they're as good as anything I've experienced in mobile gaming. %Gallery-97174%
Microsoft pays Apple app devs to port to Windows Phone 7
Who would have thought this would ever happen? Microsoft, according to PocketGamer.biz, is throwing some substantial upfront money at developers of popular iPhone apps to port their products over to Windows Phone 7, which may be their last great hope of getting enough apps on the device to make it tempting. It doesn't seem to be going over all that well, since the word is that it's not really worth the money to go through the time and expenditure to port the C++ Objective-C apps over to Microsoft's standard formats of Silverlight or XNA Framework (C#). One of their sources did say that there was the potential for Microsoft to alter their development frameworks to include C++ Objective-C, but that remains to be seen. If if did happen, the time and labor factors would decline tremendously and the money would seem much better. But as it stands now, it's not going over too well in the development community. Update: Sorry for the mixup. Both PocketGamer and 9to5 are citing the challenge of porting C++ games to C#; however, if the point is to move iPhone apps to WinPhone 7, as our commenters have rightly noted, then it's a migration from Objective-C instead. [via 9to5 Mac]
Zune HD hacked, OpenZDK now available to developers
Well, it looks like the first 64GB Zune HDs landing in customers' hands may not be the biggest Zune news today after all. As proudly announced the ZuneBoards website, the Zune HD -- and all earlier Zunes, although the potential there is a tad more limited -- "have been hacked." While obviously not the first hack of any sort for the devices, this is described as the "first true hack," and it has made the concurrently-released OpenZDK possible. That effectively gives developers "access to everything XNA withheld before," which more or less opens to doors to any type of application that can run on the Zune hardware -- games, emulators, app stores, you name it. Of course, there's not a ton for average Zune users to play with at the moment, but developers can find all they need to get cracking at the source link below. [Thanks, jhoeforth & Dilpickle1]
Microsoft tells its Windows Phone 7 Series developer story, tools available today
At its dev-focused MIX10 event kicking off today, Microsoft's closing the loop on some of the Windows Phone 7 Series third-party development details it started sharing in the days leading up to GDC last week -- and as you might expect, Silverlight and XNA are the stars of the show. XNA will naturally be the core, critical element of Redmond's gaming story while Silverlight is serving as a catch-all for the "rich internet applications" that make up much of your other mobile activities for those rare moments when you're not... you know, blowing up aliens or navigating a race course littered with your opponents' destroyed vehicles. To that end, Microsoft is kicking things off on the right foot by offering a free package of developer tools to would-be WP7S coders that includes both Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone and the Silverlight-focused Expression Blend for Windows Phone, pretty much everything you need to start building apps in preparation for the platform's anticipated launch toward the latter part of the year. The beta dev tools are available today. Developers are going to be treated to a host of must-have services out of the gate, including accelerometer support, location-based APIs using Microsoft's own Location Service, a newly-announced Microsoft Notification Service for pushing notifications regardless of whether an app is running (sound familiar?), hardware-accelerated video with integrated DRM and support for Microsoft's Smooth Streaming tech, multitouch, and camera / microphone access. On a related note, Microsoft has shared some important details on the revised Windows Phone Marketplace (notice the subtle name change) for WP7S-based devices today. The revenue split remains unchanged -- 70 percent goes to the publisher, 30 percent to Microsoft -- but the developer portal for managing submissions has been "streamlined" and some of the incremental costs associated with it have been killed off; what's more, students enrolled in the DreamSpark submission will have their registration fees waived altogether. The Marketplace has evolved from an app store to a content "destination," housing apps, casual and premium Xbox Live games, music, and customized carrier stuff in one spot. We'll be wandering MIX10 throughout the day, so stay tuned as we get more of the story.
GDC Impressions: Gaming on Windows Phone 7
We already broke out the news you're looking for: Each of the Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live-infused games will offer its players 200 Gamerscore points. You'll be able to boost your Xbox rep in significant chunks without having to hunker down in front of a big screen for long stretches. You'll never again have to go so long without hearing that satisfying "Achievement unlocked" sound. The world, as you know it, has changed. Fortunately, the channel through which you'll access these on-the-go 'cheevos looks like it has loads of promise. The handful of work-in-progress Windows Phone 7 games we were shown today at GDC didn't leave much of an impression -- however, the effortless portability of games between the platforms supported by the recently announced XNA Game Studio 4.0 opens up a lot of possibilities for development on Microsoft's new mobile device.
Interview: Microsoft on integrating Xbox Live into Windows Phone 7 Series
Windows Phone 7 isn't just Microsoft's attempt to compete against Apple's iPhone. It's also the introduction of the first portable Xbox platform. During GDC today, we talked to Xbox Live GM Ron Pessner and XNA Game Studio manager Michael Klucher about how games integrate into the mobile platform and what gamers and developers can expect in the future. For the purpose of this interview, Pessner and Klucher merged into one entity (they spoke over each other a lot!) to answer our questions: Microsoft plans to separate games that do and don't support Xbox Live functionality on Windows Phone. Are there any concerns that this will turn off indie developers? Pessner and Klucher: The short answer is "no." The way that we built the Phone and Marketplace experience makes it very easy to search for what you're looking for. With XNA Game Studio 4.0, you can use the same set of tools to build an Xbox Live game or non-Xbox Live game on the platform. The benefit that developers get for working with Game Studio is everything we just described. We also are very interested in seeing concept submissions from the indie community, and we're out talking to a lot of independent developers. Fortunately, we're working with a lot of these folks in context of the console today, and many of the console titles that have come to us through the Indie Channel or Xbox Live Arcade, we think will also make fantastic mobile titles. So we're reaching back out to these developers and accepting submissions for ideas as a way to help make those Xbox Live titles. It's up to the developer in terms of what they want to do on the platform, but we're really excited with the response we've seen so far.
Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go
Alright, we're going to be straight with you: you're not going to like this. See, Microsoft just showed us a pair of 3D games running on its ASUS Windows Phone prototype and built with its brand new XNA Game Studio 4.0, but wouldn't let us nab a single photo or video of the process. What we can tell you is that they exist, they work, and at least Microsoft tossed us some screenshots to wave in your face. The two titles are The Harvest (pictured), a good looking touch-controlled dungeon crawler with destructible environments, being developed by Luma Arcade; and Battle Punks, a less impressive one-on-one sword fighting Facebook game by Gravity Bear that's being ported over. We didn't get to see any full motion 3D camera moves, since Battle Punks is just composed of two characters duking it out, and The Harvest has a fixed camera and some pre-rendered elements, but there were indeed some real polygons being crunched before our eyes at a full resolution (no upscaling), alpha-rev, choppy framerate, and we were assured that full screen 3D was possible. We also got to see one of our first glimpses of universal notifications on Windows Phone: Achievement unlock notices (also pictured above) that slide down from the top of the screen in a black bar and then slide back, and can't be interacted with. Follow after the break for some more nerdy details, along with a video of VisualStudio in action, and screenshots of the two games are in the gallery below. %Gallery-87820%
XNA Game Studio 4.0 includes Windows Phone support
Microsoft took yet another step today in convincing us that Windows Phone 7 will be a legitimate gaming platform. The company just unveiled XNA Game Studio 4.0, which, in addition to supporting PC and Xbox 360, will also let designers make games for the new mobile platform. Besides being great news for indies, it also means that you'll be able to use your gamertag and Avatar on the phone, as well as unlock Xbox Live Achievements. You can read more about the technical integration of XNA and WP7 on Microsoft program manager Michael Klucher's blog. Hopefully we'll have even more details for you as the tech is rolled out during GDC.
Microsoft bringing XNA Game Studio 4.0 to GDC this week, does 3D gaming for Windows Phone
We've all had a feeling that Microsoft is holding back some pretty big surprises (or at least completely reasonable revelations) when it comes to Windows Phone 7 Series and gaming, and here at GDC this week it sounds like we're going to get a little glimpse into that. Microsoft is unveiling its new XNA Game Studio 4.0, which lets developers work on games for Windows Phone 7 Series, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. The integration with Visual Studio 2010 that we saw the other day allows developers to build a single project and then make slight modifications to let it run on each platform respectively. Most importantly, Microsoft specifically mentions that 4.0 will include hardware accelerated 3D APIs for Windows Phone 7 Series -- not stunning, giving the fact that Zune can do 3D games (and is supported by XNA), but relieving just the same. Other phone-related tidbits are also telling: there will be fairly deep Xbox LIVE integration, including unlocking achievements from phone-based games and push notifications for asynchronous turn based gaming. Hopefully we can get some real live multiplayer gaming going as well, but there's no mention of that just yet. Microsoft promises "much, much more" will be revealed at MIX 2010, but for now we're gonna dig for all we can here at GDC.
Windows Phone 7 Series demo video reveals new apps, screens
Microsoft may be saving most of its Windows Phone 7 Series news for MIX the week after next (at least that's what we've heard whispers about), but it looks like it's still dishing out a few more details beforehand, as evidenced by a short demonstration Microsoft's Charlie Kindel gave to CNET. Nothing major like a confirmation of HD2 support, but we do get a glimpse of a few apps we haven't seen before (including a flashlight, level, and weather app -- all supposedly "trivial" to build thanks to XNA and Silverlight), and a look at some new screens for various applications we have seen, including a better look at the Xbox Live hub. Head on past the break to check out the video for yourself.
Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7 Series development ahead of GDC: Silverlight, XNA, and no backward compatibility
Microsoft is keen on unveiling the meat of its developer story around Windows Phone 7 Series at MIX10 in less than two weeks, but with GDC coming up next week, they're figuring that now is a good time to start dropping hints -- they'll want to be capturing the collective imagination of the gaming industry, after all, what with that Xbox Live integration they've got going on. To that end, Charlie Kindel of WinPho's developer experience team has outed a few key items at a reception in San Francisco this evening. The major points are that Silverlight, XNA, and .NET will figure prominently into the developer story -- not a surprise considering that Microsoft is heavily invested in both, gaming is central to the Windows Phone 7 Series story, XNA is a big deal on Zune HD already, and this all lines up with what we'd heard in the past. In fact, Kindel boldly proclaims that "If you are Silverlight or XNA developer today you're gonna be really happy." On the flipside, it's a bit ironic considering that Silverlight spends much of its existence going head-to-head with Flash, and all indications are that we won't see Flash support on 7 at initial availability (though it's sounding like a lock post-launch). One final note at today's event is that Microsoft has now officially confirmed for the first time that 7 represents a clean break from Windows Mobile as we know it today; existing apps won't be compatible. Though that's likely to be a pain for existing owners with specialized apps who are looking to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, Windows Phone 7 Series itself is a very different beast than the operating system it replaces -- it feels different, seeks a different demographic, and symbolically represents a very important clean-slate departure for a company that had lost its way in the mobile space. The bright side for the 6.5 faithful, we suppose, is that Kindel closes by saying that they "will continue to work with our partners to deliver new devices based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and will support those products for many years to come" -- a message Microsoft has been echoing recently. We expect to hear much, much more on this at MIX -- and we might hear a few more tidbits at GDC as well -- but in the meantime, there's a developer Q&A going down on Twitter around 9:00PM ET (check the #wp7dev tag) where we could get some details. Stay tuned.
Windows Phone 7 development policies and guidelines leaked?
We expect to learn a lot more about Microsoft's plan to entice developers to Windows Phone 7 at the MIX 2010 developers conference. Until then (March 15-17), aspiring WP7 devs have to rely upon rumor and innuendo to feed their curiosity. So here you go: three purportedly official Microsoft docs from January that provide a glimpse into Microsoft's Windows Phone OS 7.0 Application Platform. First up, the docs claim that WPOS 7.0 is built around Silverlight, XNA (like the Zune HD), and the .NET Compact Framework -- a mostly clean break from WinMo's past as far as developers are concerned. Native apps are restricted to OEMs and mobile operators in order to extend the experience and functionality specific to a phone or network. Even then, they'll be limited to a set of managed APIs that Microsoft will audit during the app submission and provisioning process. Sound familiar? As you'd expect, the OS supports preemptive multitasking -- not that Microsoft will necessarily allow its devs (OEMs, mobile operators, and independent software vendors) to send their apps to the background. The primary development tools include Microsoft's Visual Studio 2010 and Express Blend used in combination with a Windows Phone emulator. Check the docs in the gallery for the full read and be sure to hit up XDA-Developers if you want to commiserate with your like-minded peers.%Gallery-85906%
