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Gameroom is Facebook's antiquated answer to Steam
Back in August Facebook announced its PC gaming platform as a partnership with the Unity developer toolset. There are a few more details now, and from the sounds of it, Facebook Gameroom is basically Steam from 2009, but for Facebook games -- both web and those natively built for the ecosystem. The social network is starting small: games can't be any larger than 200MB, although it will "consider" hosting games up to 500MB on a case-by-case basis, according to the service. That automatically rules out something like, say, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition's 58GB, but smaller fare like Desert Golf's 1MB size would have plenty of room to spare.
Microsoft loads up 56 Achievements in Game Room
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Microsoft_loads_up_56_Achievements_in_New_Game_Room'; Inside MGC has posted a list of achievements for Microsoft's upcoming Game Room for the Xbox 360. If you're surprised to hear that a series of "interactive menus" has Achievements attached, you're not alone -- we didn't really expect there to be so many points hooked into this thing. There are a full 1,000 achievement points to be had in 56 achievements, and they seem squeezed in there pretty tight -- you'll get points every three medals, and even some points for just spending time in the arcade (36 hours total). In short, Microsoft really, really wants you to play in the Game Room a lot. There's less than a week left until it releases on March 24, so we'll see then if an enticement like this pays off. [Thanks, Jason Y!]
Microsoft's Game Room for Xbox 'rewinds' the hits in our hands-on demo
Microsoft showed off its new retro-tastic Game Room UI for Xbox 360 in playable form at GDC last week. While the "make a virtual representation of a gaming space" idea might seem ripped straight from Sony's Home, there aren't really any actual similarities -- outside of the fact they're both in 3D, at least. You dive disembodied through the different game rooms pretty intuitively, with different company collections on the bottom "level" of the mall-like UI, and upper levels set aside for your own collections of the games. Unfortunately, once you actually select an arcade cabinet, the UI gets rather overly complex, with all sorts of modes you can play the game in, sorts of scores to be tracked and an indecipherable menu tree that makes it a real chore to exit a game. We're sure arcade fanatics, ready to pit their scores against the best of them and looking for truly in-depth functionality are going to love all this, but for us poor simpletons it's a little much to take in all at once. Luckily, Microsoft saved the best for the actual gameplay. Not only does it nicely emulate inserting coins and even entering in codes on a virtual keypad, but when playing games in the non-ranked classic mode there's a "rewind" function accessible at any time with the tug of the left trigger. The screen gets those VHS-style wavey lines and you can mend your errors instead of losing a valuable life or having to start from the beginning. It's perfect for patching over the quarter-munching difficulty of some of these games, and it might even be enough to pull us away from our polygon-drenched gorefests now and then to don an inexplicable bear avatar and spelunk some Crystal Castles. Check out a video of Game Room after the break, and stand by for a launch of the service on March 24.
Microsoft announces Game Room for Xbox 360
This one leaked out a bit ahead of schedule along with the rest of Microsoft's big CES announcements, but Robbie Bach has now gotten fully official with Game Room for the Xbox 360, which promises to recreate the old school arcade experience for you (and your avatar). Set to launch "this Spring," it'll initially give you access to thirty classic arcade games, which you'll be able to buy once and play on both your Xbox 360 and your PC. The real action seems to be on the Xbox 360 though, as that's where you'll be able to challenge your friends to a "show down," although there unfortunately doesn't seem to be any betting of Microsoft points instead of quarters. Head on past the break for a quick promo video.
2010 Project Natal launch and Xbox Game Room leaked in CES interview
Microsoft's CES keynote doesn't begin for a few hours still, but it looks as it the crux of the consumer electronics news from it is already flowing. Purportedly, a leaked interview (that has since been yanked) showed Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment & Devices Division, talking up two things of utmost importance. The first of which is Project Natal, which is Redmond's attempt to add full-body interaction to the game console. The news? It's looking like 2010 really will be the year said product hits the shelves, and it's seeming more and more likely that the well-known Natal moniker will stick for retail. The other bit is a so-called Xbox Game Room, which is "supposed to bring back that retro fun to gaming." That's fairly ambiguous, but we can't say that our interest isn't piqued. Hang tight for what we hope will be the official announcement later this evening -- the day has only just begun, you know? Update: We've got the full interview! Catch it after the break!
VRX's triple-screen racing simulator uses Xbox 360 Elite
Man, talk about leaving the Home Pro Racing Simulator in the proverbial dust. VRX has introduced a swank new racing sim of its own designed with a Forza Motorsports 2 theme and a trio of 37-inch Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD TVs. The frame is constructed from CNC machined polished aluminum, and envelopes the gamer by curiously including just one Sparco seat along with four Xbox 360 Elites, four copies of Forza Motorsport 2, an Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on player, camera / wireless headset, a Zune, force feedback wheel, and surround sound as well. Sure, brush it off as overkill if you please, but those who are sick of draining quarters dollars at the arcade can contact the company to experience the presumed sticker shock for themselves.
Heiron & Smith's Executive pool table sports LCD, PS2
While we've seen some fine marriages between game room entertainment and over the top electronic heaven, Heiron & Smith's flagship pool table just entered a league of its own. The aptly-dubbed Executive measures eight- x four-feet, sports Australian molded cushion rubber, Italian slate, handmade pocket nets, and some of the finest cloth England had to offer. The good stuff, however, consists of a side-mounted LCD TV, stereo with flat-panel speakers, neatly adorned PlayStation 2, racks for your books, games, and other media, and of course, a mirrored indention to stock the sauce. Unfortunately, it'll take a phone call to figure out how many thousands this thing will set you back, and unless you live Down Under (or own a barge), you won't be acquiring one anyway.[Via TechDigest]
