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Microsoft releases its PAX schedule: Gears 2, Halo Wars, New Xbox Experience
Microsoft has released their partial game schedule for the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, and it's chock full of Gears of War 2, Halo Wars, and the New Xbox Experience ... experience. Sure there's plenty of other stuff happening at their booth as well, but we're drooling over these three right now, fetch the bibs. Hopefully those "TBA" slots mean there's going to be some surprises from Bungie someone, which will really kick our saliva glands into high gear.If you're going to be at PAX, be sure and stop by for some hands-on time with these titles, and then search out one of your favorite Joystiq bloggers to pal around with. We'll be the ones with the plastic spit-shields on to keep the precious electronics dry.Pictured: our inner child at the Microsoft PAX booth, via Gamerscoreblog's Flickr feed.
New Xbox Experience game installation caught on video
We don't know how it happened, but the New Xbox Experience interface has been leaked to the webs and is, bit by bit, making its way to us in video format. One of the more interesting new features is the ability to install games to your console's hard drive. On display in this video: the installation (spoiler alert: it takes a while!), checking the memory footprint (spoiler alert: it's a whole DVD!), and launching the game (spoiler alert: you still need the disc in the drive!). Crap, we've spoiled the entire thing for you. If you can muster any interest in the video now, you'll find it after the break.[Via X3F]
360 system update goes live, new features don't
Most of our posts are based around whipping you into a frenzy about some product (any one will do) so you'll go out and buy, buy, buy, shooting some much-needed muscle juice into our flagging economy. We do this because 1. We're incredibly patriotic and 2. We need Uncle Sam to keep turning a blind eye to the tens of millions of dollars we've hidden away in offshore companies all over the globe.But today we're actually trying to brace you for a disappointment: When you boot up your 360 today, Major Nelson tells us there's going to be a new system update. But, he adds, it does absolutely nothing. Well, it "prepares for future growth of the service," whatever that means. Sorry to be the bearers of bad news, we just didn't want to see your get your heart broken. Hey, maybe you could cheer yourself up with some spending? That always helps us.
Xbox 360 Avatars only in 'E' titles
Those among us who were less than thrilled at Microsoft's Mii Too avatars being integrated into the 360 dashboard had one modicum of comfort: That some day we would be able to find the overly-cutesy house they lived in in Grand Theft Auto V and murder them with a baseball bat ... until they died from it.Sadly, it appears we won't be getting that chance. Speaking at Microsoft's Gamefest event, Xbox Live GM Eric Kilgore [/irony] said, "the final guide we have this year is to think of them in an 'E10' context. That doesn't mean it won't change – but this fall they won't be able to blow each other's heads off." Their heads don't explode, and our hearts break. We hope you're happy now, Microsoft.
Microsoft contemplating for-pay Avatar accessories
In an interview with VentureBeat, Xbox Live chief John Schappert confirmed that Microsoft is looking at the possibility of charging users for accessories that can be used to customize their Avatars. When asked about such plans, Schappert replied, "That may be in the future." But what about the near-term? "We want to launch these with great customization and a great library of accessories this fall," he said.Given the precedent set early on with for-pay customization items such as gamer pics, the fact that MS might charge for more "exotic" Avatar extras certainly doesn't surprise us. We also wouldn't be surprised to see free accessories created to promote upcoming games, films, and events, much in the way promotional game pics and themes are currently offered. So, that Spartan armor helmet? It'll be, oh, 100. But that totally radical Mountain Dew Extreme Sports Action Experience billboard hat is on the house.
New Xbox Experience may help the Xbox in Europe
click for New Xbox Experience gallery European gaming mag Edge got a sneak peak at the New Xbox Experience before its big E3 reveal. Why? Because, according to Microsoft brass, Europeans are "a key part of us getting the next 20 million on" Xbox Live. Why? Because "the gameplay style in Europe is more casual, more collaborative and social." And what does that have to do with the New Xbox Experience? Microsoft is hoping the interface reboot will help the Xbox "become something that's relevant to everyone."Xbox's Marc Whitten explains, "The idea is to move toward this channel metaphor, so you can see at a glance the types of things that I can do on my box, to make these things much more relevant about me." While there isn't much news about the working bits of the service, the column – the first in a series on the new interface – details some of the "whys" behind such a radical transformation. In fact, we'll leave you with another quote from Edge: "it's radical enough to make Xbox 360 feel like a whole new console." %Gallery-27601%
Rumor: New Xbox 360 dashboard leaked
Although we don't have a released date for the New Xbox Experience (i.e. the completely revamped Xbox 360 dashboard), the update has purportedly leaked onto the interwebs, and Xbox 360 modder xHaVoK87 has chronicled his efforts to install the new dashboard onto his modded console (note: so far it only works on hardware-modded Xbox 360s).There's a handful of videos to show the installation process (embedded after the break), as well as one of the working dashboard (seen above). Despite all the footage and technical lingo, we remain, as always, skeptical. According to the posting, "Beta Stage 2 Release" is coming in mid-August.[Via Xbox360Emu]
Video: New Xbox 360 Dash leaked early
"Who cares? I already saw the new dashboard at E3," you say. Understandable, but there is something magical about someone snagging the new dashboard early and uploading a shaky-cam video to YouTube for all the world to see. Even better, we get to see a few areas of the new dash that weren't on display at E3. That means you get the thrill of looking at the settings tab! One last thing: apparently it's possible for anyone to get their hands on the update right now, though it does require a modded Xbox. We're not suggesting anyone do that, of course.[Via Engadget. Thanks, Tyler]
User-created Xbox Live games to cost as low as $2.50, devs get up to 70% revenue
Microsoft confirmed today that the final phase of its XNA initiative would commence later this year when the "Community Games" channel is added to the Xbox Live Marketplace in the US, Canada and select European markets (other regions will be included in 2009 and "beyond"). User-created games will be sold at three price levels: 200 Microsoft Points ($2.50), 400 Microsoft Points ($5) and 800 Microsoft Points ($10). Microsoft has committed to share up to 70% of revenue of an indie game with its developer. (In addition, we're presuming that some games will be offered for free. Actually, no games will be free -- read our full Q&A with XNA GM Boyd Multerer right here!) Microsoft expects that user-created contributions will double the number of downloadable games available on Xbox Live when the Community Games beta launches in the fall as part of the "New Xbox Experience." A peer-review system -- already in operation -- will theoretically keep these titles from coming under the watchful eye of the delisting committee. Though, just in case a few stinkers slip through the cracks, let's keep our fingers crossed for the availability of demo versions.[Note: Above image is not an accurate depiction of XNA development conditions.]
Video of how Netflix works on Xbox 360
The announcement of Netflix for the Xbox 360 was certainly one of the major highlights of Microsoft's press conference. Inside Xbox has a video, featuring Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, walking through how Netflx will work on the New Xbox Experience. The standard definition movies seem to load and begin streaming instantly. This is a feature we imagine many Xbox Live members, who are also Netflix subscribers, will be taking full advantage of later this year.
New Xbox Experience gets clarified by the Major
Last week we tried to answer your questions regarding the New Xbox Experience, but you still have concerns. Valid ones at that. What's the deal with these Avatar things? They are so not 1337. Will we be forced to install games to the harddrive? But we don't want to lose one of our PS3 laughing points! Thanks to Major Nelson's latest podcast some of those concerns are cleared up.Addressing the two concerns above, Major assures Xbox 360 owners that they won't have to create an Avatar and that installing Xbox 360 titles will never be a requirement. Color us relieved so far. For more details and answers to your questions make sure to check out Major's latest episode.[via Joystiq] Gallery: New Xbox Experience
Major Nelson continues to clear up New Xbox Experience
Considering how much time we spend looking at Xbox Live waiting for someone, anyone to accept our Cloning Clyde game invite, it's understandable that we'd be pretty trepidatious about some of the planned big changes coming to the service. Thankfully, Xbox's Major Nelson is there to hold our heads to his audio bosom, stroke our hair and promise us that everything's going to be OK.His new podcast features all kinds of reassurances, chief among them: We won't have to create an avatar and transferring Xbox 360 games to the hard drive will never be required, something we were paranoid about. What other comforts will you discover inside? Only after a click here will you know for sure.%Gallery-27601%
Details on the New Xbox Experience: search, hard drive play, alerts, themes, pics
click to view the entire gallery Here are a couple interesting takeaways from our tour of the New Xbox Experience: "There's nothing to announce" right now regarding a keyword search for the Marketplace. Let's hope they either a) add one in or b) drastically improve how we find things Playing games from the hard drive will work fine for multi-disc games; in fact, you can pick which discs you want to rip (for example, we're superstitious and we'd only rip odd-numbered discs). As an example, we were told that Devil May Cry 4 is approximately a 4 or 5GB installation and took about ten minutes. You'll need to keep the disc in the drive the entire time. This is about speeding up load times (and hey, bonus tip: no more noisy DVD drive while you're playing!) The alerts look the same – actually, like the entire interface, they look sharper, cleaner. Oh, and the sound is the same. Yes, you can still use your gamertag pics and your themes (in fact, they look a lot better now!) %Gallery-27601%
Purchased themes will work with New Xbox Experience
Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has settled it. "It" being the question of whether Xbox 360 Dashboard themes downloaded (and even purchased) before the upcoming New Xbox Experience rolls out later this year will be rendered useless with the switch to a different UI. The answer's a welcome one: they'll work just fine with the new Apple TV-esque interface.To (literally) illustrate the point, Major Nelson uploaded images of the NXE with an existing theme applied to his flickr gallery. It isn't explicitly stated in the accompanying captions, but we'd venture a guess that the background image will change as you page through the new category "frames." With this mystery solved, you can now go back to complaining about all of the things you actually wasted money on.[Via X3F]
Video walkthrough: the new Xbox 360 Dashboard
GameTrailers has posted a very nice direct-feed walkthrough of the new Apple TV Xbox 360 Dashboard refresh, "hosted" by Xbox Live chief of staff Steve Willett. Every little detail is covered, including the new Guide, which looks like a super-condensed, zippy way to navigate all of the Dashboard features introduced since the system's launch. That includes everything from the games library to viewing active downloads. We like what we've seen so far, although it's a far cry from what some people were hoping for.
E308: Dashboard with themes, downloads and launch area
Major Nelson just added a trio of images to his flickr account outlining examples of how the new dashboard redesign will retrofit existing Xbox 360 themes, a more detailed download page for content on the Xbox Live Marketplace and an example of a game specific launch page. Microsoft has promised the new dashboard will still allow themes -- as seen in the image above -- and we anticipate the photo will change based on the area of the dashboard you visit.For images, and an analysis of the images for downloads and specific titles jump in.
Screens of New Xbox Experience, Avatars, Netflix, et al
click to enlarge Want to get a better look at the so-called "New Xbox Experience"? Microsoft shared a couple screens with us showing off the new UI, including a look at the home screen (above), Avatars, your games, the Marketplace (sorta), and Netflix. Dig in!%Gallery-27601%
Details on New Xbox Experience, Avatars, Netflix, Primetime, et al
click to enlarge Immediately following this morning's press conference, we got a chance to sit down with Xbox VP of Strategy and Business Development, Shane Kim, to pick his brain about the new Dashboard (called the "New Xbox Experience") and its various components, like the Netflix integration, Avatars, Party support, Primetime, and more. Netflix You must be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber as well as a Netflix subscriber to use the new Netflix service Similarly, anyone you share your movie with would also need to be an XBL and Netflix subscriber Like Netflix's current streaming service, all content will be SD only for now. They could offer HD streams as soon as Netflix is ready to deliver Avatars They're not looking to create a "Home-like" environment for your Avatars – that doesn't mean a third-party wouldn't be able to do that, however You'll be able to keep your gamertag pics if you so choose, though they're encouraging everyone to transition to Avatars Games can reward you with items for your Avatar (chainsaw, please!) There will be no increase in the 100-friend cap on Xbox Live this Fall There will not be any Group (think Facebook) or Clan support in this update – they're hoping the "Party" system will satisfy those requests (spoiler: it won't)
