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Save those seconds: Handy NXE game install chart
Installing games is definitely one of the more intriguing features of the New Xbox Experience. We've tested it. So has Eurogamer. When it comes right down to it, the performance increase (if any) varies wildly on a game by game basis. If only there was some central source we could check to see how well a game runs after it's installed. If only there were some place where such information was arranged in an intuitive manner, alphabetically perhaps. Wait a minute! BingeGamer already put together a chart and it lists 360 games in alphabetical order! The chart also lists how big a footprint each game will leave on your HDD (Lost Odyssey is 23.2 gigs, yikes).Not surprisingly, there are still plenty of games that haven't been tested, so be sure to drop a comment at BingeGamer if you have some data about a game that isn't listed yet. Big Bumpin', sadly, isn't supported, so don't bother with that one.
New screens and trailer of Avatars in Kingdom for Keflings
Last week, Microsoft announced that Ninjabee's upcoming city builder A Kingdom for Keflings will be the first Xbox 360 game to allow players to play as their own Avatar. We spoke with Ninjabee following the announcement and now we have some exclusive new screens and a new trailer showcasing Avatars in A Kingdom for Keflings. Whether you decide to help your Keflings construct their village or just punt them like footballs is up to you. Somehow, we imagine the former is more likely to get your Keflings to dance at your feet, though. Check out the new trailer embedded above and the new screens in the gallery below.Also, Ninjabee's logo, the ninja bee, needs his own game. Period.%Gallery-28993%
Eurogamer tests NXE game installs: some better, Halo 3 worse
Along with increased usability and adorable Avatars, the New Xbox Experience brings along with it a dream. That dream promises improved game performance and massively reduced loading times. We're talking, of course, about installing games to the hard drive. The question is just how well does it work, a question that Eurogamer decided to tackle in a recent article. By comparing load times and in-game performance for several games running from both DVD and hard drive, Eurogamer was able to make some conclusions about just how much improvement installs offer. Among some of the most improved games were The Orange Box, which saw load times nearly cut in half (44.5 seconds vs 22.5 seconds for Half-Life 2) and Fable II, which saw not only improved load times but improved performance, particularly in the menu screens. Other games saw little benefit, including Gears of War 2, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, and GTAIV. Curiously, Mass Effect did see overall better performance, but the infamous elevator sequences saw no change at all.. The most interesting title tested is definitely Halo 3 which actually fared worse when running from the hard drive. Eurogamer theorizes that the longer load time are the result of a heavy amount of caching.Finally, it appears that installs running on a 120GB hard drive fare no better than those on an older (and heavily used) 20GB drive. The overall verdict, performance will vary on a game by game basis. Imagine that.[Via Joystiq]
Eurogamer examines NXE's game installation
With two different storage mediums in hand, the fine folks at Eurogamer have done what any gadget-loving geek would and should do: pit them against each other and fill numerous tables with the numerical results. The scintillating statfest concerns the loading times of Xbox 360 games, most of which seem to show a notable, albeit unimpressive, improvement when installed to the hard drive via the New Xbox Experience.Interestingly, it's The Orange Box's Half-Life 2 component which benefits the most out of all the test subjects, with initial loading time cut down from 44.5 seconds (wow, really?) to 25.5 quiet, whoosh-less seconds. Another notable game is shoot-teh-alienz epic, Halo 3 -- it actually fares worse when installed to the hard drive. Which is just as well, really, since we'd rather have the drive noise drown out the 13-year-olds killing us. Repeatedly. Curious about the New Xbox Experience? Check out our ridiculously informative nine-video feature, covering everything from Avatar creation, Netflix integration, and the 8-player party system to installing games to the hard drive, the new Marketplace, the Blade-like "Guide" interface, and more!
New Xbox Experience: Xbox Live Parties and photo sharing previewed
We acknowledge that a number of you might be sick of Gamerscore Blog's weekly previews of the New Xbox Experience, but we assure you -- this one is worth checking out. Examined in the latest sneak peek is the Xbox Live Party system, which lets you congregate with seven of your online acquaintences, allowing you to participate in an eight-Avatar chatroom. You can also fire off an invite to everyone in your party with the push of a button, allowing your outfit to move between games with the greatest of ease (we hope). A video preview of this feature is included after the jump.Also previewed is the oft-promised photo sharing feature, now heralded as the "Photo Party". This feature will allow users to share photos from a disc, camera or USB drive with their fellow partygoers, who can discuss and rate the images (hopefully, a filter for dong-related JPEGs will be implemented to thwart our more devious cohorts). Not mentioned in the preview is the supposed delay of the photo sharing feature -- could it now possibly be on-track for the NXE's Nov. 19 launch? Curious about the New Xbox Experience? Check out our ridiculously informative nine-video feature, covering everything from Avatar creation, Netflix integration, and the 8-player party system to installing games to the hard drive, the new Marketplace, the Blade-like "Guide" interface, and more!
NXE Preview: Second wave of invites sent out
For those of you who were saddened when you found out you were not selected to participate in the New Xbox Experience preview program, we say; keep your chin up. Microsoft just sent out another wave of NXE preview invites to those who signed up for the program last week (sorry, no new signups are allowed) and you may haz NXE.Major Nelson just announced that the second round of NXE preview emails went out Friday evening and, for those who were selected, the NXE will be available for download sometime tonight, Saturday evening. So, check your inbox, junk mail folder and cross those fingers, because another round of NXE preview recruits are being added to the mix.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Joystiq Podcast 072 -- New Joystiq Podcast Experience edition
We're still talking about NXE, but we're also delving into Ludwig's love affair with Far Cry 2, why Justin thinks his brother is a dipshit and way too much personal information about all of your hosts' pets for no real reason. In short: It's another Joystiq Podcast. Except this time you can win a bunch of Gears of War 2 crap. How? You needs to listen. Also, thanks to the JPAG's Max Paolucci for this utterly timely photoshop. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3) [RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [Digg] Like the show? Digg it. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Hosts: Chris Grant, Ludwig Kietzmann and Justin McElroy Music: "Get Ready for Love" by Nick Cave, "Red Eye" by Ben Kweller For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group See all of this week's links after the jump.
Kingdom for Keflings launches with NXE, Avatars playable
click to enlarge Gamerscore Blog has announced that A Kingdom for Keflings, the upcoming XBLA game from NinjaBee, will be available on November 19, the same day as the release of the New Xbox Experience. More importantly, GSB has announced something about as surprising as something that isn't surprising at all: Avatars can be used as playable characters in the game. You may recall that the game was shown though not mentioned in a recent video about Avatars. In the game, players can use their Avatar as the giant character, ordering their Keflings around and building their city. As you can see in the screen above, up to four players can play in the same game. The announcement also adds that A Kingdom for Keflings "works perfectly" with the NXE's party system. We hope party experience is a bit more seamless than it is with older 360 games.A Kingdom for Keflings will launch on November 19 for 800 Microsoft Points.
A Kingdom for Keflings: First Xbox Avatar game on Nov. 19 with NXE
Microsoft is ushering in the New Xbox Experience with A Kingdom for Keflings, the first Xbox 360 title to feature playable, in-game Avatars -- as GIANTS, no less. Developed by NinjaBee, who teased the game in June, the city-building sim supports 4-player Xbox Live multiplayer and "works perfectly with Xbox Live Party" (we should hope so!). While you can carry and assign jobs to Keflings (uh, the game's tiny, humanoid slaves), we have yet to confirm the ability to use Keflings to poke out other Avatars' eyes. But what an experience that would be!A Kingdom for Keflings can be yours -- and your Avatar's -- for 800 ($10) when it hits Xbox Live Arcade on November 19th. %Gallery-36277%
Netflix bundling 48 hour trials with some Xbox 360 games
It looks like the new Quantum of Solace game for the Xbox 360 has a little something extra bundled in with the package: according to reports, an explosive 48 hour Xbox Live Gold trial membership card with a secret "Netflix code" on the back is included. Nobody seems particularly stunned to hear that the companies plan to aggressively push the streaming movie service when the NXE goes live on November 19th, though no other details of the trial have emerged yet. There does seem to be ferocious agreement, however, that it's at least somewhat possible trials will appear with other high-profile games, too. [Via Joystiq]
Netflix streaming trials bundled with some games
It appears that Quantum of Solace for Xbox 360 is bundled with a 48-hour Netflix NXE trial, reports StreamingMedia. This is the first we've heard of this deal and with the NXE not being live yet (it'll cut you off from Live if you pirate it), redeeming the code now seems pointless. As we understand it, the game comes with a 48-hour Gold Live trial card, which has a separate code for Netflix included on the back.Microsoft and Netflix are expected to promote the streaming service more in the coming months, so it wouldn't be surprising if these trials started showing up in other games to give people a taste of crack-flix.
Microsoft: Half of initial NXE features cut
CVG had a chat with Microsoft's head honcho on Xbox Live in Europe, Jerry Johnson, in which he revealed that half of the original feature set envisioned for the New Xbox Experience was "cut out" along the way. According to Johnson, we'll still see at least some of these features delivered via more frequent, seamless updates to the NXE. Johnson told CVG that there's "still a lot of stuff we want to do" and that "half of the things we wanted to do, we cut out of the service." One of these things was "a Photo Party app that will be part of the platform," he revealed. Using it as an example of the face of updates to come, Johnson said, "The way it will be distributed is all of a sudden you'll see a slot on the dashboard and if you don't have it you click on it and it's going to download from the service onto your application part of the dashboard. Those are the type of things we're going to start doing."The Primetime channel, which will house various multiplayer, social-focused, live "game shows," will be delivered in this manner in spring 2009, Johnson confirmed. It had originally been slated as part of the NXE launch, before joining the list of things that were nixed.[Via X3F] Curious about the New Xbox Experience? Check out our ridiculously informative nine-video feature, covering everything from Avatar creation, Netflix integration, and the 8-player party system to installing games to the hard drive, the new Marketplace, the Blade-like "Guide" interface, and more!
MS says half of NXE features were cut, Primetime in spring 2009
Speaking to CVG, Microsoft's Jerry Johnson stated that many of the features originally planned for the upcoming New Xbox Experience were not implemented in the version being released later this month. Said Johnson, "Half the things we wanted to do we cut out of the service." However, Johnson also says that updating the NXE is much simpler than previous dashboard updates, noting an "architectural change" to the system saying, "All of a sudden we opened up the platform to say 'I don't have to wait until once or twice a year to release something onto the dashboard."It seems the NXE is more based on individual applications, as Johnson noted the photo sharing application, saying that implementing it would be a simple matter of users spotting its "slot" on the dashboard and downloading it once it's available. The upshot of all this: no more waiting for biannual updates.Johson also added that Primetime, the online social gameshow application, will launch in spring of 2009.[Thanks, Xpandemic]
A new way to show off your NXE pride
With the upcoming release of the New Xbox Experience, our friends over at MyGamerCard put together a new card theme for you to share your NXE enthusiasm with all of the internets. The new theme - shown above using Mr. SenseiRAM - was created to mirror the NXE's 3D panel navigation aesthetic and shows off a person's custom Avatar on the right hand side. It's a slick looking badge and one we think most fanboys would be proud to show off. That is, if you embrace the use of Avatars.
New Xbox Experience load times compared: DVD versus HDD
You've already been given the skinny on Microsoft's New Xbox Experience -- you know, that stupendous, sure-to-be-life-altering dashboard update that'll hit 360 owners on November 19th -- but one aspect that still hasn't been adequately addressed is the difference in load times between the DVD and HDD. If you're staring blankly ahead with a look of decided curiosity, here's a bone: the NXE will enable users to load full games onto their Xbox 360 hard drive for "quicker load times" versus the traditional DVD method. When tested on a variety of games, MTV Multiplayer found that the bootup sequence was between 9 and 15 seconds quicker via HDD, though loading a ~6.6GB title initially took around 11 minutes. Whether or not those precious ticks are worth it is totally your call, but avoiding the annoying hum of the optical drive has to count for something. A trio of comparison vids await you in the read link.[Via Joystiq]
NXE leaked, disables Xbox Live until Nov. 19
We're sure the 360 owners among you are getting antsy in the wake of the launch of the New Xbox Experience, so we thought we'd issue a friendly public service announcement. Yes, the NXE has leaked onto various torrent sites around the internet. But before you drop the Avatar-iffic update onto your console, know this -- gaining early, illicit access to the NXE will kick you off of Xbox Live until the update's official release date, November 19. For those awaiting the launch of Gears of War 2, this would be a tragedy of epic proportions.Oh, and there's also the ever-present danger of receiving a permaban from Microsoft as punishment for your shameless buccaneering. No such bans have been reported yet, but when one is dealing with the possible exclusion from chainsaw-infused multiplayer shenanigans, we feel one would be better served by being safe, rather than sorry.
NXE leaked, installation disables Live until November 19
It took no time at all but the New Xbox Experience has been leaked onto the internet. According to tipsters, someone who was invited to the NXE has made the update available in downloadable form online which -- like all other Xbox 360 dashboard updates -- has the ability to update any console with a USB thumb drive.If you're thinking of grabbing the update, think again. According to Major Nelson using the leaked update disables Xbox Live on a console until November 19, the actual release of NXE. With Gears of War 2 just around the corner, you wouldn't want to take your console off the grid would you? While no reported bans have been handed down since the leak showed up it isn't hard to imagine Microsoft could take you offline for good. You've been warned.[Update: Major Nelson wrote on his twitter, "If you get your hands on NXE and you are NOT in the Preview Program. You won't be allowed on LIVE." We will not be linking any websites with information or links to download the NXE - hence the replacement of Major Nelson from the original source in this story. Users who leave links to such content in the comments will have them swiftly removed.]
Xbox 360 load time comparison: DVD vs. hard drive
One of the more touted features of the upcoming New Xbox Experience is the ability to install games onto your hard drive (watch how to do it). In an effort to quantify the benefit, MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo has created three videos comparing the load times of running DVD vs. hard drive using Grand Theft Auto IV, Fable 2 and Gears of War 2. The difference is between 9 to 15 seconds for the first load, and presumably more "now loading" seconds scraped off other sections of each game. While the verdict is out on whether or not it's worth your time to install (judging by Totilo's install times and our own, it seems to be a steady 1.7GB per minute), it's worth noting that, with installation, the console is noticeably quieter and is less likely to give you the feeling that it's about to explode.
Video: In-game Avatar use explained
The latest in Gamerscore Blog's running series on the New Xbox Experience is a video about how Avatars can be used in certain Xbox 360 games. First and foremost, the video reveals that certain older Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade titles will inocorporate Avatar use once they are updated after the release of the New Xbox Experience. The games shown include Bomberman Live, UNO, Hardwood Hearts, and Hardwood Spades. And no, you can't play as your Avatar in Bomberman, which is a bummer. Another game that is shown, though not named, is Ninjabee's A Kingdom for Kelflings. Scene It? Box Office Smash will also be receiving an Avatar update.As for how far we might see Avatars integrated into future titles, Microsoft is keeping the details close to its chest. Whatever the extent of the integration, we somehow doubt you'll ever see your Avatar ripping a Locust in half with a chainsaw.
NXE Avatars coming to (some) older XBLA titles
In its latest video exposé on the New Xbox Experience, the Gamerscore Blog has teamed with Major Nelson and a few project insiders to show off how Avatars will work in several older XBLA titles. Specifically, Uno, Bomberman Blast, Hardwood Hearts, and Hardwood Spades will all incorporate the virtual "yous" in various ways. In the case of these games, player Avatars will be visible on-screen – you can't actually play as your Avatar in Bomberman, sadly. The video does show that players will be able to be ... themselves in the upcoming Ninjabee town building game, A Kingdom for Keflings. (This is likely the new title the Gamerscore crew refer to in their blog update.) A title update for Scene It? Box Office Smash will roll out on Nov. 19 to enable in-game player Avatars (looks like the game didn't ship ready for NXE after all.) Check out the full video below the break.
