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Apple pulls Texas Hold'em from App Store
One of the first big games for iOS -- and the only title of its genre to come from Apple -- has been quietly pulled from the App Store. MacRumors is reporting that the classic Texas Hold'em game is no longer available for purchase. The game was first introduced in late 2006 for iPods. After the iPhone debuted in mid-2007, Apple was rumored to be starting in-house game development based on the successful release of Texas Hold'em. When the App Store launched in 2008, one of the first titles available was -- you got it -- Texas Hold'em. It was thought that the game was developed more as a proof of concept to demonstrate the capabilities of the iPhone platform for gaming to potential game developers. Once the big development houses like EA and Gameloft started creating titles, Apple realized they didn't need to roll their own. The app sold for US$4.99 and hadn't seen many updates, the last being in September of 2008. There's still a page on the Apple site about the title, although it may not last for long. As a person who spent many an hour playing Texas Hold'em in the garage with the old Macs and Apple posters on the wall, I'm going to miss this classic.
Microsoft sends out secret invites to 1 vs. 100-style 'Full House Poker' game
Joystiq reader Rob kindly forwarded us an email from Microsoft Game Studios about a private beta for a game called Full House Poker, described as a way to "bet your way to fame as you compete against your friends and thousands of other players around the world in live Texas Heat poker game shows." The concept sounds extremely like 1 vs. 100 with a coating of poker paint, allowing players to pick up XP and other rewards (including "unique tells and avatar accessories") by playing poker in "regularly scheduled episodes." Sounds fun! The email also stresses that the beta is "highly confidential" (whoops), and that it requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription in the US, Canada, or Mexico. Note that those restrictions are only on the beta, and might not be on the full game. But the email says the game will be rated T for teen, thanks to "simulated gambling." 1 vs. 100 is unfortunately gone forever, but it looks like Full House Poker might be Microsoft's second foray into episode-based massively multiplayer gaming.
More rumored Telltale plans for the Mac
We posted a little while back about Telltale possibly bringing its games over to the Mac, and now there's even more rumblings to be interested in. Rumor has it that since most of their games use the same platform, one port is the same as all of them, which means we may see the whole catalog released in one fell swoop on OS X, and sold right alongside their PC brethren. Additionally, Telltale hints that we may even see iPhone and/or iPad versions of their games, including Sam and Max, the Monkey Island franchise, and all the rest (with the exceptions of the Bone series and Texas Hold 'Em). They are saying that we'll hear more at Macworld next month, and since TUAW plans to be there en masse, we'll definitely keep our eyes open for anything they're showing off. Good to hear that one of the more interesting and quality developers out there is planning to come over to the Mac in a big way. [via IMG]
NintendoWare Weekly: Spaceball, Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge
It's been a longer-than-usual wait, but Nintendo has finally gone ahead and updated with this week's downloadable content. In addition to new WiiWare games, a new Virtual Console game and some fresh DSiWare content, there's a renovated Nintendo Channel to check out. Head past the break and see what's in store this week.
NintendoWare Weekly: Final Fantasy IV, Mighty Flip Champs
Even though we're beginning our hellish descent into the mouth of madness that is E3, Nintendo is still taking the time to unload the downloadable goods to fans. This week, you'll find some fresh DSiWare, and your usual doses of WiiWare and Virtual Console goodies to boot. So, head past the break to check out what's available this week on Nintendo platforms.
This Wednesday: Star Trek D-A-C, Texas Cheat 'Em
This Wednesday, XBLA fans will receive a double dose of downloads. First up is Star Trek D-A-C, which is based on the new film and supports up to 12 players for online battles. You'll be able to download it for 800 ($10). That comes out to 23.2 Darseks, if you're a Klingon.Joining Starfleet is something a bit less action-packed and frenzied: Texas Cheat 'Em. It's a spin-off from the traditional Texas Hold 'Em, allowing players to steal each other's chips and fold for free by unlocking cheats through a variety of minigames. Texas Cheat 'Em will also cost 800 ($10).%Gallery-49012%
Favorite iPhone apps: Victor's take
I've been noodling around on a hand-me-down iPhone with no service for over a week now and I find a few apps keep me coming back again and again. Over the next week or so, each of us with an iPhone or iPod touch will tell you our favorite or most-used apps.1. ShoZu - OK, I use this maybe a little less than AirMe, but only because I don't use the iPhone as a cell phone. AirMe is great when you're out and about and need to send a pic instantly (to Flickr, in my case). ShoZu is like AirMe on steroids, minus the instant upload. That's a good thing, in fact. If you're a big fan of blasting your photos and text posts to a bunch of services at once, ShoZu is ideal. There are over a dozen services it'll hook into, and you can set up a "CC" list so whatever you upload pushes to several places at once. We'll put this through the wringer soon and give more details in a full review.2. Texas Hold'em - Like Steven said, this is a port of the iPod version. But I have to give Apple a lot of credit for showing everyone how to make use of the iPhone's features. Tip the iPhone over and you see a top-down table view, throw your cards into the pot to fold, etc. There's a lot of polish on this and it is much cheaper than playing the real thing with my card sharp buddies (none of whom have mortgages, apparently). Mike Rose notes his one big gripe with this Hold'em, in contrast to the classic iPod version: no way to have your own music play in the background while you rake in the chips.3. ToDo - From our very own Erica Sadun comes this super-simple app that's just a "to do" list for you GTD or listmaking freaks. Aside from the simplicity of the app itself, the badge on the app icon is really handy if you're trying to stay on top of things and only need a glance to see what is pending. One would think Apple could do this with iCal to-do's, but apparently creating a great poker app is an easier task. Perhaps they can use ToDo as well?App Store links --ShoZu and AirMeTexas Hold'EmTo Do[thanks for the copy editing Dave!]
First Look: Texas Hold 'Em
I've been having such a good time getting my virtual wallet cleaned out by my Texas Hold 'Em opponents that it's taken me three days to write this post!Texas Hold 'Em is an iPhone port of the popular Apple iPod game that came out a few years ago. If you're a fan of poker tournaments or just intrigued by Texas Hold 'Em, this $4.99 game is a heck of a lot cheaper and less stress on your home life than going to Vegas and playing the real thing.The play action, as you can see in the gallery below, is amazingly realistic. Each of the players even has a "tell" (distinctive physical cue that they're either bluffing or have a really good hand) that you can pick up after a while. There's music that plays in the background, a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode, a number of poker rooms (including a garage that has a shelf full of old computers on one wall), and a good assortment of well-rendered virtual opponents. Frankly, I think it's one of the unsung bargains of the App Store. %Gallery-27918%
The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds
Friday the 13th: An inauspicious day for the superstitious crowd, but a great day for attendees of the Social Gaming Summit, held in San Francisco. The day saw a schedule full of great panels, populated by some of the industry's finest movers and shakers, among them representatives from Gaia Online, Nexon, Three Rings, and Gamasutra, among others too numerous to list here.A particular highlight of the conference for this blogger was the panel entitled "Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds", which provided a lively discussion on what it means to create a virtual social space, how to monetize free-to-play content, and what exactly is a casual MMO? Trying to divide attention between listening raptly and taking notes is difficult; here is the result, along with the panelists, after the jump.
Poll Results: Poker best, Shrek worst of XBLA chopping block titles
Over the last few days, we asked you to pick the best and worst of the Xbox Live Arcade titles that are potentially up for delisting. We've now tallied the votes and the results are in:Best: Texas Hold 'Em (12.77%) Marathon: Durandal (12.48%) Contra (9.18%) Worst: Shrek N Roll (12.00%) Yie Ar Kung-Fu (8.37%) Screwjumper! (6.48%) You can view our picks for best and worst here. We want to make a special note regarding the Yaris game, which was not included because it would pass the delist hurdle of over 6% conversion rate (hint: it had no demo and was free; the devil is in the details). We don't know if Microsoft will be that stringent regarding its guidelines, but there is poetic justice in noting that the developer, comprised of former Blizzard North staffers, suspended operations in April.
Hands-on tour of Pirates of the Caribbean Online
Recently, I sat down with Disney Online to get a tour of their MMO Pirates of the Caribbean Online. To be honest, I didn't go in with high expectations. I mean, the movies were fun and all, but with only Toontown Online to DO's credit, I wasn't expecting something that appealed to me as an adult gamer. Boy, was I wrong.An adventure set around helping Jack Sparrow retrieve the Black Pearl is just as perilous as it sounds. You wake up in the same jail as the rogue pirate. Together you take advantage of cannon fire assaulting the Caribbean town of your incarceration to escape and begin your exploits. Those include meeting Wil Turner, the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma and a new villain, Jolly Roger among others. Not to mention facing down the Imperial Navy, hungry crocodiles, rampaging zombies, pirate-eating giant plants and cut-throat card players.There are no classes, servers or banks. This game isn't about inventory management, but is action-based about being a pirate. No tradeskills, either. The scourge of the High Seas don't craft, they take. The number of weapons available is small, but the skill ups for them are numerous. If you are looking for less strategy and more action in your pirate MMO, read on for a tour of the first few levels of the game.Character customization, sea battles, voodoo magic and cameos galore, plus two videos after the jump.%Gallery-14957%
Hexic 2 and Texas Hold 'Em feelin' update love
There are two things you can count on in life, taxes and random Texas Hold 'Em title updates. And that's what is headed down the infamous Microsoft certifcation tube, a new title update for XBLA games Texas Hold 'Em and Hexic 2. There is no specific date for when the title updates will roll out, but we do know that the leaderboards for the games will be reset (to keep things fair) and that the Texas Hold 'Em update is geared more towards fixing bankroll exploits while the Hexic 2 update is aimed at fixing or improving bomb and timer gameplay elements. So, welcome the changes with open arms when they get rolled out otherwise the XBLA police will break down your door and rough you up. Not that we know from first hand experience or anything ... we heard about it from a friend. Full list of all the changes coming for these XBLA games can be viewed after the jump, happy gambling and happy bombing!
Texas Hold 'em gets Vision support
We're not sure how we missed this, but today XBLA game Texas Hold 'em received an update enabling the long rumored Vision camera support. The update rolled out this morning and not only added Vision support, but also fixed a few bugs, added custom matches, improved matchmaking, enhanced rich presence, and multi-language support. The update goes on to say that the "Vision Camera also allows players to use a series of game faces using the snapshot mode for all-ins, wins, losses, folds and more". Interesting stuff indeed! Whip out the Vision camera, go play some poker, and try and steer clear of those who like to use their camera to be vulgar. Eww.DeadPlasmaCell also warned us that finding games was nearly impossible after the update was applied. We'll report back in if we hear of any widespread matchmaking problems.[Thanks, DeadPlasmaCell]
Going all in on XBL poker challenge
A new Play and Win giveaway has started over at Xbox.com featuring everyone's favorite once free XBLA game Texas Hold 'Em. The Alltel Texax Hold 'Em Challenge started yesterday and all you have to do to win is sign up for the giveaway from now until July 12th and play the game online. Every day you play you receive an entry to win prizes including an Xbox 360 Elite, Microsoft points, or a set of poker chips. What's cool is that you don't even have to be good at poker to win prizes, you just have to play online to enter. Which is a good thing, since we can't tell the difference between say ... a three-of-a-kind-pair and a full house.
Texas Hold 'Em tournament on Xbox Live
We just got word that new fansite Xbox Live Connection is holding a Texas Hold 'Em tournament via Xbox Live. Anyone who has the XBLA game Texas Hold 'Em and is at least 18 years old can join in on the fun. Qualifying rounds started last night, but will run until February 18th. All the nightly winners will be invited back to square off on the championship table on February 19th with first place receiving a $40 Best Buy gift card and second place a $10 Best Buy gift card. For complete rules, tournament dates, and to sign up please click the 'read' link below. Good luck card players, the $40 gift card would be a nice down payment on a Xbox 360 game.
Texas Hold 'Em multiplayer reset
The Gamerscore Blog sends a warning that today, Wednesday the 10th, XBLA game Texas Hold 'Em will see a reset. Everyone's multiplayer bankroll will be reset as well as the online multiplayer leaderboards. But don't fret, your single player bankroll and leaderboards will not be affected by the reset. We actually played a little Hold 'Em last night for the first time in a while and it seems to have shaped up since the last update. But when is the game going to be Vision enabled? Hold 'Em is still listed under the Vision enabled category in the XBLA section, but we get no Vision. Oh well, we can't complain seeing that we got the game free back when it was released. Anyone going to throw a fit when the online multiplayer bankroll and leaderboards get reset?
Texas Hold 'em gets fixed ... finally
A quick note for everyone, this morning users who login to the XBLA game Texas Hold 'em will be prompted to download an auto update. According to Major Nelson, this downloadable update will fix the numerous issues that have plagued this arcade game including:- Game-play has been sped up.- Post the blind and play right away!- New 'Away' mode- New 'Auto-boot' mode- Faster overall pacing- Improved blind structure- Matchmaking improvements- Improved interface controls- Leaderboard display- Art and text improvements- Online exploits addressedNow you can go back to gambling all your time away without all those annoying bugs. Overall, I'd have to say great work on the update guys, but couldn't it have arrived a little earlier?[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Texas Hold 'em to get Vision upgrade?
Sharp-eyed 360 Fanboy reader, Gregg Smith, noticed something after this morning's fall update. If you list your Xbox Live Arcade games by category, there is a section for Vision Camera enabled games. In that category, Texas Hold 'em -- or as I call it, Texas Hold Them -- is listed as Vision enabled. Granted, I don't play Hold 'em very much, so I fired it up just to be sure. Lo and behold, there is no Vision support. Does this mean that Hold 'em will have an upgrade in the near future, or did someone at 360 HQ make a mistake?
Product placement in Hold 'Em for iPod
Ah, the powerful tactic of product placement, in which a real, commercial product is used in a fictional setting (for a fee, of course). Check out the screen grab of Texas Hold 'Em for iPod [iTunes link] that reader Michael sent us. Is that an iPod and iPod HiFi on the bookcase in the background? Why, yes it is. You can view a larger version of the screenshot after the jump.Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish my game of cards...and spend my winnings on an iPod HiFi.Thanks, Michael!
Poker, quick, get it while it's free!
That's right folks, another Wednesday is upon us. You know what that means. More Cloning Clyde gamer pictures? No, silly, it's time to come get you some Texas Hold 'em! If you've managed to snag a Vision camera already, you can even join in the inevitable strip poker fun (you just know some guy will use a picture of his junk as his gamer pic...shudder). So, if you haven't already stayed up past midnight to grab the game, go get it. Now! It's poker. Hooray, poker!
