In 2007, facing increasing reports of Xbox 360 hardware failures, Microsoft made a dramatic move. Just before that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, it announced that it would extend the console's warranty to three years from its manufacture date for the so-called "Red Ring of Death." Although that move cost the company over $1 billion, it further broadened the 360's warranty this past April to cover another issue known as the "E74 error."
Despite Microsoft's attempts to improve manufacturing quality, the Xbox 360 was recently accused of still having an alarmingly high failure rate by a Game Informer survey. Some 54.2 percent of 5,000 subscribers to the magazine said they had at least one Xbox 360 fail, with 41.2 percent saying they had at least two hardware failures. Though avoiding specifics on failure rates, Xbox Live and Xbox 360 director of product management Aaron Greenberg admitted the early production lines of the 360 were beset by problems.
"I can tell you the consoles we're making today have lower-heat chips and better cooling, and we're seeing fantastic quality in those consoles today," Greenberg told GameSpot today. "That said, I know people have had issues with systems, which were bought earlier in the life cycle, and that's part of the reason why we implemented our unprecedented three-year warranty for anyone who gets the three red-ring flashing light error or the E74 error."
He continued, "So I think we've made it clear we stand by the quality of our product, and we will make it right by fixing the problem at no extra cost to you. But at the same time, we've been working hard to make improvements in the products we're currently making, so I really feel like most of this is well behind us." Greenberg then repeated that the three-years-from-manufacture-date red-ring/E74 error warranty remains in effect for all 360s already on the market--and will extend into the future to those currently being made.
Alex
Though the Xbox 360 remains Netflix's sole official game-console partner, a third-party application has allowed PlayStation 3 owners to access the video-streaming service for months. Now that app, called PlayOn, is available in beta form for the Wii, according to the site of its developer, New York-based MediaMall Technologies. The open beta, which began today, offers Wii owners a 14-day free trial to try out the $39.99 PlayOn program, which requires that the console be on the same network as a PC.
Once PlayOn is installed on said PC, it will let Wii owners stream video from a variety of sites, including Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, YouTube, and Amazon Video on Demand. Also accessible is a variety of programming from CBS, whose parent company, CBS Corp., owns GameSpot. Third-party add-ons allow PlayOn users to access content from the Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, the Food Network, the NFL Network, and South Park Studios.
It is unclear when the beta for the Wii version of PlayOn, which is also available for the Xbox 360, will end. However, the final version of the software will likely come before the official Nintendo Wii video-streaming service, currently available only in Japan, arrives in North America.
Alex
Back in the summer of 2005, an Internet addiction clinic opened in China, and by the following summer, a clinic opened in Amsterdam to treat video game addicts. Now, a similar clinic has recently opened its doors 13 miles away from Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
For $14,500--or the cost of an 80.6-year World of Warcraft monthly subscription--the reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program now provides a 45-day intensive care program for game, Internet, and texting addicts. Patients can receive psychotherapy, 12-step group counseling, "nutritional education," personalized fitness plans, and "high adventure outings" around the facility's rural forested landscape.
"The reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program is specifically oriented toward launching tech dependent youth and adults back into the real world," the clinic's online mission statement states. "Our individually tailored program is designed to assist participants with an Internet and/or computer-based behavioral addiction to break the cycle of dependency. Our 45-day abstinence-based recovery program exposes participants to a variety of activities and everyday life skills, which are often avoided or underdeveloped as a result of excessive ongoing computer, video game play, and Internet use."
Earlier this month, a study of 552 Americans by the US Center for Disease Control--conducted in the area around reSTART--found that those who game are more likely to be overweight and suffer mental health problems. In July, a British psychiatrist said he plans to assemble fellow therapists to enter the online game World of Warcraft to treat in-game addicts.
Alex
1) Tenchi Muyo
2) Rosario Vampire
3) Chobits
4) GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka)
5) Negima (One of my personal favorites)
6) Mar (A little childish but still fun I've followed this one a while)
7) Jing King of Bandits (Love this one though it's a really weird storyline)
8) Air Gear
9) Ichigo 100%
10) Jack Frost (Kind of overly Guro in my mind though it still has it's own type of interesting humor)
11) Code Geass (Can get surprisingly perverted)
12) I''s
13) Love Hina
14) Video Girl AI
15) Future Diary
16) High School of the Dead (I actually don't have any experience with this one except for a couple of glimpses and it kind of reminds me of Jack Frost's type of style)
NCsoft launched its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Aion: Tower of Eternity in Asia last year, and the title paid immediate dividends, leading to consecutive quarterly revenue spikes of 51 percent and 70 percent. The South Korean publisher will soon find out if the game's appeal spans the world, as today NCsoft announced that Aion has gone gold in preparation for its September North American and European launches.
A story-driven MMORPG, Aion presents a conflict between two ancient races who have only recently reestablished contact with one another. One of the game's distinguishing characteristics is the importance of flight, which NCsoft promises will impact combat and quests as much as exploration.
The game will launch in North America on September 22, while Europeans can get their hands on it starting September 25. NCsoft claims the game's closed beta testing--which was tied into a preorder promotion--has already seen users collectively log 3 million hours of play time.
For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Aion: Tower of Eternity.
Alex
The first few months of 2010 are shaping up to be as busy as most holiday quarters. Games that have been dated or delayed to the once-fallow period include BioWare's Mass Effect 2, EA's Dante's Inferno, Microsoft's Alan Wake, Sega's Bayonetta, Activision's Singularity, Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Capcom's Dark Void, to name just a few.
And still it continues. EA Montreal announced today that Army of Two: The 40th Day will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PSP on January 12 in North America and January 8 in Europe. The date represents a slight advancement on the original Army of Two, which landed on the Xbox 360 and PS3 to lackluster reviews in March 2008.
The 40th Day is a direct sequel to the original game, picking back up with Salem and Rios as they head to Shanghai, China. Unfortunately for them, Shanghai is suddenly assaulted by a number of highly suspect catastrophes, and the mercenary duo must solve the mystery and, ideally, survive.
Like the original, The 40th Day will deal extensively in co-op gameplay. EA Montreal has expanded upon the interactions available to Salem and Rios, promising a more tactical experience this time around.
The 40th Day will also feature online play and include four different multiplayer modes. One of these modes, Extraction, drops up to four players into a heavily militarized zone, and they must move to a certain point in the city while fighting off increasingly lethal waves of enemies. EA notes that this mode will be available at launch only to those who preorder The 40th Day, with everyone else gaining access to Extraction a month later.
Army of Two is loved by Edsel and myself awesome co op game! haha yeah we play it alot we cant wait! or i cant anyway
As far back as September 2007, Eidos has indicated that a new installment in IO Interactive's long-running Hitman franchise is in development. In the intervening years, Eidos has undergone significant upheaval, laying off some 25 percent of its staff in advance of being bought by Japanese publisher Square Enix. In that time, neither the publisher nor IO, its assumed developer, has said anything of the game.
And while the publisher remains mum on the project, new information on Hitman 5 appears to have surfaced today courtesy of the online resume of British actor Mark Sloan. As spotted by Joystiq, Sloan completed a round of motion capture for Hitman 5 in 2008.
Notably, Sloan lists Batman: Arkham Asylum outfit Rocksteady Studios as the game's developer, not franchise creator IO. It is unclear whether Rocksteady is solely handling development of the title or whether it is collaborating with IO. Square Enix had not responded to requests for comment on the resume listing as of press time.
Of IO's known projects, the Danish studio is working on Mini Ninjas, a new intellectual property for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, and PC. Eidos has also filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, indicating that IO may be at work on a sequel to the 2007 co-op-heavy shooter.
Taken from gamespot
Awesome I have been playin the Arkham Asylum demo the past few days and its great also i love Hitman so this will definately be something i follow.
Alex
What we heard: In June 2006, unconfirmed reports claimed that famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg was in talks to direct a World of Warcraft movie--a gig Spider-Man director Sam Raimi would land three years later. In October 2006, another top-selling game, Halo, would see its planned film adaptation put on indefinite hold and its would-be executive producer, Lord of the Rings helmer Peter Jackson, move on to new projects.
One of Jackson's projects is producing the computer-animated version of the classic graphic novel The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn--which Spielberg is directing after he wraps the just-announced remake of Harvey. Now, in an incestuous twist all too common in Hollywood, comes another unconfirmed report saying that Spielberg may take over as executive producer of the Halo film, which remains in development limbo.
According to an article posted late Friday on IESB, Spielberg's production company, DreamWorks, is in "active negotiations" with Microsoft to acquire the Halo film rights. Previously, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures were partnering to distribute the film, which was reportedly doomed by studio rivalry and concerns over its $160-$180 million production cost.
According to IESB's multiple sources, DreamWorks wants the Halo property to be the first in a series of summer blockbusters it would release through its newly minted distribution deal with Walt Disney Pictures. (In a further touch of irony, DreamWorks had been negotiating with Universal just days before the Disney deal was struck in February.) Apparently Spielberg was sold on the project after being "blown away" by the latest rewrite of the Halo script by G.I. Joe screenwriter Stuart Beattie. (The original Halo screenplay was written by Alex Garland, who penned the script for the cult zombie-apocalypse film 28 Days Later and the dark travel novel The Beach.) Beattie's script is itself based on Eric Nylund's 2001 novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, which is believed to be the basis of what looks like Bungie Studios' final Halo game, 2010's Halo: Reach.
The official story: "We're glad there's still a lot of enthusiasm in the entertainment industry surrounding the idea of a Halo movie. That said, the Halo feature film remains on hold as we focus on projects like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach. We have nothing further to share with respect to plans regarding a Halo movie." -- Microsoft rep.
Bogus or not bogus?: Though there's only IESB's word to go on, Spielberg-produced Halo looks plenty plausible. Besides being an avid gamer, Spielberg has strong ties to the gaming industry in general, having helped craft the original Medal of Honor and, more recently, having codesigned the Boom Blox games with Electronic Arts. Spielberg is also chummy with Microsoft and was on hand at June's Electronic Entertainment Expo to talk up the possibilities of the forthcoming Xbox 360 motion-sensing camera, Project Natal. Whether that relationship translates into an executive producer role for the filmmaker remains to be seen.
Taken From gamespot.
AWESOME!!!!
-Alex
In the legal dispute over heav y metal action game Brutal Legend, Activision and Double Fine Productions have reportedly buried the hatchet. Or more appropriately, the axe.
The Associated Press is reporting that a scheduled Los Angeles Superior Court hearing in which Activision was to argue for a judge to block the release of Brutal Legend was canceled today. The publisher's attorneys said a settlement was reached, negating the need for the hearing, a representative of the court told the news service.
No notice of settlement has yet been filed in the case, and there are no details as to the terms of the settlement. Representatives with Double Fine, Activision, and Electronic Arts (which is currently set to release the game through its EA Partners program) did not immediately return GameSpot's requests for comment.
The legal tiff began at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, when Activision filed a lawsuit to prevent the release of Brutal Legend. Activision claims that even though it declined to release Brutal Legend after merging with original publisher Vivendi Games, it never lost the rights to put the game out. As a result, Double Fine wouldn't have been free to shop the game around and secure the help of EA Partners in preparing Brutal Legend for its currently scheduled October 13 launch.
Earlier this month, Double Fine countersued, accusing Activision of unlawful business practices and trying to prevent the game's release to thin out potential competition to the publisher's own Guitar Hero franchise. The countersuit mentioned an aborted attempt to make Brutal Legend an extension of the Guitar Hero franchise and said Double Fine's continued existence hinged on the game's successful release.
[UPDATE] The Los Angeles Times cites a source familiar with the situation in reporting that the settlement details are to be kept confidential. However, the game should make its previously announced release date, and the settlement ends the legal wrangling between Activision, Double Fine, and EA.
According to the article, "Though the person declined to disclose any details of the settlement, it appears very likely that Activision received little to no compensation from Double Fine and agreed to a settlement to avoid losing its case in open court."
Alex
At a recent Sony event I tried to play the PSP version of LittleBigPlanet, but the game was stuck on a menu screen with three options: story levels, downloaded levels, and purchased levels.
So far, there haven’t been many pay to play LittleBigPlanet level packs made on the PlayStation Store. The Metal Gear Solid Level Pack pack comes to mind, which was a well designed set of levels. Perhaps, Sony plans to sell professionally designed level packs as DLC for the PSP version.
Taken from siliconera
Alex
We will be recording our first podcast tonight (no we're serious this time). As of right now we are running tests and we will posting it hopefully tonight if not tomorrow morning. Blame Alex if it's late. Enjoy!!
;)
For decades, baseball has been called "the American pastime." However, a new report from the NPD Group indicates that a majority of American citizens currently indulge in one common leisure activity--playing games.
NPD's just-released 2009 Gamer Segmentation Report dissects the US gaming market in depth, drawing on responses from nearly 21,000 people taken during a January survey. Using statistical sampling, the study estimates the domestic number of gamers increased by 4.3 million in 2008, going from 165.5 million to 169.9 million. According to the most recent estimate from the Census Bureau, the US population was just over 304 million in July--meaning around 55 percent of Americans play games in one form or another.
The research firm went on to break down the US gaming population into seven groups, four of which use both PC and non-PC platforms. The biggest group makes up what NPD calls "Secondary Gamers" (33.6 million), mostly female gamers who play less than four hours a week and don't own a console. The fastest-growing segment was the mostly male "Console Gamers" (32.9 million), who own at least one or two dedicated gaming machines and play around 12 hours per week. Next up is the shrinking "Heavy Portable Gamers" group (30.0 million), who own at least one portable and are the youngest group, with an average age of 19. The smallest section is the so-called "Extreme Gamers," whose gaming habit takes up nearly as much time as a 40-hour work week.
Though it does not lump them into a single category, NPD estimates that some 67.3 million Americans use the PC as their primary gaming platform. Up slightly at 25.9 million were "Online PC Gamers," a mostly female group who spent 73 percent of their eight hours of weekly game time online. The country's 17.3 million "Avid PC Gamers" were the most hardcore PC segment, playing 23 hours a week. Finally, "Offline PC Gamers," totaling 24.1 million, were the polar opposite of their online cousins, spending 82 percent of their time playing unconnected to the Internet.
Those wishing to purchased NPD's 2009 Gamer Segmentation Report can find out how on the company's official Web site.
Taken from Gamespot
Wow just wow thats awesome sad thing is i fit in the 40 hours plus catagory.
Alex
;)
;)
