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Xbox News is a site that brings you the very latest Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One news, the latest games and releases, Part of the
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May 11th, 2006, 23:36 Posted By: wraggster
Via Gamespot
Microsoft may not have a brand-spanking-new console to show off at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, but that doesn't mean E3 attendees didn't flock to see what the M-machine had to show off. The Xbox 360 is almost six months old, and many of the console's "second-generation" games are gearing up for a holiday season showdown with the launches of Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3.
Microsoft was once again stationed in the rear of the South Hall, near third-party companies like Ubisoft and Blizzard. The front portion of its space was wide open, with meeting rooms and private screening rooms located in a makeshift building in the rear.
Microsoft has been fond of making untraditional gaming kiosks for its events, and this year's E3 hosted some of the most bizarre yet. The Xbox 360 was obviously the main attraction of the booth, but Microsoft's new line of PC games also took up a surprisingly sizable chunk of space. The Xbox was very scarce--THQ's Destroy All Humans! 2 and Stacked with Daniel Negreanu were among the few current-gen titles.
As for next-gen games, several were on hand to play. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Prey, F.E.A.R., Chromehounds, Ninety-Nine Nights, Madden NFL 07, Too Human, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and Crackdown all made appearances.
The side of the booth showcased some of the 360's hardware, including several limited-edition faceplates. Some were skinned with Microsoft's Zero Hour launch party event, while others had French house duo Daft Punk's logos all over it.
Gamers also got their first glimpse at some of the new Xbox 360 peripherals. The external HD-DVD player, which debuted at Tuesday's Microsoft pre-E3 conference, shared a display case with the deluxe remote control for the system. In a neighboring case, the wireless, force-feedback steering wheel was held aloft by wires, and next to that were an Xbox 360 controller, the wireless Ethernet adapter, the Bluetooth headset, and a wireless receiver, which makes Xbox 360 gear compatible with PCs.
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May 11th, 2006, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster
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May 11th, 2006, 23:19 Posted By: wraggster
Via CVG
The Metal Gear mastermind has new plans for Nintendo and Microsoft consoles.
Hideo Kojima today announced that he considered the Metal Gear Solid series to be 'made for for PlayStation platform'.
Kojima Productions will be working on Wii and Xbox 360 titles but, crucially, they won't be featuring Solid Snake. "If I was going to do a game on Wii or Xbox 360, I would do a completely different game - not Metal Gear Solid" said Kojima.
Kojima also went on to say that MGS 4 will have important online elements and will use the motion sensing properties of the Dual Shock 3 pad. Taking a swipe at pre rendered PS3 demos currently doing the rounds at E3, Kojima confirmed that the new MGS4 trailer is completely real time "one thing I want you to know is that these cinematics are done in real time on the demo kit".
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May 11th, 2006, 23:10 Posted By: wraggster
Via CVG
The man who heads up Microsoft Game Studios has called Sony's PS3 online service into question, claiming that it is already way behind Xbox Live and can't match up with the new Live Anywhere system.
Speaking exclusively to CVG at E3 today, Kim told us that "Sony still has a lot to prove with its online service" if it's going to challenge the established might of Xbox Live. When we asked him what would happen if Sony's online service matched Xbox Live, Kim's doubts over the PS3's ability to match up were evident. "It's a big if," he said. "We've already gone to the next level, and I don't think Sony can do what we're doing."
But Kim pointed out that there were no plans to 'spoil' the launch of the PS3 with Halo 3 - or any other game. "If we wanted to use Halo 3 as a pawn in our strategy then yeah, we'd release it on PS3 launch date. But Halo 3 is not a pawn. It won't do anybody any good to have Halo 3 rushed out just to spoil someone else's console launch."
Kim reckons that the Halo 3 trailer - shown for the first time at Microsoft's Pre-E3 press conference yesterday and available for viewing right here - was a far stronger statement than either Sony or Nintendo managed. "It was a great way to end our briefing as opposed to the way some other people ended theirs. It was great to finally confirm that the new Halo game will be the third in the trilogy and that Master Chief will be finishing the fight in 2007."
And what about those rumours that the next Halo game would be some kind of spin-off from the trilogy? "Hopefully we've put to bed any concerns or confusion about what Bungie is doing with the Halo universe. They're very focused on Halo 3 and they're going to make it bigger and better and everything everyone expects."
Kim is also confident that the Xbox 360's line-up of games is strong enough to compete with the PS3. "Xbox 360 is going to be the only place you can play Gears of War, Forza Motorsport 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. I really think Gears of War is shaping up to be the next big blockbuster and we have that exclusively. That's why I believe we have the very best lineup available on the next-gen consoles."
As for the PS3's pricing, Kim echoed Peter Moore's comments to us earlier today that Sony has priced it too high. "I also think we have a pricing advantage," he said.
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May 11th, 2006, 23:09 Posted By: wraggster
Via Gamesindustry
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz at E3 this week, Microsoft's games boss Peter Moore discusses his reaction to Sony and Nintendo's conferences, and Microsoft's own plans for the future of the games business.
GamesIndustry.biz: All three companies laid their cards on the table earlier this week - from your perspective, what do you make of the three conferences and the reaction to them so far?
Peter Moore: I think that we came here with a very focused view on what we needed to communicate at our press conference. I was quite frankly surprised at what Sony had to show - and I was a little surprised at the pricing announcement. We weren't quite sure about whether they were going to come clean with the pricing. Having two SKUs sounds familiar, having a global launch in November sounds familiar...
I'm trying to rationalise $500 and $600, though. I don't know what that is in pounds - they haven't announced pricing yet - but I remember the abuse we got for ��. I'm trying to rationalise whether Blu-Ray, a format that hasn't hit the market yet, can justify that pricing - and whether, when I look at their games and look at our games, I can see a $200 or $300 price differential in the quality of their games versus our games. I don't know about you, but I'm not seeing that yet.
Maybe I'm missing it, but when I see Gears of War... When I know that what you saw from Halo 3 is in-engine... Actually, blown up on the big screen, I didn't like the way it showed, because I've seen it on things like this [gestures to LCD screen] which is the way you should see it, and the game was spectacular. That was not CGI, that's in-engine work.
Then, having that little announcement of making sure that Grand Theft Auto IV debuts on our platform on day one, October 19th in Europe - when I roll all that together, and throw in this little thing called Xbox Live, and all of the opportunities that has provided for gamers to look at different ways to play, for publishers to have the opportunity to commercially transact with consumers who are totally connected. Xbox Live and Marketplace continues to be a monster phenomenon.
I add all that together, and compare it to what I'm seeing from the other guys, and I'm feeling pretty good that we're certainly in the right place. You know, having ten million units head-start - it's funny, you wrote about it at the ELSPA Summit last summer when I said that ten million was important. People kind of laughed at that and said there was no way we could do it, but we'll hit ten million way before the holiday of this year.
We think that a head-start of that magnitude is a virtuous cycle. There's a lot of goodness for publishers, there's a lot of goodness for retailers - but more importantly, we're driving Xbox Live, driving Marketplace, driving Arcade, driving fresh, downloadable content.
Providing gamers around the world - as we're dong right now, in real time - the ability to download hi-def content. We put everything you saw at the conference up on Marketplace last night, so that the guys who can't get to E3 can experience it on their hi-def TVs or whatever way they want to experience it. We're getting the numbers right now, but I can feel the heat from the servers as they handle those downloads. The Gears of War demo is being downloaded, the video of that, the trailer itself - and of course, Halo 3, the in-game video that we showed.
So I'm feeling comfortable that we're delivering what we say we're delivering. I don't think we've ever said things that we haven't delivered on, at this point. Last year was tough for us, because we took the high road; you, and everyone else, criticised us for having alpha kits running, but to me it would have been disingenuous to show videos of things that we needed to ship that year.
I haven't had a chance to go over to Sony's booth - I'm sure there's a ton of playables over there, I don't know. I want to go see Killzone, and see what it looks and feels like that.
You'll be disappointed on that front I'm afraid, there's no sign of it this year.
Yeah, well. There's a surprise.
From our point of view, we're completely focused on delivering volume and supply for retail this year - because it's going to be another tough holiday if we don't step up our volume.
Despite what Sony will tell you, they really don't know - they don't know what their yields are, they don't know what issues they're going to face in production. While I hope for the good of the industry that they hit the numbers that they say they're going to hit, it remains to be seen whether you can ramp at that level. That's a lot of units ramping; they've got to start making it very soon. Complexities of Blu-Ray, complexities of Cell technology, silicon yields and what have you... They'll figure it all out, but they know it's not easy.
You mentioned GTA IV a moment ago, but is it really a huge coup for you just to get equal treatment from Rockstar on a game? Is a simultaneous multi-platform launch really worth tattooing yourself over?
Well, here's the deal - yeah, absolutely. Many people would attribute the success of the PlayStation 2 to the success of Grand Theft Auto 3. It is our view that in the next generation, third party exclusives will become harder to find - so what people were missing, and maybe it wasn't made clear, is that day and date is important to us because when we do our research and ask PS2 owners why they're going to buy a PS3, they say it's because the only place they'll get Grand Theft Auto. That is empirical data that we've been amassing.
So when you talk about neutralising that, that's very important to us. Then we say to gamers - and this flooded my inbox during the night - the only place you can play Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV is on an Xbox 360, and they've seen Gears of War and it blows the doors down for them.
What we look at is how you switch people on a market share basis from one generation to the other - and the ability for us to be able to say that the only platform where you can play those games is Xbox 360. More importantly, what people weren't even listening or didn't pick up on the importance of, is the exclusive episodic content, from Rockstar, for the Xbox 360.
If you think online is going to be important over the next few years, exclusive content online is going to be even more important. Having someone like Rockstar, who totally believe in our vision for what episodic content will be, downloadable content, bringing you maps, levels, vehicles, things of that nature - that ability to do that is very, very cool. People missed a little bit of the importance of that bit of the announcement. Having Grand Theft Auto IV on our platform is very important.
You say you'll have exclusive content, but will Rockstar also be making exclusive content for the PS3?
You'd have to ask them that. They're not going to tell me what they're doing. I don't know, I mean, how good are they feeling about the power and strength of the PS3 online network? What development environment are they working on right now, what size of installed base?
I mean, the guys at Rockstar are very smart guys as you well know. They've never really been able to do a lot on Xbox Live and that hurts them. People like Sam Houser and Terry Donovan are the most innovative guys in our industry, as you well know, and back in the UK where a lot of this is made, there's a real desire now to get with what's going on in the future, and that's driving a connected state with consumers that are millions strong.
I'm sure Sony's going to come up with something, but the proof of the pudding is in the tasting on this thing. We're there, we're going to be at six million by next E3, our attach rate is phenomenal. It's not just that early adopter any more - by having the Silver tier in there, by removing credit cards... As of last night, we now have a thousand pieces of downloadable content on Marketplace.
When you add all of that together, you've got to be able to predict an environment that you can develop into, with a predictable installed base and a consistent interface. Then we talk to them, as we did, about Live Anywhere on top of that - which Bill went through - now we're talking about hundreds of millions if not billions. That's a market that we've got to look at. We've got to address how you take a platform, that is Live, which has been given birth to on the Xbox but which is ultimately a platform play.
This is about a connected state - this is no different from the phenomenons of things like MySpace. People want to connect, and while offline gaming will still be popular, connecting your console now is not some geeky, intimidating, first-person shooter thing. It's things like Viva Pinata, which people scoff at, and that's fine. We'll prove them wrong. The boys at Rare, as always, are going to push the envelope and see where it will split. We're broadening that demographic, getting people to feel more comfortable about connecting. That's very important to us.
Does Sony's announcement that they won't charge a subscription fee on their online service put pressure on you to follow suit on Live?
Well, on Xbox Live Silver you can do anything except play multiplayer. What Sony has actually announced is that they're pushing the emphasis to the publishers to figure out what they want to charge. They have said, "we're not going to charge you" - but if you truly believe that the publishers are going to build data centres, build user interfaces, network stacks, run bandwidth costs, egress costs, do compatibility with every provider around the world... For free?
Somebody needs to show me the business model there that's going to work. What the publishers are going to tell you is, not only are we providing Xbox Live as a platform - we built it, they know how to deliver into it, every single publisher is into it - but we've now acquired a company called Massive, and we're going to provide a turnkey solution for them to allow them to monetise their intellectual property. They're going to put hooks in the games, as long as that content is relevant - driving games will have a Coca-Cola sign in there, or product placement from Ford or GM built into the game; if it's relevant and pertinent to the game experience, we're in.
Sony... I'm not worried about them. They've got their own problems to fight here. We know where the future is - the future is connected state. It's not about hardcore games, although that will still be there. It's about all of us being able to talk, and interact, and play, and race, and drive - and monetising that, with development costs going through the roof, is going to be very important.
The pieces in the jigsaw puzzle are there, and we're not a company that's afraid of making bets.
[On the status of the Xbox 360 project now...]
We're in the second generation of the next generation. I've got 40, maybe 50 thousand dev kits flying around somewhere at this point. Developers are now moving into their second full year - and actually, for some guys, they'll be looking soon at the third year of working on the hardware. You never hear anybody say, boy, that Xbox 360 is tough to develop for!
So you add that, you add the XNA which we've started delivering, you add Live Anywhere, you add Xbox Live, you add 10 million headstart... You build on content that we've been amassing from an IP point of view, like Halo, Gears of War, Viva Pinata, Shadowrun, Too Human, Mass Effect, Fable, Forza, Project Gotham Racing - all first-party. You tie in spectacular relationships with third parties, and you bring it all together with the platform that sits above it, that can monetise it with premium downloadable content, with in-game advertising. You bring MSN into play, with 450 people around the world selling on behalf of EA, Activision, Ubisoft, all these guys - assuming we can figure out deals, obviously.
You tie all that together, and you've got the business model for the future of this industry. It's not relying on someone to go to Dixons on a Saturday morning and hopefully have ï¿䨆 in their pocket, and scan a hundred games and go, "that one" - that's too random. Absolutely too random, and then you never hear from them for another month, when they've saved up another ï¿䨆 to go and get another game.
That's not how business is conducted going forward. Business is conducted in real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, building a relationship with the consumer that's connected. Everybody wants to connect with the consumer, and be able to build a commercial transaction - whether that's micro-transactions for a a hundred Microsoft points, or going forward to buy ï¿䧼, ï¿䨆, ï¿䨐 games.
I prefer the ability to interact - I want everybody to connect. There's no reason, in today's world of massive broadband adoption, that you can't move towards a goal like that. I don't need your credit card any more, I don't need any money. Just give me a try - in fact, this week, Adidas in Europe is putting people up there in Gold for free.
Do you expect the HD-DVD drive you've announced for the Xbox 360 to go out to a wide audience?
I don't know. It's about choice - you want to buy a games machine, I'll give you a games machine right now for $299 that plays high-definition games and connects. You want to step up and get local storage on there, that's $399, or its ��. You want high definition movie playback, well, I'll announced a price soon, but here it is.
What I'm not telling you is that you must have high definition movie playback, and it's going to cost you between $100 and $300 dollars. I'm not forcing that upon you. We learned the same lesson with Xbox, when we put the hard drive in there. We learned a lot of lessons, most of them fiscal. Some guys like having local storage and some guys don't.
High-def will come - whether it comes next year, or the year after, or the year after, at a mass market level - but we had to make some very tough choices two years ago about what you build, on a pricing curve level, if you want to scale. We made the choice that we felt that DVD9 was still a very lively format that our developers could work with - that it was going to be too early to embed the cost of high definition movie playback in the device itself. I think that what you've seen at $500 or $600 bears that out.
The bigger problem, as well, is not this year - because, you know, they're going to sell what they can deliver. It's two years down the road when you're trying to hit ï¿��, and ultimately ï¿䨷 - can you catch up, in a cost reduction curve, at a time when your competitors are already there and are actually at a zero gross margin, in other words, the cost is balancing out the whole thing.
That's where the rubber hits the road on pricing - not in the first couple of million.
So you're pretty adamant that PS3 is overpriced at that level?
I don't know. You go ask consumers. As you know, I go tool around on the boards every now and then, and I tooled around the boards - a lot of the stuff that you do. I love going around the Brit boards because boy, those guys are very shy, and they don't tell you what they think... [laughs]
I go into Eurogamer and I look at how many comments there are already, and which threads, and that's where I get my feedback from - because it's not about me, it's about what the consumer thinks.
Put it another way then - are you happy that Sony has priced at this level?
I am very comfortable with our price point, for what it delivers, for the number of games that we have, for the quality of the games. What's got to happen is, the consumer has got to walk over to Sony's booth and say, oh yeah, those games are $300 better. I can see $300 of difference in that game right there. I'm not sure that's the case right now.
If they can see that they've got more games, or they can see that they've got a better online network, or they can see that their first-party stuff really rocks... Or that the franchises that they have are superior to Halo, or Gears of War, or Project Gotham, or Forza... Unless you can answer those questions, if you're Sony, you've obviously got some challenges. They need to answer those questions.
They're a great company. It's a great product. I'm sure they have answers - I don't know what they are.
Looking away from what's coming this Christmas, and more to what's coming in the next six months - you've got six months to get to a stated goal of ten million units by the time Sony launches in November...
That's assuming they get to market in six months.
Assuming that, yes. Let's take them at their word for now. How are you going to get from where you are now to ten million units, when your launch schedule on software doesn't really look that strong over the coming months?
You don't like Gears? You don't think Gears is....?
I think Gears looks great, but Gears is one game. One game doesn't get you to ten million units.
You don't think things like, certainly in this country, having Madden coming up there first in next-gen and hi-def for us; Splinter Cell; Saints Row.... From our point of view, even Viva Pinata, which people are going to underestimate, I think. You don't believe that that, on top of everything else we've already got in the market right now... I don't know. It's a rhetorical question. You don't believe that we can hit 10 million, so we need to reconvene over a pint in London in December when we'll look at the numbers again. I believe that we can, so it's a subjective call.
So you don't see any weakness in your release schedule over the next few months?
Where do you think we're weak?
You spent a lot of your conference this week talking about big games for 2007, when we might have expected to see more about games that are happening in 2006. 2007 is still a long way away.
Grand Theft Auto was 2007, but I talked about Forza, this year. Fable I did talk about, we didn't even give a date for Fable, but Forza - obviously, the game is phenomenal game. That game will be huge, particularly in Europe.
There are 160 games - and again, you're taking the old model of, what's available for ï¿䨆 on the shelf? You're not looking at Arcade. Arcade is unbelievable - I can't tell you how powerful Arcade is as an alternate medium for going in there and picking up packaged goods. The conversion rate of Geometry Wars, which was a lad in Liverpool in his spare time - I mean, you know the story - that thing has converted at 38 per cent.
So don't take the old model, where you have to have triple A software to make a platform. Yeah, that's important, but again, talk about the things that I laid out ten minutes ago - about the multiple things that are going to drive this business.
You and I are going to, as we often do, agree to disagree. We need to meet in London, and you can buy me a pint, or I'll buy you a pint.
And by the way, bringing eight new markets on doesn't hurt either. There is incredible demand - we're scratching the surface right now of demand in this industry, and going into places like India where there is, well, a couple of billion people. Now, certainly, only a minority of them will have them, but when you look at those countries... And we haven't even talked about China, which has its own complexities - but we'll be there.
Looking at the Live Anywhere system, that's all about interoperability between systems like the Xbox 360 and the PC. Does that mean we'll be seeing more games being launched simultaneously on those systems - things like Forza or Halo 3, maybe?
Yeah, I think... Well, I'm not going to comment about specific games, but I think that ultimately we start looking at this less as making a game for a device, and more as making a game for a platform. Shadowrun is our first attempt, and Shadowrun won't be perfect - but Shadowrun is a game which we believe will be the proving ground for the experience of cross-platform play.
Games will be important, but the community aspect is going to be really important. Scott did a great job of showing what it's about - I think productivity is going to drop, actually. When I can see what you're doing in the office on your PC, and I can invite you, and you have that game on there...
Again, we're not a hardware company. Hardware is necessary in this business, but also, ultimately, this is a platform play. Hardware, as most companies will tell you, is a pretty crappy business. It's difficult to make great margins on, it's difficult to make the money to plough back into the software. It's all about a combination - you've heard this before from us, it's hardware, software and services. We've said it, you all yawned, we'll keep saying it. Hardware, software and services - we're delivering your games, your friends, your lifestyle. Eventually, it'll all sink in. That's what it's about.
For Bill to stop what he was doing, fly down here and do this press conference twice, is because he believes in it. I can tell you a bit about Microsoft - when Bill believes in something, people generally snap to order and get it done.
He was self-deprecating yesterday, but he loves Arcade. I know exactly what he's good at, and Zuma is one of those games he's very good at. His kids, too - I mean, now you've got a different Bill Gates. Now you've got a Bill Gates who's looking at it as a guy who's raising kids, who's interacting with them in a different way through Xbox. He doesn't, he can't come across as involved as he really is. I can tell you, Bill has a real point of view on the games we put up there, a real point of view on the experience. I get emails from him, and the guy is so strategically brilliant about what needs to happen here. Live Anywhere is - you're going to accuse me of saddling up the Trojan Horse again! - but the ability to drive a platform play, rather than hardware software and services, is very important.
That's what we're good at. We're good at it. We're learning with this stuff, but as a lot of companies around the world have proven, hardware is a very difficult business to be in. You've got to be able to build up - if you're going to continue to invest in making world class software, you've got to find those margins, and those margins come out of the platform rather than the hardware.
How did the plan for Live Anywhere come about?
It's something we've been working on for a couple of years. When you look at what Live is about, it wasn't always going to be something tethered to a device - whether it was the Xbox or the Xbox 360. A lot of it came as we started to see the capabilities of Vista and DirectX 10, and the ability to get into Vista early. First of all we're getting PC games back up and running again, with Games Explorer and easy installation - again, that's Bill. Bill's saying, here are the things you need to put in, and our ability is to put some of the world's best and brightest software engineers to figure out how it works.
The overall vision that he and we have, of this thing that floats above everything, that is a connected state that we all have, is very key to the future of what I believe this business needs to be. If we're going to stay tethered to expensive hardware, and have game developers spending $20, $30, $40 million dollars on games to deliver against that hardware, and then hope to God it sells... The business model is still going to be a challenging business model for all of us.
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May 10th, 2006, 21:40 Posted By: wraggster
Via CVG
Too Human is the first in the trilogy from developer Silicon Knights, where as the cybernetic god Neo, sorry we mean Baldur, players assualt war machines hell bent on the annihilation of the human race - think along the lines of The Matrix, or Terminator.
Featuring plenty of action and using the Unreal 3 engine, players can experience a "non-stop barrage of action powered by the seamless integration of melee and ranged firearms combat and fuelled by breathtaking visuals".
As well as single-player, prepare for four-player online co-operative play. So if you haven't already, check out the new batch of screenshots with haste, human scum!
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May 10th, 2006, 17:47 Posted By: wraggster
Via Gamespot
Microsoft has a new racing wheel, headset, and video camera accessories in the works for Xbox 360 racing fans that have a penchant for online chat, Xbox boss Peter Moore said today at the Microsoft press briefing.
The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing wheel extends the console's wireless controller tradition to steering wheels and offers force feedback technology to let the road fight back and add realism to racing games such as the upcoming Forza Motorsport 2. Microsoft also announced the Xbox 360 Wireless Headset, a wireless headphone and microphone set that matches the styling of the Xbox 360 console.
Microsoft plans on releasing an Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver that will allow both new wireless accessories to work on Windows PCs as well as current and future wireless accessories including the wireless Xbox 360 controller.
GameSpot asked Microsoft representatives if the PC receiver accessory will allow the headset to function as a voice over IP communication device with common VOIP applications such as Skype, but Microsoft would only confirm that the headset would be compatible with Windows. However, there's still hope for VOIP users since representatives did not state that the headset would work only with Xbox Live.
The Xbox 360 video camera which first appeared in prototype form at early Xbox 360 press events will finally make its entrance later this year. The Xbox Live Vision camera will enable photo messaging and video chat for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Subscribers will also be able to use the camera to create personalized gamer pictures. The USB camera will have a built-in microphone and will also be PC Windows compatible.
Microsoft has not announced pricing and has only revealed the release date for the camera, which will ship in North America and Europe on September 19. All other accessories will be ready in time for the "holiday" season.
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May 10th, 2006, 17:32 Posted By: wraggster
Via Engadget
With all the attention being payed to those pretty pretty pictures that the big three have been flashing at us so far this week, it's easy to forget about that other little detail in gaming: audio. Pioneer didn't forget though, and they've just announced their new HTS-GS1 5.1 surround sound speaker system for the Xbox 360 to cater to that very thing. The HTS-GS1 has 600 watts of total system power being pumped out of the receiver subwoofer, which includes the five satellite speaker connections, three digital inputs (one coaxial, two optical), an analog input, radio tuner, and control ports. There is also a separate display to monitor the system (pictured) and a Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System that mics the room and adjusts the audio for best results. The integration with the Xbox 360 not only includes its similar stylings, but a bundled remote that can manage the HTS-GS1 along with all other Xbox 360 functions like Media Center Extender. The HTS-GS1 should be priced around $500 and will be available in June.
Screenshot Via Comments
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May 10th, 2006, 17:18 Posted By: wraggster
It's fair to say that, if we had a space hopper in the office, we'd be giddily bouncing up and down on it in excited anticipation of Epic's Gears of War on Xbox 360. Drop-dead gorgeous looks, the promise of adrenaline-pumping action... Yep, we can't wait. Feast your eyeballs on new screenshots that have blasted out of E3.
A third-person action game with horror bits stuffed in, Gears of War follows the story of disgraced former war hero Marcus Fenix and his battle against an onslaught of merciless enemies. Along with the new screenshots, we've also got a new trailer from the game - uploaded today in fact - that you can find on the front page of the site.
Screenshots HERE
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May 10th, 2006, 17:13 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft and Bungie, in case you were unaware, announced Halo 3 yesterday at Microsoft's E3 press conference. At the conference, attendees were treated to a teaser trailer for the sequel, which we've uploaded here for your viewing pleasure! Halo 3 screenshots have also been released, and you can get an eyeful of those here too!
Master Chief returns to battle on Xbox 360 in 2007, Bungie revealing that the sequel picks up where Halo 2 left off: "The Master Chief is returning to Earth to finish the fight. The Covenant occupation of Earth has uncovered a massive and ancient object beneath the African sands - an object who's secrets have yet to be revealed. Earth's forces are battered and beaten. The Master Chief's AI companion Cortana is still trapped in the clutches of the Gravemind - a horrifying Flood intelligence, and a civil war is raging in the heart of the Covenant. This is how the world ends..."
Trailer/screens Via CVG
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May 10th, 2006, 17:11 Posted By: wraggster
Via CVG
Microsoft's expanding Xbox Live, adding MSN Messenger compatibility to Live and bringing its great Gamertag online ID system to PCs and mobile phones.
Live Anywhere is the name of the Xbox Live system that'll come pre-installed on MSs new Windows Vista operating system. Bill Gates outlined the new evolution himself, outrageously claiming that one Gamertag will work on your 360, PC and mobile phone - and suggesting that you'll have access to all your downloaded content whether you're at home or on your mobile on the train.
Gates even outlined a utopian vision of the future of gaming, saying that you could order Xbox Live content from your phone which would then be uploaded onto your 360.
You'll be able to voice chat across systems too, with 360 and PC owners able to see and 'interact' with each other online through the all-encompassing Live Anywhere system. This could replace text messaging, with the MSN link-up letting you fire off messages to anyone, anywhere, direct to their Gamertag.
Gates demoed the system using Shadowrun, showing an Xbox 360 gamer playing - then inviting a PC-buddy to fire up his copy of the game and play across the two platforms.
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May 10th, 2006, 17:10 Posted By: wraggster
Via CVG
Street Fighter 2, Contra and Lumines Live are heading to an Xbox 360 near you.
Xbox Live Arcade got a much needed shot in the arm today when Microsoft annoucned 18 new games at the Microsoft Pre E3 press briefing.
Crucially, big players such as Konami and Namco are on board which brings more modern classics to the Xbox 360 Market Place. That means a brilliant Live enabled version of Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting and Lumines Live, the new game from ex Sega genius Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Lumines Live is based on the PSP version of Lumines but will feature downloadable music videos, showing a clever new function of Market Place. Konami have confirmed a straight arcade port of the classic shooter Contra, which surely paves the way for cult classics such as Parodius.
The full list is as follows and all titles will be released by the end of May.
Cloning Clyde
Contra
Defender
Frogger
Galaga
Heavy Weapon
Lumines Live
Mutant Storm Empire
Pac Man
RoboBlitz
Scramble
Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting
Small Arms
Texas Hole 'Em
Time Pilot
Totemball
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Uno
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May 10th, 2006, 17:03 Posted By: wraggster
Via Gamesindustry
Microsoft today heralded the next wave of "truly next generation" Xbox 360 games, in the words of Peter Moore, including Halo 3, Fable 2, Forza Motorsport 2, Shadowrun, Alan Wake - now exclusive to 360 and PC - and Grand Theft Auto IV.
The latter is due out simultaneously on PS3 and Xbox 360 next October, but 360 will also enjoy exclusive episodic Rockstar content - not necessarily GTA, but a significant strategic partnership nonetheless. Epic Games' Gears of War was also shown, played by designer Cliff Bleszinsky, and drew gasps of appreciation from the crowds.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates also put in an appearance - to talk about the company's ambition for the convergence of Windows Vista, Xbox 360 and Windows Mobile platforms under the banner, "Live Anywhere".
Examples of Live Anywhere functionality included cross-platform game invitations, the ability to see what friends are doing on their other platforms, and things like the facility to transfer cars to someone's account in Forza Motorsport 2 - allowing them to tweak the performance on a Windows Mobile, edit decals on Windows Vista, and play on Xbox 360 depending on their whereabouts.
Furthermore, Microsoft promised a "renaissance" in PC gaming - thanks mainly to Vista, which it sees as a games-driven operating system - and demonstrated Crysis. Peter Moore said the company was making a huge commitment to the format, which "won't be the land of misfit toys" any longer. We then saw Microsoft's Scott Henson use a 360 to buzz Major Nelson with a Shadowrun invite on his PC, and the pair played against one another - Henson using the 360 pad and Nelson the PC's keyboard and mouse, with full headset support too.
Microsoft also announced a raft of new Xbox Live Arcade titles including a Lumines puzzle game with licensed Warner Bros. music, introduced peripherals including a wireless Forza steering wheel, said HD-DVD would be with 360 consumers this Christmas, and promised high-def TV content through Live Marketplace as soon as this evening - in the shape of a Gears of War making of "docu-drama", due to conclude on MTV next week.
The sighting of Halo 3 at the conference would normally be expected to win the most headlines, but in truth Microsoft's conference - lead primarily by Peter Moore - featured a lot more new information than many had anticipated. The brief Halo 3 trailer appeared at the very end, featuring a Master Chief being told "This is the end of the world", watching a giant, city-sized circular structure in a wasteland erupt in white light under the gaze of hovering spaceships, before concluding on a 2007 release date.
But there were also significant announcements in Fable 2, Forza Motorsport 2, the exclusive signing of Alan Wake - the trailer for which featured more in-game graphical content than any of the others - along with a CG trailer giving us an idea what to expect from FASA's PC and 360-exclusive Shadowrun first-person shooter and a very impressive walkthrough of the first level of Gears of War, which is due out this year exclusively on 360.
"By this holiday we'll have over 160 games to choose from," said Moore, presiding over a trailer reel a mile long featuring most of its previously announced forthcoming 360 titles. Rare also appeared to show off Viva Piñata, which sees Microsoft exploring outside its coveted 18-34 demographic with a game aimed at gamers of all ages - in which players build up a garden of piñata creatures.
Microsoft's own garden is certainly blooming - in spite of the vast scale of its competitors' software announcements, which had lead some to expect a weaker third showing.
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May 10th, 2006, 01:07 Posted By: wraggster
Via Gizmodo
Microsoft has announced three sexy and savvy pieces of hardware. First up, a Microsoft branded steering wheel that will be released in conjunction with Forza Motorsports 2. The actual steering wheel itself seems pretty average, but the big perk is that it is wireless.
Next up is a truly wireless headset. This features the same form factor as the modern Bluetooth cellphone headsets, unfortunately it is not Bluetooth. At least you will look classy when 12-year-old kids cuss you out for sucking at a Halo.
Lastly Microsoft will finally be releasing their Eyetoy Xbox Live Vision Camera. This camera will allow you to put your face into games and game interaction. Of course we can expect some video conferencing features being added to Xbox Live. Sex chat anyone?
There was no price points, but if it continues in the usual Microsoft peripheral fashion, then expect to pay upwards of $50 to $75. All of these accessories will be available this holiday season. .
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May 10th, 2006, 01:06 Posted By: wraggster
Well, folks. This is it. Microsoft showed the actual external player and mentioned that it will be out this Fall/Holiday Season-ish. We’re predicting a November release in traditional Xbox fashion. No price point, either. At least it is pretty, and isn’t that that really all that matters?
Check out the screen via Comments
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May 10th, 2006, 00:48 Posted By: wraggster
Via Gamespot
Microsoft officially unveiled Halo 3 during its E3 press conference today, and the company released a trailer for its highly-anticipated sequel on the Internet and its Xbox Live service. Halo 3 will be the first Halo game designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, and the importance to the company was highlighted by the fact that Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect, was on hand to help announce the game.
When the trailer was shown to the audience at the Grauman's Chinese Theater, where Microsoft held its annual games briefing, the crowd erupted. Halo 2 ended in a cliff-hanger, with the Master Chief, the hero of the Halo series, returning to Earth in the midst of a climactic battle between the Convenant, an alien coalition, and Earth's defensive forces. The Halo 3 trailer begins with a slow shot of the dusty African plains. Wreckage litters the landscape, and a woman's voice is heard. It's Cortana, the artificial intelligent construct that is Master Chief's chief ally. In brief, cryptic sentences, she talks about "being the source," and she sounds like she may have been somehow combined with Gravemind, the intelligence behind the Flood, another alien menace. As the Master Chief enters into the frame, she says in a distorted voice, "I know you. Your past. Your future."
Suddenly, Convenant Ghosts and battleships appear in the skies. The music swells, and in the distance, a huge hatch slowly opens in the ground. A bright beam of light begins to build, blinding the camera. Cortana then chimes in, "This is the way the world ends." The Bungie logo then flashes on the screen, followed by the text: "Finish the fight in 2007."
Bungie, the internal Microsoft studio that created Halo, also released the trailer onto the Internet, and a high definition version was put up on Xbox Live Marketplace, the online service available to Xbox 360 owners. To quote the accompanying text found on Xbox Live, Halo 3 is about Earth under Convenant rule: "With its defensive forces, all but obliterated, Earth has fallen to the unstoppable might of the Convenant. These alien occupiers have discovered something beneath the ancient African sands - something incredible... something Forerunner." The Forerunners are an apparently extinct alien race that built huge artificial ringworlds called Halos, and the Halo games have focused on the mystery surrounding these strange objects.
The importance of a new Halo game for the Xbox 360 cannot be underestimated. The original Halo was a launch title for the first Xbox, and was easily the biggest hit, driving sales of that system. Halo 2, which launched in 2004, became a cultural event, with thousands of gamers lining up for hours for the midnight launch. Halo 2 made entertainment history by generating $125 million in sales in one day. However, Microsoft didn't mention Halo 3 at all during last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, and fans had been left wondering when the software giant would finally drop the big news. Well, the waiting for news of Halo 3 has now come to an end. Now they'll have to wait to 2007 for the game itself.
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May 10th, 2006, 00:34 Posted By: wraggster
Via Engadget
At Microsoft's E3 presentation today, one of the most eagerly awaited pieces of infomation concerned the company's plans to offer an external HD DVD player for the Xbox 360. And the company delivered -- sort of. Yes, they showed off a slide with a picture of an external player designed to match the 360. And the slide did state that the player will be available "this holiday." And, yes, that slide included images of HD DVD flicks that it will presumably be able to play. But the crucial details, such as a ship date, pricing, and, perhaps most important, info on whether or not the player will support HDCP or HDMI, were nowhere to be found.
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May 10th, 2006, 00:33 Posted By: wraggster
Via Engadget
We've been hearing about the camera for the Xbox 360 for so long, that we almost forgot it still hasn't been released. Well, Microsoft finally came clean about the cam, and gave it an official name at the company's E3 event today. The Xbox Live Vision camera will be available this fall, and will allow users to use their 360 for video-conferencing, video-emails and gamer picture customization. Microsoft also announced the Racing Wheel controller for driving games, and a wireless headset, which presumably will bring joy to parents everywhere. All accessories are expected to be available this fall.
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May 10th, 2006, 00:21 Posted By: wraggster
This time, Xbox® Nation won’t have to wait. Responding to the cries of millions of Xbox 360™ owners, Microsoft Corp. and Rockstar Games, the universally renowned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., have struck a groundbreaking agreement that brings “Grand Theft Auto IV” to the Xbox 360 platform on day one of its global release.
“Grand Theft Auto IV,” the next-generation console debut of the genre-defining “Grand Theft Auto” franchise, is expected to be in stores on Oct. 16, 2007, in North America and Oct. 19, 2007, in Europe.
“Few franchises have had the profound impact on our industry as ‘Grand Theft Auto,’” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “Gamers can’t wait to play “Grand Theft Auto IV” in high definition on Xbox 360, and we couldn't be more excited to have the title on our platform from day one”
Separately, Microsoft and Rockstar Games are proud to announce a strategic alliance to provide exclusive episodic content for Xbox Live®, giving the community ever-expanding gameplay experiences that simply aren’t possible on other consoles.
“Through Xbox Live, we have a unique opportunity to reach out to our audience in new ways,” said Sam Houser, executive producer and founder of Rockstar Games. “This strategic alliance allows us to craft experiences that fully leverage the on-demand distribution power and sheer size of Xbox Live.”
The agreement to distribute exclusive Rockstar Games content via Xbox Live highlights the publishing community’s growing desire to feed gamers’ insatiable appetite for downloading new high-definition experiences and playing online. Since Xbox Live launched, fans have logged nearly 1.8 billion hours playing online and have downloaded more than 18 million pieces of content in just the past six months.
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May 10th, 2006, 00:20 Posted By: wraggster
— Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates today staked the claim that the Xbox 360™ system will have a 10 million-unit head start by the time the competition enters the market and more than 160 games by the end of the year. Gates went on to outline the company’s bold new vision to connect millions of Xbox 360 gamers with hundreds of millions of Microsoft® Windows®-based PC and mobile gamers from around the world through the Xbox Live® online entertainment network. Gates made the announcements at a press conference to open the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the largest annual confab for the interactive entertainment industry.
Dubbed “Live Anywhere,” the initiative puts gamers at the center of a ubiquitous always-on world where their digital identities, games, friends and digital entertainment are always accessible through the familiar Xbox Live interface, regardless of location or device. The plan also clears the way for groundbreaking cross-platform gameplay scenarios, with participants using Windows-based PCs, mobile phones and Xbox 360 consoles to play together simultaneously.
Currently more than 3 million console gamers are connected to the Xbox Live community via their Xbox® and Xbox 360 consoles and Microsoft expects that number to double to 6 million by this time next year. In addition, more than 25 million casual gamers are currently playing games on MSN® Messenger and MSN Games. Envisioning a forward look to more closely align these powerful communities, Gates outlined next steps to bring the Live Anywhere vision to fruition:
Xbox Live experiences come to Windows-based PCs. Gamers will have the ability to jack into the vibrant Xbox Live world from their Windows-based PCs early next year to play games with friends. Answering the call of millions of Windows gamers for a world that is always on, the Xbox Live experience on Windows will give gamers a consistent online game experience in which they have one identity, one friends list, one set of achievements and voice communications across all games on the network. These experiences will debut on Windows with the Windows Vista™ operating system and “Shadowrun™” this winter.
Microsoft’s mobile offering. Spanning Windows Mobile®, Java and BREW-based handsets, the world-class mobile games service will give gamers on-the-go access to cross-platform gaming communities at any time, from any location. By this time next year, users will be able to send messages, access friends lists, download the best of mobile game content, and sample, purchase and play favorites such as “Bejeweled,” “Zuma” and “Hexic®” as part of the integrated gaming world.
“By opening the Xbox Live entertainment network to the entire universe of Windows and mobile gamers, we’re creating unparalleled gameplay opportunities that will drive incredible growth of the online community,” said Gates. “Our vision is to deliver consistent, compelling experiences that make it easy for consumers to jump in and play, from any device at any time. It’s a vision that only Microsoft can deliver.”
Gates, making his first appearance at E3, joined Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division, on stage to announce a barrage of new game titles coming to the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista platforms.
Microsoft announced that it will have 160 Xbox 360 titles by end of 2006. The stunningly smooth high-definition graphics and sophisticated level of gameplay in these titles are proof positive that the development community is hitting its stride with the console’s powerful hardware and programming tools.
Gates and Moore dazzled the crowd with an initial look at “Halo® 3,” the hugely anticipated sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed “Halo” franchise. Enthusiasm for “Halo 3” has been building since its predecessor, “Halo 2” — launched by Microsoft Game Studios in 2004 — rewrote history books by becoming the biggest launch in U.S. entertainment retail history, with $125 million in sales and 2.4 million copies sold in the first 24 hours. In this third chapter of the “Halo” trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax.
Microsoft Game Studios also showcased exclusive Xbox 360 titles “Gears of War” (Epic Games Inc.), “Fable® 2” (Lionhead Studios) and “Forza Motorsport™ 2” (Turn 10). Ubisoft’s next-generation version of “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent™” will also debut on Xbox 360. In addition, Microsoft Game Studios showed “Alan Wake” (Remedy Entertainment Inc.) and “Shadowrun™” (FASA Studio), both slated for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. Bringing the Microsoft vision of Live Anywhere to life, “Shadowrun” is the first cross-platform Xbox 360 and Windows Vista-based game featuring team-based combat that ushers gamers into a new dimension with a revolutionary blend of modern weaponry and ancient magic.
For Windows gamers, the consumer launch of Windows Vista in January 2007 will continue the momentum and excitement for the Windows platform. With Windows Vista, Microsoft will introduce the DirectX® 10 API, showcasing astonishing new graphics as well as enhanced performance, better hardware integration and new ways for developers to make the most of the Windows game platform. Microsoft highlighted several games from major publishers that will support Windows Vista and DirectX 10 technologies: “Crysis” (Electronic Arts Inc.), “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” (Funcom) and “Flight Simulator X” (Microsoft Game Studios).
In addition to these blockbuster titles on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, several new games are coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Gamers of all ages and levels of experience are flocking to these quick, fun (and often nostalgic), downloadable titles that take advantage of the unique high-definition and Xbox Live capabilities that only Xbox 360 can deliver. Microsoft and its partners announced a significant expansion of the Xbox Live Arcade catalog, adding classic favorites such as “Pac-Man,” “Galaga,” “Dig Dug” and “Rally-X” from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.; “Frogger,” “Track & Field,” and “Contra” and “Super Contra” from Konami; “Defender®,” “Paperboy®,” “Root Beer Tapper™” and “Ultimate Mortal Kombat® 3” from Midway Games Inc.; “Sonic the Hedgehog™ High Speed” from SEGA®; and new titles such as “Lumines Live” from Q Entertainment Ltd.
As part of the Live Anywhere initiative, Microsoft has announced new cross-platform accessories such as the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel and Xbox 360 Wireless Headset, which will enrich game experiences on Xbox 360 and Windows. The new Xbox Live Vision video camera will allow consumers to customize their gamer picture, send photo messages, and video chat with friends and family over Xbox Live.
The appetite for Xbox 360 gaming around the world continues to grow. Microsoft is excited to meet that demand in eight new countries in the coming year with launches in Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Poland, Slovakia and South Africa. Additional markets will continue the momentum of the largest next-generation installed base for any console after a second holiday season.
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