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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
DCEmu Homebrew & Gaming Network.
THE LATEST NEWS BELOW
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July 28th, 2005, 03:49 Posted By: wraggster
While the Xbox made a decent splash in the American marketplace it was never able to gain a foothold in Japan. This time around Microsoft is seeking to make a bigger impact with Xbox 360 and today we get our first look at their overseas effort with the Xbox Summit. This is the first major press event since E3 and is currently taking place in the center of Tokyo.
According to our Japanese correspondent Anoop Gantayat, Taito announced that they will bring World Airforce to Xbox 360. Also, Konami announced that Pro Yakyu Spirits is currently in development for the new console. The Spirits series is a baseball simulator that will most likely not be seen stateside. No other details about these games are known thus far but we'll keep you updated as information becomes available.
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July 28th, 2005, 03:48 Posted By: wraggster
The latest occurrence at the Xbox Summit in Japan was a demonstration hosted by Bizarre Creation's Nick Davies. He showed off the graphically impressive vehicles and environments for Project Gotham Racing 3. The cars will be comprised of 40,000 exterior polygons and 40,000 interior polygons. This is a huge leap when compared to the 10,000 total polygons used on the vehicles of PGR2.
In another example of PGR3's advanced graphics Davies stated that the Brooklyn has the same number of polygons as the entire city of New York in PGR2. Players will be able to customize and create tracks and race 80 different cars. Also, the crowds watching the races are fully polygonal and number in the thousands. No more card board cutouts cheering on the roadside!
The demo went on to show off Gotham TV. We'll have more information on this title soon with the distinct possibility of some media.
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July 28th, 2005, 03:48 Posted By: wraggster
TOKYO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. is counting on new games to lure Japanese users for its new Xbox 360 game console. The company hopes to avoid a repeat of the disappointing sales that dogged the earlier version of the machine in the world's second-largest game market.
The world's largest software maker revealed on Monday that 45 game titles available for Japanese users of the new console are scheduled to go on sale in time for the year-end holiday shopping season and before market leader Sony's planned launch of its new PlayStation 3 early in 2006.
A shortage of games to draw Japan's discerning users was the main reason for the lack of success of the current generation Xbox.
"I've always said that Japan is a vitally important market for the Xbox platform," Peter Moore, Microsoft's vice president in charge of Xbox marketing, said at an event to introduce upcoming games for the console.
"I know that the success in this country is the ultimate tribute to the compelling power of our new platform," he said.
This time, Microsoft said 38 publishers, including Square Enix Co. Ltd., Electronic Arts Inc., and Namco Ltd., are developing 45 game titles. More than 100 other titles are being worked on
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July 27th, 2005, 06:20 Posted By: gimpyjr
Does anyone have any concerns about the 360 please do share them.
I will start with a few of mine. Please let me know your opinions and concerns thanks.
1) X360 is supposed to be the ultimate HD gaming machine but it's using a standard definition disc format. (9GB) capacity.
2) Backwards compatability for only top selling games!
Patches for other games are to be put on xbox live, but what about those people without highspeed internet and xbox live?
3) $60.00 per game
4) only 3 months until launch and there is still lag issues even on beta dev kits.
5) multi-core machine.Sure it's powerful, but so was sega saturn and look how hard that was to program for.
6) PS3 will cost more but also offer 50GB blu-ray disc for HD games and movies.
these are some of my complaints please tell me yours. 
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July 26th, 2005, 23:06 Posted By: wraggster
During a recent Xbox Summit event, Microsoft displayed a mock retail package of the 360. The box was white and green—matching the console’s color scheme—and featured a list of accessories that will be included inside:
Wireless controller
Hard drive (??GB)
Xbox Live headset
Ethernet cable
Mysteriously absent from this list is an A/V hookup (VGA HD, component AV, or S-Video) which, we are assuming, will be sold separately along with:
The play & charge unit (for controller)
Remote control
Wireless network adapter
Faceplates
Memory unit
Web cam
Quick charge unit
And additional controllers, headsets & hard drives
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July 26th, 2005, 22:44 Posted By: wraggster
The Xbox Summit 2005 event has included a first look at the additional accessories which Microsoft will be shipping alongside Xbox 360 - including wired joypads, memory units, and additional hard drives.
Although mostly focused on software, the Japanese event has also given a glimpse of the packaging that will be used for Xbox 360 in the Far East - relatively plain white and green boxes which will contain the console, a wireless joypad, a headset, an Ethernet cable and a hard drive.
Obvious accessories such as additional wireless controllers, additional headsets, faceplates for the unit and a selection of audio-visual cables (including a VGA cable for high definition PC monitors) will be made available.
However, a number of less obvious products will also be shipped by Microsoft - including, most notably, additional hard drives, a USB wireless adapter, and wired controllers for the console.
The additional hard drives are a particularly interesting addition to the range; it's to be assumed that these will be high capacity drives designed for people who want to make heavy use of the system's multimedia functions, which will fill up the default 20Gb drive very quickly.
The wireless adapter is designed to allow the Xbox 360 to go online over a wireless home network, and will plug into a USB port on the box. The decision to make this into an optional feature has left many scratching their heads, as both PS3 and Revolution promise to have the feature as standard, but as well as being a cost saving exercise, using external wireless may also allow the system to have better reception.
In terms of controllers, a number of units are being made available which will allow them to be recharged while playing (the Play and Charge Unit), recharged quickly (Quick Charge Unit), have their batteries replaced (Rechargeable Battery Pack).
Wired controllers will also be made available - a move which is apparently a response to the fact that the wireless signal can be interrupted by interference from outside sources, as anyone who's tried to use a wireless LAN near an aging microwave can confirm.
Other accessories will be familiar to Xbox users - including memory units which plug into the front panel, and a remote control which is mostly designed for accessing the multimedia functions of the console.
No pricing or availability details for the accessories have yet been announced.
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July 26th, 2005, 22:15 Posted By: wraggster
News from <a href="http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3663&&lsaid=219793" target="_blank" >Lik Sang</a>
While Xbox crashed and burned in Japan, the 360 has so far proven to be a complete turn around. At their Summit in Tokyo this week, over 50 Japanese game publishers committed to development on the console, and not just that, but reeled off a list of titles to look forward to as well. Confirmed for Xbox 360 include Winning Eleven, Super Robot Wars, Dynasty Warriors 5, Mobile Suit Gundam, Resident Evil 5, Rumble Roses XX, Dead or Alive 4, DOA: Code Cronus, DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball 2, Final Fantasy XI, King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 and Ridge Racer 6, amongst others. Namco for example stated they are working on a fantasy style RPG, which could perhaps be a new entry in the "Tales of" series? Some of the other big names to sign on were Bandai, Capcom, D3, From Software, Genki, Hudson Soft, Koei, Konami, Marvelous, Sega, Spike, Success Corp, Taito, Tomy, Treasure, and still more.
Peter Moore, vice president and chief of Xbox marketing, proudly announced "every major third-party publisher right here in Japan is committed to supplying games to Xbox 360." Despite rumors of a delayed Japanese launch recently, Microsoft also re-confirmed their plans to launch the console in America, Europe and Japan before the end of this year. While pricing and an exact date remains an unknown, as soon as it's announced, you'll see it right here.
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July 26th, 2005, 21:31 Posted By: wraggster
Over the last 2 weeks, I have been working on a port of FreeBSD for the Xbox. During this effort, Ed Schouten has given me assistance by reviewing patches and giving advice.
The port is fully functional. The framebuffer is fully supported, same goes for sound and USB devices (such as an USB keyboard for the console). Only ethernet is missing, currently, as the binary only driver in /usr/ports/net/nvnet fails with an error 5, for some reason. Assistance there would be very welcome.
I have made patches for FreeBSD 5.4-RELEASE and FreeBSD 6.0-BETA1. Currently, the port requires the Linux Cromwell(info) BIOS (which was patched so it would understand FreeBSD kernel ELF files). More information on the patch can be found in the mail archives of xbox-linux. You will need the latest CVS version for it to work, or 2.40 + patches (patches can be found at the URL above)
Also, a live CD has been created, which has 4 kernels: a 5.4-RELEASE and 6.0-BETA1 patched kernel with /dev/acd0 and /dev/ad0s1a root devices, a patched Cromwell BIOS (which you can load from a normal Cromwell BIOS), as well as the base installation files and kernel patches; as the framebuffer driver isn't ready enough yet to provide proper ANSI support, installation should be done manually.
The project's results (including patches, todo items etc) can be found at http://nexus.il.fontys.nl/ and http://freebsd.ilse.nl/xbox/. The patches are available there, including a BitTorrent file of the LiveCD (which is about 200MB).
As the patches are so minimal (about 1000 lines, including sample kernel config), I hope they will be considered for 6.x-RELEASE or HEAD, as they can easily be integrated on a i386 CD without hurting anything. I would be happy to help with this effort.
http://freebsd.ilse.nl/xbox/
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July 26th, 2005, 12:46 Posted By: wraggster
At the Xbox Summit 2005, Game Republic president and former Capcom executive Yoshiki Okamoto announced Every Party, a party game for the Xbox 360.
"As you can guess from the title, Every Party is a party game for everybody," said Okamoto. "Up until now, I was probably known for games that involved punching, kicking, slashing, shooting, and killing. But this is going to be a party game intended for all ages, so there will be no violence or grotesque scenes."
Okamoto then presented a game label that mocked CERO's (the Japanese equivalent of the ESRB) icon for violent games, except that it was altered to read "no violence, no gore." The prank pleased the crowd, which was already entertained by Okamoto's jovial appearance. "I'm so happy about making a nonviolent game that I've created this label. Up until now, all my games were labeled with that sticker by default," said Okamoto.
Every Party plays like a board game with 3D graphics. The player spins a roulette-like wheel and advances his/her piece across the board. According to the trailer, there seem to be a lot of minigames for players to enjoy. Character designs are being done by Sakura Momoko, an artist known in Japan for the popular Chibimaruko-Chan anime series.
Every Party's graphics didn't seem to take full advantage of the Xbox 360's hardware, though as Okamoto has stated in his past interviews, he decided to release it on Microsoft's next-generation console because of its network gaming capabilities.
"I was asked by people as to why I'm making a party game for a next-generation machine, and whether it really needs the specs of next-generation hardware. But that's not what games are all about. Even nowadays, people play old-time games such as Famicoms. Games are, simply, supposed to be fun," said Okamoto.
"You should be able to enjoy as much as you can within your free time, which is what games are all about. As some people may know, I love board games and party games. I love having a blast with other people. But it's rare for people like me to gather together. The Xbox 360 will allow anyone to enjoy playing with each other at any time, any place," said Okamoto.
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July 26th, 2005, 12:46 Posted By: wraggster
At the Xbox Summit 2005, Namco announced that it is developing Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox 360. No trailers were shown at the summit, although its logo and a number of screenshots of a car model were shown to the press.
The franchise and many of its racing cousins (Rage Racer, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4) have predominantly burned rubber on Sony's consoles. However, the franchise has recently been driving with other platforms, including the GameCube, Xbox, DS, and PSP. The announcement today also marks the first time the franchise will be Xbox Live-compatible, and Namco confirmed that the game will have downloadable content as well.
Another major announcement made by Namco at the Xbox Summit 2005 was that it is working on an original fantasy role-playing series for the Xbox 360. The game is already in development, but no pictures or trailers were available. Several members of the team behind the "Tales of" series are assisting development of the game.
The publisher also showed a trailer for a new soccer game, titled Love Football, and a new trailer for Frame City Killer, which solely consisted of in-game footage.
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July 26th, 2005, 11:43 Posted By: wraggster
Xbox 360 News has a great new site design with integrated forum access, irc chat and much more, come and join the forums now and chat about what will be the most exciting console for years.
Any questions ask inside 
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July 25th, 2005, 23:08 Posted By: wraggster
Today at the Xbox Summit 2005 in Japan, Microsoft corporate vice president of worldwide retail sales and marketing Peter Moore reconfirmed that the Xbox 360 will be launching as scheduled in Japan, Europe, and North America at the end of the year. His statement at the summit shot down rumors that the console's release in Japan may be delayed until 2006.
"We are going to make history when we launch in three regions [of the world] this holiday season: Japan, Europe, and North America. That's never been done before, but we will do it," Moore confidently told the crowd. Bach also reiterated Microsoft's commitment to the Japanese market, where the Xbox has captured only a small segment of consumers.
"We all know that Japan is the world's first gaming superpower, and this country remains the gold standard for success in the industry," said Moore. "This time, the rest of the world is starting to realize that the Xbox 360 is a real contender, right here in Japan. That is a very important point, because I know that success in this country is the ultimate tribute to the compelling power of our new platform."
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July 25th, 2005, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster
At the Xbox Summit 2005, Microsoft showed off its first mockup of the Xbox 360 's retail packaging--a simple white and green box that matched the console's color scheme.
The side of the Xbox 360's packaging listed the accessories that will be included with the console: a hard drive, wireless controller, Xbox Live, headset, and Ethernet cable. No cables for hooking up to a monitor were listed.
One side of the packaging had the slogan "Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system is you. It's your future. With the most strong games and the most powerful technology, Xbox 360 puts you at the center of your entertainment experience. With the Xbox 360, you can play the most compelling games, watch DVD movies, and share your digital music, photos, videos, and TV."
The packaging for the console's games was shown as well--it was a standard-size, plastic DVD case. The Xbox 360's controller was also on display, and it had a comfortable grip akin to Nintendo's GameCube Controller. The alignments of the analog sticks and direction pad also resembled the GameCube controller.
Microsoft also showed off auxiliary accessories that will be available for purchase separately from the console itself. They are:
Wireless Controller - The 360 comes standard with one wireless controller. Additional controllers are sold separately.
Wired Controller - Wireless controllers can sometimes run into interference from outside sources.
Memory Unit - Xbox 360's memory unit comes included with a plastic case to protect your saved data from harm.
Rechargeable Battery Pack - Additional batteries are available for the Wireless controller.
Play and Charge Unit - This accessory lets you play with your wireless controller hooked to the Xbox 360 while also recharging it.
Quick Charge Unit - As the name may suggest, this accessory lets you charge your controller's battery quickly.
Wireless Network Adapter - This adapter is an antenna unit that can be plugged into the Xbox 360's USB port for wireless connection to the Internet (wireless LAN). It is compatible to IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11c.
Hard Drive - Additional hard drives will be officially available from Microsoft.
Remote Control - A remote control is available for accessing the Xbox 360's various functions.
Headset - Additional headsets will be offered for the Xbox 360.
Face Plates - As Microsoft announced during its initial Xbox 360 unveiling, the console's faceplates can be switched around to give it different looks.
VGA HD Cable - If you want to play with HD graphics, this is the cable that you'll need.
Component AV Cable - For players that want to use component AV.
S-Video AV Cable - For players that want to play with S-VHS output.
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July 25th, 2005, 23:03 Posted By: wraggster
It's no secret that Microsoft's entrance into the console market has been met with tepid interest in Japan, a region dominated by the company's rivals in Sony and Nintendo. While North American gamers have welcomed the prospect of the Xbox 360 with open arms, the Japanese interest in the Western console, as shown in a recent market survey, is limited to a paltry two percent of gamers.
To help spark interest in the Xbox 360, Microsoft has sought some of Japan's top game designers to create games for the unit. Former Square Enix producer Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistawalker) and Sega's Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Q Entertainment) are among the many developers that are currently developing games for the Xbox 360.
Today at the Xbox Summit 2005 in Tokyo, Japan, even more Japanese game developers jumped on the 360 wagon.
"The Xbox 360 has achieved a true breakthrough with far more third party publishers support than anybody ever expected," said Peter Moore, Microsoft corporate vice president and chief of worldwide Xbox marketing. "Today, I am proud to say that every major third party publisher right here in Japan, is committed to supplying games to Xbox 360."
Moore's words were backed up by the line-up of trailers that were later shown during the summit. One of the first titles shown was Ninety Nine Nights, developed by Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment and Sang Youn Lee's Phantagram. Mizuguchi showed two of the many playable characters, who were sisters named Inphyy and Aspharr. He then showed off an in-game trailer that featured them in battle, and boasted nearly a hundred enemies onscreen at once without any noticeable signs of slowing the game's performance down.
Capcom producer Keiji Inafune appeared at the summit to show off the latest trailers of two zombie-themed games, Dead Rising and Resident Evil 5. When asked what season the games are slated for release, Inafune replied that he had no idea, since it could take more than a year forh either to come out. Inafune also announced that he is working as a producer for a new title currently in development for the Xbox 360. "I couldn't prepare a trailer for different reasons, but I should be able to announce the title by the Xbox 360's launch. I can't disclose its genre, but there won't be zombies in it," joked Inafune.
Other large Japanese publishers made some big announcements as well. Namco announced Ridge Racer 6 for the 360, but was not showing any trailers or footage of the game. The company also announc3ed an unnamed original fantasy role-playing game. No details, trailers or screens were available, but it is known that several members of the "Tales of" franchise development team are working on the game.
Bandai is at work on a first-person shooter set in the Gundam universe. Though a trailer was prepared for the show, the company decided not to show it, citing quality issues.
Konami is bringing three very different sports titles based on existing franchises to the 360. Winning Eleven (working title), the popular soccer simulation, Rumble Roses XX, a new version of the foxy female wrestling game, and Pro Yakyuu Spirits, a baseball title, are all in development.
Team Ninja chief Tomonobu Itagaki revealed that Tecmo has five Xbox 360 titles coming to the console, two of which were announced for the first time. In addition to the three Dead or Alive titles previously announced (Dead or Alive 4, Dead or Alive: Code Cronus, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball 2), Tecmo will release the action game Project Progressive and a to-be-named game on the platform.
Smaller publishers have also announced on games; Genki announced that it is working on a new Tokyo Xtreme Racer; Hudson is developing a remake of Tengai Makyou: Jiraiya; Yuke's is making a pro-wrestling game based on Japanese wrestlers titled Wrestle Kingdom; Sega is working on a mech game named Chrome Hounds; Taito is developing an air-combat game named World Airforce; and Koei is releasing Dynasty Warriors 5 Special Edition.
Square Enix was also present at the summit to show a real-time demo of Final Fantasy XI, which was played at the stage by producer Hiromichi Tanaka. Takana revealed that the game is already close to completion, and that the company is just waiting for the launch of the Xbox 360 to begin beta testing.
Other trailers shown during the summit include: From Software's E[eM] -eNCHANT arM-; Electronic Arts' FIFA Soccer 06, NBA Live 06, and Need For Speed Most Wanted; Atari's Test Drive Limited; Microsoft's Gears of War and Kameo: Elements of Power; and Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.
Moore explained that one of the reasons why the Japanese publishers have come forward in developing games for the Xbox 360 is Microsoft's XNA suite of development tools, which lowers the cost of high quality games.
"XNA, together with Xbox Live, is already giving Japanese publishers the tools they need to unleash their creativity through a seamless integration between artists, producers and programmers. That means better games can be created faster than ever," said Moore.
Xbox Japan marketing director Takashi Sensui revealed that Microsoft's support towards Japanese developers has been firm, which is the reason why so many publishers have been able to show their trailers at the summit. "Microsoft has been providing game makers throughout the world with Xbox development kits since one year ago, and there are already about one thousand kits being used in Japan alone," said Sensui.
At the end of the Xbox Summit 2005, Sensui disclosed that a total of 37 Japanese publishers are currently making 42 games for the Xbox 360 console. A complete list is below:
Activision
• "Call of Duty 2"
• "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland"
• "Quake IV"
• "Gun"
A R C System Works Co. Ltd.
• "Versus Tactical Action" (working title)
Artdink Corp.
• "A-Train X"
Atari Japan Co. Ltd.
• "Test Drive Unlimited"
Bandai Co. Ltd.
• "Mobile Suit Gundam" (working title)
Banpresto Co. Ltd.
• "Super Robot Wars" (working title)
Capcom
• "Biohazard 5 (Resident Evil 5)"
• "Dead Rising"
Cavia Inc.
• Title TBA
D3 Publisher Inc.
• "E-D-FX" (working title)
• "Chambara Beauty X" (working title)
Eidos KK
• Title TBA
Electronic Arts K. K.
• "FIFA Soccer 2006"
• "NBA Live 2006"
• "Need for Speed Most Wanted"
Idea Factory
• Title TBA
Jaleco Ltd.
• Title TBA
Kids Station Inc.
• Title TBA
KOEI Co. Ltd.
• "Dynasty Warriors 5"
Konami
• "Winning Eleven" (working title)
• "Rumble Roses XX" (working title)
• "Proyakyu Spirits" (working title)
Marvelous Interactive Inc.
• Title TBA
Microsoft Co. Ltd.
• "NINETY-NINE NIGHTS"
• "Every Party"
• "Project Gotham Racing 3"
Namco
• "Frame City Killer"
• "Ridge Racer 6"
• RPG Title TBA
• "Love Football" (working title)
FromSoftware Inc.
• eNCHANT arM
Frontier Groove Inc.
• Title TBA
G.Rev Ltd.
• Title TBA
Genki Co. Ltd.
• "Shutokou Battle" (working title)
Hamster Corp.
• Title TBA
Hudson Soft Co. Ltd.
• "Far East of Eden Ziria 00Tales from Distant Jipang"
SEGA Corp.
• "Chromehounds" (working title)
SNK Playmore Corp.
• "King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2" (working title)
Spike Co. Ltd.
• Title TBA
Square Enix Co. Ltd.
• "Final Fantasy XI"
Success Corp.
• "Zookeeper" (working title)
• "Operation Darkness" (working title)
TAITO Corp.
• "World Airforce" (working title)
Tecmo
• "Dead or Alive 4"
• "Dead or Alive Xtreme 2"
• "Project Progressive"
• "Dead or Alive code: Cronus"
THQ Japan
• "Saints Row"
• "The Outfit"
Tomy
• "Zoids" (working title)
Treasure Co. Ltd.
• Title TBA
Ubisoft KK
• "Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter" (working title)
Vivendi
• Title TBA
Yuke's Co. Ltd.
• "Wrestle Kingdom"
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July 25th, 2005, 11:08 Posted By: wraggster
Today Microsoft hosted an Xbox 2005 Summit in Tokyo where they announced the support of Japan’s 50 biggest publishers for the upcoming Xbox 360. I spoke with the Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for the Xbox, Peter Moore, to get some insight into Microsoft’s plans for conquering the Japanese market. Peter hopes to use this summit to underline how important Japan is to Microsoft. As well as including Peter’s thoughts, this feature will consolidate the bulk of the Japan’s developer and publisher community’s commitments to the platform.
In terms of new reports, Namco has announced that they will be bringing the Ridge Racer franchise to the next-gen Xbox platform. This arcade racer series will be coming to the Xbox 360 in a first for Microsoft. Ridge Racer V was a launch title for the Playstation 2, a signal that this is a substantial gain for Microsoft. Konami and Capcom have also made commitments to bring more of their titles to the console. When I asked Peter whether or not Konami has any plans to bring the Metal Gear Solid series to the Xbox, he couldn’t tell us any new information. The MGS series has traditionally been (in the console world at least) a Playstation exclusive and any announcement in the future to bring the game to the Xbox would be a substantial boost to its credentials. Regarding Capcom’s plans, they recently announced that Resident Evil 5 will be coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360, firmly closing the door on any previous Nintendo exclusivity on the franchise (as if bringing the supposedly GC exclusive Resident Evil 4 to the PS2 wasn’t enough). These titles will join with the E3 announced title Dead or Alive 4, which is a confirmed Xbox 360 exclusive title. As more details from the event are released, we’ll be sure to update this article as well as consolidate them in a news article.
I asked whether any of the recent announcement of Japanese titles for the Xbox 360 will be on or around the console’s release date, but Peter wasn’t too optimistic about that. Apparently we’re talking “Summer next year” or thereabouts. That sounds conveniently near the PS3’s release date, which could possibly signal an effort by Microsoft to get publishers and developers to release big name titles around the rival console’s launch. If Microsoft’s thinking is along the lines of dumping every major Japanese and American title onto the 360 around the PS3’s launch, then it certainly wouldn’t be a completely illogical plan. After all we’ve heard rumors of this kind of thing before.
Microsoft looks to be capitalizing on the popularity of the Xbox Live! online gaming service, which recently hit 2 million subscribers. When I asked Peter about features that Japanese developers will look to utilise when developing games, he referred to Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XI, which is coming to the Xbox 360. Interestingly he noted that Microsoft is looking at integration with the PC version of the game. He mentioned the magic words of “cross-platform” in the same sentence as “PC”. Whether this means that Microsoft is opening up the proprietary Xbox Live! platform and allowing Xbox 360 players to game with PC users, I don’t know. What I certainly do know is that Microsoft isn’t planning on linking in with the PS2 version!
On the surface, this event was all about highlighting the renewed commitments of Japanese developers and publishers to the Xbox platform, but it was missing an important element of the average Japanese gamer’s thoughts on the next-gen console. Namely, the hardware. In the past several companies have carried out market research on the opinions of Japanese gamers in relation to the next-generation consoles. In much of this research the Xbox 360 is seen as undesirable to the average Japanese gamer. The most important factor in this is that the Playstation 3 is seen to have the largest array of software suited to the Japanese market. The summit will go some way to reverse this view as more titles are announced. However, some research has pointed out that the Japanese view the Xbox 360 is an inferior console in terms of hardware, pointing out the Playstation 3’s superior next-generation Blu Ray drive. Also, Team Ninja frontman Tomonobu Itagaki, pointed out the 360’s limitations from a developers standpoint. In a recent interview with Microsoft’s Steve Balmer, Engadget asked whether Microsoft will be moving towards a HD-DVD optical drive in a future 360 revision. I asked Peter to clarify the situation and say whether Microsoft is or is not planning a HD-DVD drive. He replied that “HD-DVD is still a question”, and “we may do something”. Whether Microsoft is still trying to sort out technological issues with the format or is battling political issues of whether to back the Blu Ray or HD-DVD format is still unclear. What is clear is that Microsoft needs to commit to a format to address the confusion of the public and developers on the issue of the optical drive. A mid-term change to HD-DVD would lead to a fragmented console platform which is an undesirable situation for developer and consumer alike. Besides, wouldn’t a full scale mind and matter assault on the Japanese do much more to bring the statistics back into Microsoft’s favor?
On a lighter tone, Peter commented on the “Xbox 360 Kid” as a non-event. Like us, he couldn’t really see any new information that has been ‘leaked’ to the public. Because of this he couldn’t understand why the media was so excited over the leak. However, as the boss of media relations for the Xbox team, I’d expect he doesn’t mind people talking about the 360, no matter what caused the discussion. In my opinion any accusations that this was a Microsoft plant are moot, as they’ve got the publicity now either way.
I’d like to thank Peter Moore and the Xbox PR team for setting up a Q&A session that gave us an advance look at Microsoft’s announcement. As Joystiq receives news of any more product and game announcements we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
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July 25th, 2005, 11:06 Posted By: wraggster
1up.com has a preliminary English translation of the full games list for the Xbox 360, including new announcements from the Xbox Summit. So far, beyond the confirmation that the Ridge Racer 6 is coming to the platform, there are several untitled projects yet to be named. Until Microsoft releases a list of just the announcements at the summit, it’ll be hard to tell how significant the event was in terms of new software commitments.
Beyond software announcements Microsoft has confirmed that it will be launching the Xbox 360 worldwide in Holiday 2005 simultaneously. Previously there had been rumors that the summit event would be used to delay the release date in Japan. This simultaneous release will be a first for such a major console release. Typically consoles have released in Japan, then headed to America and finally Europe. It is expected Sony and Nintendo will be launching their consoles as per tradition, in Japan.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3142257
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July 24th, 2005, 23:40 Posted By: wraggster
A new build of FBAxxx has been released.
What's new/fixed:
* update corrected sync a bit (23/07)
* update improved performance (it now can read a file to 60% of a frame instead of 50% ((1 sec / 60) * (60 / 100)) (23/07)
* corrected some bugs on the menu (03/06)
* updated help menu (23/07)
* added slow motion function, can be useful in shoot em ups (23/07)
* changed disposition of right stick (down : pause, right : fast forward, left : slow motion and up : autofire) (23/07)
* added fix for pochi nyaa sound (19/07)
* added neopong(1.1) and jockeygp drivers (23/07)
* note: Can cause minor gfx bugs but only minors and there is normally NO MORE SOUND GLITCHES
http://fbaxxx.fr.st
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July 23rd, 2005, 10:23 Posted By: wraggster
I've done some testing and it seems that if your Xbox is in a large enough room with good air circulation then a fan speed of 10% is sufficient! I've updated the monitors package (which contains fanctl) to feature a "quiet" mode that can be activated by adding the -q/--quiet switch. When this is enabled the fan speed floor is lowered to 10% rather than the default 20%. This mode can also be enabled at startup in /etc/conf.d/fanctl by changing "QUIET=0" to "QUIET=1".
If your system usually has the fan speed higher than 20% then quiet mode is NOT for you and, though it is unlikely, may cause your Xbox to overheat. Remember that these tools come with no warranty and while I have tested them as thoroughly as I can, I cannot be held responsible for any damage they may cause.
Go run magic to update.
http://gentoox.shallax.com/modules.p...rticle&sid=451
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July 23rd, 2005, 10:22 Posted By: wraggster
The Xbox is a low-cost (149 USD/EUR) IBM PC compatible computer, which can be used as a server, workstation or as a media player. Though, its with minor hardware differences make it necessary to slightly modify operating systems so that they are compatible with the Xbox.
This document describes these differences in detail and explains how to handle them in your operating system, and explains how to get started
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Porti...the_Xbox_HOWTO
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July 22nd, 2005, 23:30 Posted By: wraggster
The Xbox 360 will feature a parental locking system that can be used to prevent children from accessing games unsuitable for their age range, according to Japanese website Mainichi.
Parents will be able to set-up the console so it will only play games with appropriate age ratings. When users attempt to load a game, the machine will read data from the disk to determine whether it falls into the correct category.
In addition, parents will be able to programme the 360 to restrict children's access to online chatrooms.
The Mainichi article states that the new features, which have never been included in a games console before, will be built-in to US and European machines as well as Japanese units. There has recently been a storm of controversy in Japan surrounding Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto, before even the Hot Coffee scandal emerged.
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