Xbox Live Arcade, Indie Games go missing

September 13th, 2013, 01:19 Posted By: wraggster

Minecraft, hundreds of other titles disappear from Xbox 360 digital storefront, Microsoft looking into issue
[h=3]Microsoft[/h]microsoft.com


The Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Live Indie Games catalogs are looking a little light at the moment, as hundreds of titles disappeared from the Xbox Live Marketplace this morning. The company has since issued an Xbox Live service alert about the issue, saying it is "working diligently to get everything back on the up-and-up as quickly as possible."
As noted by Xbox Live Indie Games developer Milkstone Studios, the Xbox Live Indie Games catalog was cut to just 949 available titles. Previously more than 2,000 titles were on offer at the store. Affected titles no longer available as of this writing include Castle Miner Z, the storefront's first million-selling title.
A similar culling of content has happened on Xbox Live Arcade, where only 135 games from the system's eight-year lifespan are currently available. Affected titles include some of the system's biggest hits, including Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition.
Games that have already been downloaded onto an Xbox 360 will still work fine, but users looking to re-download the titles are unable to do so.
[UPDATE]: A Microsoft spokesperson provided the following comment toGamesIndustry International: "We're aware there is an issue affecting the Xbox Games Store that has temporarily removed some content including Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Live Indie Games titles. This is a technical glitch and we're working to fix the issue as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...mes-go-missing

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GTA V "could be the biggest entertainment launch in history"

September 13th, 2013, 00:54 Posted By: wraggster

More than 1,000 UK stores will be open from midnight for the launch of Grand Theft Auto V.
Retailers are out in force for what is tipped to be the biggest release of the year, with chains, indies and supermarkets reporting record pre-order figures.
Midnight launches will take place from over 300 GAME stores, 65 Grainger outlets, 270 Asda supermarkets, 248 Blockbuster shops plus HMV, Tesco and indie shops.
Meanwhile, almost every major specialist says it will be opening their doors early on the Tuesday.
“The gaming community has been anticipating this launch for years and there’s a very good chance that this could be the biggest entertainment launch in history,� said GAME Charlotte Knight, Category Director. “This is an incredibly exciting time to be a part of the gaming industry and GTA V is a massive part of that. We have some very exciting plans for launch.�
HMV senior category buyer Gavin Howes added: "San Andreas on PS2 is still one of the best examples of how hardware can be pushed once developers understand the capabilities of a console and Rockstar have done it again with GTA V.
“This is probably the best thing that could have happened to the current gen with the next-gen around the corner.�
Asda boss Craig Thirkell added: “GTA IV has been flying off the shelves in anticipation. This is the first of our midnight launches for 2013. We have a few surprises up our sleeves to keep our customers happy on the night.�
Despite the imminent arrival of next generation consoles, retailers tell MCV that there’s huge demand for current-gen software.
“There is no better time to launch a GTA, at the end of the current generation console life cycle,� said ShopTo boss Igor Cipolletta. “Our website will be taken over by GTA.�
Grainger Games’ head of buying Chris Harwood added: “We expect GTA V to blow records apart on launch. It is by far the most pre-ordered title we have had to date. There has been huge customer interest for months and this is continuing to grow each week.�

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/gta-v...istory/0120982

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Newegg offering gift card with Xbox One controller, DualShock 4 purchase

September 12th, 2013, 00:03 Posted By: wraggster

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Infinity Ward keen to explore Kinect for Call of Duty

September 11th, 2013, 23:47 Posted By: wraggster

Infinity Ward is keen to explore how Kinect can work with future Call of Duty games, but its implementation in Call of Duty: Ghosts will be minimal, a rep from the studio has said.
Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin said at Gamescom that the Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Ghosts will utilise Kinect, but primarily for menu navigation.
"We're doing some stuff, [but] not really mentioning it yet," Rubin toldOXM. "It's mostly menu stuff, so you can work all the menus with Kinect - that's a big thing that Microsoft's pushing. We need to see where it goes before we jump into it."
Rubin said Infinity Ward is not interested in leading the way with the technology, preferring instead to see how Kinect is received by the rest of the industry.
"We've never really been the company that thinks it has to be first in the line for tech," he said.
"It's the tortoise and the hare thing, and we'd rather be the tortoise, take our time on the tech and make sure it's right."
Rubin said the studio had been experimenting with voice commands for Call of Duty: Ghosts, though he's not sure whether these experiments will appear in the final game.
Activision released a new campaign trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts overnight, showcasing the game's single player component. The game is set to release for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and PC on November 5. It will also launch alongside the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
According to US retailer GameStop, Ghosts is "on track" to becoming the most pre-ordered title in 2013, beating out Grand Theft Auto 5.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-call-of-duty/

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Diablo 3 demo released for Xbox 360 and PS3

September 11th, 2013, 23:36 Posted By: wraggster

Blizzard has released a playable demo for the console versions of Diablo 3, following the game's release last week.
The demo is available now via the PlayStation Store for PS3 and Xbox Live for Xbox 360 (exclusive to Gold subs for now), and weighs in at 1.2GB.
Players will be able to try out a restricted portion of Act 1 - up to the Skeleton King - playing as the Barbarian or Wizard classes.
Co-op gameplay with other demo players is also available. A level 9 cap is enforced and there's no matchmaking for public games.
All progress made in the demo will carry over to the full game should you make the jump.
Blizzard has confirmed plans to launch a PS4 version of Diablo 3 in 2014.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...x-360-and-ps3/

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Xbox: We wouldn't trade places with anyone

September 11th, 2013, 20:39 Posted By: wraggster

Speaking to Xbox executives is akin to interviewing politicans.
They are highly media trained, capable of spinning every answer into delivering their desired message.
The senior staff at Microsoft have all studied that detailed PR dossier, to make sure they are all reading from the same hymn sheet.
It can be frustrating, but it is also impressive. Xbox is a firm that is so meticulous in its planning that each interview, marketing campaign and press conference are all closely aligned.
Which is why the calamitous Xbox One unveiling was so surprising.
Conflicting interviews, undecided business policies and confused messaging upset gamers. The press turned on them. So Xbox cancelled E3 interviews (this is MCV’s first since Xbox One was announced), it ripped up that PR dossier. And started again.
This is why Gamescom became such a crucial show for Xbox – a show it didn’t even attend last year. With just over two months until launch, the company has finally set out its updated vision for its new console, and has teamed up with FIFA to try and combat the PS4 momentum.
It has tweaked its marketing, too. It has toned down the ‘all-in-one entertainment system’ messaging in favour of gamer-friendly rhetoric. The latest ad reads: ‘If you love gaming, this one’s for you.�
And, best of all, MCV has finally secured its first Xbox One interview with Xbox Europe VP Chris Lewis.

Do you feel that the overhaul you’ve made to Xbox One’s strategy has hurt its momentum?
No. And look, we remain true to our vision that we want to be wherever our consumers want us to be. We think that digital consumption patterns will change and grow over time. We think that the Cloud gives you a level of sophistication, depth and breadth that people can only dream of. And overtime more people will embrace that.
That said, we want to offer consumers choice, including physical discs and being able to do all the things that they want with those physical discs. We want to be available in any format that our consumers are looking for. We’ve always been very committed to consumer choice.

Why not stick with your strategy, and just try and educate consumers better on what it was you were trying to do?
As a business, the minute we don’t listen to our customers attentively, and adapt and react in an appropriate way, then we would be in a dangerous place. I love the fact that we are reactive and agile in that way. We remain true to our vision – digitally and physically – and we are genuinely in an enviable position versus anyone else in being able to deliver that. I wouldn’t trade places with anybody.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/xbox-...anyone/0120873

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FIFA 14 is better on next-gen as current machines have "hit the limit"

September 11th, 2013, 20:36 Posted By: wraggster

EA has made the FIFA series the very best it can be on Xbox 360 and PS3 and is relishing the technical advances afforded to it by the next-gen.
That’s according to series producer Nick Channon who toldOXM that the game’s commitment to maintaining 60 frames per second meant there was not much more it could do with the game under current hardware restrictions.
"For us it's just about using the power of the machine, in terms of much more processing power and significantly more memory, and using the power of the Ignite engine to bring all these things together," he stated
"So that we take those new advantages to create elements we probably wouldn't have been able to do before. If you look at where we are with Xbox 360, we're obviously very proud of the game we've made, it's another great game this year, but we're starting to hit the limit of memory, which means that we can't easily add lots of new animations.
"Those shackles, if you like, are being released on the new consoles, and we're very proud of the innovations we've made on 14 and we'll continue to do that on 15, 16 and beyond. We wouldn't restrict ourselves for any reason."
All of which means, Channon claims, that the upcoming Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game – which have been developed by an entirely different team to that which made the current-gen release – are the definitive version of FIFA 14.
"We introduced the Player Impact system [with FIFA 12], which is a physics-driven collision system," Channon continued. "What we can now do with the extra processing power is project into the future. It may sound silly but it's crucial because it gives players positional awareness.
"It allows them to be much more natural in how they interact. And there's no way we could do those kinds of complex calculations and maintain 60 frames a second on current generation consoles."

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/fifa-...-limit/0120877

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Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force tables available this fall

September 11th, 2013, 01:31 Posted By: wraggster

Zen Studios isn't done with Star Wars-branded pinball tables, announcing another three this morning for autumn. The "Balance of the Force" tables feature Darth Vader, Return of the Jedi (Endor) and Starfighter Assault tables. Sorry, Jar-Jar fans, still no lake city Naboo table.

Unlike previous tables from Zen, these tables are going to launch on (1+1+2+1...) a whole mess of platforms during the launch week. Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force will be available on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network for PS3 and Vita, Steam, Nintendo Wii U eShop, Apple and Mac App Stores, Google Play, Windows 8 and Kindle Fire HD.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/10/st...lable-this-fa/

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Microsoft confirms TGS line-up

September 11th, 2013, 01:22 Posted By: wraggster

Microsoft's Tokyo Game Show line-up will, subject to change, feature eight Xbox One games, 21 Xbox 360 titles, and Halo: Spartan Assault for Windows.
Below you'll find a list of what the platform holder will be showing off at TGS, which runs from September 19 to September 22.
[h=3]Xbox One titles:[/h]

• Titanfall - Electronic Arts
• Forza Motorsport 5 - Microsoft
• Ryse: Son of Rome - Microsoft
• Crimson Dragon - Microsoft
• Kinect Sports Rivals - Microsoft
• Max: The Curse of Brotherhood - Microsoft
• Killer Instinct - Microsoft
• FIFA 14 - EA

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Xbox One launch title gets total audio overhaul

September 10th, 2013, 23:57 Posted By: wraggster

Sound and music not up-to-spec for next-gen launch game, says Microsoft

An Xbox One launch title has had its audio completely redone after Microsoft Studios audio leads decided it was not up to standard.
Microsoft Studios audio director Paul Lipson let slip the comment during a discussion about how platform holders are handling sound production for the next generation.

“We did the full lobotomy,� he told the audience at Game Music Connect in London, which Develop was part of.
Lipson would not be drawn on which launch title specifically he was referring to, but emphasised that Microsoft’s internal audio team has had to step in to rescue the title.
Lipson’s job at Microsoft involves hiring and managing teams of composers and sound experts for its first-party studios and external third-party studios worldwide.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...audio-overhaul

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Microsoft tackles Xbox One vs PS4 performance "mis-information"

September 10th, 2013, 23:51 Posted By: wraggster

Xbox strategy boss Albert Penello takes to NeoGaf to affirm new console's specs

The PS4 will not have the performance advantage over Xbox One that many people seem to believe.
That’s according to Xbox strategy boss Albert Penello, who has taken to NeoGaf to correct what he calls some of the “mis-information� that has been poste don the internet.

Here are his technical points in full:
• 18 CU's vs. 12 CU's =/= 50% more performance. Multi-core processors have inherent inefficiency with more CU's, so it's simply incorrect to say 50% more GPU.
• Adding to that, each of our CU's is running 6% faster. It's not simply a 6% clock speed increase overall.


We have more memory bandwidth. 176gb/sec is peak on paper for GDDR5. Our peak on paper is 272gb/sec. (68gb/sec DDR3 + 204gb/sec on ESRAM). ESRAM can do read/write cycles simultaneously so I see this number mis-quoted.
• We have at least 10% more CPU. Not only a faster processor, but a better audio chip also offloading CPU cycles.
• We understand GPGPU and its importance very well. Microsoft invented Direct Compute, and have been using GPGPU in a shipping product since 2010 - it's called Kinect.
• Speaking of GPGPU - we have 3X the coherent bandwidth for GPGPU at 30gb/sec which significantly improves our ability for the CPU to efficiently read data generated by the GPU.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...is-information

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Titanfall dev not expecting to outsell Call of Duty

September 10th, 2013, 01:47 Posted By: wraggster

Respawn Entertainment co-founder Vince Zampella doesn't expect his new game, Titanfall, to outsell Call of Duty.
"It's a new brand," he said as he compared it to the dominant Activision-published FPS series he also helped create before his departure from Infinity Ward.
"You build up momentum over the years when you put out a new brand. It's starting over, so it won't sell as well [as Call of Duty]," he said in a recent radio interview, reports Gamespot.
"But for us it's kind of a passion project. We love it. It's something new," Zampella continued. "It's taking the old paradigm of these shooter games being very grounded and two-dimensional and now adding this verticality to it and making it something that's a new experience; something that people haven't seen before."
Zampella later confirmed that the multiplayer-only shooter will retail at $60 in North America.
The sci-fi shooter was officially announced at E3 in July. It went on to be named Best of Show at the E3 Game Critics Awards.
Titanfall will launch on Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC in spring 2014.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-call-of-duty/

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Xbox One's still-in-beta dashboard, multitasking previewed in video leak

September 10th, 2013, 00:05 Posted By: wraggster

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Is Grand Theft Auto V the most expensive game ever made?

September 9th, 2013, 23:12 Posted By: wraggster

Grand Theft Auto V – which is out NEXT WEEK, don’t forget – might be the most expensive game ever made.
That’s if the numbers from a report in The Scotsman are correct. It reckons that Rockstar’s game has a combined development and marketing budget of £170m.
In 2010 predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV was named by one report as the most expensive game ever made with a development budget of $100m (£63m).
However, most observers concur that Star Wars: The Old Republic has since surpassed this with a development budget of somewhere between $150m-$200m (£95m-£127m).
Without knowing how much of this supposed £170m figure accounts for marketing it’s impossible to draw any firm conclusions. It’s certainly true to say that Rockstar’s global marketing budget for the game will be absolutely colossal.
A triple-A blockbuster title will typically have a marketing budget of anything up to £4m in the UK alone.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/is-gr...r-made/0120742

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Call Of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer – a few series firsts and as slick as ever, but no g

September 9th, 2013, 21:20 Posted By: wraggster

Well that’s a first. Two firsts, in fact. We’ve never seen a canine killcam in an Infinity Ward Call Of Duty game, but here it is: someone’s faithful, four-legged companion just earned the final kill of the match, and it plays out in slow motion for all to see. More importantly, perhaps, the other first in this sequence is that the throat our furry teammate has sunk his teeth into belongs to a female soldier.The presence of soldiers of both sexes makes precisely zero difference to COD’s combat mechanically, but it belatedly arrives as part of an increased focus on cosmetic character customisation. The Create A Solider option on Ghosts’ lobby screen hybridises loadout adjustments with purely decorative tweaks, letting you change your soldier’s headgear, while also deliberating over what sidearm they’ll equip and which perks they’ll use in a modified version of Black Ops’ flexible Pick 10 system. As with last year’s game, the shift away from defined numbers of perks, grenades, and tactical equipment should allow for more freedom to experiment when creating soldiers – though during our hands-on we’re limited to the pre-built loadouts.It’s a significant change in that it waltzes right across the most recent dividing line in Infinity Ward and Treyarch’s approach to the series’ multiplayer, but in truth Ghosts’ combat feels distinct from Modern Warfare’s anyway. Or at least it does if you’re intimately familiar with the series’ combat rhythms – this remains a Call Of Duty game, after all, built on quick kills and the powerful incentive of strike package rewards.Streaks retain their prominence and importance, but they’ve been literally grounded in comparison to the aerial excesses of Infinity Ward’s last two games. There’s a genuine focus on ground-based equipment over sky-based assistance here. The ubiquitous UAV has been shot down for the last time, instead three kills earns you the right to place a satcom – a bulky satellite scanner – on the ground, whereas five points lets you ensure that singleplayer’s extensive canine motion capture sessions haven’t gone to waste.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/...-leap-forward/

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x360ce SVN r802

September 9th, 2013, 11:16 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

x360ce SVN r802 is compiled. Xbox 360 Controller Emulator (a wrapper library that translates the xinput calls to directinput calls) which allows your controller (GamePad, Joystick, Wheel, ...) to function like an Xbox 360 controller on a Windows PC. For example it allows you to play Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game with Logitech wheel.

x360ce SVN Changelog:
r802
hookcom for brothers and shank
---------------------
r801
Webservice and GameControl updated.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jgxogy

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Cxbx Reloaded Git (2013/09/08)

September 9th, 2013, 11:15 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Cxbx Reloaded Git (2013/09/08) is compiled. Cxbx Reloaded is a branch of Cxbx. Cxbx is an Xbox emulator for the Microsoft Windows operating system developed by a group of programmers led by a hacker named Caustik and written in the C++ programming language. Cxbx's goal is to convert a game from an Xbox executable to a native Windows executable.

Cxbx Reloaded Main Features:
* 64-bit support!
* Able to boot and get ingame in Turok Evolution, and Futurama.
* May work with other titles, I have not yet tested much outside of these.

Differences from mainline Cxbx:
* Corrected generation of SizeOfImage field in converted executables (Fixes 0xC000007b on Windows 64-bit)
* Partial emulation of the FS register without using the LDT (Allows Xbox games to execute on Windows 64-bit)

Cxbx Reloaded Git Changelog:
* Revert "Began setting up the structure for new core"
* Revert "Began creation of new wxWidgets user interface"
* Revert "Remove unneeded .suo file. [Yes more cleanup]"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/q09up5

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PPSSPP 360 0.91 Alpha

September 8th, 2013, 23:53 Posted By: wraggster

via http://emu-russia.net/en/

First version of Sony PSP emulator for Microsoft XBOX360 has been released.
File: Download
News source: http://ced2911.wordpress.com

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Mupen64-360 V0.993 Beta 2 (N64 Emulator)

September 8th, 2013, 22:55 Posted By: wraggster

A new version of the popular Nintendo 64 emulator for Xbox 360 has been released adding support for Corona and fixes USB issues.
New beta 2 of Mupen64-360 v0.993 emu for "hacked" Xbox 360. The main novelty here is the fix for some USB problems and Corona video support (Which was introduced in beta 1).

Here is the full changelog:

* Mupen64-360 v0.993 Beta2 *
http://www.libxenon.org/
Description
Mupen64-360 is a Nintendo64 emulator for the Xbox 360, it’s powered by libxenon and it’s a port of Wii64 (which itself was a port of Mupen64).
Usage
Unzip on USB sick, then run from Xell.
Many ROM formats are supported, zipped ROMs also work.
In the browser, the Back button changes the current drive, A selects, B goes to parent dir. Ingame, Back toggles Framerate limiting, and the Guide button quits to the browser.
Other controls are described in the emulator itself.
The browser background image is loaded from /mupen64-360/bg.png on the USB stick, other backgrounds are provided.
Options

• Controls (l->r):

Changes the way N64 directional controls are mapped to the 360 gamepad, from left to right. EG: Stick / D-Pad / C-buttons means N64 stick will be mapped on the 360 left stick, N64 D-pad on 360 D-pad, and N64 C-buttons on 360 right D-pad.

• Textures:

Changes the texture enhancement filter, depending on games, some filters will look better than others. Be aware than the highest settings can slowdown games a lot, or even crash them in some rare cases.

• CPU core:

Controls the speed/compatibility ratio, from fully featured dynarec to interpreter mode. ‘No linking’ and ‘No VM’ are new dynarec modes that can make some games work, while still running at playable speed.

• Framerate limiting:

When enabled, games won’t go faster than they would on a real N64. Can be toggled ingame with the Back button.
History
v0.993 BETA2:

• Fixes mount issues with USB devices (which caused nothing to work) My Bad! //Swizzy

v0.993 BETA: Recompilation with some ZLX and Libxenon fixes

• Supports Corona Video Output
• Better USB Drive/HDD Compatibility

v0.992 Beta: Almost a complete rewrite, notable changes:

• Moved to Mupen64 Plus core.
• Moved to Rice video plugin.
• Dynarec overhaul.
• Faster and way more compatible.
• More control over the speed/compatibility ratio (see ‘CPU core’ option)
• More texture enhancement filters.
• Basic controls remapping.
• GUI improvements.
• Built with recent libxenon/ZLX (more supported filesystems, less bugs, …)
• /! Use the Guide button to quit a game, Back toggles framerate limiting now.

v0.96 Beta: First binary release
Credits
Wii64 / Mupen64 teams (guess why)
GliGli (Xbox 360 port)
Ced2911 (GUI library)
Razkar (Backgrounds)
Everyone that contributed to libxenon…

http://team-xecuter.com/mupen64-360-...ta-2-released/

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C4E's LTU2 Firmware for all Liteon DG-16D4S !

September 8th, 2013, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster

C4E has listened to the many requests from users who have DG-16D4S drives and have no fw dump leaving them dead in the water. Until now.
From the nfo:

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