Tag Archives: Video games

Xbox.com is getting a facelift, Avatar customization & WP7 support on the way

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Xbox’s Major Nelson announced that Xbox.com will be undergoing a “massive facelift” tomorrow evening.  Besides the UI overhaul, the redesign promises to include support avatar customization and Windows Phone 7 games support.  Straight from the source:

  • Browser based Avatar editor: Edit your avatar and preview avatar items before purchase
  • Combined views for messages, friend and game requests
  • Improved notification of your account subscription
  • Leverage Family Reports to understand what your family is doing and how they are using LIVE
  • Play web games with your Xbox LIVE friends on the web or on Windows Phone 7
  • Marketplace: More powerful search and more intuitive ways to browse and filter

The website will be down for maintenance tomorrow, October 20 at 5PM ET and when it comes back you can expect to explore all these exciting new features.  For now, look in the gallery below for a sneek peek.

[Via MajorNelson]

Kinect’s launch portfolio includes 17 new games

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With the launch of Microsoft’s controller-less motion capture accessory Kinect for Xbox 360 just around the corner (it releases November 4, people!) Xbox’s Major Nelson has spilled the deets surrounding the sizable launch lineup.  Of the 17 new Kinect-enabled games, 4 of them come from Microsoft Game Studios and have that Wii-casual edge to them.  These include Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, Kinect Joy Ride, and Kinectimals.  Other notable launch titles includes Sonic Free Riders, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 The Videogame, Harmonix’s Dance Central, and Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.  Look after the break for the entire “portfolio” of games, including pricing (ranges from $39.99-$49.99) and release dates (all available during launch month).

[Via MajorNelson; Microsoft] Continue reading Kinect’s launch portfolio includes 17 new games →

Netflix goes disc-less on the Wii, too

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And just like that the trifecta is complete.  Netflix subscribers can now access their movie and TV show content on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3, and now Nintendo’s Wii, without inserting the instant streaming disc.  Sure you can’t access anything beyond your Instant Queue and there’s no HD/5.1 surround sound support, but Wii owners should rejoice in this step in the right direction.  Hop into the Wii Shop Channel to download the Netflix app to your Wii Menu for quick and easy access.

[Via Engadget]

DJ Hero 2 available today for all major consoles, retailers throw in limited-time extras

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DJ Hero 2, the Activision music game that features 83 original, exclusive mixes, is available for all wannabe amateur DJs today!  Let’s talk bundles.  The Party Bundle ($149.99) includes a copy of the game, two turntable controllers, and a microphone.  The Turntable Bundle ($99.99) includes a copy of the game and one turntable controller.  You can also purchase the standalone game ($59.99).  In addition to these bundles, retailers are offering limited-time extras.  If you purchase the game at Amazon between 10/17 & 10/23 you will receive a free copy of Linkin Park’s album A Thousand Suns; if you purchase the Party or Turntable Bundle at Best Buy you will receive a premium hard-shell turntable carrying case that converts to a performance-ready DJ stand; and if you get the Party Bundle for Xbox 360 or Wii at WalMart you will receive a free copy of the original DJ Hero.  Not bad, eh?  Look after the break for the full PR.

[Via DJ Hero; Engadget] Continue reading DJ Hero 2 available today for all major consoles, retailers throw in limited-time extras →

Stream Netflix in 1080p with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound on PS3, now disc-free!

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Are you a Netflix subscriber?  Do you own a PS3?  Well boy I have great news for you!  Starting this Monday, October 18 you will be able to access, manage, and play Netflix content from your PS3 without the (until now) necessary instant streaming disc.  Oh-ho-ho but there’s more.  Netflix on PS3 will allow for full HD 1080p playback and 5.1-channel surround sound.  Netflix has partnered with Dolby to support Dolby Digital Plus audio for selected content.  In addition to all this, the Netflix user experience on the gaming console has undegone a redesign.  Menu selection and browsing looks quick and intuitive, plus there’s the new option to search!  Nabbing the new version of Netflix on Monday is a snap; scroll over to the Video icon in the XMB and it’ll be sitting there waiting to be downloaded.  Look after the break for a brief video demonstration of the service.

Starting Monday, Netflix on PS3 will be the best way to stream Netflix on your TV.  No other Netflix-enabled box supports Netflix 1080p + Dolby 5.1 surround sound content…yet.

[Via PlayStationBlog; Engadget] Continue reading Stream Netflix in 1080p with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound on PS3, now disc-free! →

OnLive monthly fees go bye-bye

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OnLive, the gaming on-demand cloud-based service, is no longer requiring a monthy fee to access its features.  This is really great news, so great in fact I’ll allow Founder & CEO Steve Perlman to explain the sudden change in philosophy.

Of course, we’ve had a promotion waiving the monthly fee for the first year, so this announcement is confirming what we had hoped—that we can continue without a monthly fee beyond the first year. Although we wish we could have confirmed no monthly fee from the get-go, pioneering a major new video game paradigm is hard: we had to first grow to a large base of regular users before we could understand usage patterns and operating costs. Now that we’ve reached that stage, we can confidently say a monthly fee is not needed, which deserves a double WOOT! WOOT!

Woot woot, indeed.  The original plan was to waive the monthy fee for the first year, as Perlman explained, and then charge $4.95/month for the second year.  All that’s been scrapped.  Instant-play demos, massive spectating, brag clip videos, messaging, and friending are all absolutely free to access now.  The only time you’ll need to whip out a credit card is if you decide to buy a 3-day or 5-day PlayPass to stream a full game.  You may also decide to purchase a game for keeps.  All in all this is an exciting move forward for OnLive.  And coming this holiday season are the MicroConsole TV Adapters and OnLive Game Pad Controllers that promise to bring the games from the PC to the TV hassle-free.  So watcha waiting for?  Get your streamin’ on.

[Via Engadget; OnLive]

Cee-Lo’s “F–k You” rings true in 8-bit style

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Brendan Becker, aka InversePhase, is just like the rest of us.  He listened to Cee-Lo Green’s insanely catchy tune “F–K You” and couldn’t get it out of his head.  What makes him different, however, is his innate ability to transform the track into 8-bit bliss and come up with all new lyrics that follows the rocky relationship between the aging NES and fashionable Sega Genesis during the late 1980s.  The original song features Cee-Lo cursing out a girl who left him for a richer man; here it’s Nintendo gettin’ a little sumpthin’ off its chest.

[Via Wired]

Nostalgia alert: iPod nano gets crammed into a Dreamcast VMU

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Remember the old Visual Memory Unit, the Sega Dreamcast accessory that doubled as a memory card to save games and an auxiliary display during gameplay?  Well here it is with an new iPod nano stuffed inside.  Though it certainly took some effort power to properly align the 1.5 inch nano display and headphone port, doesn’t it look like the VMU was always destined to house an iPod?

[Via Engadget]

Nintendo 3DS to ship March 2011 in US, Wiimote with built-in MotionPlus coming soon

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Earlier this week at a company event in Japan, Nintendo revealed the release date and price of the Nintendo 3DS.  It will sell for ¥25,000 (about $299 USD) when it hits the Japanese market on February 26, 2011.  Not from Japan, huh?  Ninty only hinted at a US and Europe release date: March 2011; they did not disclose US pricing details, but several industry analysts are pegging a $249-$299 price point.  When it ships in Japan, the 3DS will be available in two color variants, aqua blue and cosmo black.  The portable game console will come bundled with a charging dock and a 2GB SD card.

At the company event Nintendo detailed a number of software enhancements.  The Mii Studio app magically transforms a still image of yourself (taken with one of the 3DS’ cameras) into a customizable Mii avatar.  The Mii Plaza app takes advantage of the 3DS’ ability to recognize other 3DS handhelds in close proximity.  Whether you’re actively playing a game or walking the streets with your 3DS in standby mode tucked away in a bag, the system will recognize and pull information from nearby 3DS users.  At any time you can hop into Mii Plaza to discover a growing community of Miis from all the 3DS owners you pass by throughout the day.  Similarly, a new wireless “tag mode” featured in the upcoming Super Streetfighter IV game will quietly seek out other 3DS owners to battle against.  A minigame will pit one of your in-game collectable action figures against a nearby opponent when your 3DS is in standyby mode; and standard wireless 3DS to 3DS battle royales with in-game characters is supported, too.  Other 3DS apps include a web browser, an ebook reader, notes, and support for augmented reality gaming.

Remaining loose ends.. The final 3DS hardware is very similar to what we saw at E3; the only noticable exterior change is that the analog nub no longer matches the handheld’s color scheme–it remains gray in each color variant.  The 3DS software lineup was shared in a brief video preview.  Upcoming titles include Animal Crossing 3DS, Mario Kart 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS, Paper Mario 3DS, Dead or Alive Dimensions, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, Resident Evil: Revelations, and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries.  It’s also been reported that Game Boy & Game Boy Color games are coming to the 3DS’ virtual console store.  Look after the break to see the software lineup video in addition to demonstrations of Mii Studio, wireless “tag mode”, and a 3DS introductory video–all in Japanese, of course!

On a separate topic, Nintendo also used the company event to formally announce the Wii Remote Plus.  It had been rumored for some time, but now it’s official: the Wii MotionPlus accessory (that grants greater 1:1 motion capability) will soon come permanently built into a Wiimote.  Nintendo showed off the newly redesigned controller in four colors, white, black, light blue, and pink.  Launch date and price have not been disclosed for any country.  Check ’em out in the gallery below.

[Via Engadget, here, here & here; Joystiq]

Continue reading Nintendo 3DS to ship March 2011 in US, Wiimote with built-in MotionPlus coming soon →

You can now watch 3D Blu-ray movies on PS3

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Yesterday PlayStation 3 system software update version 3.50 started to roll out to PS3 users, bringing with it 3D Blu-ray playback support.  Way back in February SCEA’s John Koller announced that the PS3 would receive 3D gaming and movies support.  It took four months to make good on the 3D gaming promise, and a bit longer to unleash 3D Blu-ray support.  Now that it’s here, fire up your PS3 and search for the new firmware update in the settings menu.  Remember, you need a 3D-compatible TV for the full effect (for any effect, for that matter).  In addition to 3D movie playback, version 3.5o also brings better Facebook integration and a new greif reporting function.

[Via PlayStationBlog]

Meet the Move Men

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To celebrate and promote the launch of PlayStation Move, Norwegian marketing agency Suddenly Oslo have dreamed up the Move Men.  Their mission?  To stalk you on Facebook, crash your party, and entice you to play a video game using the new PlayStation 3 motion peripherals.  Giz makes a good point; don’t these spherical fellas remind you of the creepy “Wii would like to play” dudes from the old Nintendo Wii commercials?

[Via Gizmodo]