Category: Xbox 360

Get Early Access to the Next Xbox 360 Dashboard Update

Microsoft marketing guy Major Nelson has revealed details on the Xbox Live Update Preview Program, which grants select users early access to the next Xbox 360 dashboard update. Here’s the skinny from the Major:

I am happy to announce that we’re doing an Xbox 360 System Update Preview program for our next release, and the opportunity to sign up is now available. The Preview Program will give you the chance to check out ESPN on Xbox Live, Zune music, Netflix search, the new Xbox Live dashboard, and new updates to Zune video and Family Settings on your Xbox 360. Much like we did last year, you’ll need to visit the Microsoft Connect site from this link and sign in with your Windows Live ID that is connected to your Xbox Live Gamertag. Once you complete the survey that is presented to you, the Connect site will notify you immediately if you’ve been accepted.

Getting early updates is fun. Are any of you going to try your luck and register for the Xbox Live Update Preview Program?

Source

Milo & Kate for Xbox 360 Kinect Cancelled?

Gamers that want to have their very own white slave boy indentured servant for Xbox 360 Kinect will be disappointed in the rumor that Lionhead’s Milo & Kate has been cancelled. In late June, Microsoft Game Studios creative director Peter Molyneux assured that world that Milo was coming. Kotaku‘s sources said otherwise:

Fable developer Lionhead Studios’ ambitious Milo project for Xbox 360’s Kinect add-on may have finally been put to bed. Sources claiming to have knowledge of the tech demo’s development tell Kotaku that Project Milo has been effectively shut down.

That same source indicates that the technology that powered Project Milo — which has also been referred to as Milo & Kate — will live on in another form, a Kinect-enabled game based on the Fable franchise.

Although some of the tech in Milo & Kate is truly fascinating, the early versions of the game (if you can even call it that) didn’t really look like something that could provide hours of entertainment. Perhaps that’s what Lionhead discovered too. If the game has been cancelled then it will just add to Molyneux’s controversial reputation of over promising and under delivering. Whether that’s fair or not is another matter entirely.

What do you think of the latest Milo & Kate rumor? Are any of you disappointed? Or did you expect this to happen? Is Molyneux’s over-promising-and-under-delivering rep justified or undeserved?

Source

Vote For an October Xbox Live Deal of the Week

Microsoft is letting Xbox Live Gold members select an upcoming Xbox Live Deal of the Week. It’s a smart move that keeps the community involved and engaged. The choices include:

  • Deathspank for 33% off
  • Perfect Dark for 50% off
  • Assorted Dragon Age: Origins DLC discounts
  • Assorted Trials HD DLC discounts
  • Assorted Battlefield: Bad Company 2 discounts

I’m going to log in and vote for Dragon Age so that I can support the boys and girls at BioWare. What’s your vote going to be?

Source

Microsoft Says That Kinect Will Blow Away the Apple iPad

Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunoda believes that Kinect for Xbox 360 will “blow away” iPad launch sales. Either he genuinely believes that or he’s trying to outdo Aaron Greenberg’s prediction that Kinect will sell three-million units. Here’s what Tsunoda told Gamasutra:

The preorders have been really strong. As far as what we’re looking at for Holiday, this is going to be stuff that’ll blow away any of the sales you’ve seen with iPad.

I’m a big fan of Tsunoda. I loved his work on EA Sports’ Fight Night series. When the first Fight Night games were being made, Kudo and I were usually the only guys wearing shades indoors at videogame events. All those bonds aside, I’m going to give him this week’s Brian Fellow award for saying crazy sh*t. I just don’t see how Kinect’s launch will be more successful than the iPad’s (without the use of really creative math).

What do you think of Tsunoda’s words? Will Kinect have a more successful launch than the iPad? Or am I right to yell, “That’s crazy!!!” at Kudo’s quote?

Source

Today’s Poll: Will MS Sell 3-Million Kinect Units This Holiday?

In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Microsoft product director Aaron Greenburg said that the company expects to sell around three-million units of Kinect for Xbox 360 this holiday season. This is inline with Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter’s (incredibly broad) prediction. Here’s a passage from the excellent Gamasutra article:

“Our estimates that we will sell in excess of 3 million units this holiday,” The company is spending “hundreds of millions” of dollars in marketing, “exceeding in what we did when we launched the original Xbox 360,” says Greenberg.

What do you think? Is Microsoft being overly optimistic? Or will it sell that many Kinect units? Kindly vote in today’s poll and discuss.

[poll id=”69″]

Source

Ninja Gaiden 3 Revealed…With a Piece of Concept Art

At a private Tecmo-Koei dinner in Japan, Team Ninja’s Yosuke Hayashi unveiled Ninja Gaiden 3 with a piece of concept art. I love it! It reminds me of E3 meetings in the late ’90s when European developers would show me sketches of their game on a flip-book and bore me to tears about heady concepts that would never see the light of day. For some reason, when Team Ninja shows off concept art, I take it a bit more seriously.

Here’s what GamePro’s AJ Glasser had to say about the brief introduction to Ninja Gaiden 3:

The game is so early in development, the developer only showed journalists a piece of concept art. The image, however, defines both the new game’s direction and the new identity of Team Ninja.

Glasser also spills details on the upcoming Dead or Alive game for Nintendo 3DS. Kindly check out her article if you have a chance. Also, let me know if you’re interested in Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden games that aren’t created by Tomonobu Itagaki.

Source

Asura’s Wrath = Japanese God of War?

Journalists are already calling Capcom’s Asura’s Wrath the Japanese God of War. Certainly there are similarities. Okay, there are a ton of similarities, but will the developers at CyberConnect2 be able to successfully create a game that blends Western blood-and-guts with Japanese gameplay sensibilities? Check out the trailer above and cast your vote (please)!

Ninja Theory Developing New Devil May Cry Game

At a pre-Tokyo Game Show press event, Capcom announced that Ninja Theory (Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West) is developing the new Devil May Cry game. Check out the trailer above, let me know what you think about it, and — perhaps more importantly — let me know if you even still care about Devil May Cry.

Today’s Poll: Are You Buying Halo Reach This Week?

My friend Ted has been bugging me to add more polls, so take this! Obviously Halo Reach is the big game this week (certainly this month and possibly this year). What I really want to know is…are you gonna go my way? are you buying it this week? Kindly vote and discuss.

[poll id=”68″]