Tag: Xbox 360

Will Xbox Live Blow Up on Windows 8?

At Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference, the company revealed that Windows 8 will featuring heavy Xbox Live integration. Xbox Live functionality has already stepped out of the Xbox 360 through the Windows Phone mobile platform. With Windows 8, the service stands to get bigger than ever. Before I get into that, here’s the official word from Microsoft’s Major Nelson:

We are confirming that we will be bringing Xbox Live to the PC with Xbox Live on Windows. We are very excited about Xbox Live coming to Windows 8. Xbox Live brings your games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favorite Microsoft and Windows devices. Bringing Xbox Live to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy. At BUILD we are showing that it is easy for developers to create games for Windows 8 that take advantage of the power of Xbox Live. We have much more detail to share about the capabilities of Xbox Live on Windows and look forward to the opportunity to do so in the near future.

Xbox Live is one of the best features of Xbox 360 and a huge part of why the console has been so successful. Adding a substantial social layer to gaming and having games “live on” after players have stopped playing them is huge. When I first heard about these features way back in 2005, I knew they’d be killer. Having the social aspects of Xbox Live integrated into an operating system is a brilliant move that will almost definitely take the service to new heights.

A lot of you use social media services like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. They’re all great service, but none of them are integrated on the OS level. It takes effort to set up these services and to get the most out of them. Microsoft appears to be making Xbox Live on Window 8 easy as pie (preferably pecan). Being integrated into an upstart mobile OS like Windows Phone is one thing, but being integrated into what will be the most popular operating system on the market — one that will be used on desktop, laptop, and tablet computers — is tremendous. I believe the children are our future that being part of Windows 8 will increase Xbox Live use among existing users and help draw new players into the mix.

While I’m not too high on Windows 8 (yet), I’m loving the enormous potential of Xbox Live on Windows 8. What do you guys and gals think? Is it something you’d use? Do you think that OS-level integration will help the service blow up? Or am I just enamored with the potential and ignoring the realities of the concoction?

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

Everyone could use a few more god-killers in their lives. This week Sony is providing a double dose in God of War: Origins. This compilation contains HD remasters of Kratos’ adventures in Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta. I know that a few of you are hockey fans and not Canadian (very strange), so I imagine that NHL 12 is a big deal for you. White Knight Chronicles II isn’t getting the hype of the original, but it looks better in several areas. Lastly, Nintendo fans can get tripping with Bit.Trip Complete (Wii) and Bit.Trip Saga (3DS).

Anyone picking up new games this week?

Read My Driver: San Francisco Review (Please)!

My review of Driver: San Francisco is up at Machinima. The game was a pleasant surprise. Its main gimmick is “Shifting” — being able to hop from body to body. This allows you to experience San Francisco from different perspectives and different cars. The developers did a great job at implementing the gimmick in clever ways. Now here’s the part where I quote myself:

Aside from a story that is sometimes too silly and a difficulty too unforgiving, there’s not a lot to complain about in Driver: San Francisco. There are certainly a lot of things to love. The gorgeous graphics and entertaining gameplay definitely make the game a thrill ride. The strong multiplayer options will make you take the game for a spin well after the story is done. Driver and John Tanner are back, and they’re better than ever!

When I was playing the game for review last week, it was only reviewers and Europeans online. Now that the game is available in America, I’m hoping for a more robust multiplayer crowd…and less Europeans (I’m kidding!). The multiplayer modes in this game are lots of fun. Shifting adds a really cool dynamic.

Anyway, check out the review if you have a chance. I know that a few of you dig games like Burnout and Split/Second. If you’re part of that crowd then this game should be right up your alley. Driver: San Francisco offers exaggerated driving action with a unique gimmick that makes for driving sequences you won’t find in any other game.

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Indie Game Store Owner Goes Off on Call of Duty Elite

My pal Chett Muzzalupo, owner of independent game store L1 Games, recently posted a great rant that covers Call of Duty Elite, EA Sports Season Pass, digital distribution, and more. He makes some great points that I completely agree with. He also makes some points that are a bit exaggerated. Lastly, he also exhibits great taste by professing his love for Red Dwarf.

Given our recent discussion on the escalating cost(s) of games and our numerous discussions about digital distribution over the years, I wanted to make sure that you saw this video. And to be completely honest, I just like Chett. He’s a cool guy with a great voice.

Kindly watch the video when you get a chance and let me know what you think of Chett’s points.

This Week’s Videogame Releases

It’s September! Do you know what this means?!? It means that my birthday is soon…and a rush of great videogames is upon us! Insomniac’s Resistance 3 is sure to dazzle PlayStation 3 owners looking for some excellent action. Driver: San Francisco adds a Quantum Leap-like twist to this fine vehicular-action series. Dead Island drew people in with its hauntingly beautiful trailer, but will the kids be pleased with the final product? Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine features a marine in space…kind of like another console shooter. Fans of vampires — the bloody kind, not the sparkly kind — will want to check out BloodRayne: Betrayal. Out of all the sweet games being released this week, I’m looking forward to Disgaea 4 the most. Tactical RPGs rule!

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Pachter: Xbox 360 Price Cut Needed to Beat PS3

I love Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. In addition to videogames, we can talk about WWE and gaming United Airlines’ frequent flyer program. That’s pretty much all I know. I also love that he’s so quotable. He recently told Industry Gamers that Microsoft needs to slash the price of the Xbox 360 in order to beat Sony’s PlayStation 3 this holiday season. Here’s the deal:

If Microsoft does nothing, I think PS3 will outsell Xbox 360. However, my friends at Microsoft are extremely proud, and they absolutely refuse to tolerate the possibility that the PS3 will outsell the Xbox 360. I think they have the ads printed for the Xbox 360 price cut, and will drop them on us the instant they see PS3 sales greater than 360 sales.

I know that the lot of you are split on Pachter. Some of you are fans of his brazen predictions. Some of you would love for him to pipe down a bit. What do you think of his latest claim? Is Sony’s momentum with the PlayStation 3 something for Microsoft to be concerned about? Is an Xbox 360 price cut necessary in 2011?

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Radiant Silvergun Hitting XBLA in September

I know that I normally don’t post articles about release dates for a single game and I know that some of you feel that classic shooters all look the same, but this is Radiant Silvergun! Originally released in arcades and for the Sega Saturn, a lot of people think that this is the best shooter Treasure has ever made (and the company has made a bunch of great ones). I’m a mark for this game, Treasure, and the Sega Saturn, so I’m triply excited for this release. According to AndriaSang, it will hit Xbox Live Arcade on September 14, 2011. That’s the Japanese launch date. Hopefully the U.S. launch is within the same timeframe.

Are there any other Treasure marks out there looking forward to Radiant Silvergun on Xbox Live Arcade?

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I Want Quantum Conundrum Now!

I’m totally charmed by these screens of Square Enix’s Quantum Conundrum. This puzzle-platform game is being made by Airtight Games. Some of you know that Airtight’s creative director is Kim Swift, co-creator of the outstanding Portal…

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I’m totally charmed by these screens of Square Enix’s Quantum Conundrum. This puzzle-platform game is being made by Airtight Games. Some of you know that Airtight’s creative director is Kim Swift, co-creator of the outstanding Portal. Quantum Conundrum looks like a wonderful blend of creative gameplay and a cute art style. Here’s some info from the press release:

In Quantum Conundrum, players take on the role of a young kid dropped off on his uncle’s doorstep for the weekend; his uncle just so happens to be the brilliant, eccentric inventor, Professor Fitz Quadwrangle. Upon entering the Professor’s vast manor home retrofitted with crazy technology to test his latest hypotheses, players quickly realize their uncle has gone missing. Fortunately, players soon gain access to Professor Quadwrangle’s latest invention, the Inter-Dimensional Shift Device, which, at the press of a button, will shift the world around them to an entirely new dimension. In order to find him, players must use the newly found IDS Device to dynamically change the world to and from a variety of different dimensions to progress through the complicated Quadwrangle Manor. While on the journey, becoming adept at utilizing the various dimensions will help them trek from one bizarre and challenging room to the next. It might sound easy enough, but it is a tall order for a kid in a giant puzzle of a manor!

Sounds awesome, hey? Quantum Conundrum will be available for download in early 2012. It’s heading to PC (via Steam), PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live.

Anyone else psyched for this game?

This Week’s Videogame Releases

Are you ready for some (American) football?!? A bunch of you had fantasy drafts yesterday and are amped for the season to start. Why not increase the anticipation with some Madden NFL 12? If you’re more about guns than balls then you should keep an eye on Bodycount, the spiritual successor to the underrated Black. Looking for something more esoteric and Japanese? How about Cladun X2 from the excellent people at Nippon Ichi Software America? You can add some (scary) spice to your life and get in shape on the Wii with Get Fit with Mel B.

Anyone buying new games this week?

Same-Sex Marriage Confirmed For The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Bethesda vice president Pete Hines confirmed that there will be an option for same-sex marriage in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Replying to a fan on Twitter, Hines wrote, “Not making a huge deal out of it. You can marry anyone.” Some of you will recall that some BioWare fans were not pleased with the homosexual romance options in Dragon Age II. I’m curious to see if Skyrim will elicit a similar reaction.

I love that this is an option in the game. It is, after all, role-playing. I think it’s great that homosexual gamers have an option to play as a character that reflects their lifestyle. Same-sex marriages happen all over the world and it’s fantastic that a videogame reflects modern society. I’m sure Bethesda will get some unnecessary heat for having same-sex marriage in a videogame…and I’m sure a lot of it will be based on stupidity.

What do you think about same-sex marriages in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?

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