This is supposedly video of somebody playing Geometry Wars on Project Natal. Emphasis on the supposedly, in case you missed the italics first time around.
A Destructoid reader reckons this was shot at a "Christmas Party", though that's where the information dries up. On the "could be" side of things, there's lag at several points, and even a freeze, both issues that are reportedly affecting early development for the camera.
On the "probably not" side, however, is the fact at several instances the movement of the guy's hands have no bearing whatsoever on what's happening on-screen.
Whichever the case may be, it's still an interesting look at how Natal has the potential to change the way you approach a game. Normally, Geometry Wars is a raw shooter, a seat-of-the-pants kind of affair. Combine it with Natal, though, and - provided that's how you'd actually control the game - it suddenly becomes a more synaesthetic experience, as you move from "player" to "conductor".
kotaku.com
EA has officially announced the new Medal of Honor game for release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. Simply called "Medal of Honor", the game is set in present-day Afghanistan and focuses on Tier 1 Operators - super army soldiers, in other words - who get involved in situations all around the world. "The development team has been working closely with Tier 1 Operators from the US Special Operations Community since the earliest stages of development to create the most authentic modern war experience," EA said in a press release. While EALA works to create a "best-in-class" single-player campaign, EA DICE will work on multiplayer. "When we first set out to reinvent Medal of Honor, we wanted to stay true to its roots of authenticity and respect for the soldier but bring it into today's war. The Tier 1 Operator is the most disciplined, deliberate and prepared warrior on the battlefield. He is a living, breathing, precision instrument of war," said Greg Goodrich, executive producer. "We are honoured to have the rare opportunity to work closely with these men to create a game that shares their experience." The packshot shows a bearded, sunglasses-wearing Tier 1 Operator clutching a rifle. The colour scheme - white shifting to black - suggests EA is aiming for a similar shades-of-grey approach to its great rival, Call of Duty, which "went modern" just over two years ago. The fact EA is targeting Medal of Honor for 2010 suggests that EA isn't leaving things to chance, mind you - following the release of Modern Warfare 2 last month, 2010 is an off year for Infinity Ward. EA Games' vice president Nick Earl made headlines last month when his internal comments about the projectleaked. He said it looked "simply stunning" in a mail to staff.
Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling has confirmed the first batch of Modern Warfare 2 DLC for spring 2010. "DLC is planned for the wonderfully vague time-frame of spring. I'll let you know when we know when it'll be done," he Tweeted, confirming reportsfrom earlier this year. As to what the DLC will bring, no one knows, although hackers did recently find code within the game for game-types Global Thermonuclear War (capture the nuke), One Flag (capture the flag) and VIP (protect/kill the VIP). Bowling has also previously said that Spec Ops DLC is an option Infinity Ward would "totally" consider. "So I mean, once the game is out we're going to take a little break and play with everybody and see what they want more of. I mean, if everybody's clamouring for more Spec Ops missions, that's something we're going to look at," he said.
Xbox 360 games could soon include a new system to give you tips and guides submitted by other gamers when you get stuck according to a Microsoft patent. Will Microsoft’s system for cheats, prosper? A patent for an Xbox 360 hint system submitted by Andre Vrignaud, Microsoft’s Director of Games Platform Strategy, revealed the plan to help gamers through tricky spots. If you find yourself stuck the game will pull up a list of hints and tips from a database. Developers would be able to create guides to include in games but the interesting part is that users would also be able to submit their own handy hints. The Wiki-style Xbox 360 hint system would allow players to capture screenshots and short video clips as well as adding annotations and audio commentary. To ensure that hints and tips from the game’s producers get the most attention, the system would give them a star rating and weight them higher than user-created content. The patent suggests the service could be included as part of Xbox Live but doesn’t mention whether it would be free or just available to Xbox Live Gold Members. The question is: how popular would the Xbox 360 hint system be? Games like Halo 3: ODST or Modern Warfare 2 are likely to get lots of hints, tips and guides but less well known titles could end up with sparse support.
It looks like Inifinty Ward have really outdone themselves.
Microsoft has distanced itself from reports last week on alleged launch details for Project Natal, claiming they "weren't accurate" and insisting there remain "a lot of things to get decided".
The comments came last night at the London launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360 autumn update, which launched today, bringing Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm and Zune Video Marketplace to Live users.
Asked if reports on pricing and shipments for its motion control technology were correct, Xbox UK boss Neil Thompson replied: "No. They weren't accurate, they were rumours. I've got nothing more to say about it."
Pressed on whether Microsoft had decided internally on pricing, he revealed: "We're still very much in the baking on Natal and there's a lot of things to get decided on it."
Reports claimed Microsoft was aiming to release the Natal camera next autumn at or below £50, with 14 games and five million units available on day one.
Speaking to Eurogamer at the same event, head of Europe Chris Lewis added: "Now you know better than to listen to that stuff! We will announce in good time."
But Lewis was keen to talk up the work going on behind the scenes. "As you can imagine, we've shared this technology with our worldwide development partners now for some time, and the pace with which they're developing the kind of experiences is just amazing," he said.
"I'm not going to be specific about what they might be, I will say however we're committed to ensure those experiences are unique, compelling and very exciting right from the outset. That has to happen and that will happen.
eurogamer.net
taken from Major Nelson
With the latest batch of new LIVE Features now available, we’re kicking off a few FREE LIVE Weekends so that Silver members can get a free trial of all the Xbox LIVE features.
During the free LIVE Weekends, all Xbox LIVE Silver members can enjoy: online multiplayer, Facebook, Twitter, Last.FM, Netflix, Sky Player, Halo Waypoint and 1 v 100*
Here is the schedule of when the freeness starts for Silver Members:
For all Xbox LIVE regions except those in Europe, Xbox LIVE Silver members will have free access from November 20th from 12n ET /9a PT /17:00 GMT until November 23rd from 12n ET /9a PT /17:00 GMT
For All European Xbox LIVE regions, Xbox LIVE Silver member will have free access from November 25th from 17:00 GMT until November 30th at 17:00 GMT
If you don’t have a free Xbox LIVE Gamertag, sign up for one now so you are ready for the weekend.
*Some features are only available in specific regions.
Xbox Live recently achieved a new milestone asCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launched recently. Apparently, roughly two million gamers were on XBL playing online at once, which is a new record for the service. This is truly a testament to the power of Modern Warfare 2. According to Major Nelson’s twitter, the XBL service set a new record recently. Apparently, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a beast of a game as it has managed to get two million gamers across the globe playing simultaneously on Xbox Live. That is roughly 20 percent of the total XBL population. There is no information as to how many players were online on the PS3’s PSN service. However, we do know that apparently the demand for COD:MW2 was much higher than Infinity Ward had anticipated. Infinity Ward confirmed that the studio had to add more servers to satisfy the demand for the PS3.
A hacker eager to reconnect modded Xbox 360sbanned by Microsoft in recent days may be on the verge of releasing a workaround. According to360Mods (by way of DailyTech), user 'c4eva' has shifted gears from developing Lite-on and Hitachi optical drive mods to creating a firmware rev that would allow modded Xbox 360s to bypass Microsoft's online security tests. Called iXtreme LT (for 'light touch') the mod's being designed to resemble the Xbox 360's standard firmware while performing minimal security checks. If successful, it would allow gamers with modded Xbox 360s to play custom-burned DVDs as well as illegal versions of games online without drawing Microsoft's eye. DailyTech initially reported the fix was available, then retracted the story and later published a revised version, noting "No ETA for fix, but modders are hard at work." Modifying an Xbox 360 isn't technically illegal, but using it to play pirated games is. Some gamers argue the modified systems are only used to create backups of legitimately purchased games, install alternative operating systems, or play DVDs from different regions, though given general piracy rates, it seems likely a majority use the mod chip to access pirated versions of games, or keep illegal copies of otherwise legitimate versions they've sold. It's still not exactly clear exactly how Microsoft's ban selection works or whether it only affects modded Xbox 360s whose owners actually engaged in illicit activities, but estimates of affected ranged from "a small percentage" of LIVE subscribers to a more significant 600,000 players on up to 1 million LIVE accounts, depending who you read. DailyTech's sources claim the ban blocks game installations to the hard drive and the Windows Media Player extender, corrupts save games and Gamertags, and disallows the console from accessing Xbox LIVE. Is it really just a matter of time before someone comes up with a workaround? Will we shortly be referring to Xbox 360s as either "stock" or "jailbroken"?
According to sources speaking with British trade site MCV, Microsoft's Project Natal will be released worldwide in November 2010, and may retail for under $80. The details apparently leaked during a round of developer visits in the UK, in which Microsoft toured studios showing off the technology. The same sources reckon 14 games will be available at launch, with 5 million cameras ready for sale on day 1, spread between standalone cameras and 360/Natal bundles. Most interesting of all, however, is word on the price Microsoft are hoping to charge, with an expected price of £50 in the UK, which is USD$80. One source, however, indicated Microsoft may go even cheaper in an effort to make Natal an "impulse buy", and price it as low as £30 (USD$50).
Considering that Sony’s rival online gaming service, the PlayStation Network, is completely free, it’s safe to assume the subscription-based Gold accounts of Microsoft’s Xbox Live aren’t perhaps as appealing as they once were.
Yet with rumours circulating that Xbox Live membership could yet become more expensive, the American software giant is making moves to spur consumer interest in its multimedia haven of videogame demos and downloads, trailers, movies and television shows.
More pointedly, Microsoft has launched an invitation-only incentive scheme called the Xbox Live Rewards Squad, which officially kicked off on November 02 and will run through to April of 2010.
Applicable to both cost-free Silver and paying Gold account holders – though more actively favouring Gold members – Microsoft has said it will dish out redeemable Microsoft Points (Xbox Live currency) for those Xbox 360 owners that perform specific business-boosting actions.
For example, a one-month Gold renewal will see members credited with a modest 10 Microsoft Points (for up to six monthly renewals and 60 Microsoft Points). Similarly, a three-month renewal will secure a payout of 30 Microsoft Points (for up to two renewals and 60 Microsoft Points).
Those willing to renew their Gold membership by a full 12 months will receive a more hefty 200 Microsoft Points. Sadly, lowly Silver members will get a big fat nothing if they choose to shell out the $49.99 USD required for a year of Gold access.
Plunging its reward roots deeper still, Microsoft will also dole out an initial 100 Microsoft Points to both Silver and Gold members making their very first purchase from the download store. The software giant will also provide Gold subscribers with a progressive points return of 1 percent of sustained purchases across a single month, 2 percent during a second, and as much as 5 percent for a period of up to six months.
As if that weren’t enough to inspire more sales on its Live service, 200 Microsoft Points will also be handed to subscribers prepared to embrace the Netflix streaming platform, and a further 100 Microsoft Points each time a user fills in a survey.
Microsoft has released an updated statement regarding the availability of the Sky Player on the Xbox 360 platform, noting that the service is now available to "100 per cent" of the platform's user base in the UK and Ireland.
The service originally launched ten days ago, but higher-than-expected demand caused it to buckle under the load, and a revised rollout was phased in a week later.
But now the company has confirmed that the TV and film content is available to everybody.
"As you may know we have been implementing a gradual rollout of the Sky Player on Xbox 360 service since our initial launch, and as of today, 100 per cent of the Xbox base can access Sky Player, and tens of thousands of new users are accessing the service daily," read the statement. "The quality of the service remains of the utmost importance to both Sky and Xbox, and as such we will run further testing over the weekend and continue to monitor the service closely."
