Hey all,
we're done with GDC and have a podcast (shorty) from tuesday going up tommorow along with some general impressions and in-depth commentary of the event this weekend.   I was only able to attend for two days, and have been busting my hump catching up on work for the rest of the week, so sorry if this is a bit late

In the meantime, heres the video of me being kinda a jerk at the Microsoft Blogger Breakfast.    I tried my hardest to ask tough questions, and I think that this was a huge improvement for me personally (from a journalistic "being an asshat" standpoint) over last year.   What do you think?

I'm the guy in the knit cap.

Video: GDC 2007 Microsoft Blogger Breakfast

I don't normally post release dates for games.  Frankly, they're not usually announcements worthy of our time 'round these parts, but Bioshock is one of those games that has me absolutely falling all over myself with anticipation.  

Am I hyped?   Yeah.

This is why I've been lurking their community site over at CultOfRapture, where today the community manager flat out announced that Bioshock will be street legal on August 21st.    A little later than I hoped, but I won't complain -   Hey Irrational!  How bout letting us indie media in for a sneak peek?!

From the post:

BIOSHOCK STREET DATE IS AUGUST 21
February 28, 2007

The headline says it all: BioShock's street date is August 21st. That's a Tuesday, for all you who might be planning your "sick" days in advance.

Let the countdown begin!

It's an interesting thing.... Yesterday morning as I was perusing the latest XBL release info over at Major Nelson's site, one of the comments demanded the removal of Greg Canessa as GM of the Xbox Live Arcade.    Today, we find out he's decided to accept a job over at Popcap games.

For me, this brings up an interesting question - Is it more important to be a competant business man who has no real interest in games, beyond it being his business?  Or is it better to have a manager who understands the desires of gamers because, ultimately, he is one - even though he may be less experianced? 

The removal of Greg Canessa comes at an interesting time in the life of the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace - the last game I bought was Small Arms, and I havn't felt like I was missing out.   On my console I have every single game downloaded, but have only purchased maybe five.   Why?   Even though I'm a hardcore gamer who does enjoy his gamerscore, I despise the repackaging of "Retro" titles.   In gaming, people use the word "Retro" like a compliment. "Oh, Pacman?   It's Retro!"  when in reality, some games are just old.    I understand the merits of titles like Galaga or Pole Position, but the fact of the matter is: If you havn't already played Pole Position, and you're a gamer - then you're not going to appreciate it.   Oh sure, you might claim to, but ultimately you just get that funky taste in your mouth and think "Hrmm, Maybe I should have played this before playing Grand Turismo 4". 

The practice of porting Retro Games to modern consoles is nothing but lazy developing.   While Microsoft is bad, Nintendo is even worse - somebody made a rather insightful comment on the VM for the Wii

From a development standpoing Nintendo has actually only released five items for the VC- an NES emulator, a SNES emulator, a Genesis emulator, a TG-16 emulator, and a N64 emulator. The rest are just ROM images.

So when you think about it, Nintendo is actually being even lazier!  The ROMS have been out there for years, as have the emulators.    No added features at all "to preserve the original feel", and they're expensive to boot.     Don't even get me started on the controls for Super Mario World when using a Gamecube controller.... 

Which brings us back to Greg Canessa leaving his post as the General Manager of the Xbox Live Arcade...   I think what we're seeing here is either Greg or Microsoft (or both) realizing that your average executive just doesn't understand what we, the gamers, actually want.  And since We, the Gamers, are their entire market, it's a significant distinction.    Microsoft recently announced that starting this week (and for the next 9 weeks ), a mostly impressive list of titles will be hitting the XBLA including (but not limited to) Catan, Worms, Alien Hominid HD, Rootbeer Tapper, Paperboy, Band of Bugs,  and Castlevania: SOTN. 

First one out the gate?  Rootbeer Tapper.
The next day?  General Manager Greg Canessa no longer works for Microsoft.

About six months ago, I had a conversation with a friend within MS, and we got to talking about the way Arcade was being handled.   He told me that we (GamerAndy Live!) bagged on Arcade too much, and I said that when they started putting out games I didn't feel they should be embarrassed about charging real money for (Lame, overdone retro titles) that we'd say nice things about it.   He then told me that he agreed and there were alot of people within that division who were trying to push the original content out, but it was being stopped because some of the higher-ups had gotten it in their heads that you could produce retro titles very cheaply, and make money off the nostalgic gamers - Pretty much all profit.

Coincidence?

I think we're about to see a New Day for XBLA

-Andy
(Comment on this story here)

So much stuff.

Weeks like this, the hardest part isn't finding the news, it's elevating the cool from the merely exciting.  Major announcements left and right, gargantuan displays of corporate might, spectacular screwups.

More after the break...

Continue reading "Josh Talks The News"

Here’s a list of the more prominent titles shown at the Vista-centric Games For Windows event that took place in San Francisco this Monday.

Age of Conan
Shadowrun
Supreme Commander
World In Conflict
Hellgate: London
Crysis

I’m not mentioning the others, mostly because they are already released or alternatively, are minor puzzle games.  Browser entertainment stuff for the most part, like the new Vista version of Geometry Wars.  And of course, there were some systems just running Vista on its own, inviting users to take a few minutes to examine some of the new non-gaming features.

Continue reading "Let the Death Threats Begin: Josh Sees Vista Gaming, And Aint Much Impressed"

With the public launch of Vista steadily approaching (look at that, I said steadily!), one can only wonder if all of the fancy bells and whistles add to the operating system, or merely mask what lies within. It is with that thought process that we bring to you, the dear reader, an in-depth analysis of the operating system and the mysteries that lie within. Some of you might not survive, but for those who do, remember that the fallen gave up so that you might have a better future. And if that doesn't work for you, just consider Darwinism and you're all set.

In all seriousness, the Gamer Andy Lab will be employed to discover how Windows Vista runs on a multitude of setups. From ye olde 386s to a supercomputer with the graphics card of tomorrow, we'll have a performance rating and analysis for your specific rig.

So stay tuned and watch the updates, come Vista you just might find yourself in a sticky situation. And who knows, there might be some sort of giveaway attached as well; that's just how we roll.

Fanboys rejoice! The day of reckoning is upon us!
From the GamerScoreBlog:

Starting Monday, Dec. 4, visit http://www.halo3.com, those of you in North America will be able to register for the opportunity to be one of the select members to join the Halo 3 public beta program, scheduled to kick off in spring 2007. This is the first path of entry to participate in the program. Through the resulting feedback, Bungie Studios will be able to further refine and hone the end result of Halo 3.

UPDATE: Seems in a subsequent press release that there was some missed communciation. The beta will indeed be available for Europeans. Check out our follow-up story here.

Microsoft is worried, ladies and gents. Worried that people in Europe and America are getting things that they just shouldn't have. A fully fledged and quite well-stocked media marketplace simply should not be in the hands of the Europeans! And a demo (which is actually rather good) of Rainbow Six: Vegas should by no means be played by people in America before those in Europe!

In case you were unaware, you can become one of the chosen millions with access to this or that piece of content simply by creating an Xbox Live Silver account in another country. People based in the UK, for example, may want a US account to download South Park or some such show.

However, up to this point, it's all been above board with MS, who hadn't really spoken up about said problem. According to German site Xbox Archiv, a confidential plan was leaked to them, presumably via Microsoft. It has taken down the article since, and attempts to contact Microsoft's UK representative have been met with a stern "no comment."
While some people are put off by this account hogging (Gamertags are bloody hard to come by, though I think I had a lucky break with Refridgeron), it's more about contractual details between Microsoft and, say, Comedy Central. I think Eurogamer said it simplest.

Via Eurogamer

After two years of being number one, after two years of being the greatest multiplayer title out there for consoles, after two years of reigning supreme, and being the most played title on Xbox Live week after week...

Major Nelson brings us the news. Halo 2 has been dethroned. It is no longer the number one played title on Xbox Live. Gears of War is now champion. Gears of War is now king. This is truly a sign that Gears of War is the Xbox 360 killer app. that everyone hyped it up to be.

Please excuse me... as I go bury myself in tears... [Digg it!]

To coincide with the fifth anniversary of Halo, Bungie and Microsoft are planning big, big things: Firstly, and most importantly, a public beta of the multiplayer of Halo 3. That's right, come spring, you could be playing Halo 3. Also available will be new multiplayer maps for Halo 2 (although these are only for the 360 -- a chance to show off the graphical prowess that Halo 2 could handle?), and, come december, a 60-second ad for Halo 3 supposedly showing insight into the Master Chief's character.

Continue reading "Halo 3 - Shiny as Anything"

(Updated with Pricing after the Jump - Thanks to Tipsy McFragger from the forums)
Hey all,
Just got a call from Morgon (MyGamerCard.net) who is on-scene at the Xbox Showcase in New York right now where they just made a big announcement concerning the future of video content on XBL Marketplace

From the GamerScoreBlog article:

Wow, I honestly didn't see this one coming.... I'll post the full list of content (thats been revealed) after the jump, but the titles that really jump right out at me on the list are Robot Chicken, CSI and Southpark.... Mmm.....    

Full list and commentary after the jump

Continue reading "TV and Movie Coming to Xbox Live! (Updated)"

So, It looked like EA was out of the woods for a while.    If you're a reader of GA then you of course know about the whole "Hey you Gamer! come here!  See, I like you so much, i"m gonna sell you Need for Speed Carbon for the price of two games!  Great deal, eh?" debacle.   EA of course, sat through it all with the smug "I know you hate me, now go buy the game little zombie" look that gets them through incidents like this every day.

Microsoft on the other hand, chose to respond with their standard "If you don't like overpriced content, then don't buy it" stance.

Xbox.com's Trixie wrote in an article posted and then quickly pulled today the following words that make my heart both soar and cackle at the same time.

That is a DIRECT QUOTE off of xbox.com.... That was there for about an hour, and then promptly pulled.

While i'm sure Trixie is in a world of shit right now, I just want to emphasize that all of us here at GA are behind her and I personally applaud her honesty about how poorly EA is handling downloadable content.

Credit goes to Aeropause for catching this one

Hey Guys, last night I attended a MS Xbox Team Australia preview. I got a Hands on of Call of Duty 3, Viva Pinata, Sonic, Tony Hawks, FEAR, R6 Vegas, FIFA 07 and Ive got to say CoD3 is very impressive. The main event of the show was the Gears of War were we had a showing of the completed first level and the new trailer which hawkes points out below,and yeah i asked about a free demo no luck. I will update later with my full outlook of the event. O Yeah there were freebies too.

Continue reading "Call of Duty 3, Gears, Aussies {Update}"

Today Burger King announced that in conjunction with Microsoft they will be offering three games for $3.99 with purchase of a value meal. These games will star the fast-food chain's mascot "The King" and will be released with what can only be described as the best video game names EVER!               
"Pocket Bike Racer"
"Big Bumpin' "
and "Sneak King".

I know, I know.

"FINALLY" (pretty much what you're all thinking)

You've all been waiting for it and after years and years of setbacks and delays, it's finally here.



discussion of this momentous announcement after the jump.

Continue reading "Your daily dose of...WTF???"

Hey all,
Andy here with this mornings gaming update.... I've been way the hell too busy recently, and its nice to kick back and watch the good folks at Xbox.com do some of the legwork for us.... That said, if you're interested in watching the keynote address (I use the term loosely) at X06, you can tune into it over at the UK Xbox.com, where they'll be streaming it live.     No promises the feed stays up, but it should be an interesting ride.

I briefly talked with Major Nelson this morning, and he mentioned that he'd be trying to live-blog the event as much as possible, so if you have issues with the stream you might want to check out his site.

In my standard ear-to-ground protocol, I've picked up a few highly-unlikley-but-very-interesting rumors.

1)  There will be a new Halo 3 trailer + multiplayer game details revealed today (It goes on to mention something about 64 players
2) We're going to see Demos released for both the new Splinter Cell:Double Agent title (multiplayer) as well as Hawkes' favorite "Mass Effect"
3) Tons of HD-DVD details

Take the halo 3 stuff with a grain of salt, that wasn't the most reliable source to be hoenst......

-Andy

Xbox-Scene Reports:

"We received this image from a source who wishes to remain anonymous. An Xbox 360 motherboard with a HDMI-port, interesting... Our source has seen 3 of these motherboards already, so it looks like Microsoft might prepare a new Xbox 360 version with a HDMI-port... A digital output would certainly come as good news for those out there with new HDTV-sets and it could be pretty useful for the HD-DVD addon too, certainly if those movies will ever be HDCP-protected. However people who already paid $400 for their 360 might feel less happy if Microsoft releases this soon."

Speculation and technical discussion after the jump.

Continue reading "New 360s With HDMI Coming Soon?"

Next-Gen reports:

"Microsoft's policy seems to be, loosely, to put out original games with beautiful graphics and sparkling concepts, with simple enough play and big enough budgets to qualify as entertainment first, videogames second. The queue of "Japan-friendly" games soon to release is now quite formidable: Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Project Sylph, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Cry On (Mist Walker and cavia's positively brilliant-sounding action/adventure/RPG with Katamari / Shadow of the Colossus-esque elements), and the Gundam FPS by Dimps all look like spectacular games with texture and value. Trusty Bell, Namco and tri-Crescendo's RPG about the composer Chopin, will likely be very interesting as well, at the very least."

The full story is a good read for 360 fans, or anyone interested in the international gaming scene. My take is that the 360 won't see it's full potential (for failure or success) until the PS3 has its time in Japan. This isn't to say that Japanese gamers aren't buying the 360 because they're waiting to compare the consoles, but the launch titles and pricetag for the PS3 may be nothing compared to the discounted price of a 360 and the great Japanese titles out by that time. I honestly don't hold out any hope that the 360 will come out on top, or even in second, this generation in Japan, but I do think that Microsoft is starting to learn their lesson and their marketshare will get bigger in Japan, but it might just take the Xbox 720 before Microsoft's Japanese library of games catches up to the competitors'.

Game ON! (All over the globe!)
-Matt

Last Updated 12:04 AM Pacific Time - See Update 3 for conclusion
Well, I can't say I didn't see this coming, I had just hoped it would be farther into the lifecycle....

According to the official Xbox game page for the upcoming title Nintenty Nine Nights, this japanese import will require your XBox360 have a Hard Drive in order to play. We're currently waiting for comment from Microsoft on what could be the true beginning of a split install base and will update this post as news comes in.

On a personal note, I'm really hoping this is just some sort of screwup on xbox.com's part, but I have to wonder why they even have a "Hard Drive Required" info tab made up if this hasn't been planned for a while.
Update 1:
So it's looking more like this is some kind of screw-up, as the US product page (as opposed to the canadian) only shows "Storage Device". That said, Major Nelson emailed me last night that he was looking into it and i'm waiting for a response on that front... More info as it comes.

Update 2:
Just got another email from Major Nelson, he says lots of emails flying around trying to figure out what's going on - nobody seems to know anything, so expect more on that front soon. In other news, GamerAndy.com was the first site to break this story and theres a digg for it going around. However, theres a competing digg that links back to Joystiq (who got the story from us), so if you "digg" then support our digg and indie gaming news!

Update 3
According to Cesar over at GamerScoreBlog.com, it was a mix-up on the Xbox.com canada side. So false alarm: All ya'll who are rockin' the core can feel safe in the knowledge that you'll be able to kick some lots of random soldier ass with the rest of us
-Andy

I'm beginning to notice a trend with the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Promises are made, and promises are broken - I'm aware that things are sometimes said in the heat of development and that release dates slip, but honestly how many nights can we as Gamers spend waiting for a new demo or Arcade Game we've been promised, only to (10 minutes before the supposed release if we're lucky) have a note from the developer appear on the web saying something along the lines of "Sorry, game is still in testing". Honestly, i'm beginning to wonder if perhaps the overarching corporate strategy for Xbox Live Marketplace is to just announce all the things that are coming Soon(tm) and then hope nobody notices when they never materialize. No such thing as bad publicity, right?

For all the non-360 owners they just hear about all the stuff that's "coming to the marketplace", if you want to find all the "Where the heck is Street Fighter 2" forum threads, you gotta know where to look

So what's got me in a tizzy tonight? Full details of the Prey debacle after the jump

Continue reading "Release Dates from the Abyss..."

Halo 3

The third and final installment in what is arguably one of the single most popular and profitable franchises in entertainment history, hit e3 like a ton of bricks with the in-engine teaser that wrapped up the Microsoft Pre-E3 Press Conference. That was the good news. The bad news (well, at least the frustrating news) was that the trailer really only served to raise more questions than we can (knowing Bungie's past behavior) hope to have answered before the inevitable 2007 release.

I bring this up because theres a rather brief documentary on the making of the e3 unveiling up at the bungie website. I checked it out, and I gotta say this as a Halo fanboy - Wow. Some of the new angles are freaking incredible, I *CANNOT WAIT* to see how this engine and game in general matures over the next two years leading up to launch.

So Check it out It's a facinating couple of minutes.

In the haze that is the post-E3 hangover I thought I would take some time to write about a game which looks to be one of the best titles one the horizon for any system out there. BioShock is currently only slated to come out on the Xbox 360 and the PC, and is to be released some time in 2007. While that seems like a long time away the game is already looking absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Even at this early stage in developement I can attest to the fact that the Xbox 360 version of this game looks exactly like this screenshot.  (drools)....


More after the Jump...

Continue reading "I just got Bioshocked... and I liked it."

If you cannot handle Sony being bashed, don't follow the jump. If you cannot handle Nintendo recieving some criticism, go away. If you cannot handle Microsoft... umm... eh... being complimented? This is going to be extremely opinionated and in no way represents the opinions of the GamerAndy team... except I think most would agree with me... Yeah, just follow the jump.

Continue reading "The Xbot Speaks Out #1: E3"

Here it comes... Outward linkage...

Look to this post later on today for the list of XBLM's new E3 content.

First: Use your wireless controller on your Windows PC!
Second: 360's Memory Unit: From 64mb to 256mb? Yay!
Third: The Microsoft Wii Division: Moore and Nelson lead.
Fourth: Multiple downloads for Xbox Live at the same time! Finally...
Fifth: Microsoft gives IGN another console comparison with latest stats.
Sixth: Rockstar Vienna, responsible for Rockstar ports, shut down.
Seventh: Wii WiFi to stick to Friend Codes.
Eight: Wii peripherals, they look good...
Ninth: Kotaku makes Miyamoto justify the "Wii" name in 15 seconds!
Tenth: eBayer selling a PlayStation 3 for $2,000... Woo!
Eleventh: Kotaku puts Miyamoto in a torture chamber and gets results.
Twelfth: Miyamoto says maybe to Super Mario Bros. Galaxy as a launch title.
Thirteenth: Rainbow Six: Vegas E3 Demo footage. Amazing.
Fourteenth: Full Auto 2 E3 gameplay footage.
Fifteenth: Super Mario Galaxy E3 gameplay footage.
Sixteenth: Lost Planet E3 trailer: The true beginning to next generation. I promise.
Seventeenth: MGS4 + 360? Maybe.
Eighteenth: Gates' daughter will test Viva Pinata!
Nineteenth: Rumors say EGM says Nintendo Wii is $249!
Twentieth: Frame City Killer, cancelled! Noooo! Unnamed RPG taking its place.
Twenty-first: Incognito had 10 days, count 'em: 10, to make Warhawk tilt-compatible.
Twenty-second: Lovely Heavenly Sword footage.
Twenty-third: Robin Williams makes a Spore creature that can slap its own... well, you'll see.

Also read on for some interesting information about upcoming editorials about E3!

Full stories about everything and anything ahead...

Continue reading "Day 5: Tons of Stuff!"

I'm just out of the GOW sit down and this is what I have to say... FUCK YEA!!
This game is definetly a killer app. READ MY LIPS, "IF YOU HAVE A 360, this is the game to watch out for. This game is amazing, The camera (from what I could tell) seemed to work perfectly well. And Everything about this game just seems to scream high production values, and well thought out and intuative gameplay. At my behind closed doors meeting I was treated to a 4 on 4 deathmatch where I was, unfortionatly on the loosing team. Never the less I had an excellent time, and I just wanted to let all you fine folks out there in on the finer points Of Epic's Gears of War.

More after the jump

Continue reading "The war is upon us..."

Hey All,
I just got back from the Microsoft Press conference and let me tell you, Wow. That was really impressive. After the jump you'll find all my notes from the conference in their misspelled, unadultered state (which some of you will find useful for my in-the-moment impressions) and some of you will find disgusting (Because I really can't spell when i'm typing super fast)

Couple really key things to take away from this conference are as follows:

A) LIVE anywhere
This is the big enchilada, and I think the best thing that Microsoft talked about the entire press conference. For those of you who don't know what this means, basically Microsoft is revolutionizing the way they (and in turn we) think about gaming and media connectivity, as well as expanding the notion of the "Xbox Live Identity".

How?

By making it so you're Gamertag now carries over to not only your PC but also to your Cell phone! The example they gave during the conference was Forza 2:
You get a car in the Xbox 360 version of the game
You send the car to your computer, and you create a new paint job for it
You send the car to your cell phone and tweak and tune the finer workings of it, while at work.
You send the car back to your xbox360 (along with a challenge to your buddy Carl)
You get home and you play with your newly tweaked, freshly painted car over Xbox Live

Very cool.

Further more (and this ties into the XBLA topic) any content you buy from the marketplace (like arcade games) can be played on any of the platforms you own. So you download Zuma on your cell phone, but you can also download it (at no additional cost) to the xbox360 and the PC. Once again, Very Cool.

There is a HUGE market for cell phone interactivity.... If those Joke of the Day cell phone things make money, just imagine what playing Joust on your phone (with achievements that attach to your gamerscore) could do.
B) XBL Arcade Love
LOTS of games are coming to XBl arcade in the near future, I have a partial list (pulled from my notes) but additionally they mentioned that they've partnered with over a hundred independent developers to bring content to Xbox Live Arcade in the form of original, indie games. This makes Andy feel much love
PacMan
Contra
Frogger
Galaga
Sonic the Hedgehog
Defender
Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting
Time Pilot
Ultra Mortal Ckombat 3
Scramble
RallyX
Paperboy
Rootbeer Tapper
C) Gears of War
Oh man, we'll have hands on impressions with this beast tommorow but yeah... I'm floored by the quality of this game. They played a level from the beginning of the game and not only was it silky smooth (framerate) but INSANELY bloody. Blood was EVERYWHERE. yeah. Nuff said, for more "OMFG" see my notes after the jump

This was a really brief look at all this stuff, if you want the full scoop make sure you listen in tonight to our Live Broadcast over at allgames.com tonight at 7pm PST/10pm EST. Keep in mind, that number might change (as this is live and anything can, and will happen). And get involved! All the contributers are in the Chatroom during the broadcast answering questions and criticizing you for being stupid.

Alright, so thats it!

Oh yeah, they showed Halo 3 in-game teaser, and frankly it was pretty boring. More on that tonight

-Andy

Continue reading "Microsoft Pre-e3 Press Conference"

Hey everybody, Sherveen here... coming to you from a place that is totally not E3... Time to crank out the roundup machine in today's special edition of GNR: E3 edition! It's going to be a bit short, just because in all the Sony mess I lost all the links I had packed up for a huge missed-E3-news roundup. Here it comes...

Hate to link outwards for E3, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do...

First: Joystiq has hands-on with the PlayStation 3, my impressions of their impressions...
Second: For those who haven't seen it yet, the new games interface that Sony has shown...
Third: Exclusive E3 Rainbow Six: Vegas trailer over at TeamXbox.
[UPDATE]: Exclusive E3 Xbox 360 Rainbow Six: Vegas gameplay at IGN!
Fourth: A bit old, not E3, but still looks kind of cool. Call of Duty 3 trailer.
Fifth: Nintendo says something or another about the PS3 controller.
[Two (1 and 2) small updates about the PS3...]: Ken says that the PS3 is "Too Cheap", and GameSpot points out, Sony did not steal from Nintendo! They stole from Microsoft! Full stories after the jump...

But wait, that isn't all... after the jump, full stories as well as what to expect from Microsoft and Nintendo at today's conferences!

Continue reading "Day 2: What we missed for Day 1..."

Courtesy of TeamXbox.com!

Some exciting news from the front!

"It is our goal to bring E3 home to Xbox Live members as best we can, all the videos and the news as quickly as possible," vowed Peter. "We will give you the flavor of what's going on, on the show floor and some of the stuff that we are showing and debuting here."
Xbox.com then goes onto state that, "Xbox Live members should be able to play many of the demos that even the celebrities will be testing out at E3."

The best thing is that all Xbox owners with an Internet broadband connection will be able to check E3 firsthand, via their Xbox 360, as Verizon will sponsor a week of Free Xbox Live Gold during the expo.

That's right, E3 will be brought to you by Microsoft, straight to your homes! And, because Verizon is offering a free Xbox Live Gold week, EVERYONE who has an Xbox 360 and a broadband connection can go to E3 from their 360s! Even Silver members! This is it! This is the jackpot! Microsoft has hit the gold of providing premium goods through Xbox Live Marketplace!

Full pre-E3 Peter Moore interview, with some more of his pre-E3 thoughts, right here.

See you at E3, everybody!

Game on!

Hey all, these rumors have been tossed all over the internet - Read at your own risk.

-Xbox 360 Premium Pack price is going to drop $100 in October.
-Xbox 360 Core Pack price is going to drop $80 in October
-Gears of War is going to be released the last week of October with an huge marketing campaign at global scale.
-HD-DVD for the next month of September. Add-on that you can connect to the USB 2.0 port. It is going to be priced for $100
-New HardDisk Drive with 100GB of storage, price and date not specified.
-Webcam "My Eye on you", for the month of September with a price of $50 without game and $75 with a game.
-Xbox Backward compatibility list is going to be updated in June with 50 new titles
-The capacity of the Xbox Live Servers is going to be 5 times more than the actual servers
-Halo 3 is going to be in the market the next month of March, in E3 we are going to see the first videos.
-Possibility of an "urban game" that could be GTA. Microsoft is working on it and this isn´t a joke.
-A possible price drop in Xbox Live Gold or it is going to be free because they are going to get money with promotional advices.
-From the next month of October we are going to change some records in some games for "MSpoints".
-Paramount Pictures and Microsoft has anounced an agreement where Paramount is going to provide HD content to Xbox Live.
-NBC has signed with Microsoft for the possibility of see the online tournaments like an sports live retransmisión.
-Aliance between Epic and Microsoft for exclusive content in Xbox Live.
-Creation of a Dashboard for kids.
-A new service in june: Download and play.
-Rare is working in Kameo 2 since before the release of Kameo. Is going to come before than expected.
-MS is working for an upgraded friend list (until 200 contacts)
-Virtual Console with Sega games before the next month of October
-An spectacular upgrade in the number of Xbox Live Arcade games in the next months.
-New look for Dashboard.

Backtrack:
We found it on Neogaf who got it from Beyond3d who translated it off of... This spanish site originally

By John Shea

Continue reading "Full Spectrum Warrior:Ten Hammers Review"

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes here not with a rant, but some new news for you to digest:

Item One: DreamStation.CC has an interview with John Calhoun, the designer of "The Godfather" video game.

Had this pop into my inbox this morning:

Dear Gamer Andy,

My name is Chris Paladino and I am the Podcast Producer/Contributing Writer at DreamStation.cc, and I thought you guys may be interested in the recent The Godfather game coverage on our site.

Our latest episode of the DreamStation.cc Video Game Show podcast (Show #50) features an audio interview with John Calhoun, the designer of The Godfather game. The entire interview is two parts and will run over the course of two shows. The first part is located at the end of our latest show and next week's show #51 will feature the conclusion of the interview.

We also were invited to The Godfather Community Day at the Electronic Arts Studio located in Redwood City, California , last month and have coverage of it with photos and impressions of the game in the article located (here)

Any coverage of these two exclusive The Godfather features on DreamStation.cc would be appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Chris Paladino
Podcast Producer/Contributing Writer
DreamStation.cc

Now normally I don't pimp other websites, but I STILL listen to this podcast as its pretty damn funny, and has a guy who composes some pretty funny custom songs just for the show. Also their coverage of "The Godfather" was excellent, so I know this interview should be interesting.

Go for it

What's after the jump?

2) PSP Interface?

3) MS and Lionhead: In bed together.

4) Pac-Man and Galaga, Live Arcade Bound!

Continue reading "General News: 4/6/2006"

Morning Folks,
Welcome to what I like to call "omfg 101".... It's monday morning, and that 800 pound gorilla just sat right down on your desk to have a talk about you coming in saturday (a la Office Space). Now, I realize I'm not making too much sense now so instead of blabbering on, i'm just gonna do some mad quoting

In a bid to capture the huge audience for handheld entertainment gadgets, Microsoft is designing a product that combines video games, music and video in one handheld device, according to sources familiar with the project.

Yep folks, you heard it right. During his research for his upcoming book about the making of the Xbox360, Dean Takahashi has gotten MS to officially confirm that the fabled Xboy is "coming soon"

...Some other quotes

The handheld project is still in its early stages. Microsoft is still figuring out which strategy to pursue in music technology, according to sources familiar with the matter. The code name for its music service, which would be the equivalent of Apple's iTunes, is "Alexandria.''

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Lot to think about....

Discuss!
-Andy