And just like that, it was all over. Shortly after the well-known, always-informative Major Nelsonannounced that this year's upcoming Xbox Live update had officially opened its beta doors to the public, he soon followed up with a note saying it was already "full and no longer accepting sign-ups." For the lucky ones, though, the public beta will give them early access to a slew of anticipated Xbox Livefeatures, such as personalized dashboard recommendations, improved category / discovery features and, best of all, a look at Internet Explorer on Microsoft's entertainment console. Sadly, Major Nelson didn't say whether or not there's going to be more spaces opening up soon, but we'll keep you in the loop if anything changes.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/26/m...e-public-beta/ ...

Samsung is having slightly better luck in Munich than it is here the US in its ongoing legal battle with Apple. The high court upheld a previous ruling that Cupertino's patent relating to "list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display" was invalid. The end result is that the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and Galaxy Nexus will stay on shelves in Germany, while Apple undoubtedly looks for a new avenue of attack against its primary competitor (one we presume will also be of the legal variety). The decision to deny an injunction against the 10.1N comes only two days after the same device passed a similar challenge in Dusseldorf, where the cosmetic design was the focus. Samsung was obviously pleased with the result, saying that it confirmed the company's position that its Android products did not infringe on Apple's IP. Cupertino, on the other hand, remained predictably silent. Of course, this war is far from over, and it's only a matter of time before a new ruling hands one of the two manufacturers another small victory.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/26/a...an-in-germany/
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MAME cabinets are simply awesome. They’re a great way to relive the stained and sticky fluorescent carpets, loud noises, and Neon signs and blacklights of old arcades. If there’s one problem with MAME cabinets, it’s that gaming has moved on from the quarter-eating cabinets of yesteryear. It simply doesn’t make sense to put Starcraft, TF2, or other popular games in an arcade cabinet.
[Dave] grew up playing Gauntlet in the arcade, but the various console ports never lived up to the experience of playing it with a joystick and buttons. When Diablo 3 came out, [Dave] knew what he had to do. He built a Diablo 3 arcade cabinet, fully playable and faithful to the dungeon crawlers of yore.
Thankfully, an old cabinet wasn’t gutted for this build; a month before the game came out, [Dave] picked up a few pieces of plywood and built himself an arcade cabinet. After applying some very nice graphics and installing buttons and a joystick, [Dave] had a fully functional Diablo arcade game that doesn’t even require quarters.
Recently, we’ve seen our share of builds that turn traditional game controls on their head, a trend we hope continues. You can check out [Dave]‘s demo video after the break.

http://hackaday.com/2012/07/26/diabl...me-apparently/ ...

[Jake von Slatt] is at it again; putting his own artistic spin on ordinary items. This time around it’s the glass on the back of an iPhone. It kept breaking and after a few replacements he wanted to try to replace the glass with a piece of etched brass. But part way through that experiment, he figured out how to use toner transfer to develop these stunning custom iPhone glass back plates.
The first step is to source the correct replacement back for your phone. These are made of two parts, the glass and a plastic backer. By carefully heating and wedging the two parts with some popsicle sticks he was able to separate the pieces. Next, he cleans and buffs the glass, preparing it for the artwork he is about to apply. Toner transfer paper, just like that used for PCB resist, is used to print and adhere a design to the underside of the glass. From there he hand paints over the black outline to achieve the results seen above.
It takes time and patience, but shouldn’t be any harder than etching a circuit board.


http://hackaday.com/2012/07/26/make-...ne-back-glass/ ...

Sony attributes overheating cases to users charging the device with a wet cable

Sony Computer Entertainment

Sony Computer Entertainment is a Japanese videogame company specialising in a variety of areas in the...

www.playstation.com


The Japanese government has ordered an investigation into the PlayStation Vita hardware following numerous complaints of overheating.
According to on the Japanese website Yomiuri Shimbun, via Wired, there have been 31 cases of Vita's overheating since the device launched: 23 in Japan, and 8 across the US, Europe and Australia.
An investigation into the matter will be conducted by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, an independent body working on behalf of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
A list of the cases, which occurred in various parts of Japan at various times, has been posted on several internet forums. The description suggests that the problem occurs while the Vita is charging, causing the charge cable to "burn out."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ation-in-japan
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A 20th anniversary edition of Kirby for the Wii has topped the Japanese chart, pushing the debut of Rune Factory 4 into second place.
The Kirby package features six classic Kirby titles and ten new minigames and sold just over 100,000 copies in its opening week, according to Enterbrain's figures.
The chart is studded with new entries, albeit from largely established IPs, with eight titles from the top ten hitting shelves for the first time last week.
All figures are for the week July 16 - 22 and are courtesy of Enterbrain, via Famitsu and Andriasang.

• [WII] 01. Kirby 20th Anniversary Special Collection (Nintendo, 07.19.2012): 100,396 (NEW)
• [3DS] 02. Rune Factory 4 (MAQL, 07.19.2012): 88,700 (NEW)
• [NDS] 03. Pokemon Black & White 2 (Pokemon, 06.23.2012): 81,879 (2,413,007)
• [PSP] 04. Digimon World Redigitize (Namco Bandai, 07.19.2012): 73,468 (NEW)
• [PS3] 05. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2012 (Konami, 07.19.2012): 63,346 (NEW)
• [3DS] 06. Taiko Drum Master Chibi Dragon and the Mysterious Orb (Bamco Nandai, 07.12.2012): 31,885 (95,273)
• [PSP] 07. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2012 (Konami, 07.19.2012): 26,465 (NEW)
• [PSP] 08. Warriors Orochi 2 Special (Tecmo Koei, 07.19.2012): 24,518 (NEW)
• [PSP] 09. New Class of Heroes (Acquire, 07.19.2012): 21,454 (NEW)
• [PSP] 10. Toki no Kizuna (Idea Factory, 07.19.2012): 15,390 (NEW)
• [PSV] 11. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2012 (Konami, 07.19.2012): 14,669 (NEW)
• [PSP] 12. Agarest Senki Mariage (Compile Heart, 07.19.2012): 13,976 (NEW)
• [3DS] 13. Little Battler eXperience Baku Boost (Level-5, 07.05.2012): 11,032 (86,114)
• [3DS] 14. Dragon Quest Monsters Terry's Wonderland 3D: (Square Enix, 05.31.2012) 10,228 (838,587)
• [PSP] 15. Felyne Puzzle (Capcom, 07.19.2012): 10,093 (NEW)
• [PSP] 16. Toriko Gourmet Survival 2 (Namco Bandai, 07.05.2012): 9,162 (68,624)
• [WII] 17. Mario Party 9 (Nintendo, 04.26.2012): 9,008 (486,178)
• [3DS] 18. Run For Money: Flee From the Strongest Hunters in History (Namco Bandai, 07.05.2012): 8,962 (40,919)
• [3DS] 19. Pocket Soccer League Calciobit (Nintendo, 07.12.2012): 8,142 (34,157)
• [WII] 20. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo, 06.25.2009): 6,872 (2,926,392)

• Nintendo 3DS: 44,202 (46,633)
• PlayStation 3: 16,232 (15,218)
• PlayStation Portable: 13,199 (11,170)
• PlayStation Vita: 10,103 (11,388)
• Wii: 8,729 (6,660)
• Xbox 360: 594 (686)
• Nintendo DSi: 545 (430)
• PlayStation 2: 414 (451)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...apanese-charts ...

Crytek producer Mike Read says Crysis 3 not 'ruled out' for a Wii U launch in the future

Crytek

www.crytek.com

Crysis 3 may still make it to Nintendo's new console one day. Crytek producer Mike Read says that the possibility has not been "ruled out." The developer had previously stated that there was "not a fat chance" that the game would come to the new platform.
"I wouldn't say there's no chance [for Crysis 3 on Wii U], I wouldn't say no chance," said Read to CVG. "I mean the Wii U still doesn't have any kind of release attached to it at this point.
"Who knows what the future will bring with it. I can definitely say that we are working with Nintendo, and that's about all I can say on that front."
Crysis and the CryEngine have long been associated with being powerful enough to stop even some of the best PC setups with its graphical requirements. With a possible launch to Wii U, the game would likely need to be scaled down from the upper echelon PC specs.
Crysis 3 launches on Xbox 360 and PS3 in February next year.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-u-says-crytek

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GDC Online Awards include nods to World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Sims Social and others
The Third Annual GDC Online Awards have posted nominations for games ranging from subscription MMOs to F2P social titles. The awards will honor the best connected online gaming titles from around the world in a ceremony that is adding more and more to the growth of the casual and connected gaming market.
Big nominees this year include Star Wars: The Old Republic, which garnered six nominations, as well as The Sims Social and Diablo III, which both netted multiple nods.
The Best Live Game and Best New Online Game represent the biggest awards of the night, which saw games like Rift, League of Legends, World of Warcraft and CityVille take nominations. In the Best New Online Game category, The Old Republic, Draw Something, Rage of Bahamut and others are to duke it out come October at the Game Developers Conference in Austin, Texas.
The full list of awards and nominees:
BEST SOCIAL NETWORK GAME: • CastleVille (Zynga Dallas) • Rage Of Bahamut (Cygames/Mobage) • Draw Something (OMGPOP/Zynga) • Empires & Allies (Zynga LA) • The Sims Social (Playfish) BEST AUDIO: • Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin) • Tribes: Ascend (Hi-Rez Studios) • Marvel: Avengers Alliance (Playdom/Disney) • Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment) • Indiana Jones Adventure World (Zynga Boston)
BEST ONLINE GAME DESIGN: • Glitch (Tiny Speck) • Realm of the Mad God (Wild Shadow Studios/Kabam w/Spry Fox) • Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin) • DragonVale (Backflip Studios) • Woodland Heroes (Row Sham Bow)
BEST ONLINE VISUAL ARTS: • Tera (Bluehole Studio/En Masse) • Empires & Allies (Zynga LA) • Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin) • Age of Empires Online (Robot Entertainment & Gas Powered Games) • Glitch (Tiny Speck)
ONLINE INNOVATION: • Journey (thatgamecompany) • Realm of the Mad God (Wild Shadow Studios/Kabam w/Spry Fox) • Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin) • DayZ Mod for ArmA II (Dean Hall/Bohemia Interactive) • Idle Worship (Idle Games)
BEST COMMUNITY RELATIONS: • World of WarCraft (Blizzard Entertainment) • League of Legends (Riot Games) • Solitaire Blitz (PopCap/EA) • World of Tanks (Wargaming.net Belarus) • Diamond Dash (Wooga) BEST ONLINE TECHNOLOGY: • Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment) • Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin) • Indiana Jones Adventure World (Zynga Boston) • Tera (Bluehole Studio/En Masse) • The Sims Social (Playfish)
BEST LIVE GAME: • League of Legends (Riot Games) • Rift (Trion Worlds) • CityVille (Zynga) • World of WarCraft (Blizzard Entertainment) • EVE Online (CCP Games) BEST NEW ONLINE GAME: • CastleVille (Zynga Dallas) • Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin) • DragonVale (Backflip Studios) • Draw Something (OMGPOP/Zynga) • Rage Of Bahamut (Cygames/Mobage)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-online-awards



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New controller from Apple similar to DualShock, will work with Apple TV

Apple

Established in 1976, Apple is a multinational corporation (corporate headquarters based in California)...

www.apple.com


Apple's move into gaming, however unpronounced, has taken a tiny step forward with a new patent. Apple's new patent filing shows a gaming controller that could very well give core gamers an alternative to touch-screen gaming and open the doors to developers to bring more sophisticated games to iOS.
The patent, which was published today after being filed in March, will link various devices such as iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and other Apple owned hardware. The patent shows "a schematic of a video game controller for the standalone media player of [an Apple TV] or a video game system." The controller will use Radio-frequency identification (RFID) and NFC tags to connect to the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.
The move shows that Apple is increasingly working on a way to break into the gaming industry at large, perhaps without bursting into the console market. This new controller could be seen as a competitor to the rising idea of platform-agnostic games, where developers hope that games will be the driving factor in getting gamers attached, not the platform itself.
Of course, this controller is by no means a reality, and like other patents, it's entirely possible that an actual product will never be borne from it.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ing-controller



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