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by Published on May 16th, 2012 00:51- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
Complaints by Netflix's Reed Hastings and a handful of politicians must have rankled Comcast CTO Tony Werner, as he just posted a particularly detailed explanation of why Comcast believes the Xfinity TV app on the Xbox 360 isn't violating net neutrality. We'd previously heard the argument that the Xfinity app's traffic is simply being routed through Comcast's internal network and isn't the same as the Internet data of Netflix, but Werner now contends that the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) tags that some think are breaking FCC rules by favoring Xfinity video are really just necessary switches. They're not prioritizing traffic, they're setting it aside, the claim goes. Of course, Hastings and others believe that setting Xfinity video aside is prioritizing, and Comcast's point of view sidesteps the practical reality that watching Netflix, Amazon Instant Video or iTunes will lead you closer to that ever-present 250GB cap while Xfinity doesn't. The FCC during its rulemaking warned against special private services being used as end-runs around neutrality concerns; it's up to the agency to decide whether or not that's true here, or whether Comcast is just offering its usual service in a new way.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/15/c...lity-concerns/ ...by Published on May 16th, 2012 00:48- Categories:
- DCEmu
US social gamers are spending less per person, but playing more mid-core titles
The landscape of the social gaming world continues to change; more input from market research firm SuperData suggests that the average amount of revenue brought in from each gamer has been dropping, from $45.58 to $37.59 in the span of a year. This number might be dropping, but the firm does recognize that more and more gamers are paying for titles.
According to analyst Janelle Benjamin, games considered 'mid-core' are helping to drive business in a market expected to tip $1.8 billion by the end of the year in the US and $1.4 billion in Europe. By 2015 SuperData expects the global social game market (on social networks and mobile) to hit $13 billion. The mid-core games are pushing more and more players to pay, something close to 2.5 percent of social gamers. This is a marked increase over 1.4 percent from last year.
"Mid-core social games are clearly driving the current momentum," said Benjamin. "This emerging genre represents a different gaming demographic that spends substantially more."
The best performing games on the market remain shooter and strategy titles, notes Benjamin. The hardest hit games in the genre are from farming-type genres, much like FarmVille.
While an 18 percent drop in average sales per user might be cause for concern, the increase in paid conversion actually indicates a growth in overall revenues per title. Developers are seeing a wider swath of the market embracing paid titles, with many new players not spending as much as those who have embraced paid social games over the past year.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s-says-analyst
...by Published on May 16th, 2012 00:45- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
As Microsoft chases after its entertainment ambitions, it risks alienating those who made its platform a success, warns Johnny Minkley
Late April, 2005. The NDA was signed and delivered, and I was waiting for the call from the US. Having foolishly failed to remember the connector for capturing an audio feed, I relocated to a quiet corner of the office on a different floor and carefully laid out two analogue tape decks next to the phone to record the conversation via its external speaker, just to be sure.
An embarrassingly backward way to discuss the future of gaming, perhaps, but that was my set-up when the call came in from chief Xbox officer Robbie Bach, who was about to reveal the name and the direction of the second phase in Microsoft's 20 year gaming plan, a few weeks before the official announcement.
"Microsoft's desire to widen the appeal of Xbox beyond the hardcore is clear enough. But at what cost?"
I was reminded of this interview when I read this week of somerecent comments by Bach - now ex-box - reflecting on Xbox 360's stellar performance and how Microsoft ruthlessly capitalised on Sony's costly ball-fumbling with PlayStation 3.
"Some of the success of Xbox was due to the fact that Sony did some really not so smart things," Bach told a business audience in Seattle last week. "The transition to PlayStation 3 was really, really bad. And really hard. They mismanaged their partners, they mismanaged their cost structure. They made their next platform so complicated that developers couldn't develop for it."
At the same time, Bach recalled, Microsoft went on a full-blown charm offensive with key publishing partners, convincing them it wasn't in their best interests to continue to foster a market in which one format holder held all the cards.
It worked. And the likes of Activision and EA supported 360 "disproportionately to what they should have, mathematically." It also summed up Microsoft's early attitude to the games business.
The vast corporation had few friends and many doubters when it launched the original Xbox in 2001. As good as the hardware was, the company was forced to work tirelessly to win the hearts and minds of the trade and the core gaming audience so crucial to the platform's formative years.
This success-at-any-cost mindset ensured executives were far more open and approachable than the media had become accustomed to with Microsoft's lofty rivals. And for core gamers, it meant the HD experience out-of-the-blocks first, with a growing library of seriously impressive games and a best-in-class online service, making Sony appear flat-footed in its hubris.
Today, the global installed base for Xbox 360 sits officially at 67.2 million, particularly strong in the US and UK, and ahead of PS3 at 63.9m. The stuff, no doubt, of Bach and his colleagues' wildest dreams back in 2005.
But it's a position that also excludes the context of over 95 million Wiis sold, the steady rallying of PS3, and the explosion of smartphone, tablet and social network gaming.
"The vision of Kinect for gaming has remained beyond the frequently clumsy reality: nowhere more awkwardly underlined than with the canning of Peter Molyneux's Milo"
Microsoft's mantra at the dawn of this generation was "software and services", which has seen 360 steadily evolve to reveal the company's original, Trojan horse ambition of becoming the de facto entertainment hub of every household.
And this is where things may get a little sticky for Microsoft hereon in. Having fought and triumphed in a battle on a single front, it now finds itself embroiled in expensive skirmishes on all sides - with potential dangers in how it balances out its bets.
During that 2005 interview, I asked Bach why the console was called Xbox 360. Because it will "revolve around the gamer," he insisted. That was undoubtedly true in the beginning; but today an increasing number among its loyal gaming audience are doubting the sentiment.
Little by little, with the ad-and-entertainment heavy Metro dashboard, the relegation of games several tabs away, the burying of additional games content and the casting out of indie games into the digital wilderness, and the scrapping of Inside Xbox video content, Microsoft's desire to widen the appeal of Xbox beyond the hardcore is clear enough. But at what cost?
A gaming platform can no longer survive through the custom of core gamers alone. Kinect was Microsoft's great gamble to extend the life of 360 and capture the casual audience Nintendo engaged with so effortlessly. And, on the surface, it's been a roaring success.
Leaving little to chance, Microsoft staked a reported $500m on marketing Kinect and was rewarded with an astonishing 8 million sales in its first 60 days, making it the fastest-selling consumer electronics device in history.
It has the installed base, then, but do consumers still care about Kinect content? UK software sales suggest a dwindling of interest, with key first party-published titles such as Kinect Sports 2 shifting a third of what the original managed, and Dance Central 2 just a quarter.
Meanwhile, ...by Published on May 16th, 2012 00:41
EA has outlined the ways in which it intends to build upon the fantastic success of FIFA 12 with the freshly announced FIFA 13.
The game will deliver what EA describes as “the most sophisticated artificial intelligence ever achieved for the FIFA franchise”, with tech being shared between both the PC and console versions.
Players are now programmed to think two plays ahead and are able to alter or curve their runs to make the most of potential chances. They will also deliberately pull defenders out of position to free up space for runs from teammates.
Furthermore, none other than Lionel Messi is the inspiration behind “the most comprehensive and intuitive dribbling system ever developed”. Players will change direction faster with precise dribble touches and “true 360° mobility”.
1st Touch Controls have also been introduced, meaning that every player will no longer be graced with Matthew Le Tissier-like control when receiving the ball. Instead, a player’s touch will be dictated by their skill level “creating variety and uncertainty around ball control”.
Defensive pressure and the ball’s velocity and trajectory all now play a part in how well a pass will be received, opening up the game for defensive players.
The Player Impact Engine has also entered its second generation, while a brand new Tactical Free Kick system has also been introduced that allows for up to three players to use dummy runs to create more elaborate set pieces.
Defensively this makes a difference, too, with the opposing team able to creep the wall forward or select one player to charge the ball.
There are a host of improvements to career mode, too, while the EA Sports Football Club will play a bigger part than ever. Plus, the total number of licensed teams now exceeds 500.
FIFA 13 will be released on Xbox 360, PS3, Vita, Wii, PS2, 3DS, PSP and iOS. Interestingly, some sort of compatibility is also promised for Kienct and Move owners.
“We are perfecting the best sports game in the world with innovations that capture all the drama and unpredictability of real-world football,” FIFA 13’s executive producer David Rutter stated.
“These are game-changing innovations that will revolutionize our artificial intelligence, dribbling, ball control and collisions to create a true battle for possession across the entire pitch, and deliver freedom and creativity in attack.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/fifa-...nd-move/096055 ...by Published on May 16th, 2012 00:39- Categories:
- PS3 News
Sony’s multimedia credentials have been given a big boost this morning with news of a dedicated BBC Sport app heading to PS3 and connected Sony Bravia TVs.
The app will sit alongside the BBC News and BBC iPlayer apps on the Sony Entertainment Network and will launch in time for Wimbledon at the end of June.
Furthermore, the app will offer the BBC’s full suite of London Olympics 2012 coverage, with 2,500 hours of content spread across 24 simultaneous HD live streams.
“Launching this app to millions of PS3 owners in the UK will be a very welcome addition to PlayStation’s universal entertainment credentials,” SCE UK’s marketing director Alan Duncan stated.
Sony category development manager for Bavia Edd Uzzell added: “Televised sport is one of the biggest rating wins for broadcasters. This truly is a killer app and will provide a substantial amount of additional sporting content that you can’t get through the current broadcasting model.
“We strongly believe this will kick-start more widespread usage of the connected television offering, providing sport fans using the app with in-depth big-screen coverage of their favourite events. The app will also have extensive penetration in the UK thanks to its availability on PS3.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/bbc-s...via-tvs/096058 ...by Published on May 15th, 2012 23:00- Categories:
- DCEmu
A charity 5-A-Side football event held by HMV and sponsored by Microsoft has raised £19k for Teenage Cancer Trust.
Sony Music emerged as the winners of the tournament, having come from two goals down to topple runners up OMD 4-3. Sony Music’s Ryan Slack was named as the player of the tournament.
“HMV is, of course, also hugely obliged to Microsoft, whose sponsorship and on-the-day support helps to make this annual event possible,” an HMV statement read.
“Over the years its value to us must have amounted to the best part of £200,000. So huge and special thanks to them and to Samantha Earley and Marcus Toon in particular.”
Here’s the complete list of contributors to the event:
BBC Consumer Products (Greg Wilson), Bravado (Alex Mitchell), Faber (Clare Yates), House of Marley/HoMedics (Tim Joslin), Island Records (David Hawkes), Koch Media (Deane Punter/Steve Crisp),Libertine London (Will Wright/Emma Herridge), Lionsgate (Ben Grunbaum),MEDGE,Ministry of Sound(Rob Watson/Andy Pegler/Mark Findlay),Momentum Pictures (Rob Bentley/Neil Williams), Ninja Tune(Sam Upton/Darryl Defoe),Paramount Home Entertainment (Tony Glasscoe), Skullcandy (Henrik Anderson), Sony Music (Greg Lawton), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Mark Bowron), Teenage Cancer Trust (Laura Martin), Twentieth CenturyFox (Chris Shiels/Richard Kinney/Kate Longbottom)Universal Pictures (Martin Nichols), Warner Bros. (Sam Howes/Nik Leighton/Tracey Stewart) and Warner Music (Paul Reeve).
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/hmv-a...r-trust/096072 ...by Published on May 15th, 2012 22:57- Categories:
- PC News
Blizzard Entertainment says it is aware of a game-breaking bug in the newly released Diablo III.
The launch last night of Blizzard's long-awaited action-RPG went far from smoothly and was beset with connectivity issues, prevented from logging in or being arbitrarily logged out. Now several threads on Blizzard's Battle.net forums reveal a new issue, which appears to be game-breaking.
Players who trade items with a Templar early in the game are met with Error 3006, which boots them out of Battle.net and leaves them unable to log back in. A post from Takralus, a member of Blizzard's community team, confirms that a fix is in the works.
"We are aware of this issue and are working on a fix," Takralus writes. "The current workaround is to not give the Templar any gear until after you accept him as your follower through the UI pop-up."
Blizzard said this morning it was increasing server capacity, and had taken its Battle.net websites offline, to address the login issues at launch, and it appears those problems have subsided as the launch rush has settled down; it can only be hoped that it fixes this new issue in an equally timely fashion.
Our Diablo III review will be published later this week. In the meantime, we recommend PC Gamer's work-in-progress Diablo IIIreview, which is being regularly updated with reviewer Tom Francis' progress and impressions.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/diab...ing-error-3006 ...by Published on May 15th, 2012 22:53- Categories:
- PC News
"Anti-virus vendor Avira is having difficulty with an update of all their Premium customers. An update that has been downloaded over 70 million times is causing the 32-bit version of Windows to block almost all critical applications. Avira has responded promptly with an interim solution for this problem. In most cases this causes Windows to not boot properly.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/05...ndows-machines
...by Published on May 15th, 2012 22:48- Categories:
- PC News
Almost 12 years after the launch of its predecessor, Diablo III has now been released. The game went live last night with over 8,000 midnight launch parties across the world. 2,000,000 players showed up for the beta test prior to launch, including 300,000 concurrently during an open beta weekend, but even so, the login servers struggled for the first few hours after launch. Diablo III had been in the works for quite some time — another example of Blizzard's notoriously long development cycle — and game director Jay Wilson said it was in "polish mode" for the past two years. "One of our sayings internally is 'polish as you go.' We have a belief that when you put a feature in, you should prototype, but then after you prototype you should do the real thing, and you should polish it to shipping quality." For those of you who are familiar with this type of game, there's an official game guide in which you can browse class skills, items, and other game information. There are also YouTube videos showing how each of the classes work.
http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...o-iii-released
...by Published on May 15th, 2012 22:43- Categories:
- DCEmu
Royalties went unpaid for two years; No settlement reached as lawyer seeks full figure
Publishing giant Activision has paid a portion of its employees $42 million in long-delayed royalty payments for Modern Warfare 2, as part of a wider lawsuit between the company and development staff.
The lost bonuses were initially due after the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, which broke sales records when it launched in November 2009.
In 2010, as many as 38 development staff – known collectively as the Infinity Ward Employee Group – went on to sue Activision for unpaid royalty payments.
At the same time, and in a separate case, two of the studio’s directors – Vince Zampella and Jason West – launched a lawsuit against Activision, seeking various damages after the pair was dismissed for “insubordination”.
That lawsuit, which also incorporates EA, is still going ahead.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...vision-lawsuit
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