via Eurogamer


Those of you playing FIFA Ultimate Team and following EA Sports on Twitter will know that the developer has been rolling out tweaks and fixes to its server infrastructure ever since FIFA 13 launched to try to solve issues with trading piles, watch lists and the auction house.

Well, according to a forum post from EA's community manager CHUBOI 7 in the early hours of the morning, there will be more maintenance this week as well as a title update for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 that two-footed tackles various bugs and connectivity issues.

Maintenance that took place yesterday should have successfully addressed stuck and missing items in the FUT watch list and trade pile, duplicate match results in Seasons and Online Friendlies and being relegated from Div 1 in Seasons with matches remaining.

There will also be more maintenance late tonight US time (early Friday UK) that will result in service downtime and will allow the developers to do some work on the FUT auction house, to change error messaging in the FUT Web and EA Sports Football Club apps, and to stop leaderboards displaying incorrect gamertags.

As for the title update, that's beginning to roll out now for the PC version and will follow for PS3 and Xbox 360 users "later this weekend". Here's the full list of tweaks for that:

• Connection stability in Online Seasons when finding an opponent in the Arena, and at kick-off.
• Career Mode freeze while starting a new career with free agents.
• Career Mode hangs when using Game Face.
• Stability in Career Mode when players retire or are being bought back from loan.
• Users will no longer be able to lower difficulty settings in a FUT Seasons match.
• Freeze in FUT Online Tournament HUB on PS3.
• Napoli of Serie A will now have fully authentic kits and crests in FIFA and FIFA Ultimate Team.
• Legacy defending and passing assistance options removed in Pro Clubs.
• Freeze in Pro Clubs Results screen.
• Matchmaking settings in Pro Clubs (with "ANY" and "Match Keeper") will provide the desired results.
• Changes made in National Squad not properly reflected in Manager Mode screen.
• (PC Only) Freeze while retrieving Hospitality Settings.

According to the forum post, FIFA 13 is responsible for "the largest amount of daily online play for any game in EA history". And that's not just me playing the Advanced Shooting Skill Game over and over again for ever and ever. ...

Microsoft has just revealed (via Major Nelson) that it's sold another 270,000 Xbox 360 units for the month of September in the US. Xbox 360 held 49 percent market share among current-gen consoles. This is the 21st consecutive month that Xbox 360 has maintained its lead as the top selling current-gen console in the US.
In a press release, Microsoft also noted that total retail spend on the Xbox 360 platform in September (hardware, software and accessories) reached $380 million, and consumers spent more on Xbox 360 products in September than they spent on the other two current-generation consoles combined.
The company is highly optimistic about its holiday prospects, with big titles arriving, like Forza Horizon, Dance Central 3, Fable: The Journey and, of course, Halo 4 (launching on Nov. 6). Beyond that, Microsoft believes it can make an impact with Internet Explorer for Xbox 360, Xbox for Windows 8, Xbox SmartGlass and Xbox Music.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ring-september ...

Microsoft's Xbox Music service will reportedly launch alongside Windows 8 on October 26, according to anonymous sources speaking with Polygon.

The service will supposedly provide both subscription-based and free ad-supported streaming music plans for Xbox 360, Windows 8 and Windows Phone users. Microsoft SkyDrive integration is also said to factor heavily into the service's functionality, allowing for synced playlists and music libraries across all supported devices.

These claims match an earlier report from last June, in which Bloombergclaimed that Xbox Music would launch with Spotify-like streaming options and cloud storage capabilities. Microsoft did state shortly thereafter that reports of it "launching a new music service on Xbox this fall are inaccurate," only todiscontinue certain Zune services the following month.

Personally, all we care about is whether we'll be able to use this new service to watch Girls' Generation videos, regardless of when it actually comes out.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/06/re...-supported-st/ ...

Amazon's Xbox 360 Entertainment Bundle includes an Xbox 360 4GB console, three months of Gold, a $10 Amazon credit, three Xbox Live Arcade games and an Xbox 360 media remote, all for the price of just the console, $229. That's a savings of $56 off list price.

The Arcade games shown in the promo image are Lode Runner, Snoopy Flying Ace and R-Type Dimensions. If these are all things you wanted, or even if you just wanted a 4GB Xbox 360 but happen to like free stuff, maybe give this bundle a chance.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...mo&pf_rd_t=201 ...

Electronic Arts took a victory lap over FIFA 13 saleslast week, but now that the title's launched in Europe, the publisher is taking another. EA today said that FIFA 13 sold more than 4.5 million games across all platforms and regions in its first five days on sale. The publisher added that makes it the biggest game launch of 2012, and the biggest sports game release of all time.
The soccer sim got off to a quick start, selling a franchise-best 353,000 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 copies in North America on its first day. That would be added to by the game's United Kingdom debut, which saw 1.23 million copies of FIFA sold in its first 48 hours. EA is also crediting the game as having the highest daily online activity in company history, with as many as 800,000 simultaneous players.
The series has grown considerably in recent years. FIFA Soccer 10 was similarly hailed by EA as the biggest sports game launch of all time, but it posted a first-week total of just 1.7 million copies sold. Last year's game sold 3.2 million copies on consoles, with another 890,000 on iOS.
FIFA 13 is now available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iOS, PlayStation Vita, 3DS, Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, and PSP. A Wii U version has been confirmed to launch alongside that system's November 18 debut.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...n-in-five-days ...

Microsoft forced Ensemble into turning RTS title into Halo game, says studio founder

Developers at Bungie were concerned Halo Wars was ‘whoring out’ its leading franchise, the founder of Ensemble has said.
Speaking to GII, Tony Goodman said the Age of Empires developer had never intended Halo Wars to be part of Microsoft’s leading franchise, but was forced by the console giant into adapting the RTS into the series.

He said that Microsoft was nervous about the risks of creating a completely new IP, and subsequently delayed the development of the game by more than a year whilst changes were made.
“Microsoft was pretty risk averse and they said, 'I don't know if we want to take the risk of creating strategy games on a console, we'd feel better if Halo were attached to it'," said Goodman.
"The difficult part of that was it took the game back about a year in development, and I think it never quite turned out the same. They just said, 'Why don't you just paint over what you have with Halo stuff?' But things aren't quite that simple.”

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...-the-franchise
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Xbox Live frontman Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson) took to his blog on Tuesday to announce that Dish and Verizon FiOS customers can now download the Fox Broadcast app for Xbox 360 to stream next-day Fox programming. In order to use this free app, you'll need a paid Xbox Live Gold subscription. In addition to keeping you up to date with recent episodes of Fringe and Family Guy, this new app also includes access to legacy series such as House and 24. Like most things Xbox, the Fox Broadcasting app features Kinect integration, because everything is "better with Kinect," right?
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/25/f...ers-with-dish/
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When two super soldiers square off, who will rise to the top? The age old question is about to be asked – and answered– this October. Danger Close™ Games, a studio of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), today announced that it is offering players an open multiplayer beta worldwide for Medal of Honor™ Warfighter. In this innovative multiplayer design, the most elite soldiers from 10 different nations go head-to-head to see who is top dog. Gamers can choose from among 12 Tier 1 units including the British SAS, German KSK, Russian Spetsnaz Alfa Group, Korean UDT and U.S. Navy SEAL as they represent their elite Special Forces online. Powered by the advanced technology of the Frostbite™ 2 game engine, Medal of Honor Warfighter is the only shooter that lets the best-of-the-best soldiers from around the world battle it out in multiplayer to determine who will reign supreme.

Fans who join the battle can help unlock the new Linkin Park “CASTLE OF GLASS” music video. EA will release the video five days after the beta launches but gamers can unlock it earlier by downloading the beta and hitting the three million download mark. Debuting this October, the concept for Linkin Park’s “CASTLE OF GLASS” music video is the result of direct collaboration between members of Linkin Park and Danger Close Games. Produced by Mothership with visual effects and animation by Digital Domain for Danger Close, the video will feature a unique mix of live action footage edited with gameplay recordings taken from Medal of Honor Warfighter. Gamers that download the beta will also be awarded with 60 minutes of Double XP when the full game launches.

The Medal of Honor Warfighter beta will feature a brand new multiplayer mode called HotSpot, where players attack and defend randomly-selected locations on the Sarajevo Stadium map in Bosnia. Inspired by real life operations, players team-up in pairs using the game’s unique co-op Fireteam system for a competitive advantage on the battlefield. The Medal of Honor Warfightermultiplayer beta will be available for a limited time in early October exclusively for the Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system.

Written by actual U.S. Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas, Medal of Honor Warfighter is set to deliver this year’s most authentic military shooter experience inspired by real people, real places and real operations. Medal of Honor Warfighter features genuine international hotspots in the single player campaign and introduces international Tier 1 Operators in multiplayer allowing players to show their national pride online.

Players that pre-order the Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition before the game launches on October 26 will receive the Medal of Honor Warfighter The Hunt Map Pack at no extra cost. Medal of Honor Warfighter will be available in the UK on October 26 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC. For more information on Medal of Honor Warfighter be sure to visit www.medalofhonor.com ...

Eurogamer Expo has announced that Xbox will be bringing a host of blockbuster games and experiences to this year's show.

Forza Horizon, Fable: The Journey, Gears of War: Judgment, Dance Central 3, Xbox LIVE Arcade and entertainment will all be available for visitors to sample on the show floor, in addition to the previously announced Halo 4 Infinity Multiplayer.
The Halo 4 partnership with Mountain Dew Energy will also come to life with the Mountain Dew Crew fuelling gamers and keeping energy levels up across the four days.

In the developer sessions auditorium, franchise development director Frank O'Connor from 343 Industries will open the show at midday on Thursday 27th September with a presentation of Halo 4, and then at 4pm on Friday 28th September Ralph Fulton from Playground Games will introduce Forza Horizon to attendees.

In addition, Gears of War: Judgment is playable for the first time in the UK, with the new multiplayer mode OverRun available for fans to try.

"Microsoft Studios’ line-up for the Eurogamer Expo is one of the strongest offerings from any publisher," said Eurogamer Managing Director Rupert Loman. "We're thrilled to offer so many heavyweight titles for gamers to play before release."
The Eurogamer Expo will be returning to London's Earls Court from 27th-30th September 2012 and is expected to welcome over 50,000 gamers.

This year's Eurogamer Expo promises more playable games than ever (including a large number of UK first-plays), our highest-profile developer session schedule, as well as a number of satellite events including the Games Industry Fair.

Tickets for Eurogamer Expo 2012 are now available atwww.eurogamerexpo.com.
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