One thing we criticized in our Xperia Play review was the lack of games specifically adapted to the handheld's controls. So it's only fair to mention that a bevy of new titles is on the horizon -- some old, some new, but all optimized for this specific brand of button-mashing. Headline acts include Minecraft (a port we've already seen in action) as well as Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard and Battlefield Bad Company 2, both of which have both been accruing headshots on iOS devices for a while now. Hit the PR after the break for the full list of titles, but don't expect much in the way of pricing or availability. Those details will be announced at E3 next week, when the Xperia Play will have to compete for attention against the Sony NGP. Guess we'll patiently have to twiddle our thumbs until it's time to twiddle them with vigor.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/03/s...ed-for-xperia/ ...

Japan's traditionally reliable Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper has printed a handful of purported Project Café details ahead of Nintendo's grand unveiling at E3 next week.

The report, translated and summarised by Andriasang, largely mirrors earlier speculation that the device's controller will sport a six inch touch screen. The pad allows for "tablet-like" controls for games played on your TV but can also be used as a portable gaming device.

The controller also reportedly has a built-in rechargeable battery and a camera.

According to the paper, the console is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2012.

For more on what Nintendo's new machine might have in store, give Digital Foundry's recent rumour analysis a once-over, then set your alarm for 5.00pm next Tuesday.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...t-cafe-details ...

The Welcome Back extras promised to PlayStation Network users in the wake of April's massive security breach are available now, Sony has announced.

As explained last month, PlayStation 3 owners can claim any two of Dead Nation, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty and Wipeout HD + Fury.

PSP users can choose two from LittleBigPlanet (PSP), ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force and Killzone Liberation.

To claim your freebies, access the PlayStation Store from your XMB, click on the Welcome Back banner, select "PlayStation 3 free games", hit "Get now" and then make your choices.

If you own both systems, yes, you can claim four games in total.

You'll also be able to activate your 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership from the same menu.

Current PS Plus subscribers don't need to do anything to claim their 60 days free membership – it's been automatically credited to your account, with a further 10 days to be added in a few days time.

A number of free virtual items are available in PlayStation Home, and a selection of "on us" movies are available for rental free of charge this weekend where Video Service is available.

Finally, Music Unlimited Premium subscribers receive an additional 60 days of free premium membership. Any Music Unlimited free trial users affected by the outage get 30 days of service.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-now-available ...

Microsoft is working hard to improve 10-million selling motion sensing add-on Kinect so that the games you play feel and control better.

Improvements made by Microsoft to the way the Xbox 360 works with Kinect mean it will detect finger movement – and even pointing.

Eurogamer sources have indicated that gamers should see "pretty big improvements" in the short term via new software updates.

Improvements to face recognition, skeletal tracking and voice recognition are all planned.

Eurogamer understands Microsoft will soon announce that Kinect can detect voices in additional languages. Currently, it only understands English and a handful of other languages. An announcement may be made during Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference. 123Kinect.com reported today that Kinect Sports developer Rare will take to the stage next week for a demo that "will involve the voice aspect far more during gameplay".

It is not known whether this relates to Kinect Sports 2, which Eurogamer understands will be unveiled at E3, or Rare's secret second Kinect game, which Eurogamer exposed as being in the works last month.

Other rumours point to an E3 2011 announcement for a Xbox Live Diamond subscription.

According to Winrumors.com, Microsoft is working on a demo for E3 that would showcase "Project Orapa", discussed by Eurogamer this week.

Project Orapa is a codename for Microsoft's combination of Xbox Live and Mediaroom IPTV. If an Xbox app is planned, it could allow Xbox owners to control their TV settings, social networking, music and video with Kinect-fuelled gestures.

"Microsoft is currently in last minute negotiations to secure the necessary agreements in time," said a source. Microsoft plans to make Xbox Live Diamond available in November.

With regards Kinect, Eurogamer can reveal how Microsoft will improve its accuracy.

Currently, Kinect passes information to the Xbox 360 through a variety of streams. But Microsoft will soon allow developers to "turn off sound or depth", thus enabling Kinect to concentrate on sending a video feed, for example, of higher quality.

"If it had just have been a video feed from a camera, it would have been of really good quality," a Eurogamer source close to Kinect development said. "But the fact it's sending sound, depth and video is what tends to clog the bandwidth."

The Kinect camera outputs in 640x480, but the depth buffer is 320x240. Microsoft restricts the resolution of Kinect because of Xbox 360 USB limitations revealed by Eurogamer last year.

Most Xbox 360 games are 1280x720, but with Kinect outputting in 640x480, the video feed is smaller than the display picture, stretching it out.

"What people would ideally want is that it's at least 1:1 mapping," continued our source. "That's what they're working on. You can do Augmented Reality-type things, and if you want to just turn off the depth of the sound for a moment, then you can ask for the higher-quality video feed.

"Microsoft has been quite clever and canny in that they have put slightly more expensive pieces into the Kinect, which is why it's expensive, even though you can't access them immediately. But in software hopefully we'll be able to do this, now the PC people worked it out quite quick."

Improvements are also being made to the way Kinect tracks skeletons.

Currently, Kinect uses a 21 node skeleton to work out your movements. On every point it tells the Xbox, 'Here's the co-ordinate I believe the node is at, and here's how confident I am that it's there.'

For your hand, for example, Kinect sends through an X, Y and Z value, and says, for example, 'I'm 99 per cent sure.'

When you sit down, however, issues can arise. Kinect may say, 'Your knee is there, but I'm only 30 per cent sure it's there.' This presents problems to developers trying to work out if the information they are getting from Kinect is accurate.

"All the knees and ankles have always been a bit like it's semi-guessing," a source told Eurogamer. "But all those values are about to go up. They've been doing a lot of work on the seated position and said it will improve shortly with an update.

"If anyone thinks we're looking at fingers to see if you're pushing buttons, that would be really pointless. But if you were to hold your hand out and say, how many fingers am I holding up? Two, three, one, whatever... We're doing some work on it and it looks like you can do it.

"You can hold them out as well. If you point at the screen, you'll be able to work out whether you're pointing one finger or two fingers. The accuracy is actually pretty good.

"They're doing some improvements on their libraries. All game designers are just working out how better to recognise gestures, when to throw data away, and when data might be dirty. That's going to happen with the second wave of games."

The upshot of these improvements is a more accurate Kinect, and better games.

"Any Augmented Reality would look higher quality," Eurogamer was told. "The recognition on your body and gestures would be more accurate."
...

Global Xbox 360 sales have reached 55 million, Microsoft has announced.

Sales are accelerating, the console manufacturer said this afternoon.

"Xbox 360 maintains its lead in the US as the top selling console in 2011, and 10 of the past 11 months," said the company.

"In the first four months of 2011, Xbox 360 has seen a 29 per cent year over year increase in sales, which is more than triple the growth of PlayStation 3 and the largest growth of any console on the market."

Going by latest sales figures, the Xbox 360 is five million ahead of the PlayStation 3, which as of last month had sold 50 million consoles globally.

A record 14.3 million PS3s were sold during the 12 months to the end of March 2011.

Both consoles are, of course, some way behind Nintendo's Wii, which sold a whopping 86.01 million as of the end of March.

Meanwhile, Microsoft said there are now nearly 35 million active Xbox Live members worldwide, spending an average of almost 60 hours a month on the service. Cumulatively, Live members log 2.1 billion entertainment hours a month. That's three times as much video consumption compared to a year ago.

Kinect has sold more than 10 million units and the same number of Kinect games.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-to-55-million ...

OnLive has unveiled a host of new plans to push its cloud gaming service into more mainstream markets, including integrating its technology into Intel hardware, direct launching of games from Facebook and the release of a wireless universal controller for multiple platforms.

In the social space, from June 7, users will be able to launch games directly from Facebook, post Brag Clips of their performance, allow friends to spectate in high definition and leave comments on on pages.

"The OnLive Facebook integration is a watershed event for the videogame industry," said Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive.

"No one questions the massive appeal of social gaming, but before OnLive there was no frictionless way to integrate AAA core games into the global social network fabric. OnLive's Facebook integration not only achieves this, but OnLive's spectating, voice chat and Brag Clip videos add a media-rich social dimension unlike anything that as existed before."

No one questions the massive appeal of social gaming, but before OnLive there was no frictionless way to integrate AAA core games into the global social network
Steve Perlman, OnLive
OnLive is pushing the idea of high-end gaming anywhere, with Facebook and OnLive experiences supported on PC, Mac, tablets, TVs, and in the future smartphones, IPTV and set top boxes, blu-ray and other media players.

The company is also updating its SDK for content creators to incorporate social features such as cross-device spectating and voice chat at the development stage.

The streaming games service - which now boasts over 100 titles in its portfolio - is also teaming with Intel to offer access to high end games on any Intel hardware with the Atom Processor CE4100, including Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes, doing away with the need for the current MicroConsole TV adaptor.

Accompanying that announcement is the unveiling of a universal wireless controller, allowing users to play with one peripheral across multiple devices, and to better take advantage of games designed for a home console.

With the service already well underway in North America, OnLive has also confirmed an autumn roll-out of the games platform for the UK with other European regions to follow.

OnLive is also adding Disney Interactive titles to its line-up, including two games from defunct studio Black Rock, Pure and Split/Second.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-hardware-deal ...

Electronic Arts is to relaunch its EA Store download service as Origin, offering direct to consumer titles including forthcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic as a digital exclusive.

Central to the rebooted service are new social and sharing features, as well as offering limited edition content for EA and EA Partners titles.

"Origin is a game service with two fundamental features," said David DeMartini, senior vice president of Global Online at EA. "It's a download service for the very best content from EA and its partners.

"It also offers a social function which, over time, will connect a player's profile with friends lists and a cross-platform feed that shows what your friends are playing and where."

The move sheds light on CEO John Riccitiello's statements in May when he described EA as not just a content creator. "Increasingly, we see ourselves as a software platform every bit as much as we see ourselves as a content maker for other companies' platforms," he said during a call to investors.

As well as selling all key franchises such as Need for Speed and Battlefield, BioWare's next Star Wars game is likely to be the biggest draw to the service as EA snubs other forms of download such as Direct2Drive and market-leader Steam.

Users can sign up for the Origin beta, a desktop app that allows communication with friends and to digitally download and play PC games, and access to exclusive trailers and game content.

"This is our first step in the evolution of Origin, and in the weeks and months ahead we will look to enhance the features and services as well as an expanded range of content," said DeMartini. "From exclusive demos to full-game downloads, Origin is the place consumers will go for the best game experiences."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...bution-service ...

Nintendo has penned a North American deal which will see 3DS users able to connect to free wi-fi in 25,000 locations across the US, including shopping malls, stores and coffee houses.

Involved in the deal are 1000 Best Buy shops, 200 Simon malls and 24,000 AT&T wi-fi hotspots. Nintendo has yet to announce similar plans for the UK.

"With thousands of free Wi-Fi access points through our alliances, Nintendo 3DS users across the country can instantly enjoy one-of-a-kind entertainment experiences wherever and whenever they like," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime

"In addition to a strong line-up of games and the ability to view 3D content without special glasses, the system makes it easy for people to connect with their surroundings and each other, even when they're away from home."

The aim is to encourage the use of the 3DS' online features and facilitate downloads from the Nintendo eshop.

That electronic store opens on 6 June, one day before the wi-fi offer begins, and will offer 3DS owners a free Pokedex app which lists the collectible monsters in the popular series. However, besides the Pokedex, only four other new titles will be available: three Game Boy games in black and white and an updated, 3D version of Excitebike. 350 titles previously available via the DSi will also be onsale, as well as the 3DS' proprietary browser.

A minimum price of $1.99 has been set for paid for apps and games on the eshop, which manager David Wharton says is because Nintendo is interested in maintaining quality, rather than entering a "race to the bottom" of the market.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...o-us-3ds-users ...

Google announced on its blog that it is dropping support for Firefox 3.5, Internet Explorer 7 and Safari 3 from the 1st of August. In these older browsers you may have trouble using certain features in Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Docs and Google Sites, and eventually these apps may stop working entirely.

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/06...Older-Browsers ...