Via Joystiq

Microsoft has officially revealed connectivity details about the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on. The accessory will connect via a USB cable, utilizing the Xbox 360's high definition video output and digital surround sound support. Microsoft did not reveal a price, instead opting for the ole' marketing spiel: "With HD DVD, it is now becoming evident that the entire ecosystem ... is more economical than Blu-ray." Ecosystem? Word? ...

Via Gizmodo

When the Beatles and Steve Jobs somehow both decided to call their companies Apple, someone would inevitably be singing the song “I’m a Loser.” In a court battle over whether iPods and iTunes will still be allowed to carry an Apple logo, a British judge ruled that Apple Computer has a store and a music player, and the music itself doesn’t have Apple logos on it, so there’s no harm, no foul.

Taking a conciliatory tone toward Apple Corps, the Beatles’ company, Apple CEO Steve Jobs held out the olive branch:


“We have always loved The Beatles, and hopefully we can now work together to get them on the iTunes Music Store.”

But former Beatles roadie and now Apple Corps manager Neil Aspinall was obviously not happy with the decision:

“With great respect to the trial judge, we consider he has reached the wrong conclusion…We will accordingly be filing an appeal…” ...

Via Gamespot

Buena Vista Games (BVG) today pulled the wraps off its lineup for this week's Entertainment Electronic Expo, calling it the "largest and most diverse" collection of games the Disney interactive entertainment division has ever shown at E3.

While many of the titles have been recently announced and promoted by the developer (four new puzzle games, the Desperate Housewives game), there are still a few surprises. The biggest title on the list, Turok, was confirmed to be underway a year ago, but hasn't been heard from since September, and even then it wasn't known what platforms would host the game. Now BVG has confirmed the story-driven first-person shooter is in development for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and set for a 2007 release.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 aren't the only next-gen consoles receiving attention from BVG. The publisher is also prepping a pair of games that will have versions appear on the Nintendo Wii as well. Disney's Meet the Robinsons and Disney's Chicken Little: Ace in Action will both appear on the Wii in addition to other current consoles. The full list of the company's announced lineup for the show follows below.

Game--Systems--Release Date

Turok--Xbox 360, PlayStation 3--2007
Lumines Plus--PlayStation 2--Fall 2006
Disney’s Meet The Robinsons--Wii, PS2, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance--2007
Disney’s Chicken Little: Ace in Action--Wii, PS2,DS--Fall 2006
Disney’s Kim Possible: What’s the Switch?--PS2--Fall 2006
Desperate Housewives: The Game--PC--Fall 2006
Spectrobes--DS--TBA
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest--PSP, DS, GBA--June 27, 2006
Lumines II--PSP--Fall 2006
Every Extend Extra--PSP--Fall 2006
Meteos: Disney Edition--DS--Fall 2006
Disney’s American Dragon: Jake Long, Attack of the Dark Dragon--DS--TBA
Disney’s Kim Possible: Global Gemini--DS--TBA
Hannah Montana--DS--TBA
That’s So Raven: Psychic on the Scene--DS--TBA
Disney’s The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure--DS--TBA
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Tipton Trouble--DS--TBA
The Cheetah Girls--GBA--TBA
Phil of the Future--GBA--TBA
W.I.T.C.H.--GBA--TBA

Buena Vista Games also has a pair of games being published by other companies and showcased in their booths. Cars, based on the Pixar film of the same name, will be shown in THQ's booth while Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow will be published by Bethesda Softworks ...

Via Gamespot

The dirt flies in Dean Takahashi's follow-up tome chronicling the efforts of software giant Microsoft to build on its success with the Xbox. The Xbox 360 Uncloaked: The Real Story Behind Microsoft's Next-Generation Video Game Console goes on sale today, and apart from it being an encyclopedic timeline of the building out and launching of the Xbox 360, there's a fair amount cheeky story telling, much of it confirming previous speculation, and much of it introducing previously unspoken anecdotes.

Takahashi is a staff writer at the San Jose Mercury News, with prior stints at Red Herring and The Wall Street Journal.

Most prominent among the speculation confirmed is the telling of Robbie Bach tasking J Allard with creating a gaming handheld to compliment the Xbox 360 home console. While the handheld initiative was later scuttled, Takahashi makes clear the steps Microsoft took toward portable gaming were real.

Takahashi writes: Microsoft needed a game machine that was small. Bach assigned J Allard to take on this “next big thing.” Doing so would make a huge statement that Microsoft was going to ship this iPod killer and that it would do it with the same precision planning that it had done with the Xbox 360. Allard would run the platform, handling the hardware, software, and services for the handheld. Bryan Lee, meanwhile, would become the chief financial officer for the entire Entertainment and Devices Group and run the handheld's business side. Peter Moore would take charge of the Xbox 360 and Windows games businesses, effectively replacing Bach in his old job.

Another anecdote concerns Allard losing a bet with Newsweek game and tech writer N'Gai Croal wherein J would have to wear a deadlocks wig for the entire month of May, 2006 (including on stage during the Microsoft press briefing at E3) based around J's disbelief that Sony could sell 10 million PSPs as quickly as it sold that number of PlayStation 2s--which it did, handily. ...

Via CVG

E3 wouldn't be E3 without the buzzing of rumours, passed on by people too impatient to wait for official announcements (that'll be all of us, then). The two most exciting that have tickled our ears thus far regard potential Xbox 360 exclusivity of psychological thriller Alan Wake, and a Wii-exclusive Star Wars game with lightsaber-style control via the, ah, Wii controller.

Alan Wake is a highly-tipped chiller from Max Payne developer Remedy. It promises Silent Hill-ish chills and a plotline about a haunted horror writer. It had previously been announced for next-generation consoles and PC, but gossips are now speculating that it's poised to be announced as a 360-exclusive game at E3 this week.

As for the Wii-exclusive Star Wars game, the rumour mongering is simply suggesting that the console's controller will deliver interactive lightsaber battles. But that's all you're getting. As we say, they're just rumours, but if there's any truth in them, rely on us to dish the details. ...

Via CVG

It's pretty much an open secret at this year's E3 that Microsoft uber developer Bungie will unveil Halo 3 to an eagerly salivating world, with the smart money now going on a video debut at Microsoft's conference on Tuesday, with the possibility of any playable demo action now distinctly receding.

Or is it? It seems Bungie may have more funky treats in store according to the latest word on the developer's web site.

Spurting info like hot chilli sauce, Bungie's very own Frankie says "As for our next project it continues apace. Lots of progress in every department, from UI to Animation to Engineering and of course, all the way back to audio. There are things to see in every department, some rough and ready and some astonishingly smooth, polished and even playable."

Note that 'even playable' pay off. Could we possibly see something at E3 this very week? Frankie doesn't exactly say, but there are hints that Bungie is desperate to unburden on something.

Frankie continues, "It's really making progress in an exciting and fascinating way. And I can't wait to share that with you properly. The level of secrecy is every bit as oppressive and confining for us as it is for you. Much, much bigger update next week. See you then." ...

Via Gamesindustry

Yuji Naka, the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and head of Sonic Team, has left SEGA to set up a new studio which will be partially funded by the publisher.

The studio has been named Prope - a Latin word which, according to the official website, means "beside" and "near future".

"We named our company Prope in the hopes of bringing game entertainment much closer to users, establishing closer ties between users and us, and creating near future entertainment," the website reveals.

SEGA will provide 10 per cent of the studio's startup capital, which is being launched as part of its program to support "Independent Game Creators." The publisher is also allowing Naka to take 10 members of Sonic Team with him.

There's no word on whether the move will affect the development of the first next-gen Sonic game, currently in the pipeline for PS3 and Xbox 360 under Naka's direction. Prope's first projects also have yet to be revealed. ...

Via Gamesindustry

Xbox 360 owners will be able to play and watch many of the games being shown off at E3 this week, with Microsoft and its third-party partners planning to make available several videos and demos from the show over Xbox Live.

The company plans to involve gamers around the world in its plans for the Los Angeles expo, by putting several of the playable demos and high definition gameplay videos which will be seen on the show floor up for download.

Among the titles which will be featured are a playable demo of Capcom's Lost Planet and a high definition video trailer of Epic's eagerly anticipated third person action title, Gears of War.

GamesIndustry.biz has also learned that there will be a demo of From Software's Sega-published mech action title Chromehounds on Xbox Live this week, as well as a playable - and likely to be multiplayer - demo of Atari's Test Drive Unlimited, featuring no fewer than 40 miles of road from the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Other games from which content will be featured on Xbox Live this week include THQ's MotoGP '06, Tecmo's Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2, Sega's next-gen Sonic the Hedgehog, Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and Microsoft's British-developed titles Viva Pinata (developed by Rare) and Crackdown (developed by Grand Theft Auto creator Dave Jones' Real Time Worlds studio). ...

Sierra Entertainment has announced the development of The Legend of SpyroTM A New Beginning, the latest installment to the 17 million-unit-selling Spyro® franchise, coming this Fall to the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® video game and entertainment system, Nintendo GameCubeTM, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo DSTM. The completely new Spyro adventure, featuring gameplay focused heavily on dynamic action and fast-paced combat, uncovers the true origin of Spyro the Dragon as he evolves into a living, breathing weapon of explosive destruction! This epic story of Spyro's quest to discover his roots and realize his destiny is amazingly brought to life by leading Hollywood voice-over cast members Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) as the new voice of Spyro; David Spade (The Benchwarmers) as Spyro's sidekick Sparx the dragonfly; and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black from the Harry Potter films) as Ignitus, the Fire Dragon Elder and Spyro's mentor.

In The Legend of Spyro A New Beginning, players will experience the awesome power of the purple dragon as they unleash devastating fury attacks, upgradeable breaths and ground-to-aerial melee combos in frenzied battles with hordes of menacing enemies and bone-chilling bosses. The action game also introduces a new dragon upgrade system, giving players the freedom to increase the power and variety of attacks to their liking. Developed by critically-acclaimed developers Krome Studios (console and Game Boy Advance) and Amaze Entertainment (Nintendo DS), The Legend of Spyro A New Beginning is scheduled to be released in October 2006.

"For the first time ever, The Legend of Spyro A New Beginning will reveal the origin of one of the most popular video game characters of all time," said Cindy Cook, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer for Vivendi Games. "With an entirely new game design centered on action and combat, coupled with a deep storyline that comes to life through the tremendous talent of our voice-over actors, The Legend of Spyro A New Beginning will deliver an explosive and exciting cinematic gameplay experience that Spyro fans and gamers of all ages will love."

The Legend of Spyro A New Beginning is scheduled to be available at retail in October 2006 for the PlayStation 2 system, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. For more information, please visit the game's official website at www.spyrothedragon.com. ...