Xbox Live Preps for GTA IV Server Riot
Xbox Scene :: Tuesday, April 29, 2008
From kotaku.com (http://kotaku.com/383885/xbox-live-preps-for-gta-iv-server-riot ): [QUOTE] Jump ahead to next week, we have GTA IV–a game that’s so big that–we’ll let Microsoft’s General Manager of LIVE Services Operations, Derek Ingalls explain that metric: “…we are preparing for a spike that could be much larger than what we saw with the launches of Halo 3 and Activision’s “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.” So how is Microsoft prepping Xbox LIVE for the not so metaphorical mass rioting that is GTA IV multiplayer? “Last holiday we weren’t properly prepared,” Ingalls admits. “So we are going the extra mile with Grand Theft Auto IV…” Yeah, that was total marketing speak. But it got your ears perked, didn’t it? “The biggest step we’ve taken is to add in more server hardware, which will expand the service’s capacity,” Ingalls explains to us through email. (PR had explained earlier that he was “obviously very busy” this week.) “We have actually doubled our capacity for concurrent users over the last 2 months.” [/QUOTE] Full Story kotaku.com (http://kotaku.com/383885/xbox-live-preps-for-gta-iv-server-riot )
Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) Review
Gaming Heaven :: Monday, April 28, 2008
The Grand Theft Auto series has been the jewel in Rockstars crown for a long time and the latest incarnation has been surrounded with unparalleled speculation for well over a year now. Surely no game to live up to this hype? Well once again it seems that Rockstar have proved us wrong, everything they touch truly does turn to gold because Grand Theft Auto 4 is quite possibly the best game I have ever played, period.
MotorStorm Review for Playstation 3 
RB Mods :: Monday, April 28, 2008
As the best selling Playstation 3 game as of February 2008, there was always a lot of hype surrounding this game. A less-than-typical racer, this game prefers off-road, muddy fun over serious, tight cornering track-based action. But how will it fare, and is its reputation deserved?
Europa Universalis: Rome
Driver Heaven :: Monday, April 28, 2008
Europa Universalis: Rome is the latest title in this long standing franchise and for the first time has a setting in ancient Rome. If you are new to the Europa Universalis series you will be pleasantly surprised to hear that it is much more than just another war game. There are however some game crushing bugs which will ruin it for many.
The game world is divided up into provinces, each of which is ruled by a religion, a culture and a national power. Each province provides tax revenue and manpower to build an infrastructure and to fund technological research. With the help of the tax funding, armies can also be raised. All the events play out in day to day real time so the game works as a RTS and as a very in depth strategic simulator. Obviously if you are a fan of simple and straightforward RTS games this will not be appealing.
Xbox Division Scores Profit
Xbox Scene :: Saturday, April 26, 2008
From next-gen.biz (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10165&Itemid=2 ): [QUOTE] Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division posted a healthy quarterly rise on Thursday thanks to strong Xbox 360 console sales, as the games business turned a profit for the third straight quarter. Revenues for ED&D were $1.58 billion for the quarter ended March 31, versus sales of $935 million for the same quarter a year prior, representing a 68 percent rise. Operating income for the division, which includes Xbox, PC games and the Zune media player, was $89 million, up from an operating loss of $324 million for the comparable quarter. As a whole, Microsoft posted sales of $14.45 billion with operating income of $4.41 billion, compared to $14.4 billion and $6.6 billion a year ago, respectively. [/QUOTE] Full Story: next-gen.biz (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10165&Itemid=2 )
Microsoft on GTA IV Leak: ‘Need to Look into this Further’
Xbox Scene :: Saturday, April 26, 2008
With the leak of the PAL version of GTA IV yesterday and the NTSC/U earlier today, here’s what Major Nelson told kotaku.com (http://kotaku.com/383534/microsoft-looking-into-early-gta-iv-players ): [QUOTE] A peek at Gamercard aggregator MyGamerCard.com reveals a long list of Xbox 360 users already racking up achievements on Grand Theft Auto IV since an illegal torrent of the game was leaked yesterday and early copies started showing up in people’s homes. Neither Rockstar nor Microsoft itself have yet responded to Kotaku’s requests for comment. Xbox Live’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, did say, however, that he was unable to comment yet due to the “need to look into this further,” so we can assume that Microsoft, at least, is investigating. [/QUOTE]
Xbox on Facebook
Xbox Scene :: Saturday, April 26, 2008
From Microsoft’s PR Blog (http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/04/23/558754.aspx ): [QUOTE] Do you like social networking sites where you can get poked, shot with super-powers, or asked to fight against Zombies in addition to being in touch with your friends? Well, have we got a treat for you! The Xbox has a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/xbox )! If you are on “the Facebook” you can sign up and become a fan of the Xbox, sign up for the newsletter, get some wallpapers, write on our wall, watch some videos, or join a discussion. Although I haven’t found it yet, but I think there’s some way to throw virtual water balloons (all in good fun of course) at our friends at the Sony Blog who also announced their Facebook page launch earlier today. I would like to apologize in advance as I may accidentally open up some transdimensional recursion portal when I post this to the blog because our Facebook page has an RSS feed of our blog posts which has a link to the Facebook page which has an RSS feed to our blog – oh no, it’s started already! [/QUOTE]
Xbox 360 Kiosks Bring Games and Entertainment to Children’s Hospitals
Xbox Scene :: Saturday, April 26, 2008
From the press release: [QUOTE] Microsoft Corp. today announced a new partnership with the Companions in Courage Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children and families who are overcoming life-threatening obstacles. As part of its commitment to providing fun, interactive entertainment for children, Microsoft is supplying hundreds of Xbox 360 game kiosks to playrooms in children’s hospitals across the United States, intended to provide a respite for young patients and be a catalyst for fun. In addition to select games, movies and television content, the Xbox 360 kiosks will provide access to a private network that allows hospitalized children across the country to play games and chat in a safety-enhanced environment over Xbox LIVE, the world’s largest social network connected to television. Microsoft is celebrating this partnership and the installation of the first wave of kiosks with three simultaneous events today at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center of Seattle and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County in California. Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft, will attend the Seattle event to commemorate the first group of Xbox 360 kiosks and the launch of the special Xbox LIVE network. [/QUOTE] Full Press Release: gamerscoreblog.com (http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/04/23/558746.aspx )
RockStar Scared of GTA IV Leak Before Launch – Monitors Play *Updated*
Xbox Scene :: Saturday, April 26, 2008
We received information this was sent to people who get GTA IV early… it seems like they are making sure that even if the game was leaked online prior launch (UPDATE: It seems that in meantime the Xbox360 PAL version of the game leaked online …) it will not be usable online and achievements will stay hidden: [QUOTE] Xbox 360 Version: We need your Gamertag because Microsoft will be helping Rockstar Games monitor access to the online modes up to release date. Because of this, we will need to add your Gamertag to the approved list of gamers who can play online prior to release. In addition to supplying this information, if you do intend to go online before April 29th, you will need to change a couple of the basic settings on your Xbox 360 and keep these settings like this till the game comes out, otherwise other people will be able to see your achievements list for GTA IV (even if you are playing another game) and we’d like to keep that information back for the fans. You will have to switch your profile to private and appear off line. We have attached a document that explains exactly how you do this just in case. PS3 Version: There are no privacy settings that can be set on the PS3 but we will still be tracking who is going on line so again it will make it easier for us to identify you as a genuine user if we have your ID. [/QUOTE]
AcidMods Spit Fire Controller Mod
Xbox Scene :: Saturday, April 26, 2008
Dubbed the spitfire 360 controller acidmods (http://www.acidmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=17385.0 ) has chipped 360 controllers to accept programmed chips to aid you and make games between friends a bit more fun. They can be programmed to turn a pistol into a semi automatic or to hit those mad long combos you could never master or possibly to make for some interesting high scores: [QUOTE] This mod is fairly simple to do but it will be lengthy. Setting up the controller to accept pre programmed chips is not hard but there are many components to solder and lots of wires. Luckily Microsoft has given us plenty of space to work with.. Please if you do this mod be considerate and do not use this controller for online matches as it will give you a huge advantage with “Insta Kills”. AcidMods in no way condones cheating or unfair advantages with that being said lets proceed to part one of this lengthy mod. Warning!!!! Using this Mod for Online Multiplayer is Cheating and will get your Xbox Banned!!! All though this mod is undetectable using it against other players with out there knowledge will get you bad feed back and will result in a banned account. Only use this mod in Privite games with friends who know you are using it or playing alone in campaingns. Part one of this mod deals with setting up the socket so you can swap out chips for each game. Since the chips only have so much space to work with and it would be a pain for people to cycle through hundreds of different setups we will limit the macros to five per chip. That means you will have a chip for Halo a chip for Gears of War Etc… [/QUOTE] Tutorial: acidmods.com (http://www.acidmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=17385.0 )
Rockstar’s Sam Houser: 360 ‘Needs To Sort Out’ HDD Usage
Xbox Scene :: Saturday, April 26, 2008
From kotaku.com (http://kotaku.com/382888/sam-houser-360-needs-to-sort-out-hdd-usage ): [QUOTE] 1UP recently interviewed Rockstar’s Sam Houser. Houser says what we’ve been saying for a long time now: the 360 needs to sort out the issue of its non-compulsory HDD usage: “One of the problems with the 360, and it affects games like Grand Theft Auto if you think about how much content we put in the actual machine, is the fact that they don’t have a significantly larger storage medium than the previous systems.” You’re damn right, and-oh. You’re not done. “I think that the 360 is going to have to get ’round this issue we’re talking about. I can think of various ways they can do it. Hopefully, they’re going to adopt one of those in the next year or so, because it’s going to become more of an issue. If we’re filling up the disc right now, where are we going? It’s not like our games are going to get any smaller. I think that issue’s on the table with a bunch of games right now. I’m sure they’ll come through with an intelligent solution.” [/QUOTE] Full Story: kotaku.com (http://kotaku.com/382888/sam-houser-360-needs-to-sort-out-hdd-usage ) | 1up.com (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3167500 )
