Peter Moore about his Career at Microsoft
Xbox Scene :: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
From mcvuk.com : <BR><I> “The highlight of my career so far has been being part of the creation, launch and success of the Xbox 360 platform, comprising the best integration of hardware, software and services the industry has seen to date,” he explains. “What we did at Microsoft during that period was not perfect – nothing that complex ever is. We all agonised over the quality issues that some of our consumers were experiencing, but I was proud that the company took a very bold – and expensive – position to rectify the issues and make good on the problems we had caused for those who experienced hardware problems.” “We were planning the investment levels it would take to make a serious run at the top spot in the next generation, whilst seemingly making a hundred decisions a week,” he adds. “It is with pride that I can say I was a part of that team.” </I><BR><BR> Full Story: mcvuk.com
Rumor: Euro 360 price cut next week?
Xbox Scene :: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
From gamer.tm : <BR><I> Speaking to GAMER.tm, the industry insider – who understandably wishes to remain anonymous – said that Microsoft is to announce the price cut at a European event the company is due to hold during the week of 22 September. According to our source, the price cut was due to be one of Microsoft’s major announcements at the event. Although our source added that it may not have the same impact now, following last week’s leak. Our source confirmed that the prices shown in the leaked Woolworths catalogue image – GBP 129.99 for the Arcade, GBP 169.99 for the 60GB model and GBP 229.99 for the Elite – were official. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: gamer.tm
2K: Microsoft’s Toolset is the Best
Xbox Scene :: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
From gamasutra.com : <BR><I> Do you concentrate on any platform internally? Jeffrey Thomas (2K’s VP of sports development): Internally, we develop on the 360, because the toolset that Microsoft provides is a better toolset, but we also concurrently work on the PS3; so the development is going on at the same time, and there are people specializing on both. But a lot of the development that can be across the board is done on a 360, and Microsoft’s toolset is a lot better of a toolset than Sony’s. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: gamasutra.com
Hidden Costs of Gaming
Xbox Scene :: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
From digitalspy.co.uk : <BR><I> It’s a well-known fact that the big three console manufacturers – Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft – all want your money. Once you fork out a few hundred notes for a console, they have you in their mighty grip, and bleed you dry with their capitalist agendas. In some cases, this can be as much as ?300 over the next five years, not including essentials they don’t include with the console. Electricity Costs Xbox 360 – 120.45 kWh – ?19.21 a year Controllers Xbox 360 – There is no rechargeable option out of the box – a Play & Charge kit retails for ?15, and additional wireless controllers are ?30 a pop. That’s ?60 for two charge kits and an extra wireless pad. However you can save by getting a Wired controller for ?25. Television Cables Xbox 360 – Comes with component for HD out of the box, also doubling up as composite cables for those with normal tellies. While there are better SD and HD options, these options will do you just fine. Connecting to the internet Xbox 360 – Ethernet port only. If you want to get a plug in Wi-Fi receiver, it’ll set you back ?60. Other Additions * Xbox Live subscription – While the Wii and PS3 online services are free, full Gold membership costs ?40 a year on the 360. Without it, you cannot play online with others or access certain content. * Keyboard – The Wii and PS3 have full USB keyboard support for text input, whereas the 360 keypad costs ?25. Alternatively, you can spend an entire hour entering a message via the d-pad. * Downloadable Content – This is subjective, as many games offer additional content that perhaps should be in the full product, but are not on the disc. But when games such as Beautiful Katamari (360) ask you to pay to unlock things already on the disc, it reinforces the point that you have to be a millionaire playboy to get the most out of everything. Summary It should be noted that these are all optional costs – you don’t need to buy another controller, to purchase a Live subscription or run your console every day for the next few years. But many people do, and if you are thinking of getting a new system for yourself or someone else these little costs add up to something fierce. The Xbox 360 is the worst for those hidden costs, although the others aren’t exactly innocent either. When you consider this doesn’t include what you actually bought it for – the games – it shows that this hobby is a costly thing indeed. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: digitalspy.co.uk
Microsoft fires game test contractor who talked to VentureBeat
Xbox Scene :: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
From venturebeat.com : <BR><I> Robert Delaware was the only named Microsoft worker (a contract employee) who talked — without permission — to VentureBeat for our story last week on the Xbox 360 defects. Microsoft had him fired on Wednesday. Delaware worked as a game tester at Microsoft but was employed by the temp agency Excell Data. He reported directly to a Microsoft manager, who told him he was being let go because of the VentureBeat article. Delaware, a 29-year-old Seattle resident, expects to face civil charges from his former employer VMC (which tests games for Microsoft) and Microsoft as well. He will likely have to hire a lawyer. Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the company does not talk about personnel issues. “I don’t regret it,” he said in a phone call on Thursday. “I’ll fight it. If they want to come after me, bring it on.” </I><BR><BR> Full Story: venturebeat.com
Maximus 360 Xtractor Tool – Dumps Liteon Keys
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From maximusgames.net : <BR><I> The new ALL-IN-ONE Tool, It supports POWER KIT + SERIAL RS232 + USB Tool, throw away anything else you have been using, this is all you need to update/reflash your drive safely. After endless hours of design and testing we are proud to offer this high quality product. Feature List: – RS232 Support (Liteon Key dumping) – USB Support inside Windows (Liteon Key dumping) – Power Feed all XBOX 360 Drives – Automatic Mode-B on Hitachi 59 and earlier (78/79 require slax) – Compatible with already released tools (dvdkey/dvdkey32) – Native Toolbox support soon – Onboard ON/OFF switch – Onboard Eject tactile switch – High Quality and Heavy Duty Parts – Safe and Tested Design – Other small features to be released will be announced later START SHIPPING ON 29 Sept 08 PREORDER NOW !! </I><BR><BR> Official Site: maximusgames.net
10 Xbox 360 tricks Microsoft doesn’t tell you
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From techradar.com : <BR><I> Essential hacks, tricks and secrets for Microsoft’s supposedly closed system 1. Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once 2. Play your own music in original Xbox games 3. It can write its own blog 4. Play Xbox 360 games online for free – without a Live account 5. Interact with your Xbox 360 music 6. Connect your Xbox 360 to a wireless network without an official adaptor 7. Play music from your iPod 8. Reset your Xbox 360 video settings 9. Play any media file, plus online videos on your Xbox 360 10. Use any HDMI cable and still get digital surround sound </I><BR><BR> Full Story: techradar.com
Microsoft: Xbox 360 sales surge on price cut
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From seattlepi.nwsource.com : <BR><I> Microsoft said today that Xbox 360 sales rose significantly following the price cuts announced by the company last week. The company said retailers are reporting that sales of the video-game console increased more than 100 percent over the weekend, compared with the prior weekend. Of course, it remains to be seen if those bumps will be temporary or lasting. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: seattlepi.nwsource.com
GG2 Creator: Easier for a Small and Mid-sized Developer on 360
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From siliconera.com : <BR><I> * How come Guilty Gear 2is an Xbox 360 exclusive? This game looks like it could be a PlayStation 3 title too. * Daisuke Ishiwatari: It was easier for a small-and-mid-sized developer like us to develop a game for XBOX360 than PS3. Also, since the main feature of the game is the network battle, XBOX 360 with organized network infrastructure was considered more suitable for the game. This GG2 was the first title that we took the overseas development into consideration and since Xbox 360 had been widely used especially in the U.S., we wanted to challenge the system. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: siliconera.com
New Xbox 360 games copied to HDD won’t load much faster
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From gamersglobal.com : <BR><I> Xbox Product Manager Germany Boris Schneider-Johne states in a utmost interesting interview with Golem.de that this [quicker load times when playing games from HDD] won’t be the case for the majority of 360 games. “We now allow the customer to install games on their hard drive. This is optional, you don’t have to do it. But if I do it, these games will load faster because a DVD-drive with seek operation does have load times every now and then. There are prominent examples, for instance: Project Gotham Racing 3, one of the first games for the Xbox 360. There the load times have been very long; those are going to get reduced immensely. Recent games are already optimized; there the gain is relatively small.” </I><BR><BR> Full Story: gamersglobal.com
Bach: Xbox Biz Unaffected by Slumping Economy
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From edge-online.com : <BR><I> Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, says his unit hasn’t seen a slowdown in consumer spending in the face of the economic downturn. Bach went on to add that the Xbox business has been doing very well. He said that the videogame industry moves on new release cycles rather than economic ones and predicted a strong holiday shopping season for Xbox. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: edge-online.com
Xbox Live Makes Adweek’s Digital Hot List
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From kotaku.com : <BR><I> Adweek has just released their Digital Hot List – a yearly list of top digital destinations for advertisers – and right up there with the big boys like Google, Facebook, and…Stardoll, is Microsoft’s Xbox Live service. Measuring statistics such as year over year growth, pages viewed per users, and time spent on pages, along with factors like ad innovation and cultural influence, Adweek has ranked Xbox Live as number 7 on its list, falling neatly between YouTube and The Huffington Post. </I><BR><BR> Full Story: kotaku.com
Midway admit Xbox 360 European concern
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From play.tm : <BR><I> European Midway chief Martin Spiess has conceded in a new interview that the publisher are somewhat concerned by the performance of the Xbox 360 console in Europe. “I don’t know what it’s like for other companies, but the market is not as big as the US market, so naturally we have lower attachment rates,” Spiess offers. “But it could be growing to the same size as the US – the only problem we have right now is that we see in certain territories Microsoft is lagging behind. Sony has become very strong, Nintendo has become very strong, but the Microsoft market in certain territories is concerning.” </I><BR><BR> Full Story: play.tm
PR: Xbox LIVE Creates New Political Forum
Xbox Scene :: Thursday, September 11, 2008
From the press release: <BR><I> The online entertainment service best-known for great multiplayer games like “Halo 3” is creating a forum fueled by a different type of passion: the 2008 U.S. elections. Starting Tuesday, September 9, Xbox LIVE members will receive an early opportunity to cast their vote – via a Gamerpic download – with poll results posted next week on Xbox.com. Gamerpics are visual representations of gamers’ personalities, available for download through Xbox LIVE. “Voters” will have the option of downloading a Gamerpic for McCain, Obama, Other or Undecided. When the download is complete, they will be automatically entered for a chance to win a Gibson? guitar for their part in rocking the vote. With more than 12 million active LIVE members worldwide, this unofficial poll could serve as a sneak peek into young Americans’ perspective leading into November’s elections. The breakthrough partnership with Rock the Vote allows Xbox LIVE members to quickly and easily register to vote, which removes one of the biggest barriers, especially for first-time voters: research. With only two U.S. states providing online voter registration (Arizona and Washington, respectively), Xbox LIVE is going where young voters are, online – and simplifying the registration process. In less than five mouse clicks, a young American can have their voter registration information complete, along with information where to send via U.S. mail. This fall, Rock the Vote aims to help register two million young voters. </I><BR><BR>
