Problems with NetFlix... in the U.S. o.O!

Online rental service confirms licensing issues are temporarily preventing many films from being viewable on updated 360s; online reports point to Sony.
It appears that the New Xbox Experience has hit a speed bump on the eve of its release. This afternoon, gaming blog Joystiq discovered that many Netflix films have been abruptly listed as being "not available on Xbox." The ability to stream content from the online rental service is a key feature of the Xbox Live revamp, which is set to launch Wednesday, November 19.

Your NXE movie queue just got shorter.
When contacted by GameSpot, Microsoft directed all inquiries on the matter to Netflix, the DVD rental and video streaming company based in Los Gatos, California. Steve Swasey, its vice president of corporate communications, was able to confirm that licensing issues are indeed preventing some video content from being available via the Xbox 360.
"Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time," he explained. "In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console. Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers' computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they'll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly."
Swasey studiously avoided mention of any film studios which may have licensing issues solely with Microsoft. However, GameSpot has confirmed with sources with access to NXE preview software that many of the unavailable offerings are from Columbia Pictures, a subsidiary of PlayStation 3 maker Sony. Curiously, though, Joystiq points out that some Sony Pictures films are still listed as being available for the Xbox, a condition that might change in the next few days.
Ironically, many classic films from Sony subsidiary MGM are currently available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace--for a price.

Source: GameSpot.

Infinite Undiscovery rating

A pesar de las bajas calificaciones en América de este título, no cabe duda que en Japón tuvo un gran éxito. La verdad, es que estoy muy interesado en adquirirlo y formarme mi propia opinión sobre este juego.

La revista Famitsu, una de las más reconocidas en Japón le dio un rating de 32/40. que lo coloca en un título bueno.

Ninja Blade's runner up for Ninja Gaiden??

Surrogate Ninja Gaiden replacement to arrive in 2009.

Silent and deadly: an unnamed ninja on his way to Xbox 360
Microsoft today announced Ninja Blade for Xbox 360, an action-adventure game that follows a modern-day ninja in his quest to rid Tokyo from a mutant, infectious disease (and you know how nasty those can be). No other information was divulged, but the game is scheduled for release some time next year.
The news comes three months after Ninja Gaiden creator Tomonobu Itagaki resigned from Tecmo, casting uncertainty on the future of the venerable hack 'n slash franchise, a void Ninja Blade seemingly hopes to capitalize on.
Though expected, the embattled Tecmo has yet to announce a sequel to Ninja Gaiden 2.

Source: GamePro

Xbox 360 concedes victory to Nintendo

Xbox vice president Don Mattrick acknowledged that regaining first place from Nintendo is unlikely, but he's confident in a second place finish over Sony.

Microsoft will do everything within its power to beat arch rival Sony in this generation's console war -- even if it's for second place.
In an interview with Business Week published on Wednesday, Xbox vice president Don Mattrick admitted the 360 probably won't catch Wii, but he still believes his company will outsell the PlayStation 3.
"I'm not at a point where I can say we're going to beat Nintendo," he said, before predicting, "We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony."
Microsoft has sold an estimated 20 million Xbox 360 units worldwide since November 2005. By contrast, Nintendo has sold 32 million Wiis in half the time, while Sony has sold 15 million PS3s during the same period.

Source: GamePro.

Cliff Bleszinski defiende a Too Human

Cualquiera pensaría que Epic y Silicon Knights quedaron peleados después de la demanda por el unreal engine. Cliff Bleszinski, una de las caras más conocidas de la compañía por ser el diseñador de GoW, al parecer no guarda rencor alguno.
Giant Bomb, página del conocido Jeff Gertsmann, tiene una reseña de Bleszinski sobre Too Human. Aunque acepta las debilidades en la historia, califica al juego con cinco estrellas. Además asegura que se envició más con este juego que con Bioshock o Call of Duty 4.
Si alguien todavía tiene interés por el juego a pesar de las críticas mezcladas, vale la pena checar los puntos de vista de uno de los diseñadores más reconocidos en la industria.

Fuente: Atomix

Too Human... Nobody is Perfect :(

After lots of magazine articles, tons of "coming soons" bunches of new technologies enhancements and a Demand against Epic Games, Too Human is here.

What does it have to offer? A mild mix of reviews for a total score up to date of 68. If you want to read each of them, they are here: http://www.metacritic.org/games/platforms/xbox360/toohuman

Xbox 360 beats this week PS3

TOKYO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Xbox 360 beat Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) PlayStation 3 in Japan weekly sales for the first time two weeks ago, riding robust demand for a recent Xbox 360 title produced by Namco Bandai Holdings (7832.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a magazine publisher said.
Microsoft sold 28,116 units of the Xbox 360 in the week ended August 10, compared with 10,705 units of the PS3, driven by the August 7 launch in Japan of Namco Bandai's "Tales of Vesperia" role-playing game, Ascii Media Works said.
Microsoft, locked in a three-way game console battle with Sony and Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has been struggling to stir up demand for the Xbox 360 in Japan.
During the week, the Microsoft machine still lagged behind Nintendo's Wii, which sold 41,044 units, according to an Ascii Media Works report dated August 14.
The Wii has been leading the global video game console market since its launch in late 2006 thanks to its easy-to-learn motion-sensing controller, low price and innovative software titles such as "Wii Fit" exercise game.
Namco Bandai plans to launch "Tales of Vesperia", an Xbox 360 exclusive, in North America on August 26.

Source: Reuters

Quick Ones from Japan... >_<

- Crunch Time Games announced a new shooter Shred Nebula will be released on Xbox Live Arcade on September 3, 2008, for 800 Microsoft Points.

- Microsoft of Taiwan confirmed that Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 will not be released in Asia, the Xbox 360 version will only be available in North America and Europe.

Source: The Magic Box.

New Xbox 360 Experience

Xbox reinvented, evolutioned and create a new revamped experience for users in regards of PS3 new offerings...

Microsoft's not content. Despite ostensibly having one of the best user interfaces of all the major consoles, Microsoft is reinventing the Xbox 360's look. The underlying Xbox Live foundation will remain the same, but Microsoft wants to make life even better for users by making existing features easier to find and use, decluttering the marketplace, and vastly improving the social experience of Live.

The first major change to the system involves basic navigation. The top-level channels now consist of six items that closely resemble the menu structure of Windows Media Center: Spotlight, Games, My Xbox, Primetime, Community, and Videos. Each option contains additional functionality in submenu options and contains major innovations that we'll detail below.
Users who are familiar with the traditional five-bladed menu structures will be relieved to find that the old system remains intact--they appear whenever you press the Guide button on the gamepad. Pressing the button pops up a miniature version of the original blade system. The new miniblades will be accessible anywhere, even while in a game.
Primetime

Microsoft is banking heavily on its new Primetime feature, a brand-new area that gives users a whole new way to play games together. Virtual gameshows are the name of the game here. Microsoft has already demonstrated 1 vs. 100, a game of mental king of the hill against a hundred other opponents. Microsoft will introduce other gameshow-related games to Primetime. Some events will even feature live hosts and offer prizes to keep the gameshow charm. Primetime will let you either participate in the action as a competitor or play along silently as a spectator.

Videos

Microsoft has partnered with a number of content providers to provide thousands of hours of additional content in the Xbox Live video section.
Microsoft announced at E3 2008 that content from Netflix will be viewable via Xbox Live for Xbox Live Gold members. The deal allows users who subscribe to Netflix to watch movies and TV shows saved in their Netflix Instant Queue on their Xbox 360. You will have to visit the Netflix Web site to add or remove titles from your Instant Queue. Any Instant Queue adjustments you make through the Web browser will automatically update on the Xbox 360 within seconds.

Netflix currently offers more than 10,000 movies and TV shows available for instant viewing. Video playback will stream at near DVD quality, and users will also be able to rate movies they've watched via Xbox Live.
Content from companies such as NBC Universal, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, SCI FI Channel, USA Network, Constantin, and MGM will also populate the video marketplace. Videos will be available for purchase in either standard definition or high definition.
The user interface overhaul will also improve video navigation. Staggering the video thumbnails/box covers will make finding content much easier.

Community

Microsoft added a community channel to make socializing easier. The new channel lets you quickly find your friends, see what they're doing, and then make it easy to join in on the action. New community features will let you gather into parties and find new activities to do together. LiveParty allows up to eight users to band together with shared voice and text chat. Everyone in the group shares the same communication channels while playing games, watching movies, or participating in other events. If some users switch to a game that others in the party don't own, the group will still stay in communication with one another in the LiveParty.

MyXbox

The MyXbox section will give you a central location to edit personal items. From here you'll be able to add pictures, edit your profile, and view your achievements. Microsoft will also institute a new medal system so you can show off your most recent achievements. Medals are basically graphical representations of achievements, kind of like graphical badges or trophies.
Microsoft also decided to get into the personalization fray with user avatars. Much like how you can create Miis on the Nintendo Wii and user avatars in Sony's PlayStation Home, 360 users will be able to create virtual representations of themselves in Xbox Live. The MyXbox channel will let you customize your avatar's body, hair, and clothing style. Currently all avatar graphics are being designed by Microsoft's Rare Ltd. studio. Microsoft indicated that many aspects of avatars will remain free, but upcoming content might include premium content for options such as clothing.
In addition to simply looking pretty and providing an avenue for user expression, avatars will also be usable in upcoming games. Microsoft indicated that many third-party developers are excited at the prospect and are eagerly adopting the new feature. Future game achievements may also unlock upgrades such as new outfits for your avatar.

Games and Spotlight

The Games channel will let users easily find games to purchase and explore. You'll be able to find demos, full downloads, and game previews.
The Spotlight channel serves as a simple way to access what is essentially the most popular or important stuff on Xbox Live. The channel will have links to the hottest games, events, videos, and whatever else Microsoft wants to put in front of you. The system will be updated frequently to help users discover new and interesting content.
One of the not-so-cosmetic changes in the fall update will be the ability to let you play your games directly from the hard disk. The new feature will let users install all of the game content directly onto the hard drive to improve game load times. Microsoft reports that it has seen a 30 percent improvement in load times in internal testing. As an interesting data point, Microsoft went out of its way to tell a group of reporters that the full Devil May Cry 4 hard disk installation took roughly 10 minutes on the Xbox 360. The installation took twice as long when we conducted our own installation tests on the PlayStation 3. Another side benefit of having games installed on the hard disk is reduced noise, since the optical disc no longer needs to spin up. However, you will still need to have the game disc in your optical drive while you're playing it, presumably as a piracy check.
The new Xbox experience is certainly turning out to be a colossal achievement. The update could easily qualify as a new software product with the number of features and improvements it brings to the Xbox 360. We look forward to testing out all the new upgrades when Microsoft rolls out the update this fall.

Source: GameSpot.

Gears of War 2 será cooperativo.

During our recent visit to Microsoft to try out the competitive multiplayer in Gears of War 2, we got a sneak peek at one other mode in the upcoming game, horde. Once Epic's Cliff Bleszinksi ran through the competitive modes we covered previously, he gave us a sneak peek at some other multiplayer elements and talked co-op. We're finally able to spill the details on the new mode and other choice bits on the Gears 2 multiplayer experience.
Horde is essentially a cooperative survival mode that lets you and four friends work together to deal with increasingly difficult mobs of enemies that come in waves. In addition to the new mode we had a chance to check out two new maps, avalanche and day one, which added a new wrinkle to the multiplayer experience.
So, first off, horde mode. The new mode lets you and four friends test your skills against waves of enemies. Basically every wave will be made up of a set amount of enemies. Once you clear the wave you'll have a few seconds to prep and collect ammo and whatever pickups have been left by your foes or gear that respawns. The first waves are totally manageable and are made up of familiar enemies. However, as the levels progress things get crazy as new enemies such as the mauler boomer, butcher boomer, grinder boomer, and the flamer boomer. Each variation comes packing new weapons and gear that bumps up their threat and irritation levels to new heights.
However, you might look back fondly on the new boomers when you hear about what else is coming. The bloodmounts are new and exciting enemies which find locust riding mounts that bring a world of pain. If you're fast you can take out their riders, but these new foes are something else. At the moment the mode is being tweaked for balancing so specifics on the number of waves, right now Epic is thinking 50 or so, and exactly how things will play out are still being determined. We got pretty far in our play time, but things got pretty brutal. The biggest challenge is keeping your ammo stocked by collecting what's handy before enemies spawn in. The best way to survive is teamwork as your group can revive each other if everyone's attentive and fast on their feet. If you can't be revived before something horrible happens you'll respawn in time for the next wave if one of your team members survives.
One of the cool new twists to the mode is the stage interactivity on the two new maps we saw, day one and avalanche. Day one is set in a city center and paints a disturbing picture of how things went down on emergence day. Basically the stage is made up of a downtown city street, complete with movie theater. At its center is an emergence hole that offers an unpleasant surprise every so often: a rampaging worm that reaches out and chomps on anything that's unlucky enough to be close by.
However the avalanche level featured an even crazier interactive element, an actual avalanche that changed the layout of the level. Before the mighty rush of snow hits the level is a simple mountainside town. The boxy level is bordered by structures you can go in and explore with a center area that has a gazebo like structure with weapons to collect. The problem with the center area is, when the snow hits, you don't want to be there as you'll instantly die. While the snow is dangerous, there are some nice perks to it. The biggest perk is that the level layout is changed by the snow and you'll be able to access different weapons, including some from the new weapon class being introduced in the game, the heavy weapon class. We got to see two, the mulcher and the mortar, from the new class which is essentially an incredibly powerful but challenging to aim firearm. The mulcher is a chaingun like weapon that is a powerful close quarters weapon with so much kick it's tough to be too accurate with. The secondary fire to it lets you actually plant it in the ground and create a mobile turret with a limited range of fire. The challenge is that the weapon uses a heat system which will lock up the gun if you use it too often. To help you balance usage you can manually cool it by flushing heat. The new mechanic is called active cooling and works like the active reload system.
The mortar follows the same logic and lets you fire a cluster of powerful explosives that present a danger to anything around, including you. However, if you plant it in the ground you'll get a range finder and be able to take out foes at a far range which is incredibly handy. The downside to both weapons is that you'll move slowly with them and using them on the fly isn't super effective.
The visuals in horde mode and the new maps are obviously along the same quality lines as what we've reported. We would like to call out the visuals for the avalanche which are very cool. The heavy weapons are a little nutty but feature some impressive effects that sell their raw power.
Based on what we played, horde mode is a slick new addition to the Gears experience. The five player support is cool, although we do still wish for some two plus player co-op, and a lot of fun. Another cool tidbit we didn't get to see too much of was bot support in the game which sounds like another cool touch that Epic's adding into the game. Look for more on Gears of War 2 this week when Microsoft demos it live on our stage show Tuesday afternoon. The game is slated to ship this November.

Source: GameSpot

Trailer de Final Fantasy XIII

El Trailer que se presentó en la conferencia de Microsoft.

It's Official Final Fantasy XIII to Xbox 360 too!!!

Square Enix's formerly PS3-only RPG epic will launch day and date on Microsoft's console in North America and Europe; timed 360 exclusive hitting US Sept. 2, EU Sept. 5. By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot Posted Jul 14, 2008 2:04 pm CT LOS ANGELES--At the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Microsoft presented what it thought was a major announcement from a top Japanese developer, Square Enix. Unfortunately, the "news" proved a tad anticlimactic, considering that the game in question was Final Fantasy XI, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game previously released on the PC in 2003 and the PlayStation 2 in 2004. Despite a sizeable PR push, the 360 edition of the game was lukewarmly received by critics and consumers, who barely bought 213,000 copies of it in the US. Over the next three years, Microsoft would announce several more Square Enix games for the Xbox 360, including the exclusive Star Ocean: The Last Hope and the timed exclusive The Last Remnant. However, in many gamers' minds these projects were dwarfed in importance by the stature of two other Square Enix games: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII Versus, both PlayStation 3 exclusives... ...until today. This morning at its press briefing at the E3 Media & Business Summit, Microsoft stunned many in the audience by announcing that Final Fantasy XIII is now in development for the Xbox 360. Not only is the game coming to the console, but it will arrive on the same day and date as the PlayStation 3 edition of the game, with no timed exclusivity of any kind. However, when exactly that is remains a mystery, given that the graphics-intensive role-playing game still has no firm release date. "We believe that releasing an Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII will allow us to provide the game to even more fans in the two regions of North America and Europe," Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada told a stunned audience. No mentioned was made of Japan, where the 360 is far less popular than the PS3. Wada also used today's event to date the 360 release of The Last Remnant in all regions. The game will ship in North America on September 2, Europe and the UK on September 5, and Japan and Asia on September 11.

Source: GameSpot

Rock Band 2... Rocks too!!

While the original Rock Band is still going strong, Harmonix is already looking towards the next bit of kit that it hopes will be cluttering your place, with it now getting official with Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This time around, it seems the Xbox 360 will be getting a jump on things with a launch in September, with the PS3 version set to follow "later in the year." Both of those will, naturally, be coming with all new instruments, including the tasty Fender Stratocaster pictured above, but you will be able to use your current gear if you want to spare the extra clutter and save a few bucks. What's more, you'll also be able to carry over all your current downloaded content and, as IGN reports, you'll even be able to download and play new tracks on Rock Band 1 once Rock Band 2 is out. Of course, Harmonix is saving most of the details for E3 next month Here is more detail information: June 30, 2008 - Rock Band is ready for a comeback tour. Today, Harmonix announced Rock Band 2 is set to ship for Xbox 360 this September and PS3 later in the year. However, the official announcement of Rock Band 2 is sparse on details, so we went straight to Harmonix to learn more. We spoke with Lead Designer Dan Teasdale to get the full scoop on the mega-sequel. Teasdale gave us his thoughts on user-created content, improving accessibility, upgrading last year's model and more. Source: IGN.COM

60% of GTA IV games were Xbox 360...

Following the launch of Take-Two and Rockstar Games' critically lauded Grand Theft Auto IV on April 29, the question on many industry watchers' minds was just how well the heavily anticipated game performed and whether it lived up to its heady expectations. Take-Two kept the stats-hungry mob on edge a full week after, saying just yesterday that the game nailed its reported 6 million sales prediction, generating $500 million in week-one revenue.
While Take-Two kept the industry waiting, Sony, which sponsored a portion of the advertising spots for the game, chimed in a full week prior to extol the game's as-yet-unconfirmed performance. In a congratulatory statement bereft of any hard details, the PlayStation maker said GTAIV "drove sales of the PlayStation 3 entertainment system within the first 24 hours," and not much else.
It now appears that the reason for Sony's ambiguity was that the majority of consumers opted to pick up GTAIV on Microsoft's console. Today on Microsoft's marketing-team-operated GamerScoreBlog, the publisher dished on the stats breakdown for the 6 million copies of the game sold in its first week at market.
"According to retailers, more than 60 percent of all GTA games sold in the first week were the Xbox 360 version," the publisher's marketing team wrote on its blog. Sony had not responded to queries for comment on this claim as of press time. According to the hardware maker's most recent numbers, the Xbox 360's global installed base stands at 19 million, with the PlayStation 3 trailing at 13 million.
Microsoft also said that GTAIV has caused sales of its console to spike 54 percent week-over-week and that retailers' data indicates the game is attaching to new console purchases at a rate of 40 percent. GTAIV has also proven to be a hit with online gamers, as the publisher noted earlier this week that the game had unseated Activision's Call of Duty 4 as the top Xbox Live title for the week.

Gibson suits Activision for patent infrigement

As one of the most lucrative franchises in gaming, Activision's Guitar Hero franchise has acted as a lightning rod for litigation and lawsuits. Last week alone, the popular rhythm game inspired two suits, one involving former Guitar Hero developers Harmonix and the other concerning content licensor Gibson Guitar Inc. While the former was settled as suddenly and quickly as it was filed, the latter continues to linger on.
In a letter sent to Activision in January, Gibson alleged that the Guitar Hero franchise infringes upon a patent the music instrument manufacturer filed in 1999 for "technology for simulating a musical performance." As per Gibson's patent, the product involves using instruments to simulate a live performance, and provides for a 3D headset with stereo speakers and a prerecorded concert using instruments to simulate a live performance. Gibson subsequently requested that Activision "obtain a license under Gibson's...patent or halt sales of any version of the 'Guitar Hero' game software."
Taking umbrage with this claim, Activision filed suit in the US District Court of Central California, asking the court to invalidate Gibson's patent and prevent the guitar maker from seeking damages. Today, Gibson has responded in kind to Activision's legal wrangling, regretfully announcing that it had brought suit against a number of retailers that it claims are selling the allegedly patent-infringing Guitar Hero products.
"On Monday, March 17, Gibson Guitar Corp. brought a lawsuit against various retailers, which are selling Guitar Hero products that are infringing on one of Gibson Guitar's U.S. patents," reads Gibson's statement. "Gibson Guitar took this action reluctantly, but is required to protect its intellectual property and will continue to do so against any other person in accordance with the law and its rights."
"Gibson had tried to settle this issue by negotiating directly with Activision as soon as the patent filed through one of Gibson's divisions was discovered and validated by outside counsel," the statement continued. "Activision chose to initiate litigation without notice to Gibson. Now, Gibson must pursue enforcement of its patent which predates the launch of the Guitar Hero game by several years."
While Activision wasn't party to Gibson's suit, the megapublisher was quick to respond, once again dismissing Gibson's claims and saying it would continue to support its retail partners.
"Gibson's lawsuit is a transparent end run around an impartial court that Activision asked on March 11 to rule on patent assertions that Gibson knows have no merit," reads Activision's statement. "Our Guitar Hero retailing partners have done nothing wrong. We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its customers and its consumers."
Activision also reiterated what it believes to be the cause for the abruptly soured relations with Gibson, saying the guitar maker has raised is patent infringement claims after three years due to the fact that "Activision was not interested in renewing its marketing and support agreement with Gibson."

Source: Gamespot