Xbox 360 news and stuff

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Top Ten Games on Live (August 26)

From Major Nelson, here are the top ten most played games on Xbox Live, based on world wide unique users:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Madden NFL 07
3 Texas Hold 'em
4 Ghost Recon 3
5 DEAD RISING
6 Chromehounds
7 Oblivion
8 BFMC
9 Final Fantasy XI
10 NCAA 07

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Counter-Strike
6 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
7 Rainbow Six 3 BA
8 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Madden NFL 2006

If combined, Halo 2 would be first, followed by all the Xbox 360 games.

Top Xbox Live Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Texas Hold 'em
2 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
3 PAC-MAN
4 Hexic HD
5 Geometry Wars Evolved
6 UNO
7 Cloning Clyde
8 GALAGA
9 Frogger
10 Marble Blast Ultra

Details on the XNA Framework

The XNA Team Blog has a post about what the XNA Framework is and does. It's interesting, and if you have any interest in XNA you should check it out.
Read the post
[Via Let's Kill Dave!]

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Xbox Live Vision, Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, and Faceplates - details and prices

At the German Games Convention, Microsoft confirmed the bundles the Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold in, along with the prices for the Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, Wireless Gaming Reciever for Windows, and new faceplates. Here are the details:
The Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold in two bundles, as follows:
Xbox Live Vision, which includes 1 month of Xbox Live Gold Membership, a headset, free downloads of UNO and TotemBall, will retail for around $39.99. The Xbox Live Video Chat Gold Gold Kit is the same as the first, except for it comes with a year of Xbox Live Gold Membership, a free download of Robotron (along with UNO and TotemBall), and 200 Microsoft Points. It will sell for about $79.99. The U.S. release date stays the same (September 19th), but in Europe it has been changed to October 6th.
The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel will be released in November for around $149.99, and (while supplies last) people who purchase it will also get a limited edition force feedback version of Project Gotham Racing 3.
Also in November, the Wireless Headset will be available for around $59.99.
Then, in December, the Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows will be released for about $19.99.New faceplates will be available in early November, including ones for Halo, Viva Pinata, and Forza Motorsport 2.

Texas Hold 'em is Live

Texas Hold 'em is now on Xbox Live Arcade. Get it in the next 48 hours and it will be free, but after that it's 800 Microsoft Points.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Xbox 360 eventually $149-$199

GamePro has an interview with Microsoft's Albert Penello about HD-DVD, PS3, and the Xbox 360 in general. While most of it is stuff that we already knew, here are some of the things he said. The HD-DVD drive will be the cheapest player on the market, and although he didn't confirm a price or release, he said it will "be out in plenty of time for the holidays" and a price will probably be revealed by the Tokyo Game Show or X06. He then said that there were no plans for HDMI or DVI on the HD-DVD add-on, saying that "the reality is, for any normal HD owner, the difference [between the formats] is nonexistent". He said that they may add it eventually though, but nothing is planned so far. Penello then said that an Xbox 360 with built in HD-DVD was possible, but once again there were not yet any plans to do so.
Then he said that "We built the Xbox 360 Core system so that we could get to $199 or $149 sometime", also saying he didn't think the PS3 could achieve such a low price. Although Microsoft is very clear that there won't be a price drop this fall, it looks like eventually the 360 could cost as low as the origianl Xbox.

New features coming for Marketplace, and statistics about downloads

At the Games Convention Developers Conference, Microsoft third-party account manager Steven Blackburn had some stuff to say about Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Gamespot has the rundown of his presentation, and here are some of the things he said:
First, the numbers (There are a few statistics in the article I have not included, because I've already wrote about them. Also, Elle from Xbox.com stated earlier that there have been "more than 8 million Xbox Live Arcade downloads since launch", while the Gamespot article says "5 million total downloads so far" of Xbox Live Arcade games. I geuss Blackburn's information must have been a little older). 60% of the people with Xbox 360 consoles are connected to Live, sending an average of 900,000 voice and text messages a day. Over 2 billion hours have been logged on Live, which is around 228,000 years. 30% of users have bought Microsoft Points, spending over 1 billion points (almost $12.5 million), with about 45 million total downloads. On average, there have been around 25 downloads per user.
Next Blackburn spoke about Xbox Live Marketplace, and what new features are coming. In some games you will be able to browse and download content from in the game, instead of having to quit and work from the dashboard. An example he gave was for a combat flight simulator, where you would be able to look through planes and weapons in a hangar, and without ever leaving the game download the content you wanted. Another thing to be added to Xbox Live Marketplace will be the ability to preview Premium content before purchasing it. Pictures will be added, so you will know more about what you're buying before spending your money.

Those are some impressive numbers, and it looks like what Microsoft has in store for Marketplace just keeps getting better.

A video preview of upcoming accessories

On GameVideos.com, there is a preview for the Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, Vision Camera, and HD-DVD drive. It's cool to see them being used, and they look like they will work great when they are released.

[Via Gamerscore Blog]

Molyneux on next-gen combat and motion controllers

Peter Molyneux, the creator of Fable, had some things to say about how combat can evolve in this generation. Along with showing a demo of how combat could be done (and although it was done in Fable's style he says it's not Fable 2), he said he thinks motion controllers are not the next step and just leave the player tired. Read more of what he said at gamesindustry.biz.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Vibrating the controller in video chat (and more Vision tidbits)

The Xbox 360 FAQ on Xbox.com has been updated, and has a little on the Xbox Live Vision Camera. Most of it is stuff I've already covered, but here are a few new pieces of information:

The cable is 9ft long
To use it on the PC, the following drivers must be downloaded: "Xbox Security Method 3, Version 1.00" and "Microsoft Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera"
When the camera is plugged in, you get a "watery background effect" in the dashboard
When using the music visualizer, you can play with it with your movement. What you do will have a "ghosting effect"
The ring on the front of the camera can be used to focus it
In UNO, you can zoom in with the camera
You can video chat with someone even if they don't have a camera, and only they can see you (if they want they can talk with the headset though)
You cannot send video with your messages, only pictures (which can't be saved on your hard drive, but can be kept in your messages for as long as you want)
And here is the most interesting (and funniest) part: While in video chat, you can vibrate the other person's controller with the triggers. I wonder how this could be used? ;)

Saturday, August 19, 2006

HD DVD outsells Blu-ray

TG Daily says that HD DVD players outsold Blu-ray ones by 33% in the first six weeks after launch (sales began in April and June, respectively). So far there is only one Blu-ray player available, Samsung's BD-P1000, and it sells for around $1000, while there are many HD DVD players for sale for as low as $450. Although HD DVD players sold better, Blu-ray's higher price allowed it to make more money. Samsung took in more revenue from it's player than all the HD DVD ones combined, reaching 42% more revenue in the first six weeks.
These "next generation" DVDs are still not widely used though, as only 0.4% of all disc player sales were from HD DVD and Blu-ray, while 86.2% were from DVD players, and 13.4% from DVD recorders.
[Via QJ.net]

Top Ten Games on Live (August 19)

From Major Nelson, here are the top ten games on Xbox Live, based on worldwide users playing:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 DEAD RISING
3 Ghost Recon 3
4 Chromehounds
5 Oblivion
6 NCAA 07
7 BFMC
8 Final Fantasy XI
9 Dead Rising Demo
10 Lord of the Rings: BFME2

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Splinter Cell Chaos
4 Counter-Strike
5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6 Rainbow Six 3 BA
7 Madden NFL 2006
8 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Rainbow Six 3

Top Xbox Live Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 PAC-MAN
2 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
3 UNO
4 Geometry Wars Evolved
5 GALAGA
6 Frogger
7 Cloning Clyde
8 Marble Blast Ultra
9 Bankshot Billiards 2
10 Zuma

If the lists were combined, Halo 2 would be first followed by all the 360 games.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Lots on the Xbox Live Vision Camera, what it can do, and how it will be used in games

There was just news about how the Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold, and now Gamasutra has more information on how it will work and what kind of things it can do.
At Gamefest, Microsoft's Jeff Stone demonstrated some of the things the camera is capable of (using the software already installed on Xbox 360s from the Spring update). With the Vision Camera, you can have one on one video chat with other users of Xbox Live (this feature is already setup - in the Guide, go to Private Chat and then Video Chat. Obviously you can't do anything without a camera, but if you want to see it in action send a friend invite to someone who has the Camera). You can filter the video in a bunch of ways, for identity protection or just because it looks cool. Gamasutra says there was no lag, and it worked fine. You can also send pictures with your messages (Create a new message, and after typing it you'll see the option to "Add Picture"), and if you receive a message from someone not on your Friend's list, you'll have the option to accept or decline the photo. You can also create a custom gamer picture, which can be filtered to your liking. Only people on your Friends list can see your custom pic, while everyone else sees the default one (Oh good... I hate to imagine some of the things other people will take pictures of for their gamertag).
The first gesture-based game, TotemBall (which will be included with the camera), was also shown, and a video of it being played is on Gamasutra. Many games will make use of the Vision Camera technology, such as UNO (support is already included - the gamertag is replaced with a video feed from the person's camera when used), and face mapping technology will be available in games like World Series of Poker and Rainbow Six Vegas.
Face mapping will be done by Digimask's technology, which has been used in everything from cell phone greetings to television to video games (It has previously been used with the Playstation 2's EyeToy). Gamasutra tested the technology at Gamefest, and with a few pictures and a film clip where users can pick the perfect frames, a model was made. The demo had options to choose a hairstyle and eye wear, and after created could look around, blink, and even show emotions.
Another technology the Vision Camera will utilize is GestureTek's Video Gesture Control. A demonstrative program allows simple interactivity, where the the user is not displayed but can control and interact with objects on screen. GestureTek also showed face tracking technology, where a box on screen could track a users head. Other people going into the area do not disrupt it, and the user can move fast while the box stays with him.
Another program GestureTek has developed can track objects besides a users head, like hand held accessories that could be bought for this purpose. It is done quite simply: the tracker remembers an object's color and shape, and can then follow it in many ways. From quick movement to rotation, it will pick it up. It can even sense depth using the size of an object, so it can theoretically tell how far an object is from the screen.
Launching on September 19th, the Xbox Live Vision Camera will add a whole new level to the Xbox 360, especially Xbox Live.
[Via Gamerscore Blog]

Xbox Live Vision Camera price and bundles

OXM UK has some new information about the Xbox Live Vision Camera. The release date had already been announced (Septembere 19th) but we were left to wonder at the price and how it would be bundled. Some new information has been found by OXM UK, answering both those questions. Here are the two (rumored) bundles, including their price:

The standard kit, for 39.99 includes:

Xbox Live Vision Camera
Xbox Live headset
One free month of Xbox Live Gold
TotemBall Live Arcade game.
Uno Live Arcade game.

The Gold bundle, for 79.99 includes:

Xbox Live Vision Camera
Xbox Live headset
Free Xbox Live Gold subscription for a year.
TotemBall Live Arcade game.
Uno Live Arcade game.
A third Xbox Live Arcade game (title so far unknown)
200 Microsoft Points

These are not yet confirmed, but would make sense and work well.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Marketplace and Live Arcade Stats, Downloadable Content news

Gamasutra has an article about Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade, summarizing things said by Microsoft's Marketplace Business Manager Rohan Oommen.
According to Oommen, there have been over 40 million downloads from the Marketplace since launch, and on average a user has downloaded 20 or more items from the ever expanding selection of more than 2000 downloads. Game demos are the most popular, having an average of 250,000 downloads when released (Prey had 300,000 in the first week alone). Timing is important for demos, and can help increase sales - 40% of the people who downloaded the Fight Night Round 3 demo bought the game.
Between 10% and 50% of the people who downloaded a trial version of an Xbox Live Arcade game ended up purchasing the full version, making the average conversion rate 22%. It was also revealed that the less expensive titles do not make more money, since $10 or $15 games have made more money in the their lifetimes than the $5 ones.
Downloadable content (like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter's "Chapter 2") is also very profitable, and three games have already made $1 million on added downloadable content. Microsoft said they would like to get content out faster though, adding that companies should assemble a small team that can create additional content so it can be released early on, within the first 60 to 90 days after a game's release.
One new feature Microsoft is planning for Marketplace is "consumables". These would be items you would purchase, but would get used and you could then purchase them again. This seems to me like like a bad idea, just a way for Microsoft to get more money from our gaming addictions.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Xbox Live Arcade in the coming weeks: Texas Hold 'em (free for 48 hours), Time Pilot, and Scramble

On Wednesday, August 23rd, Texas Hold 'em will finally be released on Xbox Live Arcade at 0800 GMT. For the first 48 hours, it can be downloaded free of charge. After you get it, you have the full game for as long as you want, as if you had purchased it. At 0801 GMT on Friday, August 25th, after the 48 hours have passed, it will no longer be free, and can be purchased for 800 Microsoft Points.

The next game released for Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays will be Time Pilot on August 30th. It will sell for 400 Microsoft Points.

Then, on Wednesday, September 6th, Scramble will be released. The full game can be purchased for 400 Microsoft Points.

So far, each release is exactly one week after the dates I previously posted about. Does that mean Lumines Live will be coming on September 13th? It's a good geuss, and I hope it proves to be true.

Read the full article on Xbox.com
Via Major Nelson

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