Results tagged “Microsoft”

Last week Microsoft finally announced a price for Kinect. To the surprise of no one the software giant listed the price of the peripheral at $150. Microsoft also smartly bundled the standalone Kinect with Kinect Adventures!, as well as introducing an arcade bundle retailing for $300. The arcade bundle includes a 4GB 360 slim, Kinect, Kinect Adventures!, and a wireless controller. Games for Kinect will retail for $50, ten dollars cheaper than regular 360 titles. The move puts the 360 in an interesting position as it will be $100 dollars more expensive than the Wii bundle but $100 cheaper than the PS3 Move bundle. Although consumer tastes (i.e. the casual gamers interested in motion controls) will determine which bundle has the best overall value.  June was a very good month for Microsoft with a sharp increase of the number of consoles sold-- although much of the growth had little to with the new 360 slim. Over 60 percent of 360 sales were of the heavily discounted original models with Arcade versions selling for as low as $150.

On the Sony side of things PS3 users will soon be able to stream Netflix without a disc. By the end of October users will be able to stream movies instantly via an app on the XBM (cross media bar). The Netflix Application in its current form is free to PSN users and will most likely remain free, unlike the Gold members-only 360 version. In other news for PS3 owners Atlus has announced it will extend its online service for Demon's Souls to March 2011. When the game was originally released Atlus stated it would only run the online servers for six months. Because the game has become an unexpected success gamers will be able to play online for a little longer. Demon's Souls is still playable offline, but online play is one of the most interesting and unique aspects of the game. If you own a PS3 and you haven't played this RPG yet now would be a good time to do so, especially with the game retailing for $30.

One online service that won't be going away anytime soon is Facebook. In fact, the online social network just reached a milestone-- 500 million users. Yes that's right, one in 13 people worldwide now have a Facebook account. And to think just a few years ago everyone was raving about MySpace. It'll be interesting to see how long Facebook can hold onto its status before being replaced by the next big thing. Apparently e-books have become the next big thing in the world of publishing. E-books on Amazon.com have been outselling their paper counterparts in recent months. Still, in the world of publishing e-books only make up one percent of overall book sales.

Remember last year when Marvel announced at Comic Con it was partnering up with Madhouse Studios to create anime shows based on Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men, and Blade? Almost a year to the day Marvel has confirmed those anime series will air on TV in the United States via G4 in 2011. Finally, the network will have something worth watching in addition to X-Play. If you've been watching anime for a while you may have noticed a decline in the quality of new series over the last few years. Sato Dai, a storywriter for anime titles such as Cowboy Bebop and Ergo Proxy, shared his frustrations with the industry at a recent academic panel. He lamented the lack of creativity in writing and the inability of many newer series to address social and political problems in society. Suddenly the few anime titles that do provide food for thought became a little more valuable.

On July 12th famed comic book artist Harvey Pekar died at the age of 70. Pekar was best known for his slice-of-life comic, American Splendor. His work was an autobiography that focused on his day-to-day life, as opposed to the usual superheroes and sci-fi adventures that make up the bulk of comic book subjects. Pekar originally created American Splendor in 1976 and it ran until 2008 often released in irregular intervals by various publishers, including DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics. In 2003 American Splendor was adapted into an critically acclaimed film.

If only Apple's problems could be considered so mundane by the mainstream press. When a company brands its products as ones "that just work," a negative backlash is inevitable if the said product has annoying flaws. Case in point, the news about Apple's iPhone 4's antenna problems simply won't die. The negative press was so overwhelming that it prompted Steve Jobs to hold a press conference on Friday addressing iPhone 4's problems. In the end dissatisfied consumers will either receive a free protective case or can simply return their iPhone 4 for a full refund within the 30-day return period. Antenna problems are a dilemma for a company with a reputation for high quality products, but they certainly don't amount to recall material.

Gamers looking forward to the 360's new "Destination Arcade" app (a visual upgrade to the arcade store) on Xbox Live Arcade were disappointed to learn it was delayed until July 21st. Now Microsoft has revealed the new app is only available during the "Summer of Arcade" promotional month which runs from July 21st until August 18th. After August 18th Destination Arcade will no longer be available for download, although it will still function for anyone who downloaded the app. The move has led many to speculate Microsoft is actually running a beta on the application until a final version is rolled out-- most likely when Xbox Live is updated in preparation for Kinect. Ah, speculation. In more geeky 360 news one Microsoft engineer has revealed how Achievements actually work.

Japanese fans of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise will soon be able to play an enhanced port of the original Shin Megami Tensei on their PS3s and PSPs via a PSN download. Atlus has not yet announced plans to release this game in North America. If Atlus' recent slew of releases are any indication Shin Megami Tensei will eventually be released outside of Japan. In other RPG happenings Pokémon Black & White had several new features announced for it last week. Gamers who play the newest Pokémon the DSi or the 3DS will be able to hold video chats over the Nintendo Wi-Fi service as well as a local area connection. There's also a tag mode a la Dragon Quest IX, which makes more sense for North America given the popularity of Pokémon here. Speaking of the 3DS, the form that was shown at E3 will indeed be the handheld's form at launch. Don't rule out the possible of a 3DS XL, though.

Japan is often touted as a very high-tech society, and with good reason as the high-tech aspects of Japan are heavily promoted. Yet, a recent BBC article reveals that much of Japan isn't as high-tech as most Westerners would believe. With a large population over the age of 50 (and many who prefer to do things the "traditional" way) the stubbornly low-tech aspects of society make perfect sense. Suddenly Hayao Miyazaki's strange criticism of the iPad seems a little less eccentric.

It's official, any hopes of seeing Square Enix's upcoming MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV on the Xbox 360 are pretty much dead. Last week game creator, Hiromichi Tanaka cited the closed nature of the Xbox Live platform as the main culprit during an interview with Eurogamer. Unlike the open nature of the PS3 and the PC, Microsoft prefers a closed environment for Live. In other words, FFXIV fans are able to communicate and interact with one another via the PS3 and the PC. On Live players would only be able to communicate with other Live users, necessitating the need for Square Enix to use separate servers just for the 360. Square and Microsoft were unable to come to an agreement on their differences, ensuring that unlike Final Fantasy XI, XIV will most likely never appear on the 360. Other MMORPG creators such as Cryptic have given up on the 360 as a viable platform as well.

Getting back to the subject of Final Fantasy it is interesting to note Microsoft made an exception for Final Fantasy XI a few years ago. It allowed players to communicate and interact in a very open platform with PS2 and PC users online. It was also notable that Live users could also play FFXI with a free account. The move was most likely to get Square Enix on board with the 360 platform and Microsoft's decision not to give Square leeway again probably had to do with money. This is all speculation, but Microsoft prides itself on getting users to sign up for Xbox Live Gold and allowing so many potential players to access FFXIV with a Silver account would undermine their objectives. At the same time not many users would be willing to pay $50 a year for a Gold account on top of a monthly fee from Square just to play FFXIV. (Keep in mind that many MMO gamers often play just a single game for very long periods of time. As opposed to gamers who play many different games over the same time period.) As for Square, it would lose money if it had to concede to Microsoft and perhaps not charge players. With such opposing outlooks it seems as if the two companies will never reach an agreement. It's hard to say if such a move is Microsoft or Square's loss, but gamers who enjoyed playing FFXI on their 360s sadly won't be able to do the same with XIV.

As a consolation gamers who don't own a PS3 may be able to play Final Fantasy XIV on their PCs-- only if their PC passes the game's rather high benchmark test.

My apologies, the last week and a half has been a busy one for me. If things had gone my way this would have been posted alongside Geoff's excellent E3 articles last week. But better late than never, as E3 is still fresh on the minds of many people. This column will be broken down into two parts with part two going up tomorrow.

So E3 2010 is officially over but the announcements and unveils will probably generate commentary for months to come, or at least until we're all ready to focus on the Tokyo Game Show in September. E3 2010 will most likely be remembered for Microsoft and Sony's continued push for motion controls aimed at casual gamers. This is in sharp contrast to their usual core gamer offerings. To be fair, they actually did both at E3 but some might find the contrast a little jarring. There's nothing quite like watching a demo of a hyper-violent game with bullets tearing into a target, and then seeing cute family games on display mere moments later. Nintendo took a different route by returning to its core gamers and giving them the show they've wanted for years now. Having a show-stealing reveal of new hardware certainly didn't hurt either.  Anyway, on the press conferences and my own commentary.


Microsoft Kinects




I'm actually glad Microsoft's press conference was aired on TV before the official Kinect unveiling. As for the name it probably has do with "kin" as in family and "connection," thus "Kinecting" the entire family. Clever? Maybe. While the press conference itself was moderately interesting (still falling behind Nintendo and Sony), Cirque Du Soleil's Kinect unveil was almost painful to watch. After watching the show on TV the first thought to come to mind was, "Wow, Microsoft how MUCH did that cost to put together?" I'd imagine it might have been more painful to watch live before Microsoft's keynote as the entire show felt like one big gimmick. I'm not sure what was the worst offender was. There was the oddly suspended couch in the air with a family sitting on it the entire show, the numerous shiny ponchos the audience had to wear, and Microsoft's bravado on claiming that Kinect would free us from the complexities of technology. At best the show was a needless exercise in extravagance, at worst it was total pandering to the media in order to create buzz for Kinect. It was an expensively tasteless way to kick off E3 and only built up skepticism regarding the former Project Natal.

Microsoft's actual press conference on the other hand wasn't so bad. Outside of some cringe worthy Kinect demonstrations there was a decent amount of excitement to be found. While gamer reaction to Kinect has been mixed at best (understandable as core gamers weren't Microsoft's target audience), some of Kinect's applications may have potential. Motion controls without the need for a controller is certainly note worthy but the addition of voice controls could be a deal maker if used in interesting ways. The idea of simply telling the Xbox to do something via Kinect without having to reach for a controller is appealing. Unfortunately, not much was shown outside of dashboard navigation demonstration and the ability pause and start movies with simple voice commands. If voice control technology is applied in smart ways Kinect could be a winner for Microsoft.




The same could be said for Kinect as a whole. If developed and marketed smartly for both casual and core players the  technology could be a gamer changer instead of a gimmick. Already titles such as Your Shape: Fitness Evolved ( Wii Fit without the balance board), Dance Central (DDR without the dance pad), and Kinect Adventures look like they could be (key words: "could be") lots of fun. Have they been done already on the Wii? Sure. But well done imitation isn't necessarily a deal breaker. Microsoft has not announced a price but retailers are already pricing Kinect at $150. On the surface it seems very expensive until you factor in the multiplayer aspects. Kinect doesn't need additional add-ons (like Wii peripherals) and supports two players at a time, giving the price some value as you'll only need one Kinect peripheral. Unless of course you only play video games alone-- then Microsoft's motion control is too expensive. I honestly won't be grabbing a Kinect at launch but I will be curious to see how it sells, and how both causal and open-minded core gamers take to the new technology. At the very least the hands on previews from the gaming press at E3 seem mostly positive.




Speaking of technology, the other big news to come out of Microsoft's press conference is the new Xbox 360 S, (i.e. the new Xbox 360). Rumors of a 360 redesign had been circulating around for months now but Microsoft confirmed it and surprised everyone by announcing it would be available in stores almost immediately. While the surface redesign really catches the eye it is the new features that make it noteworthy. Built-in wireless (WiFi N no less), quiet fans, more airflow, more USB ports, an internal removable hard drive, smaller chips, and less power consumption are all exciting features. And taking a note from Sony's original PS3 design all of the buttons are touch sensitive. (Amusingly enough Sony actually dropped that feature from new PS3 models.) Excitement aside, Microsoft should have come out with this new 360 at least a year ago. And it's hard to really feel excited about built-in wireless as Sony and Nintendo offered it with their respective consoles from the start. Way to finally introduce a feature that should have been incorporated into the first 360 Elite years ago. As for Blu-ray I can't really see Microsoft adopting it this generation because of Sony's direct hand in developing the technology. Still, a redesign is better late than never and at $299 it is a decent deal. If I didn't already own a 360 Elite I'd probably have my eye on the new 360.



Sony on the Move

This year Sony is seeing lots of momentum with the PS3 and the company hopes to keep up the trend with the PlayStation Move and 3D gaming. Sony's overall press conference was marginally better than Microsoft's but it occasionally ventured into mediocre territory. Like Microsoft, Sony hopes to steal casual gamers away from Nintendo with its own brand of motion controls. The PlayStation Move has a setup similar to the Wii, yet it promises a more comprehensive gaming experience with true 1:1 motion. Sony was also careful to balance its new emphasis on motion control with the expectations of its core gamers. The final result was arguably something for everyone at the press conference, though I could have done without Sony's swagger.




First I'll start with what I didn't like about Sony's offerings. To be honest, I'm not sold on the idea of 3D gaming as it stands with Sony. HDTVs are just starting to become affordable and the technology hasn't even reached the levels of penetration that standard TVs have. Many people are just upgrading to new TVs that cost between $300 and $2200, and are now being asked to replace their HD sets with 3D that cost at least $1400. Still, Sony is content to push the idea of 3D gaming on their expensive 3D TVs following the success of 3D movies. Sure, it's great that games like Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5, The Sly Collection, Crysis 2, and Mortal Kombat will be playable in 3D. Yet, Sony didn't bother to mention the price of the TVs and special glasses. Add to the mix a prolonged recession and only the really well-off can afford such a venture. Call me a skeptic but 3D gaming still isn't ready to become mainstream for quite some time, not until the technology becomes more affordable. If you have a spare $2200 to $5200 to pony up for a Bravia line 3D TV and another $100 plus for each pair of glasses I'm sure the idea of 3D as it now stands is exciting.




I also found myself unimpressed with PlayStation Plus. On one hand it is completely optional and online multiplayer will continue to be free. On the other hand, free games (which only last for the duration of the subscription), full game trials, and automatic downloads feels underwhelming. Other than the addition of automatic downloads there doesn't seem to be a mention of streamlining PSN's multiplayer service to put it on par with what Microsoft currently offers. The biggest rub would be the games themselves, four free PSN games a month (according the EU PlayStation Blog) is a nice deal as long as you continue to pay Sony $50 per year. Yet, up to 50-percent discounts on select PSN titles could make the subscription worth it if those games are desirable. Unlike the free titles which you essentially lease, you own the discounted games. Until the service itself is rolled out later this month I'm taking a wait and see approach on Sony's answer to Xbox Live Gold. Although I can't imagine the many gamers who own both systems giving up Xbox Live Gold in favor of PlayStation Plus, nor can I see many of them paying essentially $100 a year for both. PS3-only gamers might be willing to pay for this new service if the rewards are worth it. At the very least here's to hoping that Sony gives discounts on an annual PlayStation Plus subscriptions, much like Microsoft does with Xbox Live Gold. (I've yet to ever pay a full $50 per year for my Gold membership.)

The ASUS WL-330gE is small, about the size of a deck of cards. Check it out in comparison to a 360 controller.

In the entertainment industry Disney and Marvel are juggernauts. So when Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion last Monday it was a very big deal. Geeky jokes aside, many Marvel fans fear what may become of their favorite franchises under the Disney brand. Some fans speculate such a deal may be a good thing for Marvel franchises in the long run. I actually doubt Disney will meddle in the creative affairs of Marvel and risk losing a substantial fan base.

Deal or not, Marvel is doing much better than ADV Films these days. Earlier this week the anime distributor announced it was shutting down and transferring its assets to other companies. A transfer of assets does not mean ADV has closed its doors for good, as other companies have hired staff members and will continue operations. However, ADV as a brand name for anime distribution may be dead. The news won't surprise avid anime fans as ADV's presence in the domestic distribution market has been dwindling for several years now.

In other unsurprising news, DSi exclusive games are on the way in Japan. The first title announced was Monster Finder, a game that will utilize the DSi's cameras. Currently it is unknown if the game will be released outside of Japan. Even if Monster Finder isn't granted an international release gamers can be assured that more DSi exclusives are in the works. Some of those releases will eventually make their way to the West. It'll be interesting to see if Nintendo makes good on their promise of DSi only games being region-locked or if they will ultimately be region-free. At the very least we'll be receiving new DSi and Wii accessory colors from Nintendo. Unfortunately, the company has insisted the black Wii will not see an international release any time soon, if at all.

The Xbox 360 Pro isn't the only media device (well, console really) that Microsoft plans to phase out. Come September 15th the Zune HD (which competes directly with the iPod Touch) will replace all current models of the Zune. This means if you were waiting on the fence to get a Zune (but you don't care for a touch screen model), you should act soon. There is no doubt that prices for current Zune models will soon be slashed to move the newly discontinued models.

Four years after acquiring Skype, eBay is now selling the software company for $2 billion dollars to a private investment group. I found the original 2005 acquisition to be laughable, as Skype seemed to be a misfit for eBay more than anything else. Later this year Wikipedia users may have a way to easily discern trustworthy information from false information via optional color coded text. And the writers at Industry Gamers have taken the time to compile some of the stranger utterances of video game executives into one nifty article. Thanks Kaz Hirai, I had no idea portable gaming existed in a "handheld gaming ghetto," until the PSP arrived. The device certainly did a great job of dethroning Nintendo.


Image courtesy of the official Marvel web site.

The console wars have decidedly taken a turn for the more affordable. As soon as Sony dropped the price of the PS3 to $299 Microsoft responded by dropping the price of its Xbox 360 Elite and Pro models. (Although the company calls the timing coincidental.) On Friday the price of the Elite model dropped from $399 to $299, the Pro model dropped from $299 to $249, and the Arcade model remains unchanged at $199. Unfortunately, the rumors of the Pro model being phased out are true, so if you've been wanting a 360 for some time the Pro model isn't a bad deal at $249. In fact, it's the same price as the Nintendo Wii. If you were counting on those HDMI cables being included with the Elite you're definitely out of luck. (On a personal note, in March I bought an Elite from a regional retailer for $299, with the HDMI cables included. The new price and lack of cables don't make a difference to me, but if I had an HDTV I'd be very happy right about now.)

While the Elite's pricing may be on par with the PS3 the value for each console couldn't be further apart. With a Blu-ray player, built-in Wi-Fi, an easily upgradable hard drive, free online, and some backwards capability (albeit PS1 only), the PS3 clearly wins in the value department. Let's not even mention the 360's hardware failure rates compared to the PS3's. In terms of better online services, better game selection (especially as an RPG gamer), and exclusive content Microsoft is doing quite well. In other words, with price no longer a factor gamers will have to choose what they want more from a console experience. Except for lucky Canadian gamers who have access to the Limited Edition Halo Elite Xbox 360 bundle. With a copy of Halo 3 and Microsoft's official Wi-Fi adapter included at a price of $330 the Elite is suddenly a much better value.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study has found the average American gamer is around 35-years-old, overweight, and depressed. The results from the study are based on a 2006 online survey of 552 gamers living in or around Seattle, Wash. The study implies a direct correlation between gaming, obesity, and depression. While obesity and depression are serious and growing problems within the United States, linking the conditions solely to gaming seems foolish. Furthermore, the study only sampled a tiny population of one state in a very large and diverse country with millions of gamers. The CDC may have a serious case of foot-in-mouth disease. But least in December there will be more interesting gaming topics to read about, like the return of Electronic Gaming Monthly. It'll be interesting how many, if any, former EGM staffers return to the magazine.

If the entire debacle with The Pirate Bay wasn't bad enough for the world of Bittorrent now the courts have set their sights on Mininova. On Wednesday a Dutch court ordered the file sharing service to remove all copyrighted materials or face steep penalties, including millions of dollars in fines. In other internet news, despite a 10 year deal with Microsoft that effectively hands over its search functions to Bing, Yahoo! still plans to roll out major enhancements to its most popular products. Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, and Search will all receive major upgrades in the next few months to better compete with Google. And speaking of Microsoft yet again, the software juggernaut is in trouble over a badly photoshopped image on its Polish web site. In the original image three business people, an Asian man, a black man, and a white woman are all sitting around a table during a PowerPoint presentation. In the Polish image the face of the black man was replaced with that of a white man, but his hands were left unchanged. Considering Microsoft's deep pockets, you'd think the company could have checked the altered image for consistency or better yet, just used two completely different images.

In animation art director Shigemi Ikeda has received an Emmy Award for his work on the Afro Samurai: Resurrection movie. The Cash for Clunkers' car trade-in program ended on Monday. Hopefully you traded in your old beater for a shiny new car with greater gas mileage. On a final note, an 8-story high forest growing on the side of a building in France is just awesome.

About half a month ago, I reported the expiry date of a batch of Xbox Live Points cards.  The new Points cards have finally trickled down to our store and I can almost certainly state that there are no longer expiry dates on their cards.

But that doesn't explain why Microsoft felt the need to put them on there in the first place, especially since the points wouldn't expire once they're placed on your account.  Plus, no one else puts expiry dates on their cards.  Nintendo chose not to put them on their Wii Points cards (and I've yet to see the new Nintendo Points cards, but am willing to assume they don't expire either).  MMORPGs tend not to put expiry dates on cards (at least, the ones I've seen).  And no one has raised any complaints about the once present expiry dates on Live cards.  No one that I've found, anyway.

(Interestingly enough, as of this writing, my original article on points ranked ninth on Google for a search on "microsoft live points" and 33rd for a search on "xbox live points".  I still can't find any other articles about this.)

Points may be on the way out, though.  Microsoft seemed to take a page from the PlayStation store's book back in June by revealing the new currency you'll be able to purchase content with: real money, and with a credit card, too.  Whether this works when it's introduced in August or not is still for the future to decide.

On July 8th Google announced plans to create a lightweight operating system designed to compete with Windows. The new operating system known simply as Chrome OS will release on netbooks. Google has stated plans for the OS to eventually run on desktops but did not mention when such a release would occur. Google may be an internet giant but I doubt Microsoft has much to worry about. Windows 7 is slated to release first and reception to the new OS is good. And despite being eight years old Windows XP is still widely in use and is a popular choice for many netbook users. Furthermore, Chrome OS is a new operating system that has yet to be fully tested, especially when it comes to hardware and software compatibility. However, competition is ultimately good for consumers so Google's move into the OS market is a welcome one.

If rioting and censorship weren't bad enough during the Iran protests, Chinese citizens are facing a similar dilemma. Much of the information about riots in the city of Urumqi has been blocked or censored from the rest of China by its government. Additionally, access to social networking sites like Twitter have also been blocked, although people have generally found ways around the access restrictions. In a case of rotten timing World of Warcraft has also been offline for a month in China. Censored information about riots taking place in your own country and no WoW? To put it lightly, that's just harsh.

Last Tuesday the Sci Fi Channel officially became the SyFy Channel to the lamentations of many longtime viewers. Actually, many viewers fear SyFy will continue its abandonment of the sci-fi genre. The name change certainly makes doing so easier. As long as there's still Ani-Monday I can personally overlook the SyFy Channel's attempt to appeal to mainstream audiences. If the SyFy Channel's remake is ultimately too much to bear, how about treating yourself to a 80GB PlayStation 3 bundled with both Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2? It's not a price drop, but the inclusion of two free games is pretty sweet, unless you don't care for the said games.

Over the weekend Blood: The Last Vampire was screened in about 20 U.S. theaters. Considering the serious lack of advertising and an extremely limited release it actually did quite well. Blood brought in roughly $110,029 dollars which amounts to $5,501 per screen and it was number 32 at the box office. Not too bad for a movie that was barely advertised and had to compete against a juggernaut like Transformers 2.

Many of you domestic One Piece fans may still be upset with FUNimation's loss of the simulcast, however Viz Media has your back. Starting in January 2010 and ending in June 2010 five new volumes of the One Piece manga will be released per month for a total of 30 volumes. If I were a fan of One Piece I'd be pretty excited about the news minus the constant hits to my wallet. If such a release works well enough perhaps Viz will consider doing the same with other popular titles.