360 News: Camera News, HD-DVD Games?

  • Thread starter YSSMAN
  • 9 comments
  • 687 views
YSSMAN

YSSMAN

Super-Cool Since 2013
Premium
21,286
United States
GR-MI-USA
YSSMAN
YSSMAN
So I figured there should be a collective news thread for the 360, given the PS3 forum has one, so why not? Here we go!

Gamer Scan
Microsoft has unveiled a simplified application which will allow home users to program games for Windows and/or the Xbox 360. XNA Game Studio Express will be available as a free download, whether in the beta to be premiered this month or as the final product for the holiday season. The professional XNA program was released in March 2005. Aside from reduced features, the catch with the Express version is that until the spring of 2007, users will have to pay $99 to belong to a "Creators' Club" (not the final name) if they intend to share their games with others. In spring Microsoft will allow Express games to be sold through Xbox Live Arcade, though the company will vet each title and take a cut of revenue. The system may open up completely within three to five years. Somewhat subversively, MS has also persuaded 10 universities to start using Express in their curricula.
Click to expand...

This has been talked about for quite some time, and it will be very interesting to see how it all works out in the end. I'd love to be able to program my own 360 games, and it should make things very interesting on XBLM. Could we find the next Cliffy B? Maybe, we will see what happens...

Gamer Scan
A gaming strategist at Microsoft has confirmed the existence of "Panorama," which is the apparent codename for the bridging of Xbox Live with Windows. He refuses to say if anything from a recent Shacknews article is true though, and that's where the interesting details lie. The Shack quotes "reputable sources" as saying that Panorama will be integrated with Windows Vista, allowing Windows users to access Xbox Live features including the Arcade. Moreover, if the Shack is right, PC players will be able to play Arcade games with 360 owners. The facts of Panorama may be revealed this week at Microsoft's Gamefest in Seattle.
Click to expand...

Sounds great, as the connectivity between PC and 360 should make things interesting. Although I would have prefered to hear more about the connectivity between cell phones, PCs and 360s, this is news enough for now. It will be interesting to hear more later this week into the next big Microsoft conference, X06.
 
More news today:

Gamer Scan
A couple of interesting details have come out of Microsoft's Gamefest in Seattle, which ended yesterday. The first is that the Xbox Live Vision camera, shipping in September, will be including a 360 game called TotemBall. Using arm gestures, players will guide a wheeled totem pole to an exit while collecting items and beating a time limit. The game is being developed by the UK companies Strange Flavour and Freeverse. Meanwhile, Microsoft is pushing an online concept called "consumables." These would be game items you could (or would have to) buy multiple times using real money, somewhat like The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion's official downloads. MS would also like to enable such purchases in-game, but the company says that players may initially have to finalize their payments in Marketplace.
Click to expand...

Cool on the camera, I'm glad to hear they are going some kind of EyeToy type thing. But will they be able to sell it to the masses? Who knows? The EyeToy, to my knowlege, never wen't over that great, but the 360's camera is promising given the camera chat that should be happening.

Gamer Scan
Microsoft has long insisted that the upcoming HD-DVD drive is intended for movies, but an excerpt from Warren News' Consumer Electronics Daily leaves open the possibility of games for the drive: "Microsoft hasn’t determined yet whether to do Xbox 360 games in blue-laser HD DVD, but has ruled it out for 'this holiday' when it ships its HD DVD drive for movie playback through the Xbox 360, said Dave Luehmann, gen. mgr. - Microsoft Games Studios. 'Speed of loading' is Microsoft’s big concern about HD DVD games on the Xbox 360, Luehmann said." Indeed, the speed of first-generation drives will probably deter game development. One wonders though if an internal, game-worthy drive might not be coming a few years down the road, when Microsoft will be more threatened by the PS3's Blu-Ray support.
Click to expand...

...Not that surprising really, but it is still another "wait and see" type deal. Will they do it? Probably...
 
Don't fret when you can't connect online on the 17th.

Joystiq
XBL down for maintenance on Oct. 17th

Posted Oct 12th 2006 7:00PM by Ludwig Kietzmann
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

Major Nelson sends word that the Xbox Live network will soon disappear into a nebulous offline abyss for some maintenance. Currently scheduled for Tuesday, 17 October and expected to last for 24 hours, attempts by your Xbox 360 to connect to Live will be met with unnerving digital silence. Mark the date on your calendars and be sure to reschedule your planned sessions of disconnecting early, screaming into your headset and informing other players of their sexual orientation.

The official Xbox website will also be taken down and worked upon in order to accomodate "some secret cool stuff." None of which, as the site insists, includes a dashboard update. Incidentally, 17 October is also the release date for Splinter Cell: Double Agent.
Click to expand...
Bolded the part that I found interesting.
 
...makes you wonder, eh?

Any guesses as to what it is?

- I have heard rumors of connectivity to XP (or was that offical?) comming soon
- Preparing for Vista?
- The Live-anywhere setup?
- Preparing for Zune?
- Something to do with URGE?
- 1080p update?

...Thats about all I can think of...
 
I dont' think HD-DVD games will happen anytime soon.

As for the camera, I love it actually, though only one game really supports the reason I think it's cool, that game being Rainbow Six: Vegas. Facial scanning is definately an awesome feature, and hopefully more developers will include such features on their games. It definately increases teh value of the camera ten fold, as video chat and pictures are pretty much useless IMO.
 
Jeremy Ricci
I dont' think HD-DVD games will happen anytime soon.

As for the camera, I love it actually, though only one game really supports the reason I think it's cool, that game being Rainbow Six: Vegas. Facial scanning is definately an awesome feature, and hopefully more developers will include such features on their games. It definately increases teh value of the camera ten fold, as video chat and pictures are pretty much useless IMO.
Click to expand...
Well, I agree, I think the video chat and photos on the 360 are pretty pointless. However, one of the neat things about it is that you can use it as a webcam with your computer.
 
I don't see how they could release games on HD-DVD, since there's several million 360s out there that would never be able to play them. Only a fraction of 360 owners are even going to purchase the drive.

Even if they did release them, they'd still have to release separate versions of the game on DVD. Which means the game would still have to fit on a DVD. Which makes the HD-DVD version somewhat useless.
 

Latest Posts

Back