Showing posts with label general xbox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general xbox. Show all posts
Friday, 28 August 2009
Monday, 24 August 2009
Xbox 360 Slim is a definite, say analyst
Monday 24-Aug-2009 10:59 AM Apparently the slimmer console "is a question of when not if"DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole says that a slim-line version of the Xbox 360 is "a question of when not if", and says it's likely to happen next year.
"I think it is a question of when not if. However, the when part is a big uncertainty... rumours have been going on for a long time, said Cole in the wake of the official reveal of Sony's new skinny console.
"As cost efficiencies allow smaller and more reliable is always a good thing. However, you also have something like Project Natal which could also tie in with hardware redesigns.
"There are a lot of questions Microsoft must weigh internally and there are always going to arguments on both sides of the fence around timing. So I don't know, but in our DFC forecasts we anticipated a major redesign in 2010... so I guess that was our bet," he told Industry Gamers.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
CODDAY BIG DAY OUT SHIRTS SORTED.
Hi all, hope you like orange cos that's the colour this year for the shirts! We thought we would have something bright and cheerful seeing as it'll be the summer! Each shirt will be personalised with your PSN network ID or your Xbox gamertag (depending on which side ya bread is buttered).
Friday, 27 February 2009
Xbox 360 outsells all consoles in Japan!
Xbox 360 has outsold all consoles in Japan, according to the latest sales figures.
That means not only has it outsold the PlayStation3 this week - a feat the 360 has accomplished every now and then in the past - but it has also outsold the Wii. Which is... mad.
The sales surge has been powered by Star Ocean: The Last Hope, which has already powered its way to over 160,000 sales. Will it last? Of course not. Is it still an impressive feat? Of course it is.
That means not only has it outsold the PlayStation3 this week - a feat the 360 has accomplished every now and then in the past - but it has also outsold the Wii. Which is... mad.
The sales surge has been powered by Star Ocean: The Last Hope, which has already powered its way to over 160,000 sales. Will it last? Of course not. Is it still an impressive feat? Of course it is.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Sony is "out of touch", says Microsoft
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has responded to claims by Kaz Hirai that Sony is the best, telling the Sony Computer Entertainment boss that it is in fact Microsoft who is the best.
Yesterday, you may recall, Hirai declared that Sony is the "official" industry leader. Even though they haven't sold as many consoles as Nintendo (who is not a competitor because they make machines for playing videogames on, not machines for playing videogames and other things like films on). Or Microsoft. And didn't sell as many last week and aren't this week and let's face it probably won't next week.
"This sounds like an old hardware company that's comfortable with its market position," Greenberg told The Bitbag.
"That complacent attitude is out of touch with where the industry and consumer is today."
He continued, "This generation won't be won over just hardware specs, but who can out-innovate when it comes to online and software. This is the kind of stuff that's in our DNA, and frankly moves the console war onto our home court."
Unlike Hirai, fuddy-duddy Greenberg likes to use the traditional method of measuring how successful a videogames machine company is by counting the number of videogames machines it has sold. And according to his crazy old fashioned standards, Microsoft is winning.
"I'm confident we will outsell the PS3 throughout the entire generation by providing more innovation and building the best and broadest games library while growing our entertainment experiences on the leading online network," he stated.
"With a US install base lead now of more than 7 million units (according to NPD), I can't imagine any scenario where the PS3 can catch up with us. In fact, even if you doubled the current PS3 sales and Xbox 360 remained flat, they couldn't close the gap until 2014."
Yesterday, you may recall, Hirai declared that Sony is the "official" industry leader. Even though they haven't sold as many consoles as Nintendo (who is not a competitor because they make machines for playing videogames on, not machines for playing videogames and other things like films on). Or Microsoft. And didn't sell as many last week and aren't this week and let's face it probably won't next week.
"This sounds like an old hardware company that's comfortable with its market position," Greenberg told The Bitbag.
"That complacent attitude is out of touch with where the industry and consumer is today."
He continued, "This generation won't be won over just hardware specs, but who can out-innovate when it comes to online and software. This is the kind of stuff that's in our DNA, and frankly moves the console war onto our home court."
Unlike Hirai, fuddy-duddy Greenberg likes to use the traditional method of measuring how successful a videogames machine company is by counting the number of videogames machines it has sold. And according to his crazy old fashioned standards, Microsoft is winning.
"I'm confident we will outsell the PS3 throughout the entire generation by providing more innovation and building the best and broadest games library while growing our entertainment experiences on the leading online network," he stated.
"With a US install base lead now of more than 7 million units (according to NPD), I can't imagine any scenario where the PS3 can catch up with us. In fact, even if you doubled the current PS3 sales and Xbox 360 remained flat, they couldn't close the gap until 2014."
Monday, 19 January 2009
Chip Architect Speaks About Xbox 360 and PS3 Creation
Read on... perhaps now we can all shut up about the console war? They are both good and rubbish all at the same time.
US, January 16, 2009 - Gamasutra.com secured an interview with David Shippy who was the chief architect of the power processing unit for the Cell (the engine that drives the PS3). The chip began the research and design process in 2000 when Sony asked IBM for an "order of magnitude increase in processing performance." Ironically it was that very ambition and the design that followed that would one day be the foundation for Microsoft's Xbox 360.
Shippy describes the design goals as shooting for a "supercomputer on a chip" and says "We came along with Cell and we were double the frequency of any PC out there." Then in 2003 Microsoft comes to IBM and, much like Sony, asked them to design a chip unlike anything that was currently on the market. Naturally, IBM showed The Big M their latest and greatest tech which, at that time, was the multi-core "road map" that was used to create what would eventually become the Cell. Keep in mind, that all of this original technology was originally financed by Sony and Toshiba for use in the PS3.
Shippy maintains that Microsoft never got a look at the actual Cell processor and maintains that it was IBM's right to sell the technology to other platforms, such as the Xbox 360, but also states, "The Cell itself and the fundamental architecture that went into that -- that was all proprietary for PS3."
Even still, the fact remains that Xbox 360 chip designers and PS3 chip designers were, at one time, working side-by-side with one another at IBM. Shippy details distaste that developed between the two teams, "when this whole Xbox thing came in, there were certainly a lot of guys -- even on my team -- that were fairly upset about it."
But when asked the flame war inducing question, "which console is actually more powerful?"
Shippy tells Gamasutra, "I'm going to have to answer with an 'it depends.' Again, they're completely different models. So in the PS3, you've got this Cell chip which has massive parallel processing power, the PowerPC core, multiple SPU cores… it's got a GPU that is, in the model here, processing more in the Cell chip and less in the GPU. So that's one processing paradigm -- a heterogeneous paradigm."
"With the Xbox 360, you've got more of a traditional multi-core system, and you've got three PowerPC cores, each of them having dual threads -- so you've got six threads running there, at least in the CPU. Six threads in Xbox 360, and eight or nine threads in the PS3 -- but then you've got to factor in the GPU," Shippy explains. "The GPU is highly sophisticated in the Xbox 360."
"At the end of the day, when you put them all together, depending on the software, I think they're pretty equal."
Shippy then goes on to dissect each console's flaws: for the Xbox 360 it was the initial heatsink and cooling problems and for the PS3 it's the coding issues experienced by developers. While Shippy was not directly involved in the programming of the Xbox 360's power consumption, his best guess is that Microsoft brought their system specs right up to the edge of functioning properly and melting down which Shippy describes as "playing with fire."
On the PS3's supposed programming issues Shippy says it's "definitely a new paradigm" but claims that once developers wrap their head around the nuances of the system, they can actually get impressive results for "low-level coding."
thanks to IGN.COM for the text
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Reader Poll: Best of 2008 Games
Which channel's Game of the Year came out on top?
US, January 12, 2009 - With 2009 now in full swing, the time for reflection is almost over. This Friday, IGN is announcing its overall Best of 2008 awards, including the coveted Game of the Year. While we aren't quite ready to announce the nominees and winners, we did ask readers which IGN channel's Best of 2008 winner they liked the most. Just over 52,000 of you voted and we've tallied the results.
According to you, the best of our individual platform Games of the Year are:
Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3): 48%
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360): 37%
World of Goo (Wii): 5%
Braid (Xbox Live): 3%
Sins of a Solar Empire (PC): 3%
The World Ends with You (DS): 3%
Patapon (PSP): 1%
The uncontested winner is Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PlayStation 3. Solid Snake's latest mission (really, who is prepared to truly call it his last?) topped the list with almost half of the total votes. Trailing behind it was Fallout 3, Bethesda's sequel to the popular post-apocalyptic adventure series. Fallout 3 appeared on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC last year, but only the Xbox 360 version topped the individual IGN channel awards.
The battle for last place was handily won by the inventive Patapon on the PlayStation Portable, a rhythm-action game that melded great music with clever gameplay. Existing between Patapon and Fallout 3 are the winners of all other channels, each garnering similar shares of the remaining vote. World of Goo, the WiiWare download, topped the third tier of games. Braid, the only other download game on our list, ranked not too far behind World of Goo.
How did you vote in our poll and why? Hit the comments and tell us which is your favorite game of 2008 -- or make a prediction about which game will win our 2008 Game of the Year!
Thanks to ign.com for the text
US, January 12, 2009 - With 2009 now in full swing, the time for reflection is almost over. This Friday, IGN is announcing its overall Best of 2008 awards, including the coveted Game of the Year. While we aren't quite ready to announce the nominees and winners, we did ask readers which IGN channel's Best of 2008 winner they liked the most. Just over 52,000 of you voted and we've tallied the results.
According to you, the best of our individual platform Games of the Year are:
Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3): 48%
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360): 37%
World of Goo (Wii): 5%
Braid (Xbox Live): 3%
Sins of a Solar Empire (PC): 3%
The World Ends with You (DS): 3%
Patapon (PSP): 1%
The uncontested winner is Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PlayStation 3. Solid Snake's latest mission (really, who is prepared to truly call it his last?) topped the list with almost half of the total votes. Trailing behind it was Fallout 3, Bethesda's sequel to the popular post-apocalyptic adventure series. Fallout 3 appeared on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC last year, but only the Xbox 360 version topped the individual IGN channel awards.
The battle for last place was handily won by the inventive Patapon on the PlayStation Portable, a rhythm-action game that melded great music with clever gameplay. Existing between Patapon and Fallout 3 are the winners of all other channels, each garnering similar shares of the remaining vote. World of Goo, the WiiWare download, topped the third tier of games. Braid, the only other download game on our list, ranked not too far behind World of Goo.
How did you vote in our poll and why? Hit the comments and tell us which is your favorite game of 2008 -- or make a prediction about which game will win our 2008 Game of the Year!
Thanks to ign.com for the text
When's the Next Xbox Coming?
Microsoft says the wait will be longer than in previous cycles.
US, January 12, 2009 - The graphical prowess and feature set of the Xbox 360 are still at such a high level that Microsoft execs don't think they can persuade consumers to buy a new version any time soon.
In interview with Bloomberg News that ran in the San Jose Mercury News this morning, the president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, Robbie Bach, said the company is currently focused on improving the Xbox 360's software library and features rather than launching a new machine.
"Just coming up with something that's faster and prettier isn't going to be sufficient," Bach told Bloomberg. "The life cycle for this generation of consoles — and I'm not just talking about Xbox, I'd include Wii and PS3 as well — is probably going to be a little longer than previous generations."
The original Xbox was released in 2001, and the Xbox 360 followed four years later, in 2005. Sony executives have spoken publicly about a possible 10-year life cycle for the PlayStation 3, which is considerably longer than previous cycles in the videogame industry. While the next Xbox might not take quite that long to materialize (the 360 hit the market in 2005), the current economic climate could push plans back even further.
"When you look at consumers, they are going to be more value-conscious," Bach said. "We want to make sure that as the economy does start to recover, that we're positioned well."
thanks to ign.com for the text
US, January 12, 2009 - The graphical prowess and feature set of the Xbox 360 are still at such a high level that Microsoft execs don't think they can persuade consumers to buy a new version any time soon.
In interview with Bloomberg News that ran in the San Jose Mercury News this morning, the president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, Robbie Bach, said the company is currently focused on improving the Xbox 360's software library and features rather than launching a new machine.
"Just coming up with something that's faster and prettier isn't going to be sufficient," Bach told Bloomberg. "The life cycle for this generation of consoles — and I'm not just talking about Xbox, I'd include Wii and PS3 as well — is probably going to be a little longer than previous generations."
The original Xbox was released in 2001, and the Xbox 360 followed four years later, in 2005. Sony executives have spoken publicly about a possible 10-year life cycle for the PlayStation 3, which is considerably longer than previous cycles in the videogame industry. While the next Xbox might not take quite that long to materialize (the 360 hit the market in 2005), the current economic climate could push plans back even further.
"When you look at consumers, they are going to be more value-conscious," Bach said. "We want to make sure that as the economy does start to recover, that we're positioned well."
thanks to ign.com for the text
Monday, 12 January 2009
No Blu-Ray For Xbox 360
Microsoft's Bach explains why Sony's tech isn't coming to your console.
US, January 9, 2009 - Microsoft executives have made it clear for some time now that they have no plans to add Blu-Ray functionality to the Xbox 360, but they've never really delved into specifics.
But Seattle-based tech Web site Tech Flash (via Gamasutra) cornered Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, at CES this week and pressed him on the issue. And this time, Bach talked at length about the subject.
Microsoft still has no plans to bring Sony's high-definition disk format to its console, mainly because consumers aren't asking for it, Bach said.
"It's not a feature we get a ton of requests for. We really don't," Bach told Tech Flash. "When you ask people the list of things they want to see us spending time creating in Xbox, Blu-ray is way, way down on the list."
And even if Xbox 360 gamers were clamoring for the format, it wouldn't be in the company's best interest to make it happen. If future 360 games were to be published on Blu-Ray, they wouldn't play on the current installed base of 28 million DVD-based consoles, which would be a bad thing, Bach said. Oh, also it would apparently be quite pricey. Still confused? We'll let Bach break it down:
"And so the scenario is, OK, let me get this straight: I'm going to add something to the product that's going to raise the cost, which means the price goes up, consumers aren't asking for it, and by the way, my game developers can't use it."
But what about the ability to watch high-definition movies on a gaming console? Bach said he's perfectly happy with the Xbox Live video-on-demand service and the recent addition of Netflix streaming movies.
So if you're still holding out for a Blu-Ray peripheral for your Xbox 360 or a rebooted console model with a Blu-Ray drive, it looks like you're out of luck.
thanks to ign.com for the text
US, January 9, 2009 - Microsoft executives have made it clear for some time now that they have no plans to add Blu-Ray functionality to the Xbox 360, but they've never really delved into specifics.
But Seattle-based tech Web site Tech Flash (via Gamasutra) cornered Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, at CES this week and pressed him on the issue. And this time, Bach talked at length about the subject.
Microsoft still has no plans to bring Sony's high-definition disk format to its console, mainly because consumers aren't asking for it, Bach said.
"It's not a feature we get a ton of requests for. We really don't," Bach told Tech Flash. "When you ask people the list of things they want to see us spending time creating in Xbox, Blu-ray is way, way down on the list."
And even if Xbox 360 gamers were clamoring for the format, it wouldn't be in the company's best interest to make it happen. If future 360 games were to be published on Blu-Ray, they wouldn't play on the current installed base of 28 million DVD-based consoles, which would be a bad thing, Bach said. Oh, also it would apparently be quite pricey. Still confused? We'll let Bach break it down:
"And so the scenario is, OK, let me get this straight: I'm going to add something to the product that's going to raise the cost, which means the price goes up, consumers aren't asking for it, and by the way, my game developers can't use it."
But what about the ability to watch high-definition movies on a gaming console? Bach said he's perfectly happy with the Xbox Live video-on-demand service and the recent addition of Netflix streaming movies.
So if you're still holding out for a Blu-Ray peripheral for your Xbox 360 or a rebooted console model with a Blu-Ray drive, it looks like you're out of luck.
thanks to ign.com for the text
Friday, 19 December 2008
Another one bites the dust!!!.....now got a new one
This is what my xbox looks like when I turn it on. The graphics card appears to have killed itself! Thankfully it's less than a year old and a straight exchange is possible. That's 4 Xbox's since launch. Might have to seriously consider a PS3 if I end up on a fifth. Why is such a good product made with such shit unreliable components...... oh yeah, it's made by Microsoft.
Friday, 10 October 2008
Friday, 3 October 2008
Monday, 15 September 2008
Friday, 12 September 2008
HIGH RES New Dashboard images!
Click on these for some slightly higher quality images of the new dashboard!
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Monday, 16 June 2008
Monday, 21 January 2008
Goodbye....so long....
Well. After some thought about the whole thing, I'm off. By that I mean that I won't be contributing to the blog at the same level as I have been (I may well still bung up the odd post) and won't be whoring my arse for spots in magazines etc. I have some other 'Projects' I want time to start thinking about and I want my xbox gaming to return to what it used to be without the general hassle of CODDAY as a clan thing. In addition to this for reasons I'm not going to go into, I doubt I will be coming along to Warfighters in June.
I'm sure that we'll all still play some games together but, the crap I get from being in the mags and from being in a clan is getting a little boring... to be honest I can't really be bothered with it all. They may even be a gamertag change too to avoid the junk mail on my xbox.
If the Gamertag changes, genuine friends will know but 'random gamers' who are on my list will probably find that I appear to disappear from live altogether.....
I hope you all continue to have a good laugh with the whole clan thing and the website. Might be worth someone else starting a new on as I started the current one and if/as and when I need space on blogger, it will get deleted.
See you on LIVE (perhaps) Pete.
I'm sure that we'll all still play some games together but, the crap I get from being in the mags and from being in a clan is getting a little boring... to be honest I can't really be bothered with it all. They may even be a gamertag change too to avoid the junk mail on my xbox.
If the Gamertag changes, genuine friends will know but 'random gamers' who are on my list will probably find that I appear to disappear from live altogether.....
I hope you all continue to have a good laugh with the whole clan thing and the website. Might be worth someone else starting a new on as I started the current one and if/as and when I need space on blogger, it will get deleted.
See you on LIVE (perhaps) Pete.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Third Party "360"?
UK, January 3, 2008 - Microsoft's head honcho Bill Gates is due to make his final keynote speech at next week's Consumer Electronics Show, and many are speculating he is to go out with a bang with the announcement of a new flavour for the Xbox 360.
The murmurings began with a column by Brier Dudley in The Seattle Times, a source close to Microsoft, in which some educated guesswork about the contents of Gates' swansong was aired. These ranged from the fairly pedestrian – a focused convergence between the Xbox Live, Zune and Media Center teams to offer a one-stop service for content – to the more bravado anticipation of a new variety of Xbox 360, adding to the various choices already available. Dudley outlined the possibility of Microsoft licensing out their technology to a third party "…to develop a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities."
Already the rumour has snowballed, with Stuff Magazine going as far to outline specifications of the new Xbox, alongside a speculative street date of Autumn 2008 and the moniker of Xbox Ultimate. Among the features they expect to see are the aforementioned HD-DVD drive, built-in Wi-Fi, a more muted fan and a 320GB hard disk that would enable users to fully benefit from the Xbox IPTV service.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft UK were not willing to offer comment on the growing specula
Thanks to IGN.COM for the info.
Reminds me a little of the DVD enabled, chrome Panasonic Gamecube which only came out in Japan...There's one for sale in Cambridge in a shop called GAMETRON EXCHANGE incase anyone is interested....
On another note, it's 2008 which means REZ HD is out this year!!! W00T!
The murmurings began with a column by Brier Dudley in The Seattle Times, a source close to Microsoft, in which some educated guesswork about the contents of Gates' swansong was aired. These ranged from the fairly pedestrian – a focused convergence between the Xbox Live, Zune and Media Center teams to offer a one-stop service for content – to the more bravado anticipation of a new variety of Xbox 360, adding to the various choices already available. Dudley outlined the possibility of Microsoft licensing out their technology to a third party "…to develop a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities."
Already the rumour has snowballed, with Stuff Magazine going as far to outline specifications of the new Xbox, alongside a speculative street date of Autumn 2008 and the moniker of Xbox Ultimate. Among the features they expect to see are the aforementioned HD-DVD drive, built-in Wi-Fi, a more muted fan and a 320GB hard disk that would enable users to fully benefit from the Xbox IPTV service.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft UK were not willing to offer comment on the growing specula
Thanks to IGN.COM for the info.
Reminds me a little of the DVD enabled, chrome Panasonic Gamecube which only came out in Japan...There's one for sale in Cambridge in a shop called GAMETRON EXCHANGE incase anyone is interested....
On another note, it's 2008 which means REZ HD is out this year!!! W00T!
Monday, 17 December 2007
Elite Console Problems
Check the link below before you upgrade to a 120GB drive....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7147753.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7147753.stm
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