Microsoft today began permanently banning gamers they describe as "illegitimate ODST players" from their Xbox Live online service.
Earlier today Xbox Live Chief of Police Stephen Toulouse wrote on his Twitter page that he had seen some illegitimate ODST players, referring to Xbox 360's upcoming Halo 3: ODST, online.
"No early play for you," he wrote. "Commencing permabans."
Toulouse later clarified on his Twitter that people who bought the game early and are playing it safe.
We contacted Toulouse for more details about how widespread the bannings are and how Microsoft is differentiating between legitimate owners of the game, which went on sale at at least one store early, and those who obtained the game through illegitimate means.
Toulouse told Kotaku that he can't go into specifics about how they detect and how many they ban because they don't want to tip off pirates to their methods.
"I can be clear however that this applies to illegitimate copies only, the ban covers the Xbox LIVE account and could possibly include their console depending on the results of our investigations (which are ongoing). We do this from time to time with titles to combat piracy," he wrote to Kotaku. "If a user happens to purchase a legit copy of Halo 3: ODST early, then our problem is not with the user but the retailer who broke the street date. Those individuals will not be punished."
For the GTA IV fans that have got The Lost And The Damned DLC you might recall that a few things like guns and bikes had been added to the GTA IV world and that trend is not going to stop with Gay Tony, you can expect more guns and vehicles in this new DLC due out October 29 for 360.
New details on the second GTA IV episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony have emerged via the latest issue of Xbox World 360 magazine.
The new 360-exclusive DLC - which you can see in the video form below - is described by the XBW chaps as "crammed to the gills with high-powered new weapons, fresh vehicles and, above all, a sense of riotous abandon that we haven't really seen from GTA since the latter stages of San Andreas".
Following the exploits of city high-roller Luis Fernando Lopez, the episode looks to include the kind of mental set pieces you'd expect from the likes of Saints Row 2.
As well as bouts of base jumping and helicopter battles with giant yachts, one adrenaline-stuffed Gay Tony mission, says XBW, has you stealing a subway train for a "nutjob" real estate billionaire, voiced by Arab comedian Omid Djalli.
The minted businessman wants a carriage to send back to the Middle East as a present for his pal - only the local officials aren't keen on giving him one. Expectedly then, it's up to you to base jump onto the roof of a speeding train, fending off police snipers, before having the carriage literally airlifted off the tracks by a massive, custom helicopter.
New toys include the P90 submachine gun, SWAT tank, the Bentley-alike Super Drop Diamond and the new chopper seen in the debut trailer called the Buzzard.
According to Xbox World, the add-on's also quite generous in the mini-game department. While the Firefly Island funfair still isn't open for business, Lopez can partake in a spot of golf or even manage a nightclub, kicking out trouble makers and making sure the dance floor's pumping.
With HALO ODST hitting the shelves real soon there is no real big surprise that BUNGIE is not ready to talk about HALO Reach but what they are willing to do is drop a few hints about whats to come in the future for the HALO world.
Eurogamer reported: Bungie yesterday said that it is in no rush to start talking about Halo: Reach what with Halo 3: ODST yet to ship.
"Obviously right now what we're excited about is the impending launch of ODST, so we don't want to totally start talking about next year's model before this one's even off the assembly line," community lead Brian Jarrard explained in answer to a fan's question about Reach gameplay footage during the Penny Arcade Expo ODST panel.
"But there is a beta that's coming next year, so all you've got to do is sit tight. If you want to be part of Reach from the very beginning then you want to make sure you keep an ODST disc handy," he added.
The firm also reiterated that DLC for ODST is unlikely. "There's no current plans right now for DLC for ODST," senior designer Lars Bakken said in answer to another question. "That could change, but uh..."
"I think what Lars really meant to say was," Jarrard took over, winning a laugh from the huge crowd, many of whom had to queue for over 45 minutes to get their seats, "the team's working really hard on another really huge game coming out next fall [Reach]." We think Jarrard went on to say that DLC may be "a consideration down the road" depending on the success of Firefight, but the tape's a bit garbled by hooting Halo fanboys so we can't be sure.
As for the rest of the panel, an eight-strong group including Marty O'Donnell and Joe Staten enjoyed taking the piss out of one another as they talked about the development of ODST, which is out on 22nd September, and specifically how they fleshed out the New Mombasa night-time setting with cues from film noir.
There was also much ribbing about getting rid of the battle rifle, previews of some of O'Donnell's lovely music, and some cool footage of Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, Nolan North and Tricia Helfer recording their dialogue. Upload plz.
Four Independent Developers Take Home Share of $75,000 Today Microsoft Corp. revealed the highly-anticipated winners of its 2009 Dream.Build.Play Challenge, which encourages independent and hobbyist game developers to create fun and innovative video games for Xbox 360 using XNA Game Studio.
Four winners received a share of $75,000 in cash prizes and could have the opportunity to publish their games on Xbox LIVE Arcade. This year’s global Dream.Build.Play Challenge garnered over 350 games from more than 100 countries. Those who participated in the contest, and are located in a supported region, will have the opportunity to publish their games on the Xbox LIVE Indie Games Channel.
Dean Dodrill of the United States earned the grand prize of $40,000 for “Dust: An Elysian Tail” a side-scrolling, action role-playing game in which the player controls Dust, a man searching for himself. Set in the beautiful yet mysterious world of Falana, this game chronicles Dust’s journey to liberate an oppressed village and rediscover his past. Meticulously hand-animated and painted, “Dust: An Elysian Tail” welcomes exploration, action, and above all else, mastery of a fighting system that rewards skilled gamers. Panya Inversin and his team from the United States took home second place and $20,000 for their stunning 3-D, four-player brawler/space-shooter, “Max Blastronaut”. Nivel21 Entertainment, led by Mauricio Garcia from Spain, received third place and $10,000 for the challenging puzzle game “Rotor’scope – The Secret of the Endless Energy”. China’s Hu Ling and his team came in fourth place and received $5,000 for the stylish martial arts action game “HurricaneX2 Evolution”.
“Once again, the community of indie developers has blown us away with the quality of games submitted to Dream.Build.Play this year,” XNA General Manager Boyd Multerer said. “Beyond the creative talent unleashed with XNA Game Studio, it’s great to see Xbox LIVE Indie Games coming into its own as the home for independent console games.”
Earlier this year, Microsoft released the next iteration of its industry-leading game development toolset, XNA Game Studio 3.1. By building on the momentum of XNA Game Studio 3.0, which made it easier for developers of all levels to build great games, this update takes full advantage of new Xbox LIVE features and strong existing partnerships. With XNA Game Studio 3.1, developers are able to add support for customized Avatars and enables support for Xbox LIVE Parties. XNA Game Studio 3.1 also benefits from improvements and new partner product support from Synapse Gaming with their SunBurn products, Toon Boom Animation Inc. with their product Toon Boom Studio, and Autodesk with the Softimage 7.5 Mod Tool. More information about Dream.Build.Play, XNA Game Studio 3.1 and the XNA Creators Club Online can be found by visiting http://creators.xna.com
Today, Microsoft unveils a “Halo 3: ODST” live-action short, a 90 second ad spot for the eagerly awaited Xbox 360 exclusive, “Halo 3: ODST.” The ad debuts today exclusively on MySpace at www.myspace.com/gametrailers and IGN.com. The “Halo 3: ODST” live-action short is a haunting, action-packed production that charts the life of a UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, or ODST.
In addition to the online debut of the 90 second short, Halo fans in the United States will be treated to a special, extended two minute 30 second version exclusively on Spike TV on Monday September 7. The extended version will premiere during “Band of Brothers” at 10:30 PM ET/PT.
The short will also be available to download on Xbox LIVE starting September 8.
For the production of the “Halo 3: ODST” live-action short, Microsoft and Bungie partnered with ad agency TAG SF, Legacy Effects (props), Asylum (visual effects) and Final Cut (editing). The short features an original musical score written and produced by Human. The short was directed by Rupert Sanders with MJZ, the director of the award-winning “Halo 3” ad spot “Believe.” The short was filmed on location in Budapest, Hungary.
Also launching today at 6:00 p.m. PT is a unique “Halo 3: ODST” interactive experience site on www.xbox.com/halo. Visitors will be in control of an Operations of Naval Intelligence (ONI) application that blends science, psychology and analysis to evaluate which ODST candidates are best suited for upcoming missions in “Halo 3: ODST.” Featuring over 20 minutes of interactive content, visitors can interact with the evaluations of the four ODST squad members they will be fighting alongside in “Halo 3: ODST” in order to dive deeper into the fiction of the game. Microsoft and Bungie worked with AKQA SF and TAG SF on the experience site.
Suit up and prepare to drop September 22 when “Halo 3: ODST” hits retail stores worldwide.
Do you want to know if your favorite bands or tracks are on the new "Guitar Hero 5" for Xbox 360?? If you do, check out the entire list of bands & tracks listed below.
The set list is entirely made up of master recordings instead of cover versions, including those from over 30 musicians who have never appeared in a music game before. This time the game is geared towards playing songs in a four-person band experience, including lead and bass guitars, drums, and vocals.
Anyway, onto the complete list.. Get involved in the 360-HQ forum discussions for Guitar Hero 5 from the links located on the bottom of this story.
Guitar Hero 5 - Bands & Track List
- 3 Doors Down: Kryptonite
- A Perfect Circle: Judith
- AFI: Medicate
- Arctic Monkeys: Brianstorm
- Attack! Attack!: You And Me
- Band Of Horses: Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
- Beastie Boys: Gratitude
- Beck: Gamma Ray
- Billy Idol: Dancing With Myself
- Billy Squier: Lonely Is The Night
- Blink 182: The Rock Show
- Blur: Song 2
- Bob Dylan: All Along The Watchtower
- Bon Jovi: You Give Love A Bad Name
- Brand New: Sowing Season (Yeah)
- Bush: Comedown
- Children of Bodom: Done With Everything, Die For Nothing
- Coldplay: In My Place
- Darker My Love: Blue Day
- Darkest Hour: Demon(s)
- David Bowie: Fame
- Deep Purple: Woman From Tokyo ('99 Remix)
- Dire Straits: Sultans Of Swing
- Duran Duran: Hungry Like The Wolf
- Eagles Of Death Metal: Wannabe In LA
- Elliot Smith: L.A.
- Elton John: Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
- Face to Face: Disconnected
- Garbage: Only Happy When It Rains
- Gorillaz: Feel Good Inc.
- Gov't Mule: Streamline Woman
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