New York—You can not only play games and watch premium entertainment content through Xbox LIVE® on Xbox 360™, you can now create content for it, too. Microsoft Corp. and the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) today announced the Xbox LIVE Originals contest, granting aspiring television producers the opportunity to create a pilot that could be chosen for the first original series developed specifically for Xbox LIVE.
Microsoft will award the winning entrant a $100,000 budget and an opportunity for a six-episode commitment to air the television series on Xbox 360, the center of connected entertainment in the living room.
"Xbox LIVE Marketplace, one of the top digital distributors
of online entertainment content, is a great place to
showcase the talent that takes part in the NYTVF."
—NYTVF founder Terence Gray
The pilot episode of the winning series is scheduled to debut this fall at the third annual NYTVF, the industry's first showcase for independent television, before being featured exclusively on Xbox LIVE, home to a community of more than six million people worldwide. This marks the first time that user-created entertainment content will be available worldwide for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE.
Xbox LIVE is already home to more than 1,500 hours of full-length films and TV series in the United States. This contest will showcase the user-created content alongside films and TV shows from many of the top networks and studios in the entertainment industry.
Groundbreaking Initiative
"The New York Television Festival has always striven to give artists opportunities to get their voices heard in the industry, and we think that showcasing their work on the Xbox 360 will give our artists unprecedented exposure," said NYTVF founder Terence Gray. "The Xbox LIVE Originals contest acknowledges that new technologies are enabling artists to tell their stories in innovative ways, and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, one of the top digital distributors of online entertainment content, is a great place to showcase the talent that takes part in the NYTVF. The NYTVF is proud to join with Xbox 360 on its groundbreaking initiative to create and provide original programming."
For more information please following the link below..
Entry Information
To participate in the Xbox LIVE Originals contest, produce and submit a short comedy pilot running between five and fifteen minutes long. Submissions will be accepted from April 16 through June 29, 2007. A group of selected finalists will be shown on Xbox LIVE Marketplace's video-on-demand service in July, and a winner will be announced at the end of the month.
The creators of the winning pilot will receive a budget of $100,000 and an opportunity to produce six additional episodes of the comedy series for Xbox LIVE, and the first episode will premiere at an exclusive event at the 2007 NYTVF in September. Official rules to the Xbox LIVE Originals contest are available by following the link below..
All Xbox 360 owners in Singapore as well as other westernized countries can soon look forward to playing Sakaguchi's newest RPG masterpiece come May 22nd.
Halo was the game that made the original Xbox; it was the one thing the PlayStation 3 still lacks - the game that defines the playing experience. While there are a lot of good games out for the Xbox 360, including Halo 2, it will be Halo 3 that will possibly go the farthest to define the power of that platform. Halo 3 is one of two games enabling Microsoft to push the limits; the other is Shadowrun, which will directly connect PC gamers to Xbox 360 gamers.
Both of these games are, if you will excuse the term, game changers. Halo 3 is the first massive multi-player on-line game for the console and Shadowrun the first to connect PC gamers and console gamers together for online play (though it is limited to a max of 16 in-game players at a time).
Changing Game
Designed from the start is voice capability. While not new to console gamers, most of us who play MMOGs on the PC side have had to use teamspeak, or some other out of game technology, to use voice. Getting an entire team on TeamSpeak is rarely possible.
Voice adds a great deal to combat in that you don’t have to stop to chat and it is much easier to give commands or warnings verbally then it is to type them on a keyboard. One interesting side note is that on a panel I had last year on gaming, the reason game developers didn’t put voice into MMOGs was because of the number of men who liked to play female characters and felt the male voice spoiled the experience.
Having played with TeamSpeak and a few guys, I can tell you it is rather disconcerting to suddenly find out the girl you have been playing beside isn’t a girl after all. It will be interesting to see whether the guys playing girls get the tools necessary to either make them sound feminine, choose to play as males or simply make believe they have deep, sexy voices. Personally, I’m hoping for the middle choice. :)
For a console MMOG, the huge advantage is that you can push the hardware to its limits. This is a problem with PCs where you have to assume the lowest common hardware base, which may be a modem and a Pentium 3 with old graphics. With Halo 3 the game developers can rely on the fact that gamers are on broadband, have Xbox 360s and all have the same controllers. This means we should see things in this game we rarely see on PCs, short of the new DirectX 10 Vista stuff that we are still waiting for.
This should give us powerful visuals and much quicker, console-like game play, which will be a new experience for MMOG players. The fact that everyone should be on broadband should reduce network lag but I’ll bet, when there are a lot of folks shooting in close proximity at the same time, lag will be nearly impossible not to feel.
Still, both games appear first rate based on early reviews and they provide a level of play the other consoles, and most PCs, can’t deliver right now.
Can Sony and Nintendo Keep Up?
Nintendo is playing to the beat of a different drummer right now and I don’t see these latest efforts from Microsoft having much impact. Nintendo is more physical and tends to play to a younger crowd. Nintendo also has a very attractive price point so they should be able to sleep easy while continuing to enjoy an impressive sales ramp.
Sony is in trouble if these games take off. They don’t even do multi-player that well yet, MMOGs are well out of their reach and they have effectively blocked every attempt their PC unit has made to work with their game platform. This creates the very real possibility that Sony PC users will be more likely to choose an Xbox 360 over Playstation 3 if they want to experience cross-platform play.
Today Activision has released news of new content for Guitar Hero II. Activision has also announced today that, new content will be arriving on a monthly basis. It seems that the massive demand, and feedback from the community has prompted Activision to fulfill the requests of the masses.
You will now be able to download nine songs from the original Guitar Hero. They will be released in packs of three. While every month new packs will be released. Here is the current pack releases.
Guitar Hero - Track Pack 1
* Bark at the Moon (as made famous by Ozzy Osbourne)
* Hey You (as made famous by The Exies)
* Ace of Spades (as made famous by Motorhead)
Guitar Hero - Track Pack 2
* Killer Queen (as made famous by Queen)
* Take It Off (as made famous by The Donnas)
* Frankenstein (as made famous by The Edger Winter Group)
Guitar Hero - Track Pack 3
* Higher Ground (as made famous by Red Hot Chili Peppers)
* Infected (as made famous by Bad Religion)
* Stellar (as made famous by Incubus)
All of which are upgraded to the Guitar Hero II feature set, which includes, co-op gameplay with lead, rhythm and bass guitar options. Each pack will cost 500 points. In addition to the track packs, will be exclusive theme packs, that will run 150 points. Gamer pics will run 100 points.
Tim Riley, worldwide executive of music, Activision, Inc has this to say:
"We're excited to offer downloadable content through Xbox Live Marketplace and have been working closely with the top record labels, music publishers and bands to provide the hottest tracks available to our fans."
Tim Riley also had this to say:
"We're constantly trying to find innovative ways to align our games with the best music possible, and for the first time ever, a game publisher will be offering fans the chance to download music and play it in a game. In addition to driving a new revenue stream for artists, we believe that this type of content will drive increased music sales and allow us to break new artists simultaneously with the record labels, while offering our dedicated fans the opportunity to experience the thrill of being a rockstar."
So all you Guitar Hero II fans out there have great content to feed your need every month.
“Boom Boom Rocket” Brings Rhythm to the Night on Xbox Live Arcade
A new original title rockets onto Xbox Live Arcade from Bizarre Creations (the creators of the critically acclaimed “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved”) and publisher Electronic Arts. “Boom Boom Rocket” will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, Apr. 11, at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).
The addictive and original “Boom Boom Rocket” is the first music-rhythm game to appear on Xbox Live Arcade. Players trigger rockets to the beat of the music while traveling through a 3D cityscape. The better the player times the explosions, the more spectacular the fireworks effect. The fireworks are choreographed to 10 original tracks created by Ian Livingstone, who recently scored “Batman Returns” and “Project Gotham Racing 2.”
“Boom Boom Rocket” will be available for 800 Microsoft Points and will first launch in the U.S. Canada, and Europe. The title is rated “E” for Everyone (except in Germany, where it currently is unrated). The game also will be available in the near future in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Australia, and New Zealand.
Game Features
* Two single player gameplay modes – Normal and Speed
* Two single console multiplayer head-to-head modes – Battle and Endurance
* Practice Mode
* Freestyle mode – No target line or scoring, just mash buttons to create cool fireworks shows
* Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points
“Halo 3” Multiplayer Beta Hits Xbox LIVE Worldwide on May 16
Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios offer gamers exclusive first experience of one of 2007’s most anticipated entertainment releases.
REDMOND, Wash. — April 10, 2007 — Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today confirmed the multiplayer beta of “Halo® 3” will debut to audiences worldwide via Xbox LIVE® on May 16 at 5 a.m. PDT and run through June 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Coming exclusively to the Xbox 360™ console this fall, “Halo 3” is the highly anticipated third chapter in the groundbreaking “Halo” trilogy from legendary developers Bungie. “Halo 3” lets gamers experience Master Chief’s greatest battle as he launches an epic mission to stop the Covenant, destroy the impending Flood threat and ultimately save mankind.
Made possible through Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox LIVE gaming and entertainment network, which provides a robust online service for more than 6 million gamers worldwide, the multiplayer beta for “Halo 3” will give anxious Xbox 360 gamers their first opportunity to get their hands on the new levels, weapons, vehicles and game types, as well as a chance to provide valuable data that Bungie will use in continued development. Starting May 16, gamers who secured their admission to the multiplayer beta either through the “Rule of Three” promotion or by purchasing a specially marked copy of “Crackdown™” for Xbox 360 will be able to don their Spartan armor, download the beta on Xbox LIVE, and jump online using their Xbox LIVE Gold account* to battle other gamers from around the world.
When gamers gather online to play the multiplayer beta via Xbox LIVE in May, they will be treated to three richly detailed, action-oriented maps: Snowbound, High Ground and Valhalla, which represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments and are brand-new to “Halo 3.” Each map will test gamers’ mettle as they are placed behind the controls of new “Halo 3” vehicles such as the agile Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and armed with deadly weapons such as the new and improved Assault Rifle, the ferocious Brute Spiker, the devastating Spartan Laser and the treacherous new Spike Grenades. This is just a taste of what gamers will experience later this fall when “Halo 3” goes on sale.
“‘Halo: Combat Evolved’ and ‘Halo 2’ changed the face of console gaming forever,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. “Gamers from around the world have logged more than 800 million hours on Xbox LIVE playing ‘Halo 2,’ and years after its launch it remains the No. 1 title on our Xbox LIVE network. Bringing an early look at the multiplayer elements of ‘Halo 3’ to our passionate fan base is tremendously exciting for us.”
Gamers worldwide who did not participate in the “Rule of Three” promotion but are interested in joining the multiplayer beta of “Halo 3” can still participate through the purchase of the critically acclaimed Xbox 360 title “Crackdown,” which was launched in February. “Crackdown” sets players loose in a free-form, persistent city for action-packed crime fighting that requires a bigger, faster and stronger hero that evolves as a more efficient weapon through continued gameplay. Each copy of “Crackdown” has been specially marked with a “Halo 3” beta sticker prior to the beta period, and starting May 16 the game will act as a key for gamers to download and participate in the “Halo 3” multiplayer beta.
In addition, gamers who can’t wait for the multiplayer beta this May can get an even earlier look at “Halo 3” with a new, behind-the-scenes video feature available at http://www.bungie.net and in high definition over Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Starting today, viewers can go behind the scenes at Bungie Studios to learn about the people, technology and process that are making “Halo 3” an unforgettable multiplayer experience, and to get a taste of what to expect from the upcoming “Halo 3” multiplayer beta. The latest multiplayer video documentary, titled “Is Quisnam Protero Damno!,” will offer a glimpse at how “Halo 3” multiplayer maps are being designed, built and architected, and how these amazing spaces are converted into fun places in which to play. Gamers can also catch the first-ever glimpse of brand-new “Halo 3” multiplayer levels in their early stages of evolution and construction.
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