BioWare and Microsoft Game Studios are making it easier than ever for gamers to create a fan site for the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive Sci-Fi RPG, “Mass Effect.” Today, on the official BioWare site, a new fan site kit for “Mass Effect” is now available for download. Along with the usual assortment of concept art, forum avatars, renders and other Web-ready artwork to enable fans to create quality sites, the fan site kit contains some exclusive new “Mass Effect” desktop wallpaper available in various resolutions.
Worms Update Published by: eltsha on Thursday, March 29, 2007
We're finalising the update to Worms for XBLA which fixes a few issues (the major one being a problem with 4-player games crashing - although this is currently eased if the host waits for 10-20 seconds until the audible 'beeps' of other players trying to join stops).
This update has to go through another certification loop before we can release it. I'll post again when there's news on when that might be, but these things tend to take a little bit of time.
We've also fixed a couple of exploitation issues that have been brought to our attention and also a couple of silly things that crept through the testing net. I'll post a full list when the update goes live (I don't wish to point out some of the exploits!).
Downloadable content is coming soon too, the first lot should include a new theme, a bunch of audio we couldn't fit into the 50mb limit (present at the time we did Worms and recently raised to 150mb), a stack of additional voice-banks and the usual themes & gamer-pics.
By the way, we've had people grumbling about the word-filter on the game, we'd like to point out that this is Microsoft's not ours! :-)
We also just announced new partners bringing more premium content to the Xbox 360 in the U.S. A&E Network, ADV Films, National Geographic and TotalVid.com signed on, and Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are going to offer new high-definition content.
Available titles will include “Braveheart,” “Team America: World Police,” and “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.”
Also, for the first time, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will be releasing its direct-to-video movies exclusively in high definition on Xbox LIVE simultaneous with their availability on DVD, starting with “Sublime” and later “Babylon 5: The Lost Tales.”
Some of the television shows and feature films that will be coming to Xbox LIVE include:
* A&E Network. “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” “King of Cars,” “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” “Driving Force” and “Criss Angel Mindfreak”
* ADV Films. Top offerings from the No. 1 producer-distributor of Japanese animation (“anime”) outside Japan
* National Geographic. The television series “Is It Real?” and “Taboo” as well as programs such as “21 Days to Baghdad” and “Air Force One”
* TotalVid.com. A broad action-sports offering including extreme skiing and snowboarding, skateboarding, motocross, surfing and mountain biking
Microsoft Corp. today announced the upcoming availability of Xbox 360 Elite, a new model of the video game and entertainment system that will include a 120GB hard drive, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a high-definition cable, and a premium black finish for the console, wireless controller and Xbox LIVE headset. Xbox 360 Elite has enough space for a library of Xbox LIVE Arcade games and thousands of songs, as well as downloadable high-definition TV shows and movies available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The new 120GB hard drive also will be sold as a stand-alone accessory to give current Xbox 360 owners greater choice and flexibility in their games and entertainment experience. Additional Xbox 360 Elite accessories, such as the black Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit and the Xbox 360 rechargeable battery, will be available separately. The Xbox 360 Elite and its accessories are expected to begin arriving in U.S. stores on April 29.
"Today's games and entertainment enthusiast has an insatiable appetite for digital high-definition content," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "Xbox 360 Elite's larger hard drive and premium accessories will allow our community to enjoy all that the next generation of entertainment has to offer."
Distinguished by its black finish and signature metallic detailing, Xbox 360 Elite will have an estimated retail price of $479.99 (U.S.)/479.99 euros/349.99 pounds, and will come packed with components and accessories for the ultimate high-definition entertainment experience:
* Xbox 360 Elite console. The console is equipped with a premium black finish and three powerful core processors capable of producing the best in HD entertainment (up to 1080p), 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound, HDMI output and DVD playback with upscaling capabilities right out of the box.
* Xbox 360 120GB hard drive. The 120GB detachable hard drive allows gamers to save their games and store television shows, movies, music, pictures, trailers, levels, demos and other content available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.3 The hard drive is sold separately for an estimated retail price of $179.99 (U.S.)/179.99 euros/119.99 pounds.
* Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (black). This award-winning, high-performance wireless controller, now in black, features the Xbox Guide Button for quick, in-game access to friends and music. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of 30 hours on two AA batteries. It is sold separately for an estimated retail price of $49.99 (U.S.)/44.99 euros/32.99 pounds.
* Xbox 360 headset (black). Now available in black, the headset lets gamers strategize or trade taunts while playing games and send voice messages to friends on Xbox LIVE.
* Xbox 360 HDMI cable. New to Xbox 360, HDMI allows consumers to get HD video (up to 1080p) and multichannel surround sound, all from one cable.
* Xbox LIVE Silver Membership. With this, gamers can chat with friends online, collect achievements and gamerscores, send and receive voice and text messages, and access Xbox LIVE Marketplace content such as game demos, HD movies and TV, as well as the best in downloadable games from Xbox LIVE Arcade.
* One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold. An Xbox LIVE Gold Membership provides a complete online entertainment experience. Those who subscribe to this premium service can engage in competitive online multiplayer matches, tailor their matchmaking via feedback and accomplishments, chat with more than one person at a time, and take advantage of unique privileges in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Xbox LIVE Arcade.
The following accessories for the Xbox 360 Elite console will only be sold separately:
* Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit. Complete with a charging cable and a black rechargeable battery pack, the Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit allows gamers to recharge their Xbox 360 Wireless Controller without interrupting their gameplay. it is sold separately for an estimated retail price of $19.99 (U.S.)/19.99 euros/14.99 pounds.
* Xbox 360 rechargeable battery (black). The rechargeable battery pack provides more than 25 hours of gameplay per charge. It is sold separately for an estimated retail price of $11.99 (U.S.)/11.99 euros/9.99 pounds.
The unannounced Xbox 360 Elite Edition has taken all over the headlines these last few days and now we are posting our third Zephy-related story of the day.
Last week, we showed you leaked pictures of the Xbox 360 Elite Edition but we were doubtful if they were not fake pictures created with Photoshop.
If there's still any doubt that Microsoft is about to release a black Xbox 360 that includes a 120 GB, well, here are some pictures to prove it.
A forum user at TGFC has posted pictures of the Xbox 360 Elite as it is getting out of production:
You might have looked at the simple title, and pondered to yourself, "Orb.... hmmm.... where have I heard that? Oh yea crackdown." well your not even close. Let me inform you of what Orb actually is.
If you have heard of Tversity, you know the basics of Orb. It is a content delivering app that will stream content via home network to a host of hardware ranging from cellphones, to laptops, to all the latest next gen consoles including Wii, Xbox 360 etc.
You may be asking yourself, well I got Tversity, why would I be interested in Orb?
Well here's a few reasons why.
1. You download it, install it like any other app. But unlike Tversity, there isn't a huge install process, of grabbing this, and that to make it work.
3. Its well designed.. if you like pretty looking apps, the design of Orb was well thought out.
Here's a tidbit from the 360 guide to show just how easy it is to install, and get running.
1. Download Orb onto your Windows home PC and follow the instructions for installing and setting up your account.
2. Check to be sure that your Xbox 360 has the Fall 2006 update.
3. Connect your Xbox 360 to your TV.
4. Go to the ‘Media’ Tab in Xbox 360.
5. Select ‘Music’, ‘Pictures’, or ‘Video’.
6. Select ‘Computer’ from the options menu.
7. Click ‘Yes, continue’ when asked if you have downloaded and installed media sharing software on your computer.
8. Select from the list the computer on which you just installed Orb in Step 1, above.
9. You should see all your media. The default selection is:
* For Music, the music in your MyDocuments/MyMusic and SharedDocuments/MyMusic folders
* For Pictures, the photos in your MyDocuments/MyPhotos and SharedDocuments/MyPhotos folders
* For Videos, the videos in your MyDocuments/MyVideos and SharedDocuments/MyVideos folders
* To add or change media folders, click the green Orb tray icon on your computer, then “Configuration”, and select the “Media” tab to add your new folders.
Now if that isn't what I call an easy, and effortless install what is?
I have tested this out, and it is that easy to get running, I have a headless server, that has all my music, pictures, movies, and shows. I was playing with all these media types in under 10 minutes on my Xbox 360. That in itself should sell the idea of Orb. Furthermore all it takes to enjoy Orb, is to create an account, (which cost nothing) and enjoy. No codec's to mess with, no tutorials to follow, just a standard app installation.
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