GameFest: Xbox 360 Camera To Ship With Free Game As part of Microsoft's Gamefest this week in Seattle, Gamasutra has obtained exclusive new details on the launch of the Xbox Live Vision video camera accessory for the Xbox 360, including confirmation of a gesture-based game that is set to be included for free with the hardware.
Microsoft's Jeff Stone revealed the new information on the Xbox 360-exclusive game in question, TotemBall, which was first announced in May of this year. It is being developed by UK-based Strange Flavour and Freeverse, both of whom are mainly known for their Macintosh titles.
TotemBall is controlled almost entirely through gestures; that is, the game tracks a player's arm movements to control a rickety, wheeled totem pole tower around each level, collecting items and trying to reach the exit within a time limit. Gesture-based gameplay is not foreign to Freeverse, who previously developed ToySight for the Macintosh, compatible with Apple's iSight camera.
The title shows that Microsoft is willing to compete with the gesture-based gameplay control concepts also utilized by Sony's EyeToy for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. Though no further gestural-controlled game concepts using the Xbox Live Vision camera have yet been officially announced, more gestural games are in early development, according to Stone.
In addition, the peripheral is compatible with selected Xbox Live Arcade games such as Uno, to allow video chat while gameplay is in progress, and with a facemapping feature for Activision's World Series of Poker, another new announcement.
The Xbox Live Vision camera is apparently set to ship alongside TotemBall in September, at a thus far unannounced pricing point - U.S. retailer GameStop currently has the camera listed for $39.99 with a September 19th release date, but neither of these specifics have been officially confirmed. Gamasutra will have additional details on the software in development for Live Vision in an upcoming feature.
Microsoft is giving away ‘Texas Hold ‘em’ to XBLA users for the first 48 hours after launch.
The promotion only lasts from Wednesday, August 23 at 0800 GMT (1am Pacific) through For 48 hours only – Wednesday, August 23 through 0800 GMT (1am Pacific) Friday, August 25.
Not only is ‘Texas Hold ’em’ free to all gamers, this title comes equipped with features that can only be found on Xbox 360. Designed to simulate the risk-reward of real poker gameplay, keep gamers honest, and discourage opponents from betting too recklessly, ‘Texas Hold ’em’ has an innovative new feature called Persistent Bankroll. Your virtual bankroll is tied to your Xbox Live Gamertag and keeps a running tally of your chip count. If you lose all of your chips in a poker game, you’ll have to play lower stakes buy-in games to make back your stack and earn your way to the big tables.
For those who miss the boat, the game will be available for 800 Microsoft Points. But you better believe we'll be staying up late Wednesday to download this puppy pronto.
Chat about this news item in the 360-Hq.Com Xbox Live Forums right here.
Microsoft debunked the story posted earlier today suggesting that Microsoft still considers using the HD-DVD player for games.
I'm seeing lots of speculation about our upcoming HD DVD Player, and whether we have plans to publish HD DVD games. The answer is no.
Since announcing the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player accessory at E3 2006, we've been clear that it is designed exclusively for playing HD DVD movies. It will not play games on HD DVD.
At this point, we haven't seen anything to suggest that next-gen DVD formats offer a better game experience than current DVD. What we do know is that these formats will bring added cost to game developers, disc manufacturing, and could even result in added costs and longer load times for the consumer, which would negatively impact the game experience. We are focused on making great HD games available to consumers now, and games like "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" clearly show that beautiful high def graphics and huge, immersive worlds to explore are possible on the DVD9 format.
Speaking at its GameFest event in Seattle, Microsoft has talked candidly about its Xbox Live service, specifically the Xbox Live Marketplace, which makes both free and premium content available for download for Xbox 360 users, and has been a notable success since launch.
Specifically, Microsoft's Marketplace Business Manager Rohan Oommen sketched out a detailed GameFest presentation on the Marketplace, which covered what has been accomplished since the service went live in November 2005 with the launch of the Xbox 360, as well as where Microsoft envisions it heading in the months to come.
At Gamefest earlier today, Microsoft held a panel on their current and upcoming plans for accessories for their Xbox 360 console. Rob Walker, the hardware unit product manager for the company, spoke to the panel and gave some very interesting tidbits and hints about their future plans (and also threw some digs at Nintendo and Sony's controller plans). Walker began by looking back at what Microsoft has released so far, including wired and wireless controllers, the 20 GB hard drive, controller charging kits, A/V cables, TV remote controllers and more. He also touched upon current and upcoming third party accessories from companies like MadCatz, Logitech and more.
Walker then went into the future and talked about things that are on the immediate horizon (i.e. this holiday season) that have already been announced. Microsoft's Xbox 360 racing wheel is a big upcoming product, promising true force feedback support (if you plug in the power cable) and support for current and upcoming titles like Project Gotham Racing 3 and Forza Motorsport 2. Also in the works is the Vision camera which will allow people to have video chat with each other along with features like taking a picture of your face and adding your face to an in-game character, complete with facial animation (no games that support this feature have been announced yet). A wireless headset for voice communication is also due for release this holiday season, as is the much anticipated HD-DVD disk drive add-on. Walker didn't reveal anything new about this accessory that hasn't been revealed before (still no specific price point) but it will still only be used for movie playback and will still hook up to the Xbox 360 via the USB connection. During the Q&A session following the prepared remarks, Walker said that they are still discussing what will happen if the movie companies decide to move to HDMI inputs being required for HD-DVD for keeping copyright protection for their movie disk.
Scener|Flash78 of F360TEAM released a new tool that will convert older Xtreme Xbox 360 images to stealth v3:
RebuilderXTRM3 convert Xtreme images v1, v2 to new v3, making images stealth
* You must have PFI.bin, DMI.bin, video360.iso and a imagen named as image.000
* RebuilderXTRM3 will patch the image with video data, PFI and DMI
* Image file must have SS prepatched
* It's easy: Open a MSDOS windows in Windows XP and execute this command
c:>rebuilderxtrm3
image.000 will be ready to burn
Terminator: Survivors confirmed for Xbox Series, PS5 & PC via Steam Play as a survivor in the aftermath of Judgment Day in Terminator: Survivors, a new open-world survival game by NACON (@Nacon). Build the resistance and defy the machines in Terminator: Survivors, com..
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