Posts Tagged ‘Fri’

Microsoft is pulling the plug on the Xbox Live services that still cater to the original Xbox. As of April 15th, all Xbox 1 games — including those playable on Xbox 360 or via the Xbox Originals service — will be severed from the online realm. “I want to start by saying this isn’t a decision we made lightly,” Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten said at the start of a letter to Xbox Live members, “but after careful consideration, it is clear that this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live community.”

Whitten added that in continuing to “evolve the service,” Microsoft requires changes that are “incompatible” with the previous console’s games. “We will contact the Xbox LIVE members directly impacted by this change and if this includes you, I encourage you to check your LIVE messages and associated e-mail account over the coming weeks for more details and opportunities.”

According to Major Nelson’s most recent list of top Xbox 1 Live titles, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and Counter-Strike players will be hardest hit. Well, sure, Halo 2 is still the most widely played game, but at least those guys will have some consolation when they leave the house and discover that two three more Halo games have come out since 2004.

By the way, if you have anything terribly important to say to your clan mates, we suggest you say it now.

Continue reading Xbox Live service for Xbox 1 games to be discontinued on Apr. 15

Xbox Live service for Xbox 1 games to be discontinued on Apr. 15 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s customizable PS3 kart racer, ModNation Racers, is being shrunk down for a PSP version, to be released alongside its big brother sometime this spring. According to SCEE product manager Liam Quigley, the PSP game will have the same creative tools as the console iteration — meaning you’ll be able to mod and not just race, with the ability to create your own tracks, cars and racers. In addition, “You will also be able to upload, download, remix, and race creations by the PSP ModNation community,” Quigley said.

Once you’ve created or downloaded your own (likely vulgar) avatar, car and racetrack, you’ll be able to race on your new track with up to 6 other PSP players online. That’s some pretty big functionality for a handheld game!

ModNation Racers expanding to PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Echoshift, a PSP-ified second-cousin to PS3 puzzler echochrome, will have a demo out sometime in February. A post on the PlayStation Blog notes the game will have 56 levels, with additional downloadable levels through PSN. Hopefully the game will receive the same extensive community support bestowed upon echochrome.

As we noted in our hands-on, if you’re looking for a primer to the game, feel free to try Yoshio Ishii’s Cursor*10 or its sequel.

No strings attached with Echoshift demo this month originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eurogamer reports that two new games have been added to the Xbox 360 Classics budget line in EU territories. The two games are Fable II and Halo Wars. If you need a refresher, Fable II is Lionhead’s brilliant, charming adventure that we kind of liked back in 2008. Halo Wars on the other hand, serves as both the first Halo RTS spin-off and the swan song of Ensemble Studios. The games can now be had for the tempting price of £19.99 ($31) apiece. Both are worth picking up — just be sure to watch out for those Warthog rushes.

Halo Wars, Fable 2 join Europe’s Xbox 360 Classics originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lots of fans think it would be great to see the classic Final Fantasy VII remade in full HD glory on a platform like the PS3, but Final Fantasy XIII producers Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama say it would be really tough to do. In a recent interview with Ultimania, they say that the limit isn’t the HD technology, it’s the amount of artisanship. “Considering the amount of work to make graphics that deserve HD, it is hard to make towns in the conventional style,” said Toriyama. FFVII‘s graphics were beautiful at the time, but when you consider that we all played them on a 4:3 TV SD screen rather than the 1080p HD behemoths we’re all playing games on today, you realize that it’s a lot more work for artists to put in to make the game look as epic as Final Fantasy should. That’s one reason why FFXIII doesn’t have conventional RPG towns.

Kitase agrees, saying that “it is very hard to make games on PlayStation 3 in the same style the games in that era had. Making graphics will take enormous time.” So score one for standard definition and the limits of the old pre-HD consoles. Note that neither producer says it’s impossible, just a lot of work. So maybe some enterprising young developer will come along and make a solid, HD JRPG in the old-school fashion.

Final Fantasy XIII producers: Traditional RPG towns are tough to do in HD originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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