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According to statements made in Japanese publication Dengeki, Square Enix is planning to feature a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII at E3 this year. It's also possible, due to E3's downsizing (and more private nature), that Square Enix will reserve the demo for a public platform like Tokyo Games Show. Simultaneously distributing the demo via PlayStation Store would likely generate the most buzz (and could potentially sell some PlayStation 3 units), but Square Enix has made no commitment to do so.
However it's delivered, the demo gives us little insight into when the actual game will be complete. Tentative release schedules indicate a 2007 release.
We're confused about Apple's plans for games on their new Apple TV device.
Marketing copy running across the top of the official "Apple TV" website promises "If it's on iTunes, it's on TV," yet small, grey text at the bottom of the screen takes that promise back: "iPod games will not play on Apple TV."
Further confusion results from the image at right, showing a screenshot of a Harris Poll administered back in October in which consumers were asked what sort of content they might like to purchase for an Apple TV device. Games are listed.
Is the absence of gaming from Apple TV an indication that poll respondents showed little interest in games? Is the absence of gaming due to technical limitations that might be fixed in future versions of Apple TV hardware? Is the absence of gaming an indication that iPod gaming itself might not be faring so well in the iTunes marketplace? (EA's embrace of iTunes gaming indicates otherwise.)
Whatever the case may be, it looks like consumers will have to stick to their latest-gen consoles if they want to play inexpensive, digitally downloaded games from the couch... for now.
Scholastic News reporter Aaron Broder (pictured here) needs another four years before he'll be able to play M-rated, thrice-platinum Gears of War, a situation that put Xbox chief Peter Moore in "the difficult position of advising a reporter not to play one of the top games for the company's Xbox 360," according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Xboxic reports that an unnamed developer, speaking to 1UP, has revealed details about a Crysis game headed to Xbox 360. Allegedly, the console version will not be a direct port of the PC title that's currently in development. Like Far Cry before it, Crysis will be stripped down for its console debut.
The Xbox 360 version will supposedly incorporate similar story elements to its PC brethren, but will feature different gameplay aspects (physics, environments, etc.) that better utilize 360's DirectX 9 technology (the PC version is being built using DirectX 10). Expect full details if and when Crytek finally (and officially) announces this much-anticipated console installment of its high-profile franchise.
In the continuing effort to sling a rock straight into the iPod's forehead, Microsoft has revealed plans to bring games to their Zune series of portable music players. How Zune? According to a Bloomberg.com report, you can expect pleasant beeps and boops to emanate from the player by July 2008. You might recall that Apple also recently embraced gaming on their somewhat popular iPod range.
No specific games have been mentioned yet, though recent CES developments might give you a fairly strong clue. Expect arcade games like Geometry Wars and Uno to make the jump, complete with wireless play and Live Anywhere integration. Popular franchises (hello Halo) may give Microsoft more traction in their struggle against the iPod, at least where portable games are concerned. As New York analyst Michael Gartenburg puts it, "It's not like the music enthusiasts have been flocking to Zune, and they need to really answer Apple in terms of feature parity."
With the battle between audio players now spilling into the gaming arena, winners and losers become more and more difficult to spot in the cloud of dust. Can music lovers be swayed by other diversions? And what do the PSP and DS have to say in the matter?
Warning: Watching this CES video may lead to excessive yearning and gnashing of teeth upon the realization that the game in question, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is not yet available for download on Xbox Live Arcade. To cope with this inescapable sensation, distract yourself by contemplating your existence as a miserable little pile of secrets (sadly, Dracula neglects to mention exactly what a woman is).
Joking aside, let's ask a serious question: are "fresher" console titles like this more welcome on XBLA than popular coin guzzlers?
Engadget scored a CES hands-on look at the Asus XG Station, an external GPU capable of converting your aging laptop into a capable gaming rig. The demo featured two identical laptops with internal Intel GMA 945 processors. Asus reps attached the XG Station to one and left the other bare -- and struggling. The test seemed to prove that the XG Station, which also simulates 5.1 surround sound, is an adequate option for underpowered-laptop owners who enjoy the occasional peek at what's good in PC gaming.
As expected, Sony will soon roll out its 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, priced at $300. That's steep, but given previous trends, the price should plummet quickly. Last summer, the 4GB Memory Stick debuted at $250, but could be found for as low as $65 (SanDisk model) during a recent (but expired) Google Checkout promotion on Buy.com.
PSP firmware v2.81 or higher is needed to use the 8GB Memory Stick with Sony's portable gaming device.
RedOctane will be rockin' the Xbox 360 world tomorrow when they make their announcement regarding the upcoming release of Guitar Hero II for that console. They are expected to confirm the March release date, and to cover the new songs this version will have. TeamXbox has the scoop on almost all of the ten new tracks that 360 players will get, which is ten more than the PS2 version for a total of 74. Additionally, Xbox Live will let rockers download songs from the original Guitar Hero (hope that includes the ones you can buy, like The Slip's "Even Rats"), as well as the ability to purchase new songs in the future.
Check out their complete coverage, and stay tuned (get it? tuned? Okay, slap us) tomorrow for more after the word hits the show floor.
In addition to announcing their video on demand offering as the "premier" movie download service for Windows Vista -- as well as rolling out a snazzy new interface for Vista with Media Center -- Vongo has announced that their services will be compatible with the Xbox 360. Of course, Microsoft has their own video on demand service on Xbox Live Marketplace, but Vongo provides a subscription-based ($10/month) service that may be palatable to some US-based gamers as well as a library of over 1,000 movies and 2,500 "video selections." More interesting is the fact that they've circumvented the difficulty of sharing DRMd content across the two platforms. In our chat with Bill Gates, he specifically mentioned that the Xbox 360 will enjoy a larger content base because of the secure nature of the hardware. Vongo's presser states, "The Xbox 360 will automatically check to see which Windows XP or Vista-based devices are registered on the network and ask the user whether they want to access content, such as their Vongo movies, from that PC." Consider this an opportunity to bypass the 360's anemic hard drive and Marketplace' non-subscription based pricing but still get video on demand movies on your big screen.
What might this mean for the console wars? How will this change the game? We're not nearly as smart or creative as our collected readership (after all, Time made YOU the person of the year), so rather than rack our brains, we'll sift through yours and publish the best responses in a subsequent post.
Task: in your pithy best, share how you believe that this announcement might change the console war now underway, if at all.
Let's get a couple obvious ones out of the way first:
A larger hard drive is assured. Ain't no DVR going on with a measly 20GB hard drive.
Perhaps content partners might offer free Xbox 360s to consumers who purchase multi-month (or multi-year) IPTV service contracts, in much the same way that mobile phone service providers offer highly subsidized phones for customers who sign a one- or two-year service agreement.
Sony announces intent to match this functionality, but does as well copying Xbox IPTV as they've done copying Xbox Live.
Sure, you probably caught the Engadget liveblog of the keynote, but Microsoft just published streaming video for the keynote given by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. Let us know what sorts of interesting things pop out at you after a more careful inspection of the keynote. If the video stream proves too glitchy, Xbox Live's Major Nelson has posted audio-only files.
[Update 1: looks like the video stream isn't quite working yet, despite a note on the official Microsoft at CES blog indicating that video would be available 10 pm PST on Sunday. Keep hitting the link, it'll eventually show up.
If this doesn't make you tingle all over, then you need to check your pulse. It's only been since November that we've had movies available to download on the Xbox 360, and soon it'll be live and recorded television as well. In the months after that, the console will slowly take over your kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, leaving you fully assimilated into Microsoft's SkyNet service, offering sentient oversight of all of your bodily functions.
For now, revel in the goodness of Engadget's Xbox 360 IPTV interface gallery, and check out the video of this baby in action on Microsoft's Channel 10 site. TiVo, you'd better start working overtime.
Bill Gates and Robbie Bach are taking the stage at the annual CES keynote, eager to share all the secrets everything they have in store for us in '07. As leaked, Microsoft is touting 10.4 million Xbox 360 systems shipped to date as well as introducing IPTV services for the erstwhile gaming console. With "strong demand" for the HD-DVD drive and brisk sales from the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, the ability to stream television straight to the 'box brings the erstwhile gaming platform closer and closer to the mythical convergence box they've envisioned from the beginning.
While mythical, IPTV inclusion wasn't a mystery. Last year a Microsoft exec said IPTV on the Xbox 360 was a "fair bet" and Engadget asked Gates directly about IPTV on the 360. With significant investment in IPTV already, bringing that functionality to the Xbox 360 was an obvious move for Microsoft. Some of the functionality of their offering will include:
"digital video recording capabilities" for gaming, movie viewing, and even voice and video chat -- we're really gonna need a bigger hard drive
Live chat while watching television -- we're so going to watch Lost with out friends. "I totally knew that was going to happen!"
Play on Xbox Live while recording television live in the background
Hold your horses! IPTV on Xbox 360 won't be available until "holiday season 2007." Even then, you'll need to be in a market "deploying TV services based on the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform." Right now, we've got a lot more questions than we've got answers. Check Engadget for live coverage of the keynote for the announcements, happening now.
SCEA's Senior Vice President of Marketing, Peter Dille, took the stage at Sony's CES press conference to announce that Sony has met their goal of shipping 1 million PlayStation 3s in North America before the end of the year, in addition to imposing another goal on themselves: 6 million worldwide by March 2007. Even though they remind us that the PS3 reached 1 million units shipped (not sold) faster than either the PS1 or PS2 (check their math), we still think hitting 6 million units is ambitious. To put things in perspective, the Xbox 360 sold 1.5 million units worldwide in its first holiday season, with 900K sold in North America.
[Update: clarified the regions in question. Thanks, Steve2.]
According to statements made in Japanese publication Dengeki, Square Enix is planning to feature a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII at E3 this year. It's also possible, due to E3's downsizing (and more private nature), that Square Enix will reserve the demo for a public platform like Tokyo Games Show. Simultaneously distributing the demo via PlayStation Store would likely generate the most buzz (and could potentially sell some PlayStation 3 units), but Square Enix has made no commitment to do so. 
We're confused about Apple's plans for games on their new Apple TV device.
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