Xbox Live is down
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Xbox Live has been down for the past 90 minutes or so, and Microsoft says it's doing its best to bring the service back online.
The outage appears to affect many (if not all) Xbox Live regions, as complains are coming in from outside of the United States as well. Users who were connected to the service were disconnected from Xbox Live at the time of the outage, so this isn't just an issue where new players aren't able to connect.
As soon as Xbox Live is back, we'll update to let you know.
Gallery: Xbox Live is down
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MapleStory video features new player class – Cygnus Knights
Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Action, MMORPG, PC, Trailers,
Nexon is gearing up for a new update coming to MapleStory, set to release later this summer. To keep fans of the game excited, they have released a video featuring a new player class coming to the game – Cygnus Knights. The video not only shows off this new class, but also various types of characters MapleStory players may be able to play. In addition, they have also opened dedicated site for the Cygnus Knights and will be continually updated until the expansion.
Read More | Cygnus Knights
Gallery: MapleStory video features new player class – Cygnus Knights
Atari Attempts Comeback
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, MMORPG, PlayStation 3, Retro, Wii, Xbox 360,
Atari’s new president Phil Harrison has plans to have its name associated with more than simply retro gaming. Their “Jenga World Tour” and “Godzilla Unleashed” didn’t receive the best of reviews so they plan to move into MMO games, such as “The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf” that will be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 late next year. Other plans include “EVE Online,” “Ready 2 Rumble Revolution” on Wii and “Ghostbusters: The Videogame.” Be that as it may, we still remember when “Asteroids” was hot enough for us and were grateful for the Atari name.
Read More | Reuters
Gallery: Atari Attempts Comeback
Xbox Live Arcade Drops Select Prices For One Week
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Casual, Downloadable Content, Sports, Xbox Live Arcade,
Microsoft announced that starting at midnight GMT on Wednesday, they’ll be reducing prices for a select number of Xbox Live Arcade titles for one week, ending at 11:59 Tuesday October 2nd. This is similar to the Labor Day sale they ran earlier this month where they dropped the prices on Gauntlet, Zuma and Dig Dug.
The titles featured this time around are Bankshot Billiards 2, Hardwood Spades and Frogger.
The price reductions are less dramatic here, the earlier labor day sale halved the prices of the games while these are marked down less severely: Bankshot Billiards 2 normally goes for 1200 ($15.00) Microsoft Points but has been reduced to 900 ($11.25); Hardwood Spades and Frogger are both usually priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5.00) but have been dropped to 300 ($3.75). Still, if you were considering any of these games as possible purchases, now might be the time to jump on them. Perhaps combined with the Best Buy/Halo 3 Live promotion you can have yourself a few days of super-cheap online gaming.
Read More | Gamerscore Blog
Gallery: Xbox Live Arcade Drops Select Prices For One Week
Xbox Live Free For Three Days During Halo Launch
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
In the midst of all the hype about the Halo 3 launch, one thing that is often overlooked is that not everyone who has a 360 is necessarily equipped to play the game in its entirety. Whether you’re staunchly against paying for an online service like Xbox Live or you just can’t afford it, for a few days at least it won’t matter.
Best Buy is sponsoring a three-day free-for-all granting all Xbox 360 users access to the Gold Service starting on September 25th and ending on the 27th. That means that Silver members get to experience Halo’s online multiplayer without charge for at least a handful of days after they pick up their copy of the game. Even if you’re not into the whole Halo thing, that doesn’t exclude you from taking advantage: Best Buy’s “the first hit is free” style promotion extends to all parts of the service so those without full access to Live could use the time to play some Gears of War online, check out the Call of Duty 4 beta (if it’s still up and running) or just use the time to play some free Uno.
Read More | Bungie.net
Gallery: Xbox Live Free For Three Days During Halo Launch
Games With Online Multiplayer Sell More
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Corporate News, Downloadable Content, Internet, Microsoft, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Sony, Wii, Xbox 360,
A research paper from Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has been released that suggests that games with online support can be crucial to a game’s retail success. Not surprisingly, another way to boost sales is to create a quality game (defined as those with a 90+ score on Metacritic), with these well-reviewed titles outselling the average release well above 5-to-1.
While making good games typically means making good money, naturally, it is a bit surprising to see the report indicate that sales can be doubled by dropping in an online mode. With online games selling twice the number copies that offline titles do, it’s curious to note that over half of games released don’t offer even basic online support.
Click to continue reading Games With Online Multiplayer Sell More
Read More | Ars Technica
Gallery: Games With Online Multiplayer Sell More
MarioKart on Wii Supports 16 Players Online
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Driving, Internet, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii,
Nintendo‘s popular arcadey racing game, Mario Kart is inevitably coming to the Wii. When it does, a blurb clipped from the Official Nintendo Magazine UK says it will support 16 players in the popular battle mode.
Mario Kart DS solidified the WiFi features of the handheld unit and it’s quite possible that the Wii version is being positioned to do the same.
As with earlier versions the Wii Mario Kart will include updated versions of older tracks (in this case Wii translations of DS tracks) as well as all new racing locations. Mario Kart for the Wii is scheduled to be released next spring.
Read More | Go Nintendo via Evil Avatar
Gallery: MarioKart on Wii Supports 16 Players Online
Burnout Paradise Gets Previewed
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Action, Driving, Electronic Arts, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
Tom Bramwell has a preview for the upcoming Burnout Paradise that is surprisingly thoughtful and critically considered as far as previews go. He discusses the challenges faced by Criterion Games in re-inventing a popular series practically from the ground up and asks some pertinent questions where they ought to be asked. For example, when the topic of the Crash mode comes up and Criterion mentions that they have scrapped the original concept of the popular mode, Bramwell presses the point, getting Criterion rep Matt Webster to confess they don’t yet know exactly how it will all work out:
Asked whether they’re opting for a Burnout 3 approach of trying to manoeuvre the car in slow motion between power-ups and Crashbreakers, or a Burnout Revenge “golf swing” of perfect start and target cars, Webster admits it’s not all there yet. “We’re still throwing ideas around. I think we’ll be talking about it more in the coming weeks.”
The preview isn’t about sticking it to the Burnout devs, though, it reads more like a fan of the series seeing drastic changes and slowly coming to the realization that if executed properly, these could make for a remarkable game. Among the more exciting aspects of Criterion’s open-world approach to Burnout is the focus on seamless online play that works the way most gamers prefer, by putting the folks in your Friends list first.
Burnout Paradise is scheduled to hit shelves early next year for Xbox 360 and PS3.
Read More | Eurogamer
Gallery: Burnout Paradise Gets Previewed
Guitar Hero III’s Wii Online Woes
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Music, Nintendo, Wii,
Despite Nintendo packaging the Wii as an internet-ready and capable device, they seem to still drag their feet whenever it comes to online gaming. The latest evidence of this is the eerie quiet surrounding the online features of the upcoming Guitar Hero III, broken by The Bits Bytes Pixels and Sprites when they contacted a Red Octane PR specialist, Bryan Lam about what Guitar Hero III will be like online with the Wii. He distressingly told BBPS, “We’re working closely with Nintendo for an online solution, though at the moment we’re unable to confirm the status of the online multi-player.”
Considering the other GHIII versions are all set to have online modes and there ought not to be any technical hurdles, this can really only mean Nintendo is having a hard time letting go of the secret to their ultimate online strategy which is so secret not even the consumers can figure out what it is. Online versus and co-op modes may be bad enough as possible omissions from the Wii version, but a follow-up from BBPS suggests that the same hurdles exist for downloadable content as well. While it’s difficult to determine why Nintendo would want to feature-deprive third party developers from online action, it’s even less comprehensible why they would cut off money-making endeavors like song packs as well.
Read More | The Bits Bytes Pixels and Sprites via 4 Color Rebellion
Gallery: Guitar Hero III’s Wii Online Woes
PlayStation Store Gets an Update Including Super Puzzle Fighter II
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Downloadable Content, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network,
The PlayStation Store has some new content, possibly due to the flood of PS3 owners hitting the service looking for their Warhawk download. Among the other new items are Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix for $9.99 (comparable with the Xbox Live Arcade download of the same game made available last week) and Tekken 5 online add-on for $9.99 or the whole game and add-on for $29.99.
Sony is also putting up some new demos for NASCAR 08, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 and All-Pro Football 2K8 plus additional videos and trailers. Warhawk is available from the PlayStation Store for $39.99 or as a retail box which includes a bluetooth headset for $59.99.
Read More | PlayStation Blog
Gallery: PlayStation Store Gets an Update Including Super Puzzle Fighter II
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