Xbox Live Helps Recover Stolen Xbox 360
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
The networking features of the Xbox 360 apparently helped police track down a stolen Xbox 360, according to a news report from KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa. The victim, James Gardner, had his Xbox 360 stolen; fortunately, he had an Xbox Live subscription. Eventually, the Xbox 360 was connected to the Internet and police were able to track the IP address for the user. From there, they traced the system back to the store where it was purchased; the store had an address for the person that traded in the system, and that address was apparently accurate. This let the police track down the alleged thief and recover Gardner’s Xbox 360. West Des Moines police are currently pursuing charges.
Read More 
| KCCI
Gallery: Xbox Live Helps Recover Stolen Xbox 360
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Sony’s Online Service To Use Xfire?
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, PlayStation 3,
One of Sony’s goals for the Playstation 3 is to manage online gaming with a unified service on par with Microsoft’s Xbox Live offering. Few details have emerged for the service, other than Sony’s desire to make their online matching component free. 1up has started investigating Sony’s online service, and has uncovered a few interesting details, and they believe that when online gaming comes to the Playstation 3, it will be based around the Xfire gaming service.
First, Viacom announced that a deal has been signed between Sony and Xfire, for a version of the platform for the PS3. According to 1up, neither company has denied the statement. If true, this is basically the smoking gun that would point to this partnership. Further, according to 1up’s report, Sony’s launch title, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom is now appearing in the PC client’s configuration files. Looking at the capabilities of the Xfire service on the PC, it appears that much of the functionality of Xbox Live is matched by Xfire’s offering, and would make a good launch point for the service. In addition, this could theoretically open the door for PC and Playstation 3 online gaming. Certainly, with the details available, it seems that some form of the Xfire service will be hitting the Playstation 3, but how the service will integrate with Sony’s overall offerings is still unclear.
Update: GameDaily talked with David Karraker at SCEA, and he clarified that the deal was currently limited to Sony Online Entertainment, and not the Playstation 3 platform as a whole.
Read More | 1up
Gallery: Sony’s Online Service To Use Xfire?
Europe To Get Free Week Of Xbox Live
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
European Gamers will get a free week of Xbox Live Gold action from September 20th through the 29th. Similar to the promotion that US gamers got earlier this summer, Xbox 360 owners in Europe with a broadband connection will be able to experience Gold membership status, thanks to a sponsorship from Windows Live Spaces. Like the previous US free week, Microsoft plans on hosting several special events for gamers signed into Live during the nine days of the offering, including contests, newcomer nights, and the opportunity to face off against special guests.
Read More | Xbox.com
Gallery: Europe To Get Free Week Of Xbox Live
Xbox Live Marketplace Serves 50 Million Downloads
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Microsoft today reported that their Xbox Live Marketplace service has served over 50 million downloads to consumers since Marketplace launched. In three months since Microsoft last reported download statistics, the number of total files downloaded has doubled. In addition, according to reports on Gamasutra, Xbox Live users have logged 2 billion hours online since the original Xbox Live service launched on the Xbox. Microsoft’s recent Texas Hold ‘Em offering also averaged 100 downloads per minute during the first 24 hours of its initial free period. 65% of Xbox 360 users have downloaded Xbox Live Arcade titles, and over 2 billion Marketplace points have been purchased; this translates to roughly $25 million US spent on the service. Microsoft did not clarify how many of these downloads were re-purchases of content when a gamer’s Xbox 360 died and had to be replaced.
Read More | Gamasutra
Gallery: Xbox Live Marketplace Serves 50 Million Downloads
Backwards Compatibility Update Hits Xbox Live
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Daryl Welsh from the Xbox development team today released a list of the updated and new games in the latest backwards compatibility update for the Xbox 360. The update should be available on Xbox Live now, and updates 39 games. According to Welsh, this is the largest update to the backwards compatibility list to date. Those gamers desperate to play Aquaman: Battle of Atlantis on their Xbox 360 can finally make that dream come true. It’s also nice to see Kabuki Warrior get an update. Other game titles that people might actually want to play that are new to the list include: Dead to Rights, Fatal Frame 2, Burnout 3: Takedown, and Links 2004.
The full list continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading Backwards Compatibility Update Hits Xbox Live
Read More | Xbox Team Blog
Gallery: Backwards Compatibility Update Hits Xbox Live
Hidden Charges In Lumines Live?
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Puzzle, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
It looks like the saga of downloadable content on Xbox Live will continue with the release of Lumines Live on the system. Gaming Bits reports on a couple of irksome tidbits mentioned in a review of the game in OXM, the Official Xbox Magazine. According to the review, gamers that advance far enough in either Mission Mode or VS CPU mode will see messaging telling the gamer to buy additional content to continue. The review states that the new “Puzzle/Mission Pack” will cost gamers an additional 400 Marketplace points, and the “VS CPU Pack” will run 300 points. This cost comes in addition to the 1200 Marketplace points that consumers will already have paid out for what they thought was the “full” game. Now, additional levels and paid content for games has been a staple of the Xbox Live Marketplace for a long time now, but this is the first instance where gameplay in the unlocked game is interrupted to shill for additional content. Normally, add-ons wouldn’t be a problem, but this implementation seems horribly poor and would be a slap in the face to the gamer that just dropped $15 for the game download.
Read More | Gaming Bits
Gallery: Hidden Charges In Lumines Live?
Chromehounds Highlights Problems With Downloadable Content
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Third Person Shooters, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
On Friday, the latest downloadable content for From Software’s Chromehounds hit the Xbox Live Marketplace. For 100 points each, twelve new items were made available, including weapons. All of the new content is usable in online play and highlights some of the issues with downloadable content. The content has pretty much been criticized from all sides, and Luke Smith from 1up sums up the issues in a recent blog post. Other paid content releases have received scrutiny in the past, mainly because of the value proposition that they hold. The original offender, of course, was the almost useless horse armor for Oblivion. Some of the downloadable Ghost Recon content has also been criticized. The new content for Chromehounds will run US gamers about $12.50, which runs about 21% of the cost of the original game.
If things were just a matter of cost, however, there wouldn’t be as much of an issue. The big issue is that potentially game balance altering content is being made available for online play. So far, indications from the online forums indicate that statistically the new content isn’t more effective than existing weaponry. However, this merely highlights the bind that content providers can get into by making these kinds of add-ons available. Either the new accessories are weak and a poor value for the money, or they are stronger and will change the game balance to favor those that can afford the content.
Read More | 1Up
Gallery: Chromehounds Highlights Problems With Downloadable Content
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