Hero-of-Time Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 Rare getting ready for next gen. Following yesterday's revelation that Fable studio Lionhead is making an "MMO-like" RPG for the next Xbox, it has now emerged that Kinect Sports developer Rare is working on a raft of Durango games.Rare is hiring for "multiple" triple-A games for the next Xbox, according to a job ad. The job spec (spotted by Superannuation), calls for a senior product manager to help create "multiple AAA future console releases". It suggests Rare will continue to make games in the successful Kinect Sports franchise, but also branch out with new IP. The listing says the candidate will ideally have experience in the action/adventure or FPS genres. "Whilst continual development of their core releases will be maintained, the successful candidate will be joining at a time where the studio is looking to move into new areas and develop new IPs for future platforms," it reads. "You will have a successful history of releasing exceptional AAA games and these will ideally be in the Action/Adventure or FPS genre but this is not essential." Last month former Sega design chief Simon Woodroffe became the new creative director of Rare. "I am looking forward to getting stuck into making incredible games that will be worthy additions to the pedigree of the studio," he said at the time. Rare has in recent years focused on Kinect Sports, but over the years has released a number of Xbox games for owner Microsoft, including Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, Viva Pinata and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. We've asked Rare for comment. This is nice to see. I have loved Rares output on the 360. Banjo Kazooie and the Viva Pinata games were outstanding and Kameo is still one of the best launch games I have played on recent systems. I even enjoyed the original Kinect Sports game. I know the glory days are gone but I still have a soft spot for the company.
Cube Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 The Rare situation is really annoying - they own many franchises I loved on the N64 but have done nothing with them (I loved Nuts & Bolts but it isn't really a Banjo game, Kameo was also great). Still...some news places have mentioned Perfect Dark, but it sounds like they haven't even decided what kind of game they're going to make.
Hero-of-Time Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 Still...some news places have mentioned Perfect Dark, but it sounds like they haven't even decided what kind of game they're going to make. A good one would be a good start.
Hero-of-Time Posted May 23, 2012 Posted May 23, 2012 US judge readies the ban hammer. A judge has recommended that the Xbox 360 be banned in the US.Courthouse News reports that Judge David Shaw said the International Trade Commission should use a cease and desist order to ban imports of the Xbox 360 Slim 4GB and 250GB models into the US because, in his view, they infringe on four patents owned by Motorola. He also wants Microsoft to post a bond equal to seven per cent of the value of unsold Xbox 360s in the US. The patents at the heart of the dispute revolve around how the Xbox 360 decodes video content. Motorola claims ownership on the tech powering this. Reacting to this latest decision, Microsoft argued the ban would not serve the public interest because it would leave consumers with only two home console options: the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. But the judge rejected the claim, saying it was more important to enforce intellectual property rights. Plus, he wasn't convinced Sony and Nintendo wouldn't be able to meet increased demand. Microsoft said the suggested seven per cent bond was unnecessary, and recommended it be reduced to 2.5 per cent. Motorola wants it increased to a whopping 100 per cent of the value of the unsold Xbox 360s. So what happens next in this long-running, complex patent dispute? If the ITC makes the judge's recommendation final, President Barack Obama will then have 60 days to review the decision. After that period expires, the next step is the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Earlier this month a US judge accused the warring factions of using the US District Court as "a pawn in a global, industry-wide business negotiation". Judge James Robart said both sides were clearly "driven by an attempt to secure commercial advantage". "To an outsider looking at it, it has been arbitrary, it has been arrogant and frankly it has been based on hubris," he said. A German court has already ruled in favour of Motorola, granting an injunction prohibiting sales of the console in the country. However, Robart issued a temporary restraining order preventing Motorola from enforcing that decision.
Cube Posted May 23, 2012 Posted May 23, 2012 It's already banned in Germany. These patent things are getting a complete mess: They're massively hindering the market. Especially mobile phones - all the lovely new HTC phones are currently held up in US customs. And the majority of them are over small things that have little impact on the actual devices (like Samsung phones were "banned" due to a tiny thing in the photo gallery app, which was replaced before the ban came into place so the ban never happened). It's also strange how these companies work together in other areas (for example, Samsung make a ton of components for Apple - including being the main provider for the iPad 3's screen and processor). I'm sure they'll reach the agreement before it happens. If not, the ban looks like it's due to happen at around the same time the Wii U is due to launch - which could be a big boost for Nintendo.
Hero-of-Time Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 Kinect 2.0 anyone? http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/25/leap-motion-gesture-control-technology-hands-on/ It's insane how accurate that thing is, especially the size of it as well.
Cube Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 It's really very different technology from Kinect. Kinect is focused on a larger distance and detecting the entire body while Leap is short distance and just your hands. Looks like great technology, but it's a different application to Kinect.
Dan_Dare Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 Kinect 2.0 anyone? http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/25/leap-motion-gesture-control-technology-hands-on/ It's insane how accurate that thing is, especially the size of it as well. More like mouse / touchscreen 2.0, but yeah very nice
Dog-amoto Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 Bit pointless (no pun intended ) as he still has to click the mouse to open the different programs. I hate motion controls though!!
James Posted June 5, 2012 Posted June 5, 2012 Just a heads up you can get 4200 points for £25 http://emea.microsoftstore.com/UK/en-GB/Microsoft/Xbox-LIVE-4200-Points Enter JubileeOffer at checkout, free delivery will also be given.
Jimbob Posted June 6, 2012 Posted June 6, 2012 Now that i've got Mass Effect 3 out of the way (my thougths are in the usual thread), time to get on with the sheer backlog of games i have. Namely the entire MGS boxset, Skyrim and numerous Arcade titles (including Sonic 4 ep2 + Banjo Tooie) I got plenty to keep me going for the dry summer season of games.
Dog-amoto Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 Just a heads up you can get 4200 points for £25 http://emea.microsoftstore.com/UK/en-GB/Microsoft/Xbox-LIVE-4200-Points Enter JubileeOffer at checkout, free delivery will also be given. Awesome! Thanks man!
Eddage Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 Just a heads up you can get 4200 points for £25 http://emea.microsoftstore.com/UK/en-GB/Microsoft/Xbox-LIVE-4200-Points Enter JubileeOffer at checkout, free delivery will also be given. How do you get free delivery? Can't see the option! Edit: Nevermind, saw that despite having the £4.99 delivery option checked the shipping is actually £0
Ike Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 Chrome controller arrived yesterday. The twist D-pad is a lot nicer than the old one. Not sure about the new sticks though, they don't seem to grip as well as my old controller.
Aimless Posted June 9, 2012 Posted June 9, 2012 As a bit of a heads up for those going for the 4200 points offer, don't be surprised if they take a week or so to arrive. The Microsoft Store was very tardy last time there was a similar deal, although obviously it's still worth it if you aren't in a rush. I really need to go hands on with one of those new controllers, see if they suffer from the same design flaw as older models. It's not an issue for every game but I've had about eight 360 controllers over the years and they all developed the same annoyance, a looseness to the analogue sticks that meant they didn't recentre properly; I call it a design flaw as each one first developed such behaviour on the left stick, with a lilt to the left. I've bought a Razer Onza which does sidestep the issue, but it isn't as good an all-purpose controller as the standard model as it's really designed for shooters.
Shorty Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) I've had 2 standard controllers where the left analogue stick has left me floating backwards occasionally. I've had the new style silver controller since the day it came out and it hasn't developed the same problem. I greatly prefer the bordered edge on the sticks and it doesn't wear down nearly as quickly. Also the D-Pad is an improvement. But it still sucks. I did order those 4200 points from MS in the deal, hoping they show up while Borderlands DLC is still on offer but I guess that's not too likely :/ Edited June 11, 2012 by Shorty
Ike Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 Well I ordered mine on the 1st, order status is still "in progress".
S.C.G Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 Anyone else get an update today? I tried to load up a game and I then got disconnected as if it was a game update but it turned out to be something much bigger as my Xbox reset and now it's downloading again as if it were a big dashboard update. I just wondered if anyone else had this recently as I'm sure we aren't scheduled an update until Winter I thought?
MindFreak Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 Anyone else get an update today? I tried to load up a game and I then got disconnected as if it was a game update but it turned out to be something much bigger as my Xbox reset and now it's downloading again as if it were a big dashboard update. I just wondered if anyone else had this recently as I'm sure we aren't scheduled an update until Winter I thought? I just checked and I got nothing. But now that made me play for 30 minutes instead of studying for my exam.
Ike Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 It's an update for the Bing search. Not sure what exactly.
S.C.G Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 It's an update for the Bing search. Not sure what exactly. Ah that would explain it... oh well it's at least good to know why MS decided to waste my - and everyone elses - time with an update, granted the added voice search functionality or whatever it is will be useful I guess but not when I can find things faster myself with the controller. Still... I'm sure it'll be more useful once they add in internet browser functionality.
Cube Posted June 14, 2012 Posted June 14, 2012 Heads-up for Android users, the Xbox Live app has arrived: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.xle It actually works pretty well, and is pretty smooth. Looking at achievements/comparing games is pretty easy and editing you avatar is actually much quicker than on the Xbox itself.
Hero-of-Time Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 GoD sale starting soon. Just seen this on Major Nelson, looks like xbox.com is having a ridiculous sale on Games On Demand starting from the 19th June. This is the entire list that was listed aimed at USA only but the deal applies if that game is available in our region (i.e; UK) - $4.99 is basically 400 points, so all these games will be 400 points each on the 19th June for a full week: Bionic Commando Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WW II Bolt Bomberman Act: Zero Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Conan Dark Void FaceBreaker Kameo Meet the Robinsons Open Season Perfect Dark Zero Prince of Persia Rockstar Table Tennis SEGA Superstars Tennis Surf’s Up Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Tornado Outbreak Virtua Tennis 2009 Viva Pinata Party Animals Everyone should buy Kameo at that price. Not a great list by any means but I may give Bionic Commando a shot for 400 points.
MindFreak Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 Wow! Is Viva Pinata Party Animal worth anything? I didn't really like Kameo that much but maybe it's because it just didn't hold up to newer games.
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