Mirror's Edge Demo Coming to PSN, XBL This Week

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 3:44 PM 0 comments

Good news for those of you looking forward to Mirror's Edge as much as I am, a demo for the game is coming to PSN tomorrow (Oct. 30), and Friday (Oct. 31) for Xbox Live. 1up mentions that the demo will feature a brief story segment, a tutorial, and a section of a single player level.

Don't forget, those who pre-ordered at select retailers can pick up a code to unlock a demo of the time-trail multiplayer mode.

So be prepared to take a leap on Mirror's Edge this week!

UPDATE: You can now download a preview of the Mirror's Edge comic HERE.

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Microsoft to Audio-Ban/Censor Live Offenders?

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 12:14 PM 0 comments

Destructoid is reporting that Microsoft has been granted a patent for a process to "censor audio streams real-time." To dissect this a bit, it seems soon Microsoft will have the technology to permanently mute you on Xbox Live or censor what you are saying possibly using a list of unacceptable words if you are making racist comments or talking a bit too much trash.

This could be a great idea if they use it right. a line would have to be drawn where racist comments and just plain curse words are differentiated. Unless MS just wants to censor all words that could be deemed offensive. They could possibly use gamerzone to do this, censoring all bad words in the family zone, but allowing a bit more freedom in the underground zone.

Arstechnica has a bit of information from as well, albeit a bit technical:

"The automatic censoring filter employs a lattice comprising either phonemes and/or words derived from phonemes for comparison against corresponding phonemes or words included in undesired speech data. If the probability that a phoneme or word in the input audio data stream matches a corresponding phoneme or word in the undesired speech data is greater than a probability threshold, the input audio data stream is altered so that the undesired word or a phrase comprising a plurality of such words is unintelligible or inaudible. The censored speech can either be stored or made available to an audience in real-time."

More on this as it develops.

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Xbox Live Having Issues

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 12:56 AM 0 comments

Xbox Live is having some troubles, Major Nelson has said the team is aware of it and working to fix the issue.

Check Xbox.com/support to see if it is back up and MajorNelson.com for updates. [Y]

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Reminder: Xbox Live, Xbox.com Down For Up To 24 Hours

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 3:26 PM 0 comments

UPDATE: Xbox Live and Xbox.com are now down. They will be back up sometime within the next 24 hours (on or before 12:00am PST on September 30th).

Xbox Live and sections of Xbox.com will be down starting at 12:01am PST for up to 24 hours.Here is w
hat Major Nelson has to say:

"(Monday, 9/29/2008) from 12:01 AM PST for up to 24 hours, Xbox Live will be offline for maintenance. As a result, Xbox LIVE and the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won’t be able to post.) The remainder of Xbox.com will be available with limited interruptions. When the service returns, you will not have any new features and you will not have the new Xbox experience update. That will happen later this Fall. "

Looks like a good day to get in some single player action.

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Xbox 360 Rock the Vote

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 12:12 PM 0 comments

Want to redgister to vote but have no idea how or where to do it? Want to get the latest on the presidential race and each convention but don't know where to go? Microsoft and Rock the Vote have teamed up to help you out. Check out the official release below.

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 20, 2008 — A leading gaming and entertainment platform just became a leading platform for change. Microsoft Corp. and Rock the Vote today announced a groundbreaking partnership that will allow Xbox 360 owners to register to vote, participate in presidential polls and voice their opinions to the presidential candidates. It will all happen through Xbox LIVE starting Monday, Aug. 25, the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

“Xbox is a natural partner to help us reach out to youth voters,” said Heather Smith, executive director, Rock the Vote. “To realize our goal of registering 2 million young Americans by this fall, we need to go where young Americans are, and there’s no doubt in our minds that many are on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.”

This is the first time that Rock the Vote has joined forces with an entertainment partner such as Xbox to reach voters under 30. Xbox LIVE is the largest online social network connected to the television, with membership totaling 12 million — if Xbox LIVE were a state, it would rank as the country’s seventh largest, giving it approximately 20 electoral votes.

“The Xbox LIVE community is active, vocal and passionate,” said Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox LIVE. “We’re thrilled to partner with Rock the Vote to make it easier than ever for youth voters — and our members — to register and be heard.”

Through the Rock the Vote partnership, Xbox LIVE members will be able to register to vote, voice their opinions to the candidates through an exclusive forum and participate in potentially election-predicting polls. They will also be able to download Rock the Vote public service announcements.

Xbox also will have a presence at both the Democratic and Republican conventions, promoting the Rock the Vote partnership and educating delegates about creating a safer entertainment environment on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE using the built-in parental controls known as Family Settings. These industry-leading settings allow parents to limit their children’s access to video games and movies and manage their activity and communications on Xbox LIVE. For more information on Family Settings and other safety-enhancing gaming tools and resources, delegates can stop by the Xbox on-site kiosk or visit http://www.xbox.com/isyourfamilyset.

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Digital Rights Management Tool Now Available for Xbox Users

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 2:50 PM 1 comments

Those of you 360 owners who have shared the trouble of having to get a new console know how horrible it can be. Piled on to the horror of getting a new system is the fact that many of your Xbox Live Arcade games and other content would not work anymore because of errors in the Digital Rights Management (DRM). Well be happy, Microsoft has just released a tool to ensure you get back all of your content that you purchased on a previous system. All you have to do to regain access to your favorite content is visit the content license page on Xbox.com to start the DRM transfer process. Check out Major Nelson's blog or the DRM FAQ for more information or just watch the video below!


Video: Xbox 360 Content License Transfer Tool on Xbox.com

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Marc Whitten Gives Info on 360 Dash Update, DRM, & XBLA

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 4:05 PM 0 comments

In an interview with Next-Gen.biz Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten talks about the future of the Xbox Live Arcade, a fix for the digital rights management issue, and the 2008 spring update for the Xbox 360. The summary of the interview basically states that there will not be a significant dashboard update this spring, a DRM fix is coming soon, and Microsoft is beginning to focus more on quality rather than quantity in the Xbox Live Arcade. Hit the jump for a few more details.

Whitten stated that while there will not be a major dashboard update this spring, the team is working on a fix for the major DRM problems users have had.
"So while most users will not notice any significant changes to the dashboard this spring, I can tell you that the team will be releasing a new digital rights management (DRM) tool next month that will allow you to better consolidate your licenses for downloaded content to a single Xbox and allow you the freedom to be able to play your content both online and offline."

Also, Microsoft will soon begin to de-list arcade games that earn a metacritic score below 65% and a conversion rate below 6% in a focus on quality control in the arcade, there will be a 3 month warning prior to the removal of any game. Whitten also confirms that Microsoft will soon open a first party development studio focused on media creation with the hopes that quality will become a much bigger factor in the arcade library. With the increase in quality comes a price increase as well;
"While the service has had a lot of success and now boasts over 130 titles, we think it is time to continue our focus on quality over quantity. This means that we need to allow developers more time and more space to make even bigger and better games. So we are officially increasing our XBLA game size limits dramatically from 150mb to 350mb. We are also giving publishers more flexibility in how they price their games and opening up a new 1600 Microsoft Points price point for some of these now bigger and better games."

It is yet to be seen how the community will react to this 1600 price point. The first game to utilize it launched Wednesday, Penny Arcade's first title was set at 1600 Microsoft points to the complaints of many. No need to sit and watch your 360 anymore in the coming weeks, no update is coming. Enjoy some games rather than waiting for that much needed four player private chat, we will see you in the Fall!

Full Interview via Next-Gen.biz

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