Alleged 'Breach' Thief Skips Court Hearing

Stolen game code from PAX East reportedly worth "millions."

by Jim Reilly

March 30, 2010 - A Boston Municipal Court judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of Justin D. May, a 20-year old from Delaware for allegedly stealing game code for Atomic Games' Xbox Live title Breach during the Penny Arcade Expo last week.

According to police reports obtained by IGN, Police at the Hynes Convention Center were notified by event security personnel on Sunday, March 28 that several facility staff members were detaining May for alleged theft. May admitted to downloading the game code without permission and was placed under arrest while his Dell laptop computer was seized by police, according to the report.

"May posted $200 cash bail at the Boston Police station following his arrest and was ordered to appear for arraignment in the Boston Municipal Court this morning," Suffolk County District Attorney press secretary Jake Wark told IGN. "He did not appear and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest."

The charges sought by Boston Police are larceny over $250 and receiving stolen trade secrets. Both carry maximum prison terms of five years, though there is no minimum, according to Wark.

Justin May's booking photo.

David Tractenberg, an Atomic Games spokesperson, told IGN that May was only able to obtain about 14MB worth of game data before fleeing. According to Tractenberg, May had managed to hook up a laptop directly into the company's network to obtain access.

The police report places the value of the code at $6 million dollars, but Tractenberg said the company has not figured out the exact cost, only saying it's worth "millions of dollars."

"He didn't get very much, and we're lucky because the code he was going for was just under 2 gigs," explained Tractenberg. "It's something he could have gotten very quickly, but we're very vigilant around our booth."

Tractenberg said May was caught downloading the Breach code after only a couple minutes. He fled the scene shortly thereafter. "We confronted him within two minutes, and he sprinted off," he added. "But before he could do anything with the information, we were able to find him in that crowd and relieve him of his laptop and get him arrested."

Tractenberg said that despite May being able to access game data at the event, he doesn't see any major flaws in their security system.

"I've never heard of something like this happening before. I was more worried about somebody running away with one of our Xbox 360 test kits," he said. "I've been at about 200 events and this is the first time something like this has happened."


MovieMiguel.com

US Postal Service Changes to Hurt Netflix?

Ethan Epstein from The Big Money has written an interesting story that explores the impact of the US Postal Service changes (rate increase, 5-day delivery) on Netflix, Delivering Movies in Slow Motion.

Higher postage costs will pose another serious problem. Postage costs have already increased four times in the past five years. To combat these cost increases, the company has simply continued to fine-tune its automation and squeeze costs out of its warehouse and distribution network. The company has also slapped on costs for premium services, such as a $1-per-month fee on Blu-Ray discs. This has eased the cost pressure somewhat, but it’s a precarious balance. As far back as 2008, Netflix said publicly that it was considering raising subscription prices. Right now, Netflix needs to collect $2 per rented DVD in order to maintain profitability and is said to spend roughly 78 cents on postage for each rented DVD.

HackingNetflix interviewed Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in 2006, and Hastings addressed processing movies on Saturdays (this is long before they offered Saturday processing).

HN: Why don't you work on Saturdays? It seems to be such a competitive advantage for Blockbuster, and everybodys interested in getting more movies… Is it cost-prohibitive?

Hastings: Prohibitive is a strong word. It’s a cost tradeoff, right, because then you can’t run a standard five day shift. So when you move to a 6th day, then you’ve got not one management team, you’ve got staggered. So the cost is not just 15% more, because you’ve got to figure out dual management, and how you’re going to infringe on people on people’s weekends and yet give them a life. So we make sure that the Monday through Friday works well, and that’s the focus.

If the USPS drop Saturday delivery, will you miss it? How would you feel if Netflix has to raise prices?



MovieMiguel.com

Garry Schyman's Music Sounds Like Hell (and Rapture)

How the Dante's Inferno and BioShock 2 composer brings tone, terror and tension to some of our favorite games.

by Arthur Gies

March 30, 2010 - Garry Schyman is an award-winning composer whose work in videogames like BioShock 1 & 2 and the Destroy All Humans series is instantly recognizable to fans. His latest work can be heard in Dante's Inferno, an action-packed descent into Hell from Electronic Arts.

We recently sat down with Schyman to find out how his music fits in to the game design process, and how a game's soundtracks can help set the tone for the entire experience. You can check out some of Schyman's music at his official web site.

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IGN: Did you pay attention to the reception for the original BioShock?

Garry Schyman: To the reception to the entire game?

IGN: Critically, there was a particular sort of reaction to the first game.

GS: Yeah, you know, I always look and see what the reviews are saying, the general feel of the reception. It seemed to be, obviously, very positive, a great deal of support, a really high [critical average]. It seems to be that that magic number turned out well.

IGN: I think many of us in the press would argue it's not the greatest way to look at the merit of a game, but yeah, as someone who played the original BioShock, I was pretty happy with it, and I did feel that the score in particular was a pretty big part of that.

GS: So yeah, I was aware of it. I mean, look, it's no secret, if you have a great score with a game that tanks, I think to a great extent you go down with the ship. So the best is if you've done a good job and you have a commercially and critically well-received game. That's the best of all worlds for a composer, because your reputation is how you continue to work and make a living. So you hope for a trifecta there.

IGN: Have there been games in the past that you worked on where you were a little less thrilled with the way they were received, or where you felt like it was a missed opportunity?

GS: Yeah... Well, I don't want to whine about stuff, I've been very lucky and have done a lot of great games. Destroy All Humans 3, I don't know if anybody cares about those games, but for me they were a blast, because they were all about re-creating these scores from these different eras, and I thought my best score for the three of them was the third game. But it was absolutely released before it was done, so it was a mess. Nobody cared about the score at all. So there's a perfect example, something where the score completely disappears.

IGN: Throughout the BioShock 2 score, and I think to a lesser extent the original, the solo violin seems to be a sort of recurring character, as it were.

GS: It was the ghost of Ayn Rand! [chuckles] To some extent, it was just an intuitive... "Wow, that just feels right." It just felt like that was cool, that it was really interesting. The audio director, Emily Ridgway, agreed that that was a great sound for the project. Strings in particular evoke a sense of emotion because of their flowing nature and the way strings are typically written. The solo instrument just seemed to have that flowing water quality, but also this sort of intellectual quality. Early 20th century, mid-20th century classical music, it had this intellectual character to it. From the very beginning Rapture was described to as this place where these intellectual giants were invited. There were ordinary people as well, but there was this group of physicians, artists, writers and philosophers at the core.

Courtesy of GarrySchyman.com

IGN: The tone of BioShock 2's score seemed more... mournful, I think, than what we hear in BioShock. Why that tone?

GS: As I recall, Jordan Thomas, the creative director, said the direction for this was sort of... a child waiting for her father. It had a real sadness to it. So that was a simple description of what it was, but that also just seemed to be what came through, this sort of mournful, sad longing without fulfillment..

IGN: In that vein, how much of a game are you exposed to prior to beginning work on the score?

GS: Painfully little, unfortunately. I'm almost always hired in the middle of the process, not at the end like a television show where you see the finished product. In BioShock 1 and 2 they were able to show me, to some extent, what the levels would look like. They would make gameplay captures and send them to me as movie files.

I'm excited to play (BioShock 2), because I enjoyed BioShock a lot. I'm always interested in how my music gets implemented and how it feels in the end, because I never know until I play the game. It was intriguing how really different it was, not quite what I expected. (The music) had just changed so much. To some extent I'm in the dark, relying on the descriptions and the lead of the audio director, in this case Michael Kamper and of course Jordan Thomas, the creative director. I mock everything up with samples prior to recording it with live instruments, so I'm sending them stuff and they're approving it, or maybe they're making adjustments, or maybe they're even saying, "No, that's the wrong approach."

IGN: Has there been any piece you were particularly proud of that was eliminated before the game shipped?

GS: If it doesn't end up being used where originally intended, it gets re-used somewhere else in the game. In the BioShock, there was this piece of music I called "The Bathysphere Ride," but the piece was released as a digital, free release called, well, "Rapture." It's one of the signature pieces. Originally, they said, "We want this to be very scary, like you're heading into this really frightening world," so I wrote a pretty scary piece of music for that. They came back and said, "You know, we gave you the wrong direction. This should be more ambivalent, more interesting and more intriguing, with a hint of what's coming, but not necessarily, 'Oh, it's gonna be scary here!'" And I agreed with them, and that piece of music that I had written was re-used elsewhere in the game. I'm glad they made me write it, because it certainly was very well received, and became one of the signature pieces from the game.

I'm very respectful of those decisions. It's rare that I feel I'm working with someone who's doesn't know what they're doing. They're closest to the project and have a good sense of what the project needs. But once I clue in on a project, generally my music is accepted, because I move quickly.

Can't you just hear the music?

IGN: Were there any particular classical pieces that you found influential, as a jumping-off point for BioShock or Dante's?

GS: Well, for BioShock, there's the whole of early 20th and mid-20th century music. From Stravinsky and Shostakovich, Prokofiev, I could go on. There's a lot of composers. Alban Berg, a lot of the solo violin stuff, his violin concerto, that was in my mind when I was writing the solo lines and things. Not specific notes, but sort of the whole gestalt of that really beautiful composition. And then of course all the mid-20th century aleatoric music from, you know, Penderecki and Xenakis, people like that. I wouldn't say there's a specific piece of music, more the composers of that era. Part of the idea was to use the style of music from the early and mid-20th century, because it felt right for this city. This artistic place would have that the art music of that era.

With Dante's Inferno, Paul Gorman, the audio director, suggested right away that I listen to Penderecki's the Passion of Saint Luke. I was familiar with that piece, I think it was written in the '60s. Because it's a religious work, but it has this eerie (quality), it's a combination of the two. George Crumb as well, I don't know if you're familiar with him, but he's like a mid-, late-20th century composer. He did really interesting stuff. Some of his weird vocal stuff was influential to me, it's really eerie, weird vocals, without playing it for you I can't really... I didn't copy it by any means, but it was like, "Oh, yeah." It was a really good starting place. I listened to a lot of Crumb, Penderecki.

GN: In general, your scores for Dante's or BioShock go a long way in defining them.

GS: Thanks. I work really hard to make that distinctive. I've never said I invented those forms, but I have said in other interviews that I combined them in ways that I'd never heard before.

IGN: Were there any film scores that you feel had an influence on BioShock? Listening to those scores, I there were certain moments that felt evocative of Horner's score in Aliens, or Morricone's work on The Thing. And there was a point that reminded me of some of the moments in Goldenthal's stuff on Interview with the Vampire. Has anything in the film realm been an influence, or are those just sort of happy coincidences?

GS: I think I'm familiar with the music in those projects. And I guess in a way, the whole zeitgeist of music that I've ever heard gets filtered into you when you write something new. If I had to suggest any one composer, that would be Jerry Goldsmith. For combat music, I don't feel like I copied him, but his unexpected turns of music, how it will abruptly change and do something without any expectation, I think he influenced me.

IGN: You mentioned before that BioShock and Dante's weren't necessarily a struggle to compose. Have there been projects in the past that felt particularly difficult to get done, to get through?

GS: I wouldn't say they weren't a struggle. Dante's was a struggle, more than BioShock 2. I felt like I knew what the (BioShock 2) score should sound like. With Dante's Inferno I didn't really know, and I had to work really hard to keep it original and to keep thinking in fresh ways for the different levels of Hell. Plus, there's a lot of combat music in Dante's.

IGN: Yes there is.

GS: It's really complex music, it was a lot of work.

IGN: Having played through all of Dante's, the soundtrack is one of the better parts of the game. That's actually one of the few things that I think people commented on, when they heard me playing it, other than the gore and the disturbing imagery, that the soundtrack was very epic and very heroic and evocative of this sort of descent into hell, in a very classical way. It felt reminiscent of dark orchestral scores in a way that not a lot of games are, or can get away with now.

GS: Thank you, I'm really glad to hear that.

IGN: Going from BioShock to BioShock 2, there are a lot of new elements, like a saxophone, which I don't recall hearing in the original BioShock score...

GS: Yeah, Pauper's Drop. It was called "Ghetto" when I was working on it. It's where the poor people of Rapture hung out, so we wanted to capture a little bit of that element. It had some jazzy, bluesy elements in it, and I used clarinet, because I didn't want to do it on the saxophone. There's also some muted trumpet.

IGN: And there's some jazz singing in there, I believe, some Billie Holiday-esque kind of singing...

GS: Yeah, exactly. We actually hired a singer to do that. There was more of that that, and I pulled some of (it) out. It was a little too much for them. But I thought that was a nice change. And to do that, with the eerie BioShock background, was a really interesting effect.

Schyman during the recording of BioShock 2.

IGN: How do you decide what jobs to take? Do you try to seek out jobs where you feel like your talents fit well artistically?

GS: Well, every now and then I'll hear about a project and I'll make an effort to contact them and see if I can get the gig. I usually don't [chuckles]. I've just been fortunate, I think, because most of the projects that come to me are really interesting. Every now and then something is not appropriate, or they don't have much of a budget, it's not worth my effort, really, to do it. With BioShock, I just sensed that that was going to be an awesome game. Some of the cues that became very prominent in the game, they didn't even ask for them. I told Emily, "You know, I think you're going to need these."

There's this one really beautiful piece I played for them, and she said, "This is really nice, but we're not going to need it." I said, "Oh, let me record it," and she used it all over the place. And "Dr. Steinman" was a piece I wanted to write, something really wild. And she ended up using it, and another piece as well. I do have a good intuitive sense about that, and that's true, also, of one of the cues for BioShock 2. They didn't ask for it, but I said, "Let me do something," and it worked out really nicely.

IGN: Looking back at your work in games, is there any project in particular where you wish you could do it over again, do it differently? Do it better or not do it at all, even?

GS: You mean, even before I was doing games?

IGN: How about one from games, if possible, and then just in general as well?

GS: There are certainly cues that I think I could make them better now. But, I would rather write new music than go back and rewrite something. There's nothing that's screaming at me, like "Oh, man, I wish I'd never done that." I did a project called Full Spectrum Warrior. I'm much better at writing combat music than I've ever been. It's still a lot of work writing combat music, because you have to create a lot of tension, and do it in a way that doesn't feel clichéd, you know what I mean?

IGN: Yeah, it repeats a lot, so you have to try to make it not boring after hearing it for the fourteenth time...

GS: Exactly. I do have an issue with combat, or any kind of music, that repeats over and over again. When I play games, I'm annoyed by music that loops for too long. I know it's a problem for audio directors, so I guess the only way to mitigate that is to write really, really long pieces of music. Or, there are ways to layer it so that you don't always have the layers playing at once, which keeps it fresh.

Hell is what this sounds like.

IGN: Are there composers working in games that you admire or whose work you enjoy?

GS: I really like Jason Graves, I think he's doing some really cool stuff right now. He's a friend of mine, but I say that unreservedly. He sent me some music he just recently recorded for something, which I thought was simply amazing. Whatchamacallit... Dead Space?

IGN: Yeah! His score for Dead Space was excellent.

GS: Yeah.

IGN: I was just curious, because other than BioShock, there are only a few games that have had scores that are so suggestive of the content, something like Jesper Kyd's score in Assassin's Creed, things like that.

GS: Jesper is another friend of mine. He has a very different style from mine.

IGN: He's very fixated on electronic music in particular.

GS: Yeah, I've been over to his studio, and he's got all these old synths from the '70s and '80s. He has his own unique sound. Jesper does really interesting music.

IGN: Are there any questions that you'd like to answer that you don't typically get asked in these interviews?

GS: Oh, gosh... My favorite food, or something? [chuckles]

IGN: Well, I could ask. I know that you get asked similar questions by a lot of people.

GS: Yeah, I do get asked a lot of the same questions. The difference between film music and game music, I get asked a lot. And it is actually a very interesting question, But I have answered it a lot, so it's kind of old from my standpoint. I will say this, I think that Dante's Inferno, at this moment, I'm really excited about that music. Just being asked to score Hell is such an interesting, wonderful assignment for a composer. I have just been super, super lucky with the assignments that I've gotten. And also, I feel good about the fact that I'm sort of turning on people to styles of music that they never would have listened to before. I think my music is intellectual on some levels, but you could also just appreciate it on a gut level.

IGN: The music in Dante's is particularly bombastic in that way.

GS: Yeah, and yet it's pretty complex. But that's what I had to do to create that sort of hellish intensity, you know? It was also a blast recording it, going to London and recording at Abbey Road with the Philharmonic orchestra and the Metro Voices, which is a fantastic choir. My engineer, Dan, just took an enormous amount of time to mix that music. I'm just very lucky.


MovieMiguel.com

Native Netflix Streaming App Coming to PS3 in 2010; Not Wii

Netflix spokesperson Steve Swasey confirmed that there will be a Native PS3 application this year, but said that there would not be a native app for the Wii. No date for the PS3 app has been announced.
2010 will be a big year for Netflix: PS3, Wii, Sony Dash, HD streaming on the PC, closed captions, and 5.1 audio. Netflix is also about half-way to the target of 100 streaming devices, so we can expect more new streaming devices and parters (iPhone?).

MovieMiguel.com

Microsoft release USB Drive Q&A

Posted on 29 March 2010 by Alex Seedhouse
PSN: Seedhouse
Xbox Live Gamer Tag: Seedhouse

Microsoft have released a Q&A for their upcoming firmware update that will see the additional support of USB Flash Drives of up to 16GB on their Xbox 360 consoles. These details will surely cover everything that you need to know, so please read through to cover any queries you may have.
Offering an easy and efficient low-cost option for Xbox 360 owners to continue to experience the wealth of content available to them on Xbox Live. This will also allow you an easier method to access your game saves, profile and Xbox Live content, as well as providing the perfect opportunity to take it with you wherever you go.
Alongside this is news that Xbox 360 has partnered with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May, that will be pre-configured for a seamless experience and optimal performance, as well as including plug and play access to Xbox Live content and a 1 month Xbox Live Gold Membership.
USB Flash Drive Q&A:
Q: What does additional USB Flash Drive support mean for consumers?
A: Additional USB Flash Drives support offers a low-cost option for Xbox 360 owners to truly experience all that is available on Xbox LIVE, including the best downloadable games, the latest demos, TV shows, movies, music videos and more.
Q: Third party USB Flash Drives have always been compatible with Xbox 360, what is different about this announcement?
A: Xbox 360 could always read content, like music or pictures, from USB Flash Drives. However, this update offers a low-cost option to store content from the Xbox 360 and truly experience all that is available on Xbox LIVE, including the best downloadable games, the latest demos, TV shows, movies, music and more up to 16GB.
Q: When will the USB Flash Drive update be available to consumers?
A: Additional USB Flash Drive support will be available through an Xbox LIVE update available on April 6.
Q: Will this update make Xbox 360 more vulnerable to security risks and hacking?
A: Microsoft takes safety and security very seriously. We require that Xbox LIVE users use the service in compliance with applicable laws and specifically prohibit users from engaging in illegal activity as a part of our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct. Premium content purchased from Xbox LIVE Marketplace has never been compromised. That will remain the case when such content is stored on a USB device.
Q: Will you be selling an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive?
A: Yes, Xbox 360 has partnered with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: Can I use any third party USB Flash Drive to store content from my Xbox 360? Does it need to be Microsoft-branded?
A: Performance of non-Xbox 360 branded USB flash drives will vary based on quality, speed and performance of the specific drive. Some may not provide a recommended level of performance. That is why we’re partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: How will I know if my third party USB Flash Drive will be fully compatible with Xbox 360?
A: A performance check will occur when you connect the USB Flash Drive into the Xbox 360 for configuration. If the third party USB Flash Drive does not meet the necessary requirements, it will not pass the performance check. This could occur in the following scenarios:
• The device less than 1GB
• Xbox is unable to write to the device because of a device error or security.
• The device gets pulled out during initialization
• Xbox is unable to verify the integrity of the device
Q: I want to know whether or not my USB Flash Drive will work with Xbox 360 before I purchase it. What are the speed and bandwidth requirements for third party USB Flash Drives?
A: Performance of non-Xbox 360 branded USB flash drives will vary based on quality, speed and performance of the specific drive. Some may not provide a recommended level of performance the only way to determine whether or not a third party USB Flash Drive meets the necessary performance requirements is to connect it with the Xbox 360. That is why we’re partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: When will an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive be released?
A: We’re partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: If an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive is the only way to ensure proper compatibility, why aren’t you releasing one at launch? Doesn’t this just create a guessing game with consumers?
A: Performance of non-Xbox 360 branded USB flash drives will vary based on quality, speed and performance of the specific drive. Some may not provide a recommended level of performance. That is why we’re also partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: How much storage will the Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive offer?
A: There are plans to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership. However, we have no other details to share at this time.
Q: Is there a maximum amount of storage I can put on a USB Flash Drive?
A: Additional USB Flash Drive support offers up to 16GB of storage. Users can use up to two USB Flash Drives at one time for a maximum storage capacity of 32GB.
Q: How much will the Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive cost?
A: We have partnered with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: What are the speed and bandwidth requirements for a USB Flash Drive to be compatible?
A: Performance of non-Xbox 360 branded USB flash drives will vary based on quality, speed and performance of the specific drive. Some may not provide a recommended level of performance. That is why we’re partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: How do I know if a USB Flash Drive will be compatible with my Xbox 360?
A: Performance of non-Xbox 360 branded USB flash drives will vary based on quality, speed and performance of the specific drive. Some may not provide a recommended level of performance. That is why we’re partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: Does this mean I can use an external Hard Drive with one of the USB ports in place of (or in addition to) the Xbox 360 20GB Hard Drive?
A: No. Only the Xbox 360 Hard Drive that carries the “Created by Xbox” seal can be used with the Xbox 360 to save games, profiles or content downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
Q: Does this mean that I no longer need a Hard Drive for Xbox LIVE?
A: You need a USB Flash Drive, Xbox 360 Memory Unit or a Hard Drive so that you can store your profile and saved games. The Xbox 360 Hard Drive offers the most space to store the best downloadable games, the latest demos, TV shows, movies and music, and will still be required to play original Xbox games. However, the addition of support for USB Flash Drives offers a low-cost option for Xbox 360 owners to experience Xbox LIVE.
Q: Which games currently require a Hard Drive or a memory unit?
A: (If pushed for more questions about the games, why they need a Hard Drive, etc: You should contact the publisher for more information about their game.)
Q: Is this update to prepare for the launch of “Project Natal” or a new console later this year?
A: This update is intended to offer a low-cost option for Xbox 360 owners to experience all that is available on Xbox LIVE, including the best downloadable games, the latest demos, TV shows, movies, music and more.
Q: Are you worried this will impact the sales of your recently introduced 250GB console bundles?
A: No. The Special Edition consoles, which include a 250GB Hard Drive, a blockbuster game and an extra Wireless Controller, are a great value for anyone who is wants to enjoy a total entertainment experience on Xbox 360. The 250GB Hard Drive is the most storage available on any Xbox 360 console to download games, the latest demos, TV shows, movies, music and more straight to your Xbox 360through Xbox LIVE.
The addition of support for USB Flash Drive offers a low-cost option for Xbox 360 owners to truly experience all that is available on Xbox LIVE, including the best downloadable games, the latest demos, TV shows, movies, music and more. It also makes it easier than ever before to transfer your profile and game saves to another Xbox 360 console.
Q: Does this mean you’re discontinuing the Hard Drives for Xbox 360?
A: No. We offer several storage options for consumers to choose from such as the Xbox LIVE 60GB Starter Pack that includes a 60GB Hard Drive, three-month subscription to Xbox LIVE, Ethernet Cable and Wired Headset for $99.99 ERP. For $129.99 ERP, the 250GB Hard Drive is the most storage available on any Xbox 360 console to download games, the latest demos, TV shows, movies, music and more straight to your Xbox 360through Xbox LIVE.
Q: Does this mean you’re discontinuing the Memory Units for Xbox 360?
A: Yes. The 512MB Xbox 360 Memory Unit will be available for $29.99 (US ERP) while supplies last. We offer several other storage options for consumers to choose from such as the Xbox LIVE 60GB Starter Pack that includes a 60GB Hard Drive, three-month subscription to Xbox LIVE, Ethernet Cable and Wired Headset for $99.99 ERP. Additional USB Flash Drive support gives consumers more choices and convenience in their storage options.
Q: If there is already content on my third party USB Flash Drive when I plug it into my Xbox 360, will my content be erased?
A: Xbox 360 has partnered with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive in May that comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
While the Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive will come pre-configured for Xbox 360, users will have an opportunity custom configure the USB Flash Drive during setup to allocate for PC space usage. Any additional storage space over 16GB will automatically be allocated for PC usage. However, if users reformat the Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive on a PC, it will make the entire drive allocated for PC use and any Xbox data stored on the device will be lost.
Q: What about DRM? If I purchased a movie on Zune on Xbox LIVE, would I be able to save it to a USB Flash Drive and watch it at my friend’s house?
A: Yes. Videos purchased from Xbox LIVE or Zune can be stored on a USB Flash Drive. Standard licensing model applies for download-to-own content, meaning that the video is always playable on the console on which it is purchased. Consumers can bring their downloaded content to another console with the item on USB flash drive. However, in order to playback the video on a different console, the consumer that made the original purchase must be signed into Xbox LIVE.
Q: What is different about an Xbox branded USB Flash Drive vs. a third party USB Flash Drive?
A: The 8GB Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive comes pre-configured for an optimal storage experience, including plug and play access to all that is available on Xbox LIVE with a 1 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.
Q: Will I be able to use an Xbox-branded USB Flash Drive with other devices, like my laptop?
A: While the Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive will come pre-configured for Xbox 360, users will have an opportunity custom configure the USB Flash Drive during setup to allocate for PC space usage. Any additional storage space over 16GB will automatically be allocated for PC usage. However, if users reformat the Xbox 360 branded USB Flash Drive on a PC, it will make the entire drive allocated for PC use and any Xbox data stored on the device will be lost.
Q: If I transfer my Xbox LIVE profile to another console, does it also transfer my movies, music, games?
A: This update will allow you transfer all of your saved games and downloadable content licenses, giving you access to re-download the content you already own onto another console. However, moving your profile does not automatically move your saved game and other content. Consumers can selectively transfer any of their content to a USB Flash Drive with the exception of installed game images.
Standard licensing model applies for download-to-own content, meaning that the video is always playable on the console on which it is purchased. Consumers can bring their downloaded content to another console with the item on USB flash drive. However, in order to playback the video on a different console, the consumer that made the original purchase must be signed into Xbox LIVE.


MovieMiguel.com

Can You Afford Microsoft's Xbox 360 USB Drives?

No you probably can't.

by Jim Reilly

March 29, 2010 - Retailer GameStop has posted the price and release date for the Xbox 360-branded USB drives. It seems Microsoft hasn't exactly learned how to competitively price its accessories.

There will be two different sizes, an 8GB and 16GB version. According to the product listing, the 8GB size will retail for $39.99, while the 16GB will retail for $69.99. The USB drives will ship on April 6, according to the listings.

A quick search on Newegg reveals you can grab a SanDisk 16GB stick for about $40. So why the higher cost? The GameStop listing says that Xbox 360 sticks offer "hassle-free 'plug and play' installation," meaning the user won't have to configure his or her own 3rd party drive upon inserting it into the console. But according to Microsoft, having to configure your own drive doesn't sound too difficult.

These retail listings have not been confirmed, so there's a chance these prices may change. We asked Microsoft for comment and will update when we hear back.



MovieMiguel.com

Microsoft Investigating Major Nelson Account Hack

Larry Hryb's Xbox Live account compromised.

by Jim Reilly

March 29, 2010 - Microsoft confirmed to IGN this morning the company will be investigating a possible hack of the account for Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Xbox Live's Director of Programming.

A YouTube video surfaced late Sunday night that showed the perpetrator entering Hryb's account, displaying his personal information, account settings, and friend's list. Other information, such as Hryb's public display name and location, were also edited.

Stephen Toulouse, Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox LIVE, said Hryb's account has since been fixed and the matter will be looked into later today.



MovieMiguel.com

USB Memory Support for the Xbox 360 coming April 6th

On April 6th, we will be releasing a system update over Xbox LIVE for your Xbox 360 that will allow USB flash drives to be used for storing profiles, game saves, demos and more.  I’ve been testing this feature out for a few weeks, and I have to say it’s really great. Once you take the system update on April 6th, you’ll be able to connect your USB flash drives to your console and head over to the memory section to configure your new storage device. Once you do that, the system will conduct a one time performance and integrity check to confirm the drive is working properly. You will then be able to configure how much storage to use on the device, up to 16 GB. The remaining space on the flash drive will be accessible by your PC or Mac. USB Hard drives may work, but like flash memory, you’ll only be able to use up to 16GB of space. Since performance on flash based USB storage is usually better, I highly recommend using flash based instead of spinning media like a hard drive…it’s just going to give you a MUCH better experience.

We’ve also enhanced the memory management functions, so you’ll be able to have better control on what you want to copy or move between storage devices.

A couple of points: 

• You can have 2 devices connected to the console at a time, enabling up to 32GB of simultaneous storage.
• The system won’t just configure the device once it is connected to the console. You’ll need to head to the memory area in system settings, select your USB Device, and choose from Configure Now (Format and Configure the Full Device), or Customize (you can choose how much memory you want configured for Xbox360 from the free space on the device.) 

While any flash drive can be used, we are partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB flash drive in May that comes pre-configured out of the box and ready to go. I’ll provide links to those drives once they’re available. Until then, starting April 6th (when we release the system update) you can pop any flash drive over 1GB into your Xbox 360 and configure it as storage.

I’ve posted a bunch of screen shots that show you what the experience is like with a USB flash drive, as well as a look at the new memory management screens.


 
We hope you’ll enjoy this flexible new way to manage your Xbox 360 profile and game data.



MovieMiguel.com

GameStop Sued Over Deceptive Used Game Sales

Free advertised downloadable content an issue for used market.

by Jim Reilly

March 25, 2010 - A lawsuit filed earlier this week against retailer GameStop says the company is "deceptively misleading" its customers into believing a used game purchased from the store comes with all packaged downloadable content advertised on the box. This content, however, is only made available for free to those who purchase the game new, as the code to access the content can be only used one time.

This problem arose in January when plaintiff James Collins purchased a used copy of Dragon Age: Origins from a GameStop store in Hayward, California. Collins paid $54.99 plus tax for the game, $5 less than a brand new copy.

Collins states he purchased the game in part because of the box cover, which advertised that additional character and quest content could be downloaded for free upon purchasing the game. Collins discovered weeks later, however, he would have to pay an additional $15 to access the downloadable content, ultimately paying $10 more than the cost of a brand new copy with the same content.

When Collins tried to return the game for a refund, the GameStop manager at the store said he could not because the seven-day return window had passed.

"GameStop, who makes more than 20% of its revenue and nearly $2 billion from the sale of used video games, is aware of this issue, and continues to fail to alert customers that this content is not available on used games," the suit states. "As a result, GameStop tricks consumers into paying more for a used game than they would if they purchased the same game and new content."

Collins is seeking restitution, punitive damages for fraud, and interest from the sale of used games that were wrongfully obtained.

A GameStop representatve told IGN the company is unable to comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit in PDF form can be viewed here.

MovieMiguel.com

The Price to Pay for DLC

Written Tuesday, March 23, 2010 by Martin Gaston

When 2K decided to lock Bioshock 2’s first DLC package - Sinclair Solutions - on the disc, they were almost definitely aware the move was never going to go down well with their customers. It never does: consumers cannot stand the idea of being denied content. And why should they?

Meet BioShock 2's Sinclair Solutions.

The main concern for most gamers, though, has very little to do with Bioshock 2’s surprisingly tolerable multiplayer mode. Most people haven’t even tried it, after all, and even the ones who have will almost definitely be playing something else by now. The hyperbolic worry, however, seems to be that the DLC issue is a slippery slope and that, if we as consumers, allow 2K (or, by extension, any publisher) to think that we find this an acceptable practice then it will become standard for the industry. The end result? Down the line, we won’t be able to load up our copies of Modern Warfare 9 without buying an additional 4200 point license for the multiplayer from Xbox Live.

 

It’s a bit of a complicated area. Just like with a DVD, when you purchase a game you haven’t actually bought the content but instead a license to use it - but try telling that to most customers. Who actually thinks of it like that when a shiny copy of a new game arrives in the post? Certainly not me.

 

Responding to the public outrage over Sinclair Solutions, 2K’s answer as to why they released the content on the disc was absolutely spot on: releasing it as a pack via XBL would have divided the userbase or, more likely, forced all users to download it to their hard drive regardless of whether or not they’d be purchasing the ability to use the content themselves. When you consider how many ISP’s have bandwidth restraints and that people with 20gb hard drives are unlikely to have megabytes to spare, it is, by a considerable margin, much easier just to have the content on the disc. 2K might be right then, but that doesn’t make it right to do it in the first place.

 

Sinclair Solutions, conceived from its beginning as premium DLC, was never going to be free. Which brings me to the second big thorny issue: when developers should be allowed to release DLC in the first place. The most common belief is that if the content is made within the game’s original development cycle it should be included - in an unlocked state, that is - on the disc when you buy the game.

 

Playing content that just wasn't ready for release. Result.

Ubisoft deftly dodged a backlash earlier in the year with their two ‘missing’ chapters for Assassin’s Creed II. Chopped out of the game (for quality reasons) in order for the title to hit shelves in November 2009, the levels were fiddled with for a bit and then released onto the DLC market to satisfy ardent completionists. This content would never have been released otherwise, so the community were happy to accept it.

 

When the whole process feels like paying for the milk when you’ve already invested in the cow, however, gamers sour to the prospect of spending their money. That’s why last year’s Versus DLC for Resident Evil 5 proved contentious, with Capcom burying a mode most fans considered unnecessary on the disc and asking for 400 points if they fancied a go. Exactly the same situation as Sinclair Solutions, basically.

 

It’s almost a guaranteed certainty that if 2K had forced players to download 60mbs of ones and zeroes there’d have been less negative sentiment. Ultimately, it’s all a case of consumers perceiving (or the opposite, as seems to be more often the case) value when buying products: being forced to download a hefty chunk of data provides a tangible sensation of exchanging goods.

 

Consumers perceiving (and attributing) value to digital products is still something that publishers are exploring, and I’d also wager the all-important sweet spot has still yet to be found. In recent years, for instance, the price of the average XBLA title has managed to leap from 800 to 1200 points, so when Perfect Dark showed up last week at 800 points, it’s largely regarded as a huge bargain. Microsoft told us at X10 this year that this raise in price was down to increasing production costs and an overall general improvement in quality.

 

We’ve also seen this questioning of value in the announcement of Modern Warfare 2’s Stimulus package. With 3 new maps and 2 ported over from Call of Duty 4, many gamers have declared the 1200 point asking price a little on the steep side.

 

Gee willikers! These Nazis get uglier every year...

Development rival Treyarch released their map packs (which would contain three maps and another for zombies mode) for Call of Duty: World at War at 800 points, likely imitating the price point set by Infinity Ward themselves with Call of Duty 4’s Variety Pack a year prior. That’s 200 points a map, but with the Stimulus package Infinity Ward has bumped up that asking price to 240. The biggest problem in the eyes of many users, though, is that they’re being asked to spend a combined sum of 480 points for two maps from the original Modern Warfare and they simply do not perceive this as good value.

 

The problem, of course, is that digital goods are intangible, so one of the more compelling ways for gamers to calculate their worth and value comes from comparing them to other digital products: have one item priced too high and it’s an anomaly, have everything cost that much and you’re just selling at the norm. The fear that customers might stop paying if too many goods appeared on the marketplace for free is likely one of the reasons Microsoft put their foot down and forced Valve to charge with their DLC packs for the original Left 4 Dead, for instance.

 

It’s a clever system of economy that, at its heart, is far more complicated than I could ever possibly hope to understand. What’s readily apparent, though, is that buying and publishing trends have definitely caused the market to shift in recent years: if a publisher had tried to charge for maps a decade ago they’d have been laughed at until they declared bankruptcy. It is on this point that so many people find themselves bothered over the issue, seeing their post-release content rising from free to 800 points to 1200 points and dreading the idea that it will continue to rise in the future.

 

What’s definitely worth remembering with the issue is that paying for content isn’t an inherently bad thing: it keeps developers in business and helps the games we enjoy stay lucrative enough for the businessmen with money hats to commission a sequel. The Stimulus Package might cost 1200 points, but if you’re an active Modern Warfare 2 player that money is almost definitely going to provide you with more hours of gameplay than if you’d have purchased a single-player game at RRP. Not that there’s anything wrong with doing the latter, of course.

Cure "Mapathy" by playing maps you played in 2008.

The real crux of the issue is this: only the individual can deduce what makes for a good investment for them. The first step to understanding the modern game cycle is to realise that premium DLC is here to stay, and after grumbling about it for a minute - which is perfectly understandable: nobody wants to spend money if they can help it - we need to open our wallets and decide what’s worth buying on a case-by-case basis. If you’re a massive fan of Bioshock 2’s multiplayer, for instance, then dropping 400 points on Sinclair Solutions doesn’t seem like such a ghastly prospect at the end of the day.

Ultimately, the best thing to do in situations like this is to vote with your wallet. If nobody buys Sinclair Solutions then you can be sure 2K would think twice next time, and if the Stimulus Pack doesn’t sell nearly as well as Activision are expecting, then rest assured you’ll see it reduced to 800 points in an Xbox Live Deal of the Week before long.

One man’s rubbish is another man’s Stimulus Pack, basically. Feel free to suggest some of the most flagrant rip-offs currently on the marketplace, too. Mine is the 1200 point map pack for Stranglehold, because at least people are actually playing Modern Warfare 2.

MovieMiguel.com

The Price You Pay to Play

State of Play: Why should every game cost $60?

by Rus McLaughlin

March 23, 2010 - I'm a cheap bastard. Blame my traditionally tightfisted Scots/Irish heritage if you want, but you'll never see me spend $20 if I can get it for $19.99. When there's something I want, I arbitrarily decide how much it's intrinsically worth, then I wait and plot until I can nab it for that price. Or less.

That makes me the mortal enemy of the entire video game industry, because I don't rate every console release as worth the $60 price tag. Since nearly all console releases run sixty a pop ($50 for Nintendo titles), that standard applies to as many good games as bad ones. Sure, Bayonetta, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Assassin's Creed II are arguably the gaming equivalents of required reading, and I played the hell out of them. But I won't be throwing down cash any time soon. Not at these prices.

It's not just a budgetary issue, either. We all went nuts when Metroid: Other M was announced at E3, and everything I've seen so far puts it high on my must-play list. The thing is, I've never shelled out fifty dollars for a side-scroller before and, minus a little stylistic sleight-of-hand, that's what Other M is. These days, for that genre of game, I kick out ten or fifteen bucks, tops. For a download.

Which is to say, a fixed price system makes no kind of sense when it comes to video games. Unless you really start thinking about it.

Value for money is major issue in gaming, and what you get for your sixty varies wildly. The campaign might be twenty hours, or six, or non-existent. Maybe there's multiplayer, maybe not. You tell me, friend... is a fifteen hour campaign equal to an eight hour campaign with online deathmatches? Or a ten hour campaign with local multiplayer only?

Those answers largely come down to personal preference, but there's no arguing unequal games cost equal amounts. A short, broken mess like Rogue Warrior carries the exact same MSRP as Fallout 3, which rocks over ten times the content and a few thousand more layers of polish. But if Rogue Warrior is grossly overpriced for what it offers, then Fallout 3 is clearly under-priced. Digging every secret and side quest out of the Capital Wasteland can take between sixty and a hundred hours... that's a hell of a lot of game for your dollar. To the point where I can't help but think developer/publisher Bethesda got slightly shafted.

Premium games used to come at a premium price. Carts for the Atari 2600 generally ran between $20-$30, with second-party publishers like Activision and Parker Bros. slightly undercutting first-party Atari titles. But if brand and quality were factors, so too was hype. Ports of popular arcade titles usually cost more, and Pac Man for the Atari 2600 (the most anticipated game of 1982) cost more than any other cart on the market. Why? Because it was the most anticipated game of 1982. Supply and Demand 101. Then critics lynched it en masse, and supply suddenly outstripped demand by five million units. The entire gaming market crashed soon after. Whoops.

Nevertheless, flex pricing still has fans. Bobby Kotick, President and CEO of Activision Blizzard, makes no bones about wanting to charge more for his company's products. Indeed, rumors claimed Kotick staked out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the most anticipated game of 2009) to finally raise the console cap to $70. That fell through in North America, but gamers in the UK do pony up a few extra euros, and PC gamers get pinched an extra ten dollars for the privilege of playing Activision's moneymaker. Too bad those funds don't go towards dedicated multiplayer servers.

What stopped Kotick from an across-the-board hike? Well, it wasn't the Ghost of Christmas Future. Far more likely, the same people who bumped games from $50 to $60 in the first place stepped in and told him no.

Acting like you are shooting things online isn't cheap.

Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo ultimately set prices for games running on their hardware. If you're looking for culprits, Microsoft inaugurated the $60 price point to offset the huge costs - and huge risks - of launching the Xbox 360 a year ahead of the competition. Nintendo alone didn't raise prices because they didn't need the subsidy; their console sold at profit from day one. Or maybe Nintendo still felt the 2002 sting of a $200 million price-fixing fine imposed on them by the European Commission. Either way, and even though most Year One 360 releases were virtually identical to their cheaper PlayStation 2 ports, by the time the PlayStation 3 and Wii came online, $60 was accepted as the price you paid to game on a 7th Generation console.

Yes, it was a bit of a gouge. And yes, it worked. People tend to automatically translate "expensive" as "better," and if there's one thing gamers want, it's "better."

So maybe you're wondering where that money goes. A lot of things have to be paid off or paid out before a publisher makes money and a developer earns royalties. The numbers fluctuate, but generally it shakes out like this.
Wholesale, $60 games run about $45-$48. The rest is retailer markup, but don't hold it against them... only a dollar or two of that is profit. Around $4 per unit goes towards paying back the costs of development kit fees, legal, corporate overhead, and any licensing or distribution fees. Manufacturing the physical disc and packaging eats up $3 or so, more if they get elaborate. Another $7 goes towards marketing, though this varies greatly depending how confident the publisher is. A major marketing campaign might take a bigger slice; an abbreviated or non-existent campaign takes less.

Then you get into the Big Three's cut. Console owner fees generally run around the $7 per unit mark, but major properties can negotiate this down, particularly when exclusivity deals are on the table. Everything else - not quite half the retail price - pays for the actual creation of the game, and in the last few years, those budgets have gone insane.

The biggest gains have been in design and graphics, and those open world, mo-capped, cinematic eye candies add up fast. For A-list titles, $20 million is a starting point. The final bill for Modern Warfare 2 ran around $40-$50 million. By comparison, Oscar-nominated District 9 only cost $30 million. Activision Blizzard spent crazy money specifically to top its crazy successful predecessor, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, because you demanded it. Put another way, gamers want "better," and "better" automatically translates to "expensive."

The Golden Rule of gaming is this: what comes next must totally blow away what came before. That's how you end up with a two-disc Mass Effect 2, which cost the same as a one-disc Mass Effect 1. Frankly, after five years of solid one-upmanship, it's a little surprising the Bobby Koticks of the world haven't gotten the green light to pile on five, ten, fifteen dollar hikes just to cover the spread.

Ah, but they have. We just usually refer to them as DLC.

For everything there's a tipping point where people stop buying in. A base Modern Warfare 2 going for $70 probably wouldn't have moved quite as well, and publishers pay fees for store returns of unsold stock. Enter downloadable content, which is relatively inexpensive to produce, saves big on production costs, and is now core to game design. Map packs, expansion packs, new areas, new missions, mini-campaigns... all value-added, sometimes ready to roll before the game itself is, and highly lucrative. If you bought all five downloadable add-ons for Fallout 3, your $60 game ended up costing $110. You probably didn't mind, either.

That's how you raise prices when you don't dare raise prices, and it's brilliant. Think of it as a la carte gaming. Buy what you want, ignore what you don't. They make their money, the base price stays the same. And that's a good thing.

Despite my pathological need to horde money, I like a standard price for all games. I like how it levels the playing field between struggling new IPs and monster franchises. I like that it gives good games a fighting chance against well-publicized games. I like the consistency and I really like applying the same general standards across titles, sequels, even platforms. But I love how it makes developers strive harder.

They know it's a crowded field out there. They know every game has to fight for your sixty. Even the hardest of the hardcore only averages twenty or so buys a year, out of hundreds of possibilities (across all platforms, over a thousand games were released worldwide in 2009). So early in the design phase, even an established series is sized up against its direct competitors with an eye towards besting them. They have to deliver a superior product that grabs attention and makes a purchase mandatory. Sixty dollars in exchange for their game has to feel like a complete steal.

Will Kasumi's memory be worth the price of admission?

And now publishers are getting creative about how and where they charge for their games. Microsoft's Platinum line breathes new sales into elder games, microtransactions are making the pilgrimage from PC to console (surprise surprise, Bobby Kotick loves them) just as in-game advertisements did, and publishers' relationship with digital distribution services like Steam and Direct2Drive is moving out of the puppy love phase and into grand romance. Going digital saves a bundle on production costs and spares them return fees, among other things, but it could be used to genuinely evolve the a la carte system they've already toyed with.

Here's how: after the initial release, offer the individual game modes - campaign, multiplayer, online co-op - separately at $40 each. Or introduce a new pricing structure that charges more to download the game early, less to get it a few months down the road. Unlikely? Consider: Modern Warfare 2 dropped to $40 about three months post-release, and it's not like sales were hurting. The rest of us paid a premium to game it over the holidays. And that's okay, too.

Yes, there are times I'm willing (and, admittedly, forced) to pay full price for a game I really want. I also rent or borrow a bunch of games. I'd buy more if they cost less, but hey, nobody's forcing us to empty our wallets. Gaming is a purely voluntary obsession, and it so happens we currently have a good balance between Supply and Demand. A fixed price system is a lot like a social contract between developer and gamer; one puts blood and sweat into a game, the other spends blood and sweat to buy it. When one falls through, so does the other.

For now at least, that's fair enough.

MovieMiguel.com

E3 2010: Microsoft Outlines Press Conference Plans

Company to unveil "world premiere" of Project Natal.

by Jim Reilly

March 25, 2010 - Microsoft has just sent out press details regarding the company's plans for this year's E3 in Los Angeles this coming June. As expected, the Xbox 360 motion controller Project Natal will be front stage and center as Microsoft will host a "world premiere" event on Sunday, June 13 for the device.

On Monday, the company will also host its usual morning press briefing at the Wiltern Theater where we can expect some major game announcements.

Microsoft's PR machine Aaron Greenberg told IGN he wanted to get the word out early.

"We're gearing up for a really exciting E3 and wanted to share some key dates to put on your calendar, said Greenberg. "As you may have heard, our Xbox 360 Media Briefing is on the morning of Monday, June 14."

"Additionally, as a kick off to the week, we will be hosting a World Premiere 'Project Natal' for Xbox 360 experience designed for all ages on Sunday evening," he added. "We'll have more details for Xbox 360 at E3 in the coming months, but wanted to get the word out now as you make your plans. We hope to see you at E3!"

Microsoft has yet to reveal the price, and even the official name for its motion camera. E3 seems like the perfect venue to do so.

MovieMiguel.com

Time Warner Cable enables city-wide WiFi for NYC subscribers

By Tim Stevens posted Mar 25th 2010 8:29AM

Breaking News

If you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber in the greater NYC area, your life just got a little bit better this morning. TWC has come to an agreement with Cablevision, allowing the former's subscribers to tap in to the city-wide WiFi the latter started rolling out way back in 2008. No, we're not talking unbroken coverage from the Hudson to the East Rivers, but there are thousands of Optimum-branded hotspots all over the boroughs that cover plenty of parks and rail stations across the city. Unfortunately TWC isn't opening this up to all of its subscribers, just NYC-based ones, but if you have the requisite @nyc.rr.com suffix on your e-mail address hit that source link and find yourself a hotspot.

MovieMiguel.com

What Would the Xbox 360 Slim Look Like?

With rumors are swirling we take a stab at what a new 360 might consist of.

by David Clayman, Brian Miggels

March 24, 2010 - In the past couple of months we've seen a lot of rumors regarding changes to the Xbox 360 hardware. Microsoft has made no secret of the fact that they are going big with Natal this E3, but what about the architecture of their core console? Even with the extended warranty, there's a stigma attached to the Xbox 360 hardware that it just isn't very reliable. Basically, it's high time for a redesign and we've documented the possibilities of what we might see this E3.

Current 360 Model

1. Disc Trays Are So 2005
The first thing we'd replace on the Xbox 360 console is the disc tray. While there hasn't been any word on this part of the hardware changing, it just makes sense. Both of Microsoft's competitors use slot loading and it makes the console feel a lot more compact, contained, and less clunky.

Slot loading!

2. The Motherboard Redesign
We've kept you abreast of the supposed motherboard photo leak, but what does this mean to the consumer? Well, with the CPU and the GPU combined onto one chip there's less heat generated and the opportunity to rearrange the insides a bit. If Microsoft were cautious with a redesign they might keep the current hard drive compatible by leaving the length and the width untouched. Then you'd get something like a 360 short. Sorry, but you'd still have to buy new faceplates!

What-up shawty.

3. Slim is Better than Short
While a "short" design is certainly possible, it's also kind of lame. We're going to go with a slimmer design that starts out by removing a good chunk from both sides of the console. Our mock-up is a pretty extreme representation of a very thin profile with all buttons removed.

Slimmer is better.

4. The Ring of Death
So can we all agree that the ring of light now has a bit of a negative association with the hardware? We think the best move would be to remove the ring completely. If it could somehow be combined with the IR sensor this would clean up the face a bit. We also rotated the USB ports to fit the slim design. However, keep in mind that each Xbox 360 controller already indicates if it is activated so you could remove the rings completely and move the "on" light so it surrounds the disc slot. Just like the Wii! Hey, let's throw in built-in a wireless network card while we're at it.

The red eye in the sky.

In our first design we had the ring of light project from the top of the console. That way the three red lights can act as a bat signal to notify Microsoft repair crews from miles away.

The ring of light has to go.

5. A Hard Bargain
Another recent story about 360 hardware indicated that coming with the Spring update next year is the ability to use any USB storage device to load and save data. This could mean that the 360 Slim will have an internal hard drive, supplemented by external drives, making it even more sleek and symmetrical. It also cancels out the memory card slots completely. Keep in mind, that we're guessing there will still be an external power brick resembling the size of the unit outlined at the top of this article.

Finally we decided to mesh the IR sensor and the player indicator lights into a version of the old IGN logo. Would you like to see a slimmed down version of Xbox 360 unveiled at this year's E3? What features should it have and how small should it be?

No more external hard drive.

MovieMiguel.com