Gaming News

Xbox 360 and your iPod

Coming to a big screen near you. The Xbox 360, when it debuts, will have the ability to stream music files from just about any MP3 player, including, gasp, Apple’s iPod. And during the preview of the Xbox 350 in San Francisco last month, Microsoft execs were really excited to be able to play music from the apple iPod, and talked up the functionality quite a bit.

“When you plug your iPod in,” Xbox digital-entertainment executive producer Jeff Henshaw told CNET News.com, “the Xbox 360 automatically detects that it’s there. You can browse by artist or album or genre or by custom playlist.”

And, although it can stream the music from your iPod into games like Project Gotham Racing 3, replacing the game sound track with your own tunes, this was done without Apple’s support.

“We do not have an official relationship with Apple for the iPod connectivity,” said Scott Henson, product unit manager in Microsoft’s advanced technology group. He maintains that “Xbox 360 leverages standard protocols such as USB mass storage to enable iPod support.”

Henshaw said Microsoft tried to “engage” Apple in a partnership that would have officially made the iPod interoperable with Xbox, but Apple rejected the overture.

“So we went in and built all of the support we could,” Henshaw said. Microsoft plans to release the new Xbox in North America on Nov. 22.

Henshaw said the Xbox 360 would be able to stream any standard MP3 file or AAC file from an iPod, but not protected songs purchased through the iTunes Music Store. Those songs, he said, will appear grayed out in menus on the Xbox.

Microsoft would not comment as to wether they had to reverse engineer anything, but industry folks assume they did, since the iPod actually scatters the songs accross directories and renames them, which makes them really hard to find.

iPods have a database that cross-references the location of music files and their names so users can select them through the device’s menu. Microsoft would have had to include simple software in order to engage that database, he said.

“They have to read that database to get a list of songs on the iPod and present that to the user,” Benson said. “Once a user has selected what song to play, then you use the database to find the song and play it.”

So, it sounds like they would have to figure out how to find them first by talking to their database. I would say Apple isn’t going to like this very much, and will probably be ready to counter the ability with an iTunes update of some kind, like they did when RealNetwork’s made it possible to copy songs from their online offerings with the iPod.

“It would be unfortunate if that happened, because people are enjoying the flexibility,” said Henshaw. “It would be unfortunate to see Apple inhibit people’s ability to enjoy their own music.”

Hehe. That’s their line and they are sticking to it. This article quoted the News.com article, and they said Apple did not have a comment at this time. I’m sure there will be one when the system ships near the end of the month.

Here’s a post on Microsoft blog on SeattlePI.com, where a journalist actually got to try it out with an iPod Nano and his own iPod, and he said it worked just fine, even has a pic with it connected.

Bink.nu has an article about it posted here, and it has some quotes from J Allard and he says,

“I’m pro consumer on this one to the end. Anybody in my company who thought this was a bad idea to plug in Sony or Apple devices into this thing, I ended that conversation pretty quickly. This is the right thing to do for consumers. Once they invest $500 in their digital media library, you can’t ask them to go buy a 360 music player and a 360 digital camera, and a 360… NO! They got their stuff. They’re going to want to plug it in. We’re going to be open here, guys. And if anything, I wish we could be more cooperative with the other companies that are doing those things. And if Sony or Apple were to call me up and say, “hey, we want to [do] some special things with the 360,” i’m on it. I think it would not be in anybody’s interest to say, we’re not going to work with 360. It’s good for them, it’s good for us, and it’s good for consumers.”

Sounds good to me.

Xbox Processor Revealed

Today, IBM released info on the new processor they created for the new Xbox 360 gaming console. They are expected to release more info today at the Fall Processor Forum in San Jose. The implemented some new instrcutions and created high speed connection between the processor and the graphic’s processor so that the graphics hardware can read directly from what’s stored on the primary processor’s onboard memory. From Yahoo.com,

The IBM-built chip features three customized PowerPC computing engines that can each handle two simultaneous tasks at clock speeds greater than 3 gigahertz. It was customized for Microsoft in less than 24 months from the original contract.

The original Xbox, released in the fall of 2001, used an Intel Corp. 733-megahertz Pentium III microprocessor. In 2003, Microsoft decided to switch to a different vendor for the next-generation system.

The company best known for its market-dominating Windows operating system instead turned to IBM the same company Sony Corp worked with to jointly develop the upcoming PlayStation 3′s Cell microprocessor.

But the Cell processor, which is expected to be deployed in devices beyond the PlayStation, is fundamentally different from the Xbox chip, said Ilan Spillinger, director of the IBM Design Center for Xbox 360.

From News.com,

IBM on Tuesday said it has begun production of a new microprocessor for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console, due later this fall.

The company said the custom designed microprocessor is in production at the company’s East Fishkill, N.Y., fab and at Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing in Singapore.

IBM said the chip features a customized version of IBM’s 64-bit PowerPC core. The chip includes three of these cores, each with two simultaneous threads and clock speeds greater than 3GHz.

The chip features 165 million transistors and is fabricated using IBM’s 90 nanometer technology to reduce heat and improve performance. The chip’s 21.6GB-per-second front side bus architecture was customized to meet the demanding throughput and latency requirements of the Xbox 360 gaming platform software, IBM said.

Recently read an article from TG Daily, from Tom’s Hardware Guide about the Xbox and how most people will not have the video hardware to take advantage of the system yet.

The system will not be able to convince a 20-inch standard television in a 15 year-old’s bedroom to create the same breathtaking output of audiovisuals. Microsoft is calling this the high-definition (HD) era, but few people have upgraded to an HD television. Not to blame Microsoft for using the best equipment money can rent for their demonstrations, but realistically, not every gamer will have the equipment Microsoft uses in its pre-laucnh demonstrations.

I know my kid won’t in his room, but we will have it connected to my Hitachi widescreen HDTV and surround sound first I’m sure.

Another problem that Microsoft may face with the launch of Xbox 360 is the simple lack of the “killer app”. There is no must-have game for Xbox 360 scheduled for release day. Project Gotham Racing 3, Perfect Dark Zero, and Dead or Alive 4 are all great games in their own right, but there is a feeling of “been there done that” with each title. The Xbox 360 will need a blockbuster game such as Halo to make the system fly off the shelves. As it stands right now, there won’t be such a game on launch day.

I think I will jump in on the Project Gotham Racing as we have never played that game, yet, but I certainly would like to see the next Halo, anyone seen or head anything yet?

When it is released, the Xbox 360 will be the most powerful videogame console on the market, there is no question about it. It just may not have the impact that gamers have come to expect from a new console. Sony’s Playstation 3 looms on the horizon of next year, but word is that its release may slip into 2007. If delayed, Microsoft has an opportunity to secure a strong install base. With a release title list bordering on average, gamers may do well to wait for things to shake out a bit before plunking down $700 or even $1000 for a package on day 1.

Good advice and bad luck for Sony. It certainly will be interesting to see the market share of both companies in a year.

On a related note, they just brought the first Xbox 360 online at Xbox Live, Click here to see the online image at Major Nelson’s blog. Major Nelson is the Xbox Live gamertag of Larry Hryb. He works at Microsoft under the title of ?Xbox Live Director of Programming? in the Xbox Live product group.

Xbox Controllers Work on PCs

The new controllers for the Xbox 360 will work on Windows XP based computers as well. The controller, when sold by itself will include a driver for the Windows XP operating system, and the one that comes with the Xbox 360 will work with Windows XP based PCs after the driver has been downloaded. This from News.com

“Gamers can simply unplug their controller from their Xbox 360 system and plug it into their Windows XP-based PC,” Chris Donahue, director of Windows gaming at Microsoft, said in a statement. “This is a great breakthrough for the gaming industry as we make it easier for developers to create multiplatform titles.”

The controller features a new design meant to improve ergonomics. It also offers “force feedback vibration support” and a button layout.

This is a great feature, now you won’t be buying two seperate controllers, unless, ofcourse, you need different functionality, such as a joystick or steering wheel. Good move Microsoft.

The controller, which features a 9 foot cable, will sell for $39 and is already available in the US, and will be released soon in Asia and Europe.

Last month, Microsoft said the Xbox 360 would come in two flavors: a base model for $299 and a souped-up version with a 20GB hard drive and wireless controllers for $399.

The company is trying to alter a current-generation console landscape in which archrival Sony has sold 75.6 million PlayStation 2s worldwide, compared with Microsoft’s global sales of just 19.8 million Xboxes, according to IDC analyst Schelley Olhava.

Word to your Mother

Microsoft is aiming for your sister’s, wives, and your mother’s.

When they launch the XBox 360, they want to target females, to try and take some of Sony’s lead in the gaming console market, by promoting a more family-friendly image for the new Xbox. From an article in the International Herald Tribune,

In 2001, when Microsoft introduced the first Xbox, it focused heavily on hard-core gamers, typically males age 17 to 24 , who wanted a high-end machine with more sophisticated graphics and more complex game functions. The PlayStation and the Nintendo GameCube, meanwhile, put more emphasis on reaching the mainstream market, analysts said.

This time, Microsoft is planning a wider attack. Brochures going out to major retailers like Best Buy prominently describe the 360′s ability to double as a DVD player, play music from an MP3 player through a television’s speakers and even display digital photos on a TV. Its game functions, while impressive, are now only part of the message.

The point, said Bill Nielsen, who oversees marketing for the Xbox 360, is to help a game player convince the women in the family that “this is for you, too,” The brochure even says, “Here are some things you might want to tell your wife this thing does.” Over Labor Day weekend, Microsoft and Pepsi began a radio promotion to give away 9,000 Xbox 360s by Nov. 22. Nielsen said those ads were meant not just to reach hard-core gamers, but their mothers.

From Realtechnews,

In an eye-opening study (at the time) women who raise kids were found to use Gameboys more than any other demographic including their kids. And the merging of entertainment and TV makes the female of the species worth trying to land in a serious way and not with pink Barbie and hairstyling games.

So, this makes a lot of sense, my wife has been a big gamer in the past, but she’s not dedicated, she’ll play a game that catches her fancy for awhile, we had some killer fights when Mortal Kombat first came out, and then not play them for years. Nowadays, she mainly plays some of those online games like any of the numerous bejweled clones, text twist and others. They are a huge market, all you have to do is create the right games and you could definately make some money promoting the Xbox to females.

Radeon X1000 Series Reviews

The folks at Extremtech have posted a review of the new series of X1000 video cards from Radeon, their answer to the latest offerings from Nvidia, the GeForce 7800 GTX and the cheaper cousin the GeForce 7800 GT. Apparently they had some kind of circuit problem that affected the whole card and had to delay production until they figured out exactly where the problem was.

I’m not the type of guy who runs out and buys the latest hardware, I usually get it when the price has dropped some and is more readily available, as well as having more time to find out any flaws or problems it may have. But, if anyone buys one and would like to post their take, just post a comment and let me know. I love reading reviews and how this stuff fares in real world use, not just the published numbers.

Though ATI had a lot of problems with the flagship R520 product, which should have shipped last spring, all its other chips have been rolling along just fine. The company designed the Xenos graphics chip in the Xbox 360, which also uses a 90nm (.9 micron) manufacturing process, and it’s being mass produced already. And the rest of the R5xx graphics line, set to debut this fall, has been right on track. Simply put, none of these chips had that one hard-to-find circuit bug that held up the R520.

Delaying the R520 has had the negative effect of giving archrival Nvidia a big head start, but it also gave ATI the opportunity to launch an entire family of graphics products at once. The Radeon X1000 series, as it’s known, features a top-to-bottom line of products from $99 to $549, though not every single SKU is shipping today.

As much as we’re impressed with the overall performance and feature set of the X1800 XT, we’re a little disappointed in the X1800 XL?the one that’s shipping today, together with the budget X1300 cards.

It’s not that it’s a bad card?far from it! With all the talk of the advanced super-fast 90nm manufacturing process, and the extremely efficient architecture, it’s only just as fast as a GeForce 7800 GT at high resolutions with AA and AF enabled. Turn AA and AF off, and the Nvidia card is a little bit faster. We wouldn’t make a big deal about it, except that the suggested retail price is $449, while GeForce 7800 GT cards are widely available for $50 to $80 less. Not only that, but many vendors ship seriously overclocked 7800 GT cards with only a minimal price markup. For the Radeon X1800 XL to have earned a preferred status, it would need to be at least $50 to $100 cheaper, or maybe have standard clock speeds bumped up to 550/550 MHz from the default 500/500.

From Extremetech by way of Realtechnews.com.

Atari 2600 Once Again

Atari has decided to do something I think is fantastic, they are re-releasing the Atari 2600! So should you start looking for all of your old games? Nope, they are included in the console, it comes loaded with 40 classic games. There has been lots of retro stuff lately, everyone playing these old roms on their pc’s, or thier xbox, etc, now you can have the original joystick in your hand, so it feels like old school as well. This from Realtechnews.com,

Fans of Atari everywhere should rejoice. The 2600 console, originally released in 1977, has been re-released so you can play all of your old favorites once again. The new console is called the Flashback; and instead of buying the games separately, they’re included inside the console itself. Atari’s description says:

Atari Flashback 2 is modeled after the beloved Atari 2600 console, making it the ultimate re-creation of the classic gaming experience. Loaded with 40 classic games including Pong, Asteroids, Centipede, Millipede, Lunar Lander, Breakout, Missile Command, Combat, among others, as well as retro game and arcade classics that have never before been released for the home console, Atari Flashback 2 will feature the same wood grain paneling and look of the Atari 2600, and will capture the feel through two classic joysticks for multi-player competition and vintage controls.

From UsaToday.com,

Long before Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there was Pong, a simple video game from Nolan Bushnell and the folks at the original Atari Inc. Two paddles, one ball and no Hot Coffee mod to unlock hidden sex scenes. THAT was gaming.

The Atari brand has traded hands in the years since Pong hit the scene, but the new owners are still milking some mileage out of this game and 39 others with Atari Flashback 2. This $30 device offers a fun and affordable glimpse into the gaming’s past ? one that, for better and worse, looks nothing like the present.

I can’t wait, I want one for Christmas, they will be available at BestBuy.com, WalMart.com and many others on October 17 2005.

Sony Runs Jesus Ad

From an article on news.com, Sony’s Italian division has run an ad that featured a young man wearing a crown of thorns with the slogan “Ten years of passion”, and has already pulled the ad because of complaints from Catholics.

Some Catholics were outraged by the advertisements, which ran in newspapers and magazines to celebrate the product’s tenth anniversary.

“This time they’ve gone too far,” said Antonio Sciortino, editor of Famiglia Cristiana (Christian Family), a mass-circulation Catholic weekly.

“If this had concerned Islam there would have been a really strong reaction,” Sciortino was quoted as saying in the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

What’s going on over at Sony headquarters? Now is not the time to be blowing up, with increaded competition from Microsoft’s Xbox 360, who will be releasing their console in time for the Christmas holiday, they might want to just try to stay out of the news, since all of it has been bad recently. Of course in advertising, any news is good, so what do I know.

Sony Blocking PSP Hacks

Found this article on news.com:

Sony is engaged in a tug-of-war with hackers who keep cracking its PlayStation Portable software to unlock the device and run their own applications on it.

The company is preparing another update to the PSP firmware to fix a recently disclosed bug that lets hackers downgrade the PSP system software and run their own, so-called homebrew code on the device, a Sony representative said Thursday.

“It is not…what the device was designed for,” said Patrick Seybold, a spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment America. “We plan to deal with this issue with the next system update.” He declined to say when that update would be ready.

This will be one of those things that Sony will look back on one day and realize they screwed up, anytime you can involve people who are creating and innovating with your product, I think you should let them as it will endear them to the product and will hook them into buying any future versions. Versions where you can restrict some of the things they do without allienating them and block some of the illegal aspects. Bad move Sony.