Dashboard update live 5/9

MSN messenger meets xbox 360 tomorrow in the update I blogged about earlier.

Dashboard update is live as of 8am May 9.


A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.

Enhanced family settings features for Xbox LIVE communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.

A new Xbox LIVE Marketplace blade lets Xbox LIVE members access the content they seek — whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States) — from one place on Xbox LIVE.

Updates to Xbox LIVE Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox LIVE Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox LIVE members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded Tell a Friend capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.

A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version Xbox LIVE Arcade games.


New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.


Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.

Bad news for Spore fans :(

via joystiq.

spore is delayed til minimum April 2008. I guess we all have to wait a little longer.

skate: multiplayer video

Rumor: Table Tennis on the wii?

Wii fanboy is fanning the flames of a rumor today. Table Tennis on the wii. Heze and I were talking yesterday, and he brought up some limitations on the wii controller. He said the controller can't tell if the person is just flicking the wiimote or the player is making a sweeping motion with the wiimote. I agree, so far, games have not figured a way to make the user use a natural motion rather than a little flick. Time will tell, we will have to wait until Nintendo releases some first party titles in the next couple of years to find the answer to the question.

The rumor mill is at it again, churning out log after log of potentially possible prospects in the gaming world. The latest of which is the rumor that Rockstar is planning on bringing its Table Tennis game to the Wii. While we'd agree that the gameplay of said title would suit the console's control scheme perfectly, along with Rockstar's recent support of Nintendo by bringing Manhunt 2 over to the Wii (lending a bit of credibility to the rumor), we believe a couple of things will ultimately get in the way of this happening.

Hate singing and yelling and screechy voices? Play Catan

Joystiq writers have been playing a bit of Catan on XBL lately. And what have they discovered? Players stay til the end of games, and there are no obnoxious noises when you play. (Like locust killer).

People will instantly argue that Catan brings a different crowd to Xbox Live and given our experience that is absolutely true. And we love it! Catan, combined with Uno (although there are caveats with Uno), shows that there is a different demographic out there in Xbox Live land. Now does this stop the calls for an adults only section for Xbox Live? Not a chance. It would still be nice to play Halo without the ... let's just call it "noise." All we know is if this Catan community is the same that'll be into Carcassonne, then that's money well spent for a nice couple hours of gaming.

This may convince me to give it a try. What do you guys think.

Square licenses the Unreal Engine, Like everyone else

Square Enix, the makers of the great Final Fantasy RPGs have licensed Epic's Unreal Engine for their new game:

The Last Remnant is a brand new RPG franchise from the Final Fantasy publisher, designed to appeal both Japanse and Western audiences. In fact, the game will be released simultaneously in Japan and North America.

Sweet, Gears of Final Fantasy??? I like it.

New Madden 08 developer blog

You can read the entire post here.

One of the producers reaches back to 1997 to either remind us how far Madden has come, or how far it has fallen. He talks about money plays. Money plays are plays that work pretty much every time you try them, and ruin the online game.

3. The paradigm shift of money plays. Yep, Madden 97 had quite a few money plays and nano blitzes. Double Flags anyone? Flea Flicker anyone? Using the Lions anyone? But back then there was no online. When I saw my buddies go anywhere near Double Flags I’d punch them in the arm, and they’d do the same for me. Back then we never thought about money plays, because we just regulated ourselves. I’ll never forget getting online for the first time in Madden 03 and seeing how big of a deal they had become. I actually designed the playbooks in 04, so I can speak first hand that I had to spend a ton of time testing for exploits, when that was never even really much of a concern before. It seems like now it’s more about money routes than money plays. Do you all still see an abundance of money plays, or is it more about money “strategies” (i.e. scramble and throw the corner route…which we are fixing this year)?

I sure hope they fix it, because money plays make pick up games frustrating and unplayable.