Author Archive | Jared Newman

New Xbox 360 Arcade May Have More Storage

Posted by Jared Newman on July 14, 2010 at 9:41 am

Microsoft has gone quiet on the fate of Xbox 360 Arcade, a cheaper, feature-barren version of the main console, but that’s not stopping Amazon Germany from sharing some secrets.

The online retailer now lists an “Xbox 360 Arcade System Bundle 4 GB.” There aren’t any other details available besides that one line, which is at least enough to tell us that Microsoft could significantly boost the low-tier console’s storage capacity.

As the Xbox 360 gained better specs over the years, the stripped-down model improved as well, going from wired to wireless controllers and gaining an HDMI output while dropping in price, eventually to $200. But the Arcade console was held back by a mere 256 MB to 512 MB of storage capacity. The main console’s 120 GB hard drive and wired headset was worth the extra $100 if you planned to download games or play online.

The latest Xbox 360 model has a 250 GB hard drive and built-in wireless. That’s a pretty good deal, but with Microsoft now allowing Xbox 360 storage on USB sticks, it’s possible to have plenty of storage on an HDD-free console for cheap. Put together a 4 GB console and a 16 GB USB stick, and you’ve got the same amount of room as my late 2007 model, which has served me well so far.

Three things will be worth considering when Microsoft actually confirms a cheaper console: Will it have built-in wireless, will this bundle include Kinect, Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera, and of course, how much will it cost?

For now, Microsoft has scrubbed all mention of Xbox 360 Arcade from its Xbox landing page. If you want a bargain on what could soon be outdated goods, Amazon and Target are both selling old Xbox 360 Arcade bundles, with two games, for $150.

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HP Windows 7 Slate: It's Alive?

Posted by Jared Newman on July 13, 2010 at 1:07 pm

HP still hasn’t said boo about its slate plans since the company acquired Palm, and Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer didn’t mention HP during his Worldwide Partners Conference keynote this week, when talking about Windows 7 slate PCs.

So why was HP listed as one of many companies releasing Windows 7 slates this year?

The image here was screengrabbed from the live feed of Ballmer’s keynote, and tipped to Engadget over Twitter. Microsoft doesn’t have the recordings of its keynotes online yet, so I can’t validate this myself. If it’s accurate — and not just an oversight by whoever put together Ballmer’s keynote slides — it opens up a couple possibilities:

On one hand, perhaps the HP Windows slate is not dead, as rumored and generally suspected due to HP’s silence on the matter. Maybe HP just went back to the drawing board after seeing what the iPad could do, or put the Windows 7 slate on the backburner to fast-track a WebOS tablet.

On the other hand, the images above Microsoft’s list of partners includes a swiveling tablet with a keyboard. HP has already built one of those, running Windows 7, the Touchsmart tm2. I wouldn’t be shocked if HP updated that laptop in the fall, and Microsoft called it a slate for the sake of promoting Windows 7’s touch-friendliness.

In any case, with more than 20 companies building Windows 7 slates this year, debating the mortality of an HP entrant is moot. The idea was novel when HP was the only major company openly talking about an iPad competitor, but that’s hardly the case anymore. I’d be more interested to hear about a WebOS tablet at this point; at least it’ll stand out from the crowd.

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Nintendo 3DS Has a Clever Defense Against Used Games

Posted by Jared Newman on July 13, 2010 at 8:54 am

While game publishers slowly make used games less attractive to buy, Nintendo’s 3DS will encourage people to hang on to the games they’ve got.

Speaking to Wired, Nintendo 3DS platform producer Hideki Konno talked about a feature called “Tag Mode.”  Basically, it’ll allow two 3DS owners to wirelessly share game data from the handheld’s internal storage. So to swap profiles in Animal Crossing, for instance, users won’t need to keep the actual game cartridge handy.

Wired’s Chris Kohler said this sounds like a way to extend the life cycles of games, and Konno agreed, saying Tag Mode ” will bring consumers a sense of wanting to play a game again, after they get new data from games that they’d forgotten about.” To think of this in a business sense, gamers will be encouraged to hang onto the games they’ve played, on the chance that another 3DS owner will have something awesome to share.

That’s one less game for GameStop to sell at Nintendo’s expense. It’s a similar idea to downloadable content, with two differences: Tag Mode won’t require any development after a game’s release, and it probably won’t cost players anything extra.

There aren’t enough details on Tag Mode to know whether it’ll work, but I like the gesture in light of what other publishers are doing. In May, EA Sports announced that it will charge $10 extra for online play unless the game is purchased new. THQ followed with a similar policy, charging $5 for online play to second-hand owners of UFC Undisputed 2010.

Over time, I think we’ll see more publishers go this route, but I’d rather see them encourage customers to keep new games rather then discourage them from buying used ones. Tag Mode probably won’t distinguish between new and used games, but it could at least slow the cycle of trade-ins without punishing customers.

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It's Skype vs. Fring in VoIP War of the Words

Posted by Jared Newman on July 12, 2010 at 3:24 pm

Looks like Fring made too many waves by updating its iPhone app to support two-way video chat. After a short time when iPhone 4 owners could use Fring to video chat with desktop PCs using Skype, Fring pulled all Skype support, at first temporarily, but now for good.

Both sides of this relationship gone sour tell different stories. Fring says it was blocked by Skype in an “anti-competitive ambush.” Skype says that’s not true, but claims Fring violated terms of use for its API, and was damaging the Skype brand by temporarily pulling support. No matter who’s telling the truth, iPhone 4 owners can’t make video calls to PCs anymore.

As long as Skype and Fring are slinging mud at each other, let’s look at some other iPhone-to-PC video calling scenarios that would render this break-up obsolete:

It’s possible that other platforms will adopt Apple’s Facetime, which is an open standard. Facetime desktop software seems like a no-brainer, but it needs to allow PC-to-PC calling or it’ll never get the widespread adoption Skype currently enjoys.

Google Talk is in the opposite position. It’s all over PCs through an optional plug-in for Gmail, iGoogle and Orkut, but lacks two-way video support on phones. Still, adding support could cause more friction with Apple and with Sprint, which uses Qik for video chat on the HTC Evo 4G.

Skype could theoretically support video chat for iPhone 4 some day, but the company has dragged its feet on several iPhone features, including 3G calling, which finally arrived in May, and iOS4 multitasking, which is still missing. The company gave Gizmodo a murky answer on video calling for mobile phones, which read, in part, “We’re betting big on video, and we intend to set the bar on mobile video calling.” Whatever that means.

Then there’s Fring. Like Facetime, Fring desperately needs a desktop application, I’d say even more so than Facetime because the software already supports Android and Symbian video calling as well. The Skype fiasco proves that Fring can’t lean too heavily on third-parties, so if Fring really wants the spotlight — and to swing at Skype — it needs to move onto the one platform Skype has dominated, the PC.

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Google's Gaming Plans May Involve Zynga

Posted by Jared Newman on July 12, 2010 at 8:08 am

We’ve seen growing evidence of Google’s plans to take gaming seriously, but the latest rumor from TechCrunch is a whopper: Google has reportedly invested between $100 million and $200 million in Zynga, maker of popular Facebook games Farmville and Mafia Wars.

Later this year, Google will launch Google Games, anchored by Zynga’s addictive brand of social gaming, TechCrunch’s multiple unnamed sources said. The investment by Google — not Google Ventures — is reportedly part of a larger strategic partnership between the two companies.

This wouldn’t be an exclusive arrangement. Zynga already has a deal with Yahoo that will see Farmville and other games scattered across Yahoo’s network later this year, and Farmville landed on MSN Games in February.

The benefit for Zynga — aside from truckloads of cash — would be another potential escape from Facebook. The two companies quarreled in May over Facebook Credits, a virtual currency system of which Facebook takes a 30 percent cut, but made amends by agreeing to work together for five years. I still think Zynga’s survival depends on whether it can tap into Facebook’s existing social network, but other heavy hitters like Google and Yahoo will a least provide new opportunities.

For Google, a strong gaming platform featuring Zynga would fit nicely into several other Google developments involving Flash, on which Zynga’s games are built. First, there’s Flash for Android 2.2, which is already available for the Nexus One and coming to other phones later this year. Google TV will also feature Flash as a way to watch video and play games. Finally there’s the recent integration of Flash into Chrome, which keeps the platform secure and up to date. It’s certainly possible for a Google gaming service to exist across PCs, mobile phones and televisions.

I’m no Farmville addict, but I think good games are essential to all those platforms. I hope Google’s gaming plans are as ambitious as this rumor suggests.

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Four Lessons From Blizzard's Real ID Snafu

Posted by Jared Newman on July 9, 2010 at 6:54 pm

Blizzard became the target of its own flame war after deeming that its forums would soon require the use of real life names. The Battle.net community backlash forced Blizzard to backpedal, removing the Real ID requirement in forums for World of Warcraft and Starcraft II. However, Blizzard head Mike Morhaime’s language (“we’ve decided at this time”) leaves the idea on the table. Here are some things Blizzard should keep in mind if it wants to try Real ID in its forums ever again:

Anonymous doesn’t always mean “troll”

Maybe Blizzard didn’t consider the legitimate reasons a person might choose to remain anonymous: Teachers may want to escape from their students during leisure time, government officials might not want to be stigmatized as avid World of Warcraft players and some people just aren’t comfortable being identified online. I likened Blizzard’s Real ID push to Facebook because both services have a desire for their users to embrace a single identity, whether it’s online or in real life. But right now, that’s not the way things are.

The forums are important, warts and all

In announcing the Battle.net forums’ switch to Real ID, Blizzard’s attitude seemed to be “don’t use it if you don’t like it.” The problem is that Battle.net forums serve as a kind of instant customer service, where people can reach out to the community and to Blizzard itself.  Changing the conditions on which that service is offered made people feel cheated. Which brings me to the next point:

Incentive works better than force

If Blizzard wants to shift people towards Real ID, it should take a page from Amazon, whose “Real Name Attribution” system for user reviews is not mandatory, but allows writers to collect badges for their work. Wouldn’t a reward system like that translate nicely to game built entirely on collecting loot?

Don’t test an angry mob

To prove a point, Blizzard forum moderator Bashiok revealed himself to be Micah Whipple, and outraged gamers immediately got to digging up as much embarrassing or otherwise personal information on him that they could. Whether the information is accurate or not is beside the point; this incident showed an ugly side to the Battle.net community that Blizzard was wise to pacify.

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Imagining a Future for 3G Handheld Game Consoles

Posted by Jared Newman on July 8, 2010 at 6:40 pm

In theory, a handheld gaming device with 3G connectivity seems like a great idea, which is probably why Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo is pitching the concept to console makers. In practice, it’s a stretch.

NTT DoCoMo won’t say which companies are part of the conversation, but Nintendo and Sony seem like obvious participants. Maybe Microsoft or some lesser-known party is involved. In any case, NTT DoCoMo hopes game console makers will embed 3G capabilities in their devices, or at least offer Mi-Fi-like routers to create local wireless connections, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The report mentions how Amazon struck a deal (with Sprint, and then AT&T) to build data coverage into e-reader price tags, yet I’m surprised that neither NTT DoCoMo nor the story itself mention how much more data a 3G game console would require.  An e-book contains text. A downloadable game contains audio and video as well. Online, multiplayer gaming would be demanding. My knowledge of the wireless market in Japan is slim to none, but in the United States, no carrier would agree to serve 3G coverage to game consoles without a monthly charge or a huge up-front price.

Therein lies the dilemma for future game consoles. As gaming becomes more popular on multi-purpose devices — not just phones, but 3G-enabled tablets — dedicated consoles will look outdated without constant online connectivity. Still, it’ll be tough for people to justify another monthly bill just for portable gaming.

For the sake of not being a total naysayer, here’s one way out: I’m dreaming of a day when you can buy a whole mess of data and apply it to a range of devices, from phones to tablets to — yup — game consoles. Carriers are still stuck on a per-device mentality, but maybe that’ll change as they move away from unlimited data. If that happens, I really do hope handheld game devices can be part of the shift.

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What Facebook and World of Warcraft Have in Common

Posted by Jared Newman on July 7, 2010 at 5:30 pm

Starting later this month, World of Warcraft developer Blizzard will require its Internet forum members to post under their real life names, using an ID system that is otherwise voluntary for players. The goal is to fight flame wars and banish trolls, using the logic that people wouldn’t be so incendiary if everything they wrote on Internet message boards left a searchable trail.

Within Blizzard’s forums, this is a pretty big deal, even for perfectly civil people. The most reasonable concern I’ve heard is that requiring real names would also force peaceful forumgoers to shed their identities as private massive multiplayer gamers, or at least merge those identities with real life. To paraphrase one forum poster, his World of Warcraft habit could be immediately discovered by any romantic interest or potential employer.

Reading that argument, my mind jumped to Facebook’s privacy approach. For entirely different reasons from Blizzard, Facebook has pushed to make its users’ information more public, notably by defaulting status updates to be shared with the world.

The cynical view is that Facebook seeks more money by opening up user data, but chief executive Mark Zuckerberg also has an atypical worldview, which he shared with David Kirkpatrick in “The Facebook Effect.” To wit:

“The days of you having a different image for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming to an end pretty quickly … Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity.”

Now, I don’t think Blizzard’s new policy has any broader goal than to stop people from spamming and trolling message boards, but it’s hard not to see a bit of Zuckerberg in Blizzard’s actions. Here’s a game developer saying your real life identify and the one you assume as part of World of Warcraft’s Internet community are actually the same. No more hiding one persona from the other. Facebook, it seems, is guided by the same principle.

Whether we’re talking World of Warcraft or Facebook, the merits of this argument will be debated for years to come.

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Yearning for Color in Black and White Game Consoles

Posted by Jared Newman on July 6, 2010 at 5:08 pm

It makes little sense that I miss having Nintendo’s GameCube in my living room. The Wii plays GameCube games, and it has a slimmer profile, but something’s lacking. Frankly, I think it’s the GameCube’s indigo shell.

I came to ponder color in game consoles — that is, in their physical design — while reading about Sony’s plans to release a white Playstation 3 in Japan. That completes the trifecta; with the Wii and Xbox 360 both going black, all three current gaming consoles have reversed polarity, or at least offered the option for customers to do so.

But isn’t there room for game consoles in the middle of the color spectrum? Not if history’s any indication. Take a few minutes to scroll through TheGameConsole.com’s brief retrospective of home gaming systems. You’ll find a few funky outliers — Magnavox’s Odyssey 300 from 1976 was bright yellow — but for the most part game consoles come in black, white or gray.

The exception to this rule is portable gaming. Nintendo’s DSi XL comes in debuted in burgundy, and the DSi launched stateside in black or light blue (white and pink followed). Though Sony’s PSP comes mainly in black in the United States, blockbuster games are sometimes accompanied by limited edition color PSPs.

I think I understand why this happens. Portable consoles are a personal thing, onto which gamers can project their self-image with color. At home, a game console’s best bet is to blend in. Entertainment centers are black tie affairs, so don’t be the only set-top box wearing a Hawaiian shirt, so to speak.

Thing is, game consoles are supposed to be the fun ones, the crazy uncles that do all the fun party tricks. Colorful game consoles may not be totally appropriate, but the living room just feels a little too bland without one.

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We Need Real Answers on Playstation Plus and Hulu Plus

Posted by Jared Newman on July 5, 2010 at 7:44 pm

Sony’s customers are still in the dark on whether the premium Playstation Plus service will be required to watch Hulu Plus on the Playstation 3, even as more unverified information comes in.

Last week, I discovered that Hulu Plus on the PS3 may require a Playstation Plus subscription ($50 per year or $18 quarterly), based on some code hidden in one of Hulu’s Web pages. I e-mailed Sony and Hulu for a response, but heard nothing. Sony later dismissed the report as “rumors and speculation,” which is an odd thing to say given that Hulu’s own website provided the evidence.

Now, Playstation Lifestyle reports that PS Plus will only be required during Hulu Plus’ preview period. Invitations for that preview are going out in batches, but there’s no word on when the service will be available to all.

But Playstation Lifestyle’s story doesn’t come straight from Sony or Hulu, either. The source may actually be a Reddit commenter who reached out to Hulu’s generic support line. By Sony’s rules, we can dismiss the second-hand response as “rumors and speculation” as well.

This isn’t the first time Sony has gone dark, letting unverified information fill the news vacuum. At the end of February, owners of non-Slim Playstation 3s discovered that their consoles weren’t working, and they risked losing data just by turning on their consoles. Sony didn’t warn people about the data loss until 16 hours after first acknowledging problems. Meanwhile, PS3 owners were left to fend for themselves in Internet forums, attempting to answer many of the questions Sony never did.

The Hulu Plus situation isn’t as urgent, but with Playstation Plus up and running, subscribers shouldn’t have to get their information from the rumor mill. Sony should explain Hulu Plus pricing to its customers, either by confirming what we’ve seen and heard or acknowledging that the details are still up in the air.

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