Xbox Live launch titles for Windows Phone 7 finally revealed, we've got the full preview

2010-08-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

We've known that proper Xbox Live gaming (powered by XNA) was coming to Windows Phone 7 devices, but we'd yet to see any of that thumb-spraining goodness in action besides a brief demo and a few developer videos. Well, Microsoft has finally come clean with details about its launch strategy for the platform, and from where we sit, it's definitely looking pretty promising. First off, the company has announced a full list of launch titles for WP7 handsets, including some familiar names and franchises like Castlevania, Halo: Waypoint, Star Wars, Crackdown, and Guitar Hero, alongside a handful of newer properties like the ultra-cute ilomilo, produced in-house by Microsoft Game Studios. In total, the company will launch with over 60 game titles, with new offerings appearing every week in the Xbox Live Marketplace, just like its big brother console version. We've got all the details, a full list of the launch titles, and our hands-on preview after the break -- so read on to get the scoop!

Besides just announcing some games today, Microsoft has also shown off the full feature set of Xbox Live integration in Windows Phone 7, and users of the service should be pleased to discover that there's not much missing from the version they know and love. Live on WP7 will allow for full avatar integration (we're talking fully rendered, interactive avatars) along with customization (clothes, accessories, and more). The company has even crafted an avatar-centric version of familiar phone utilities like flashlight apps and levels, adding some whimsy to what would normally be pretty staid affairs. Additionally, messaging, friend lists / status, achievements, and leaderboards (with friend comparisons) are all here as well, making for a pretty complete mobile Xbox Live experience. And also just like the console, every game will have a try-before-you buy demo to check out before spending your hard-earned cash.

We had a chance to sit down and play some of the new games (Rocket Riot, Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst, The Harvest, ilomilo, Bejeweled, Max and the Magic Marker, and Uno) as well as check out the Live feature-set, and here are our first impressions:

We'll preface this by saying that both the hardware and software we demoed was still unfinished (the latter being the Samsung Taylor dev phone and the LG QWERTY model we broke news of on the Engadget Show). Regardless, the gameplay for the arcade titles seemed excellent, with frame rates holding fast even during graphically intensive 3D sequences (such as the chaotic, scattered-pixel play of Rocket Riot). The Harvest, while a bit familiar to our eyes, still showed the graphic promise of the platform. Gameplay was definitely well suited to a touchscreen device, though Microsoft's Kevin Unangst told us that developers could target controls for both touch and QWERTY-equipped phones (provided that a touch version was always present). The screen response seemed accurate and sensitive, reacting quickly to our input. Particularly in the Crackdown title -- a tower defense game "set in the Crackdown universe" -- pinch zooming, rotation, and finger tracking was excellent.

Besides just standard gaming, it looks like Microsoft will try and leverage some other components of the platform. In the aforementioned Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst, the game utilizes Bing maps to create levels (not unlike the PSN title The Last Guy), and logic in the software is able to recognize things like roads for enemies to make their way down. A unique concept for sure, and the kind of thinking we hope we'll see more of on this platform. Though we didn't get to see a lot of titles (we particularly would have liked to see something like Castlevania), the polish and speed of the games we played was definitely competitive with iPhone or Palm Pre gaming.

We didn't get a chance to peruse the Live Marketplace because the phones were offline, but we did get to play around with cached elements, and we felt right at home. Updating and tweaking your avatar was fast and straightforward, as was finding friends and checking up on achievements or messages. Unfortunately, for the launch of Windows Phone 7 there won't be any true multiplayer options besides turn-based games, though Kevin seemed to indicate that head-to-head gaming (whether over a local or wide network) was in the roadmap. It only makes sense considering this is Xbox Live we're talking about, and it seems like something that would have been baked in from the beginning. We may be a little spoiled from the variety of multiplayer titles on the iOS platform, but that was one knock against Microsoft here. One other small issue we noticed was that game load times seemed long -- a little too long. Again, Microsoft says things are still unfinished, so we're hoping this is a side effect of debugging and non-optimized builds.

All in all, it's a promising picture for Microsoft. The company has the clout, the community, and most importantly the cash to pull this off, but as with all modern smartphone platforms, success can't be judged on one aspect alone. To make Windows Phone 7 really work, the folks in Redmond will have to hit the right note on not just gaming, but the basic user experience, hardware, applications, and carrier partnerships. Based on what we've seen of Xbox Live on these devices, we think the company can check at least one of those boxes off.

Source Engaddet

Meizu CEO Jack Wong spills more M9 details: Android 2.2 and retina-busting 960 x 640 screen

2010-08-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's hard to call Meizu a straight-up KIRFmeister at this point, but the company certainly does like to flirt with copyright disaster. The M8 started off as an iPhone clone, but we've been hoping its successor, the M9, will be a bit more original. Meizu's Jack Wong has been dropping hints about the thing since January, and now he's tossing out a few more nuggets, like a Retina-matching 960 x 640 display -- making us wonder if this isn't just going to be an iPhone 4 wanna-be after all. Jack indicates the phone will run a heavily customized version of Android 2.2 (shown above) and is now pledging a proper release by the end of this year, with demo units making the rounds in October. Please forgive our cynicism, but we'll be using something non-permanent to mark that onto our calendar.

Update: It's 960 x 640, not 480.
Via Meizu Me, Electronista
Source Meizumi

Sony takes aim at iPhone gaming in new PSP ad

2010-08-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like Nintendo isn't the only gaming company that thinks Apple is the "enemy of the future" -- Sony has now also taken aim at iPhone gaming in a new PSP ad featuring Kevin Butler's pint-sized counterpart, Marcus Rivers. In it, Marcus reminds viewers that the iPhone is built for things like "texting your grandma and calling your girl," while the PSP is "built for big boy games," some of which can be had for as little as $9.99. See the whole thing for yourself after the break.

source Ars Technica

Software, HD Media PCs Windows Home Server 'Vail' sees new beta release, adds OS X support

2010-08-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

It's not the biggest of releases, but progress is progress at this point. Since launching in late April, Microsoft has been rather mum on the future of its latest Windows Home Server build. This week, however, the second major beta release has been let loose into the wilds, with Vail's most recent build now available to download there in the source link. The Big M doesn't go into great detail on what all has been added and / or changed, only saying that this new version has "plenty of enhancements and improvements over the original." The so-called "Preview" also adds support for Mac OS X backups, though users should know that storage check and repair (among other things, most likely) aren't exactly working seamlessly. But hey, that's what you get for living on the beta, right?

Via Cnet
source Windows Team Blog

News Technology

Xbox Live launch titles for Windows Phone 7 finally revealed, we've got the full preview

Meizu CEO Jack Wong spills more M9 details: Android 2.2 and retina-busting 960 x 640 screen

Sony takes aim at iPhone gaming in new PSP ad

Software, HD Media PCs Windows Home Server 'Vail' sees new beta release, adds OS X support