It is so triumphant, its prey is sore,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…
As it swings away the victor once more,
The Cheekiest Monkey Of All.It knows the cheekiness that men do,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…
But it knows only it holds cheekiness true,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…A canine fool made to turn it’s back,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…
For said pooch doth know that the cheek it doth lack,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of AllThe hound most humbled pressed the assault,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…
But a primate prankster made good on his fault,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…With clothy agility limbs shall be snatched,
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…
Begone, hapless Fido, for you are outmatched!
…The Cheekiest Monkey Of All…
[Epic poetry by Jim Sterling, Introducing Leo and Bioautographical]
To: Ash and Luke
From: Flynn
Subject: GDC Hangover
Ahoy gents! I hope you’ve had a great week. Mine was rather grueling what with GDC and all. I wish I could say my GDC hangover was from going to parties but it was really more from exhaustion coming right on the heels of last week’s flu. Still, GDC was a blast and I got to see some pretty cool stuff including Lucas Arts Studio which was somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit.
Some things you might have missed this weekend:
Microsoft announced that they will no longer be making Xbox 360 HD-DVD players
EA wants to buy Take-2. Take-2 doesn’t want to be bought.
if you steal someones virtual gold, is it a real theft?
And now I am off to play some more Patapon. Those little singing guys sure are addictive. I’m also going to finally see what all the hub-bub is about this Portal thing that all the kids are always talking about. Hope you have a great week and we’ll see you next time. Goodnight!
T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev11787) of XBMC for Xbox (XboxMediaCenter(info)).
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Special Notes and Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* Added Nuka1195’s XBMC-Addons Installer PLUGIN which can be used to install various Addons. Needs installation (use Programs) - says Nuka1195.
* fixed: GetProtocolInfo was not transforming extension to lower case causing content type to be misconfigured changed: Xbox360 support! The 360 now can browse XBMC server and play music and video (whatever codec it can at least). No pictures yet. changed: some upnp:class changed for the 360 to be happy. Might break WMP on Vista. Needs testing. fixed: forced inclusion of port in urls for 360 to be happy fixed: upnp:class was wrong for music fixed: if no items were found during upnp browsing, returns 0 items instead of error changed: changed UPnP Server name to be compatible for 360. It’s now “XBMC: MediaServer:” fixed: removed model name XBMC. The 360 doesn’t like it 
added: if we failed to force UPnP Server to bind on port 80 (since xbox360 wants that for urls of files to stream), we try again with a random port. This might cause the 360 to not work though. Best is to disable xbmc http server or change its port to something different than 80 if that happens.
For the full changelog (all added/fixed/changed/updated stuff) since the 2008-02-10 SVN Rev11601 build click here.
Keep in mind this is a SVN snapshot of the current development tree. It’s not an official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official XBMC Site (new site!): http://xbmc.org (manual and FAQ)
Official T3CH Site: http://t3ch.yi.se (release RSS feed)
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev11787) of XBMC for Xbox (XboxMediaCenter(info)).
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Special Notes and Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* Added Nuka1195’s XBMC-Addons Installer PLUGIN which can be used to install various Addons. Needs installation (use Programs) - says Nuka1195.
* fixed: GetProtocolInfo was not transforming extension to lower case causing content type to be misconfigured changed: Xbox360 support! The 360 now can browse XBMC server and play music and video (whatever codec it can at least). No pictures yet. changed: some upnp:class changed for the 360 to be happy. Might break WMP on Vista. Needs testing. fixed: forced inclusion of port in urls for 360 to be happy fixed: upnp:class was wrong for music fixed: if no items were found during upnp browsing, returns 0 items instead of error changed: changed UPnP Server name to be compatible for 360. It’s now “XBMC: MediaServer:” fixed: removed model name XBMC. The 360 doesn’t like it added: if we failed to force UPnP Server to bind on port 80 (since xbox360 wants that for urls of files to stream), we try again with a random port. This might cause the 360 to not work though. Best is to disable xbmc http server or change its port to something different than 80 if that happens.
For the full changelog (all added/fixed/changed/updated stuff) since the 2008-02-10 SVN Rev11601 build click here.
Keep in mind this is a SVN snapshot of the current development tree. It’s not an official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official XBMC Site (new site!): http://xbmc.org (manual and FAQ)
Official T3CH Site: http://t3ch.yi.se (release RSS feed)
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
One of the most anticipated panels at the 2008 Game Developers Conference was called The Art of Final Fantasy. Go figure. Square Enix’s Isamu Kamikokuryo’s panel/interview drew a massive crowd for the Thursday afternoon event, and hundreds of attendees lined up to get a sneak peek at concept images and a new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to pass that sneak peek onto you. As was the case with most of the other GDC 2008 panels, photography was prohibited. You’ll just have to settle for my impressions for now.
Hit the jump for details on The Art of Final Fantasy.
I am always glad to hear another Ratchet and Clank is coming down the pike. I loved Size Matters and still think it’s one of the best looking games on the PSP. Hopefully, this one can live up to it.
This time around, Clank gets the titular role as he sets out to rescue his good friend Ratchet from his fate in prison. What did Ratchet do to land in such hot water? Watch and find out! Make the jump for a little bit of gameplay as well.
News of Square Enix’s upcoming Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles WiiWare title seemed to come out of nowhere in the Fall of 2007. If you’ve ever wondered how Square Enix got the jump on WiiWare development, you’ll be glad to know that their panel at the 2008 Game Developers Conference did a great job of detailing exactly how this title came to be.
The session was hosted by Toshiro Tsuchida (battle designer for Final Fantasy XIII) and Fumiaki Shiraishi (server programmer for Front Mission Online and Final Fantasy XI). They uncover the entire development process of this title, which has been renamed Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King.
Hit the jump to read more.
If you have been lagging on checking out the frozen landscapes and giant bugs of Lost Planet now is your chance to do it cheap! This week Circuit City is listing Capcom’s Lost Planet (360 version) for the low, low price of $19.99. According to the pages I checked, the offer is only available through the website and not available for in-store pick up but you may want to check your local store just to make sure. I must admit I am way behind the tip on this game, but I just got a copy for the PS3 that I am anxious to try out. My skills with shooters have improved vastly since BioShock so perhaps I can get through this one without too much embarrassment.
Best of the Sunday Ad Video Game Deals (2/24 - 3/1) [CheapAssGamer]
Let there be no more speculation about Microsoft’s stance on HD-DVD. The company issued a statement today that it would no longer manufacture the Xbox 360 add-on following Toshiba’s decision to bail out on the high definition disc format. It reiterated that the death of the HD-DVD format would not “have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform” but it surely scuttles any talk that the Redmond giant has plans for a 360 with a built-in HD-DVD drive. We expect fantastic deals on the accessory and discs to flood Cheap Ass Gamer within hours.
The full statement from Microsoft is just after this, full of digital distribution good wishes and stiff upper lips. Rest in peace, Xbox 360 HD-DVD player.
As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.