T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev12263) 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:
* XBMC Lyrics updated to 1.5.7. AMT updated to 0.99.3
For the full changelog (all added/fixed/changed/updated stuff) since the 2008-03-09 SVN Rev11970 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: 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
From extremetech.com:
[QUOTE]
Alex St. John is co-founder and CEO of WildTangent. Before he founded the company in 1998, he was one of the writers and essential in the creation of Microsoft’s DirectX libraries. St. John was also Microsoft’s “games evangelist” and pushed the PC and Windows as a key gaming platform.
WildTangent plans to release the Orb, a new PC-based “console,” in April, and offer its lineup of indie games plus games from major publishers like Sierra, THQ, and more.
We interviewed Alex St. John to get his take on the future of gaming. St. John believes, among other things, that the console is doomed, and that PC gaming is due for a renaissance.
* ExtremeTech: I understand that at WildTangent, you’re working hard on the Orb, which is technically a console for the PC. Now, Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney, I’m sure you heard, put forth a very widely posted quote, “PCs are good for anything, just not games.” That was taken out of context; he’d been asked about mainstream computers that lack graphics and audio power. How do you react to that quote?
* Alex St. John: I’ve known Tim Sweeney a long time, and he makes a very important point. To be clear, PCs are fantastic gaming platforms, in spite of Intel and Microsoft. And they should absolutely be pinioned for the stupid stuff they’ve done to make the PC not as good a gaming platform as it would inherently be without their help screwing it up.
And so the shame of it is, the PC’s a fantastic gaming platform, superior to anything anybody’s every imagined, superior to every console, and Microsoft and Intel put crap in the PC that make it not so good. And so if you see a PC that is not denuded by things interfering with it by Microsoft and Intel, in many cases like an Intel crappy graphics chip, or a bloated Vista operating system, it’s a fantastic gaming platform. And the shame is, if the low end of the PC market, the mass market PCs that everybody buys did not come with these crappy graphics chips on them and was not burdened with a fat OS, that the PC would be a larger contiguous gaming platform than all the next-generation consoles combined, probably would be clearly superior; the PC is the home of the most profitable game in history generating more revenue than the top 10 console games combined–that’s World of Warcraft generating a 1.2 billion dollars a year in revenue, that’s a pure PC game.
So it is clear that PC gaming absolutely killed [the market] in terms of revenue, killed it in terms of consumer usage–the average console gamer, according to Powers Associates, spends more time playing PC games than console games.
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Full Story: extremetech.com (3 pages)
From thestandard.com:
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Microsoft stepped up to deliver iHD (later renamed HDi), which was a trademarked implementation of HD DVD’s XML markup language. Toshiba liked it. They made HDi functionality a standard for HD DVD players, and eventually partnered with Microsoft to expand HDi’s reach by founding the Advanced Interactivity Consortium. The primary goal of this group was forging industry relationships to further promote HDi in emerging outlets like downloadable and streaming media.
The deal gave HD DVD its competitive next-gen features, but here’s the rub: Microsoft didn’t need physical media to implement HDi. All of HDi’s interactive bells and whistles could theoretically be applied to downloadable video content, as long as a runtime environment was available. Even as the disc format war raged on, elements of HDi’s runtime environment showed up in Microsoft products like the Xbox 360 and Vista.
So, let’s put everything together. Microsoft has a popular gaming console and an operating system that are HDi compatible. It also has a group of developers working on HDi applications, and a 360-accessible HD video library that could feasibly be outfitted with next-gen interactivity features. All that’s left is the dog and pony show needed to convince content providers that HDi-enhanced content and Microsoft’s video outlets are key to making HD video downloads a viable revenue stream.
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Full Story: thestandard.com
From thestandard.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft stepped up to deliver iHD (later renamed HDi), which was a trademarked implementation of HD DVD’s XML markup language. Toshiba liked it. They made HDi functionality a standard for HD DVD players, and eventually partnered with Microsoft to expand HDi’s reach by founding the Advanced Interactivity Consortium. The primary goal of this group was forging industry relationships to further promote HDi in emerging outlets like downloadable and streaming media.
The deal gave HD DVD its competitive next-gen features, but here’s the rub: Microsoft didn’t need physical media to implement HDi. All of HDi’s interactive bells and whistles could theoretically be applied to downloadable video content, as long as a runtime environment was available. Even as the disc format war raged on, elements of HDi’s runtime environment showed up in Microsoft products like the Xbox 360 and Vista.
So, let’s put everything together. Microsoft has a popular gaming console and an operating system that are HDi compatible. It also has a group of developers working on HDi applications, and a 360-accessible HD video library that could feasibly be outfitted with next-gen interactivity features. All that’s left is the dog and pony show needed to convince content providers that HDi-enhanced content and Microsoft’s video outlets are key to making HD video downloads a viable revenue stream.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: thestandard.com
From hawtymcbloggy.com:
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Three weeks ago I told the tragic tale of Nathaniel, a passionate gamer whose custom Xbox 360 got “cleaned” during an extended stay at the Microsoft repair center. One week after that I told the heartwarming story of Bungie, a very generous gaming studio who went above and beyond for Nathaniel by sending him the best Halo 3-themed goody bag ever. Today brings the final chapter to his story, the part that many people doubted would ever happen.
What exactly was in this mysterious box that Microsoft wanted him to enjoy? Not a letter or an answer as to why his artwork and autographs were erased, but instead plenty of other stuff to make up for their mistake. Included in Microsoft’s big box of goodies were :
* 1 Xbox 360 console (signed by original RT signers, new artwork by Luke McKay, signatures from Xbox 360 team, additional signatures from Bungie Staff)
* 1 Xbox 360 faceplate (signed by Bill Gates, among others)
* Devil May Cry 4
* Lost Odyssey
* Rainbow Six Vegas 2
* Gears of War
* Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom
* 2 ‘What’s Your Gamerscore?’ Bumperstickers
* Xbox 360 CD Wallet
* Signed picture of Bill Gates
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Full Story: hawtymcbloggy.com
From gameplayer.com.au:
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It’s not that simple: it’s not even a question of which is the better console as it certainly looks like the Xbox 360 version will be the superior buy. It’s because a large proportion of GTA’s fans aren’t traditional gamers. They’re casual gamers who couldn’t resist the style, flair and gameplay offered by Rockstar and added a GTA to their library of Need for Speed, SingStar and FIFA. And as such, millions of GTA fans are not up to speed on the console war thing. They don’t care which format has the best games, offers the superior online service, or has the more proficient hardware. They see GTA, and they think PlayStation.
We heard something the other day, a line of dialogue that must scare Microsoft to death. It came from the mouth of a twenty something electrician as he installed a car stereo for a mate. He said “I bought my PS3 to play GTA IV”.
That wasn’t the comment of a fanboy, or an educated decision by a gaming enthusiast who had weighed up all the pros and cons of the two systems: it was simply all he knew. There was a GTA coming out, so he went and bought a PlayStation. Microsoft is desperate to change that mentality, but what started as a broad plan has seemingly deteriorated into panic.
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Full Story: gameplayer.com.au (3 pages)
From complex.com:
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Microsoft added to the buzz leading up to the anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto IV by dropping a limited run of 500 GTA-branded Xbox 360 Elite systems and a briefcase full of peripherals today. We got our hands on number 170 out of 500.
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Full Story: complex.com
From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft officials have announced that ex-Nintendo Europe and I-play boss David Gosen is to join the company’s European operations as vice president of strategic marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) unit.
In his new role Gosen will be tasked with driving the communications strategy and all marketing for the division as well as having responsibility for the Xbox Live business in Europe.
He will also be expected to expand the Xbox 360 market in Europe, particularly in terms of demographics and mass-market appeal. He will report directly to the unit’s vice president Chris Lewis.
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Full Story: gamasutra.com
From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft officials have announced that ex-Nintendo Europe and I-play boss David Gosen is to join the company’s European operations as vice president of strategic marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) unit.
In his new role Gosen will be tasked with driving the communications strategy and all marketing for the division as well as having responsibility for the Xbox Live business in Europe.
He will also be expected to expand the Xbox 360 market in Europe, particularly in terms of demographics and mass-market appeal. He will report directly to the unit’s vice president Chris Lewis.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamasutra.com
From mcvuk.com:
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US developer LucasArts has said that whilst many studios are pushing the visual envelope, few are genuinely taking advantage of the power offered by the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Speaking to CVG, a spokesperson for LucasArts stated: “To put it simply, Fracture is one of the few games that really takes advantage of all of the processing power of the new consoles.
“While a lot of games are pushing the limits of what can be done visually in games, we also wanted to push gameplay to levels that literally could not be done on the previous generation of hardware.”
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Full Story: mcvuk.com