The Consumer Preview of Windows 8 will have a number of Metro-style apps preinstalled, The Verge has learned. They will include mostly simply-titled core apps, such as Camera, SkyDrive, Messaging, Mail, Calendar, People, Photos, Video, and Music. There may be even more than that, and all will be updatable from the Windows Store.
Microsoft took another loss to its Xbox divsion Friday after its Director of Xbox Live Policy and Enforcement, Stephen Toulouse, resigned from the company. Often known as Stepto, he planned to finish his term at the company on February 15. He stressed that the exit was amicable and a matter of looking for a life change, with no other companies in mind.
Apple has recruited an important executive from Microsoft's Xbox division, Robin Burrowes, reports say. Until this week, Burrowes was in control of Xbox Live marketing for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region. At Apple, he will be responsible for marketing the App Store for iTunes Europe. Other highlights on his resume include work on Microsoft's MSN, and time with music and movie retailer HMV.
Nintendo's Friday briefing in the wake of its tough quarterly results has confirmed that it plans to at last go head-to-head with Microsoft and Sony in a persistent online gaming network. Just called Nintendo Network, it will let gamers download chat and play with each other without needing friend codes in addition to getting game add-ons. On the Wii U, gamers will have personal accounts, presumably letting them transport their Mii, downloads, and other preferences across systems.
A potentially impactful rumor on Monday claimed that Microsoft will drop its Microsoft Points system. As of the end of 2012, the Windows Phone, Xbox Live, and Zune Marketplace stores would all rely on real currency, Inside Mobile Apps had heard. Developers being published by Microsoft were reportedly being told to prepare any downloadable extras to adapt to the change.
Microsoft and Google made both official and unofficial plans for their TV strategies on Wednesday. A leak uncovered by Reuters had Microsoft freezing its long-rumored plans for live subscription Xbox TV. The company had decided that the rates TV channels were asking for the Internet-only service were "too expensive" for the plan it wanted to offer, industry insiders said.
Microsoft has relaxed the Xbox Live Indie Games limits. Among the new rules, independent game developers have had the 150MB ceiling lifted to 500MB for CCGAME bundles for publishing on Xbox Live Indie Games. Independent developers can now also charge users between charge as little as $1 per game, instead of the previous $3 or $5 entry points.
Microsoft's live UFC app for the Xbox that launched in December suffered a number of hiccups when trying to stream UFC 141 on December 30, BitMob's Dan Hsu reported. Microsoft sent out 30,000 promotional passes for Xbox Live members to try out the app, which likely led to the technical issues many suffered with the app not loading. Other issues included resetting, crashing, moving to an earlier point in the fight with no ability to fast forward to live broadcasting, buffering, stutteringl and switching between standard, high or very low resolutions.
Gears of War developer Epic Games warned late this past week that Microsoft was pulling all "gun-like" avatar props from Xbox Live. As of January 1, the Hammerburst, Lancer, and other items wouldn't be available as a matter of policy, Community Manager Will Kinsler said. Any avatars bought before the cutoff would stay afterwards.
Microsoft has confirmed the existence of a bug with the fall 2011 Xbox 360 Dashboard that has been kicking gamers from Xbox Live. Surfacing as either Error Code 801540B7 or 80070571, the flaw both stops them from getting online and from accessing any content that hasn't been cleared to run offline. The bug tries to have users re-download their profiles and ask for help but is ultimately out of users' control.
Microsoft bucked expectations Wednesday by releasing an official My Xbox Live app for iOS (free, App Store). The app lets iPad, iPhone, and iPod users handle most of what they can do outside of gameplay and the Game Marketplace. It touts messaging, managing the friends list, comparing profiles and achievements, and customizing the avatar, as well as newer features like game Beacons.
Verizon has now made public some details of its Xbox 360 Live TV service first mentioned back at the start of October. Through their Xbox 360, Xbox Live Gold members will have the ability to access up to 26 live FiOS TV channels, depending on their subscription. They also need to be FiOS TV and Internet service subscribers.
Microsoft kicked off the tenth anniversary of the Xbox with a celebration page and bonuses. Everyone gets access to a free avatar prop for Xbox Live that provides a gift box that opens to reveal fireworks. Some downloadable games will also be on sale as part of the anniversary.
Microsoft on Thursday started giving beta users its promised fall 2011 Xbox 360 Dashboard update. The upgrade introduces the tiled, Windows Phone 7-like interface we first saw at E3 and organizes sections that would normally need hierarchical sections into groups. The interface is more optimized for the Kinect and lets users search for content across the whole Xbox and Xbox Live using voice, although a gamepad fallback is available.
Microsoft finished off the week with word that its promised live UFC games on the Xbox 360 would go live on December 1. Along with on-demand clips, it will give viewers the option of pay-per-view live fights much like they would on the web or regular TV. The first live event should be UFC 140 in Toronto with Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida.
Microsoft in sessions and talks following its Windows 8 preview has confirmed that its OS will have very high resolution display support. Developers are being asked to produce 100 percent, 140 percent, and 180 percent resolutions for artwork in anticipation of 250DPI and higher "HD" screens. The hardware itself should arrive within the "next couple of years," Steve Troughton-Smith heard during one session, but the OS had to be ready in advance.
Microsoft is preparing to offer a preview program for the upcoming Xbox interface, which was revealed in recent leaks. The beta preview, which was confirmed by Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hyrb, will enable a select group of users to take an early look at the revamped dashboard. The program is expected to be similar to the dashboard preview that was offered last year.
GameStop's plans to be involved in tablets will involve rebranding an existing Android tablet, company head Tony Bartel said in an interview Monday. Rather than make its own, the company will use its existing refurb center to adapt existing tablets and preload them. While he wouldn't name it, he explained to GamesIndustry that it was in testing.
Microsoft mid-Thursday took its ESPN Xbox 360 app live. The portal gives Xbox Live Gold members access to live college football and certain other sports normally shown on ESPN3. Viewers can watch up to two games at a time and voice control with Kinect if they have the camera controller.
As Microsoft continues to dish out more details surrounding the upcoming Windows Phone update, the company has announced a number of new features that aim to improve the gaming experience. The Mango release will enable gamers to unlock 'Avatar Awardables', items that can worn on an avatar's sleeve as a sign of achievement. The Xbox Live title Chickens Can't Fly is said to be the first game to support the feature.
Microsoft after a long delay said Thursday that its ESPN app for the Xbox 360 would get an update in late August. The new version will add the requisite voice control through Kinect as well as much more in multitasking. A college football scoreboard is always available, and a split screen mode lets fans either keep the scoreboard up during another game or even watch two events at once.
A fresh Nielsen study has back views that gaming was not only leading in smartphone apps but was increasingly an iOS-specific trend. About 64 percent of mobile app downloaders had picked up games, and 93 percent of those willing to pay for an app would do so for a game. Weather and social networking were the next most popular among all apps, but few explicitly wanted to pay for them.
A recent software update to the Xbox 360 console enables users to save data in the cloud and access it from other Xbox 360 consoles, an Xbox user informed Eurogamer. He successfully pulled his information from another Xbox 360 console, though this functionality is only available on some Xbox Live Arcade games. Microsoft promised to bring cloud storage to the Xbox at the E3 show in June.
New hints have emerged that Windows Phone 7 developers will be getting the Mango update on Thursday. The beta version is reportedly being cleaned up to work on regular devices and would be accessible through the developer-only AppHub. The WinRumors source was complemented by a Twitter update from Microsoft communications Senior Director Bill Cox on Wednesday morning that there was a "juicy surprise for tomorrow."
Developers may soon be able to take advantage of a new tool designed to port Xbox and Windows games to a variety of other popular platforms, including iOS, Android and web browsers.The utility, labeled ExEn, works with Microsoft's XNA software development kit, which is utilized by developers to create games for Xbox Live and Windows.
As part of a series of previews, Microsoft on Thursday gave a closer look at the Games Hub in Windows Phone 7 Mango. The revamp brings some of the features that had previously been locked away in the Extras app and now has 3D, moving avatars that react, including in side-by-side achievement comparisons. The Collection view is now optimized for quickly finding a game over icon size and pushes recently played games to the top.
New NPD data unveiled Monday night showed the video game business at a rare low with Microsoft getting the most benefits. Although it hesitated to give full numbers, it had the combined hardware and software sales in May at their lowest point since October 2006 based on a "light slate of new releases" led mostly by LA Noire and Brink. The Xbox 360 was the top system of the batch at 270,000 units and was up 28 percent, making up 34 percent of the revenue, while the Wii's continued fall was the primary drag on the industry.
During the course of today's WWDC 2011 keynote, Apple executives elaborated on a number of business milestones the company has achieved. The Mac App Store, for instance, is now claimed to be main channel for buying computer software, ahead of Best Buy, Walmart and Office Depot. The ranking does not reflect the actual popularity of Mac software versus Windows titles, the latter of which are often bought directly from publishers and developers, or through services like Steam.
Microsoft's rumored Xbox Live TV subscription is about to get its public showing next week, industry contacts reported Friday. Known as Diamond, it should be shown off at E3 as long as the deals are in place. Microsoft was reported by WinRumors as being in the same position as Apple, holding last-minute talks, and might skip mentioning it entirely if talks aren't done by the Los Angeles show.
Just like Sony's PlayStation Store, the Xbox Live Marketplace has gone down, albeit for a short period and unspecified and likely unrelated reason. The Xbox support team informed users over Twitter that the service is back up. During the outage, users were unable to browse Indie games from the Xbox 360 console or Xbox.com.
Microsoft's upcoming Mango update for Windows Phone 7 had even more features unveiled Sunday through the latest episode of the Windows Phone Dev podcast. The release is now due to have built-in instant messaging not just for Windows Live Messenger but AIM and Facebook as well. Microsoft's system would be smart and weave into the people hub, automatically detecting whichever is the best network and create group messages.
Microsoft hinted at plans for a 2011 version of its customary spring Xbox 360 update with sign-ups for its Xbox 360 System Update Preview Program. The new preview will be to help test an "updated Xbox 360 disc format" and, in a rarity, will give gamers a physical copy of software to try. The company didn't say what was changing or if anything else would be included in the spring update.
Larry Hryb, Xbox Live programming director, let it be known through an update that Microsoft is introducing a testing program called Xbox Live Labs. It will perform network tests between a user's console and Xbox Live in order to improve the service. Participation is optional, and Hryb said the data collected during the process will not be used to identify users.
As teased out, Sprint today officially launched its first Windows Phone 7 device, the HTC Arrive. Better known as the 7 Pro elsewhere, the phone revolves around a tilt-slider QWERTY keyboard for faster typing in apps that work in landscape. Sprint's version switches to CDMA and EVDO for its calls and data but also has a Sprint home tile as well as apps for Sprint TV and Movies as well as NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile and a preloaded Netflix app.
Last.fm on Monday said it was switching to a pay-only model for its Internet radio on Android and iPhone devices on February 15. The strategy will drop the free, ad-supported service and will instead require $3 per month in the US to get the stream on a mobile device, albeit ad-free. Media hubs such as the Logitech Squeezebox and Sonos ZonePlayer line, will also need a subscription, either immediately or by mid-summer.
J Allard may end his half-year sabbatical from work through Skype if a rumor Thursday night proved true. The former Xbox team pioneer has reportedly been seen talking to Skype CEO Tony Bates at the latter's headquarters in Palo Alto. SAI understood he would be taken on as a chief of engineering, the first since the previous chief Madhu Yarlagadda left suddenly in August.
Microsoft released its latest Dashboard update for the Xbox 360 on Wednesday. It re-enables the Boot-to-Disc option once disabled to discourage piracy but also blocks those flashed with hacked firmware to load bootleg games. Officially known as the anti-piracy 2.5 update, it's reportedly effective as a large number of modders on forums have said they can't load their burned games after the install.
Microsoft today opened up its Zune Originals customization to take custom images. Zune HD buyers can either upload a photo of their own or use their Xbox Live avatars in one of several different poses. The customizations are etched in grayscale and, for photos, allow four different etch styles.
Microsoft has just unveiled a new Xbox Live Rewards program that will let Xbox users earn Microsoft Points for doing what they already do. The points can be earned by watching movies and sports, playing games and buying specific titles. Signing up for Xbox Live membership allows users to earn more points.
Microsoft late on Saturday sent a notice to Xbox 360 gamers that it would push a required Dashboard update to systems on November 1. While not made explicit, it's possible if not likely the update will represent the upgrade to Kinect and many of the other features promised earlier this year, such as a refined interface with support for Kinect navigation, better parental controls, Video Kinect chats and Zune Pass music support. A new layout, new fonts and new colors are part of the changes, Microsoft said.
AT&T chose to aggressively promote Windows Phone 7 by launching a new promo. The Entertainment Pack will give every buyer of an HTC Surround or other new Windows Phone 7 device a free month's access to a Zune Pass along with the same 10 permanent MP3s they would get that month. The pack also brings a free month of TV show downloads from U-verse Mobile and a copy of the WP7 game ilomilo.
Microsoft in a German Facebook post (since pulled) implied that the upcoming Xbox 360 Dashboard update will finally eliminate the 100-user friend cap on Xbox Live. It explained that "you can now [have] up to 1,000 friends [on] your friends list" and suggested using Facebook to help get more. Electronista has verified that the beta Dashboard update doesn't raise the cap, but Microsoft could implement the update by the November 4 launch of the Kinect or else in a smaller update later.
A new Microsoft SEC filing published late Thursday revealed that the company punished its CEO Steve Ballmer for his inability to turn around the company's struggling mobile efforts so far. The proxy statement notes that his total compensation of $1.35 million, including a $670,000 base salary and a matching bonus, was lower than in 2008 due to the "unsuccessful launch of the Kin" and "a loss of market share" for Windows Mobile. The Compensation Committee singled out the absence of a real Windows tablet rival through a need to "take advantage of new form factors."
Following today's launch of iOS 4.1, discoveries have been made both in the firmware itself and for new updates in the App Store. The update is now known to have restored the Field Test Mode that had been pulled in all versions of 4.0. Dialing *3001#12345#* and tapping Call will bring up a signal measurement in dB, with higher numbers typically better; hitting the home button returns to normal.
Microsoft today warned that it was raising prices for Xbox Live Gold subscriptions as of November 1. Most of the changes apply to the US and will see a yearly subscription jump from $50 to $60; three months will go up from $20 to $25, and one month will move from $8 to $9. Other regions have limited changes: one-month subscriptions will now cost $10 in Canada and 6 pounds in the UK, and a year's service in Mexico now costs 599 pesos.
Microsoft will finally address sound quality issues with Xbox headsets as the company refreshes the console later this year. Speaking at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, Xbox Live Studios head Jerry Johnson announced that the audio codec and infrastructure will both be upgraded for higher voice quality between chatting gamers.
Microsoft this evening set out to make Windows Phone 7 a higher-end game experience by detailing some of the first 50 launch titles. Its smartphone OS will trade on major game names but will sometimes use them as companions that tie into full Xbox games. Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst will be a full game acting as a side story; Halo: Waypoint will tie into the universe, but will primarily be used for community and video viewing.
Microsoft Xbox Live subscribers in the US will now be able to buy movie tickets through MovieTickets.com, the two companies said on Tuesday. The deal involves a mobile buying option, activating a Microsoft Tag using their smartphone and being led to a co-branded website to purchase tickets. On Xbox Live, users can click on a movie ad to get more information or other extras.
A new job posting for Amazon has hinted that the company is working on a secret gaming strategy. The position for a Senior Product Manager in Video Games asks for someone to work on a "stealth project" for a "completely new type of technology." While the post doesn't explain more, the recruit would have most of the control over the project.
A reliable source told GearLive that Microsoft will announce it will bring the first paid Hulu service to its Xbox Live service for the Xbox 360. The announcement is expected to come at the E3 show in two weeks, with Microsoft holding a press conference on the 14th. Like the currently available Netflix service, Hulu would be on the Xbox 360 dashboard and would require a subscription fee.
