Author Archives: Chris Morris

Microsoft’s Durkin: Entertainment ‘Driving Platform Momentum’ On Xbox 360

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[Dennis Durkin, COO of Microsoft’s IEB, tells Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris, “Not only has gaming usage gone up [on Xbox 360], but non-gaming has as well,” as the company evolves the console into a do-it-all entertainment box.]

When Elijah Wood first showed the world the Xbox 360 on MTV in 2005, the system was laser focused on games. But as the industry has evolved since then, so has the 360.

These days, while games are still at the core of the system, other entertainment options have elbowed their way into the spotlight – and, with the addition of live television to the offerings planned by the end of this year, games will have even more competition for people’s attentions.

Read more at Gamasutra

Pokemon coming to the iPhone

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Pokemon – one of the biggest guns in Nintendo’s franchise arsenal – is coming to the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. But don’t expect Mario and Zelda to follow suit.

The company behind the addictive role-playing series announced plans this week to develop a free Pokemon-based rhythm game for iOS and Android smartphones. And that, somewhat understandably, has led to speculation that Nintendo might be tempering its opinion about mobile gaming and considering making games for other systems.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

App Review: Disney Comics

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Comics are a big part of Disney’s empire, so their entry into the eComic market was inevitable. Thankfully, they added a Disney touch to Disney Comics, making it useful and entertaining. Readers can flip through the comics at their own pace or enable a slideshow that focuses on one frame at a time, letting people see enlarged images and words. Some comics come with sound effects, as well. And the controls let people set the pace of the slideshow — as well as choose whether they want to hear sounds.

The selection of free comics is minimal, but they’re meant as an appetizer. The selection of comics that can be purchased inside the application is decent, but not complete. Disney plans to add two books per week, it says. Some users have complained about bugs and other errors, but updates to the app are intended to addressed this. It’s a good comic app with plenty of reasonably priced comics — though the ones at $2.99 and $3.99 are harder to justify.

Comic-Con preview: Mass Effect movie details expected

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A little over a year ago, Electronic Arts and Legendary Pictures announced an agreement to make a live-action, big screen adaptation of the BioWare’s Mass Effect. Since then, though, things have been pretty quiet.

It looks like the silence will be broken on July 22nd.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

App Review: Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

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A good arcade kart-racer is a rare thing, and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is a bright light in the iDevice world. The game is universal, letting you play on iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch and has all the necessary elements of a fun kart racer — colorful characters, winding courses, mystery boxes that contain power-ups to either help you speed up your kart or slow down an opponents, and even a good online mode. The game has four single-player modes with plenty to unlock, giving it a longevity that’s rare in apps, and a good brief tutorial that never wears out its welcome. It’s a wonderful addition to the App Store, but we would have preferred it kept its initial $1.99 promotional price instead of the $4.99 charged at the time of this review.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: iStunt 2 – Snowboard

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Originally a flash game for the PC, iStunt 2 has transitioned well to the iOS world. While it’s hardly advanced, the game can be a fun for players with patience, offering a wide number of challenges and checkpoints (so that when you inevitably fail at one of those challenges, you don’t have to start over from the beginning). The difficulty is a factor, though — as the game gets hard fast. And the violence levels increase dramatically (and unexpectedly) as you get further into the game. It all looks great, is easy to control and is loaded with over 40 levels, which is a bit more heft than you might expect from a title like this. Paying for a game that can be played for free online might seem a little odd, but consider it a tarriff for being able to play while you’re on the go.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Game makers betting big on remakes

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If you’re a fan of ‘Star Wars’ or ‘The Lord of the Rings’, you’re intimately familiar with Hollywood’s practice of repackaging hit films, adding a bit of polish or new content and enticing you to pay for yet another ticket or version of the DVD.

It’s one of the best ways for studios to make money off old franchises — and now the video game industry is starting to follow in its footsteps.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Spotify is headed to the U.S. – finally

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Spotify, the music streaming service that is the toast of Europe, is finally on the way to the U.S.

The company launched a landing page today for Americans to sign up for an invite to the service, though stopped short of providing launch details. That’s not likely to discourage fan, though, who have been patiently waiting for it to clear deals with recording companies and get clearance to launch here.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Court to teen: Give up your Xbox

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An Irish teen has learned the hard way that breaking the law can be a losing game. Literally.

A judge in Belfast ordered a boy accused of a series of robberies — including a shopping center and high school — to surrender his Xbox 360 as part of the conditions for him to receive bail late last month.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Google primed to launch movie rental app

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Looks like Google’s plans to take its movie rental service on the road are about to get rolling.

The Android App marketplace briefly offered a Google-branded movie rental app for a short period last Friday, according to published reports. It was yanked quickly, but that still seemingly indicates an imminent widespread release.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog