Joystiq

Xbox One can update Achievements in response to player behavior

Ludwig Kietzmann — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:08:00 EST

The Xbox One's connection to the cloud can alter a game's Achievements in response to player behavior, Microsoft has revealed at its ongoing unveiling event in Redmond. Dan Greenawalt, Creative Director at Forza developer Turn 10 Studios, cited the "I took an arrow to the knee" meme as an example of how game makers might hinge their extrinsic rewards on post-launch reactions.

The meme began with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, in which droves of melancholic guards told the same story about an old injury.

To extrapolate from Greenawalt's comment, it seems Microsoft is keen to further distance itself from the idea of the game as a static disc. Xbox 360 games had their Achievement lists extended with significant title updates and downloadable expansions, but the Xbox One is expected to update the rewards list more fluidly. Game creators may use Achievements to encourage comical or topical behavior, or use them to educate players if they're missing certain features or secrets.

Xbox One can update Achievements in response to player behavior originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft: Xbox One isn't always online, but requires internet connection

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:12:00 EST

Xbox One, Microsoft's next-gen console, does not require users to be constantly connected to the internet, but it does require an internet connection, a Q&A post on Xbox Wire said. The post itself has since been removed.

The answer said the Xbox One "does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet."

Developers are able to use Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service with Xbox One - this could potentially shift certain computations to the cloud and require players to be online, even for single-player runs, Wired reports.

For pre-owned games, the Xbox One is designed "to enable customers to trade in and resell games," Microsoft said in the same Q&A post, promising more details later.

All games can be installed to the Xbox One's 500GB hard drive, removing the need for a disc entirely after the initial load-up, Microsoft tells Wired. If a second account wants to play that game the player will be asked to pay a fee and install the game on his own console. Whether this is a mandatory installation for every game, Microsoft says, "On the new Xbox, all game discs are installed to the HDD to play."

Microsoft: Xbox One isn't always online, but requires internet connection originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 15:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD announces Sky Graphics as part of cloud gaming strategy

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:20:00 EST

AMD is making a new push into cloud gaming. The company today announced the Sky series of Radeon graphics cards, designed especially with cloud gaming in mind. The line includes three enterprise-grade cards, with the high-end Sky 900 incorporating a whopping 3,584 stream processors, 6GB of GDDR5 memory and a memory bandwidth of 480GB per second. The cards are built on AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture and use RapidFire technology, which it says allows for "highly efficient and responsive game streaming."

The company is "working closely" with several cloud gaming companies to take advantage of the new line of cards, including Otoy, Ubitus, G-Cluster and CiiNow. The latter in particular was promoted heavily, with AMD noting that, paired with its new Sky cards, CiiNow is capable of delivering content to a broad range of devices including game consoles, tablets and, of course, computers. Furthermore, it claimed that CiiNow offers lower latency than competitors like Gaikai and, somehow, even lower latency than the local signal between a game console and a television.

Nvidia made similar claims about its Grid cloud technology last year, at which time Ubitus and G-Cluster were also announced as partners. Awkward.

Continue reading AMD announces Sky Graphics as part of cloud gaming strategy

AMD announces Sky Graphics as part of cloud gaming strategy originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive's new senior VP of engineering to push tablet, Smart TV

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST

OnLive is looking into the tablet and Smart TV gaming market with its latest hire, Don Gordon, founder of Smart TV tech company Bulldog United. Gordon is OnLive's new senior VP of engineering, and his goal is to drive integration of OnLive onto tablets and Smart TVs, Develop reports.

OnLive saw a public, rocky buyout and restructuring in August, when Lauder Partners picked up the company for $4.8 million. At the time, OnLive was $18.7 million in debt and had no available cash. Gaikai, a competing cloud gaming service, was picked up by sony for $380 million in July. OnLive is still, well, alive, and LG Smart TVs now come standard with the streaming service.

OnLive's new senior VP of engineering to push tablet, Smart TV originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Maxis insider claims SimCity servers not essential

Mike Schramm — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:45:00 EST

Though EA's official stance on SimCity's persistent Internet connection has been that it's absolutely required for the core game to function, a report from Rock, Paper, Shotgun claims that is not the case. An inside source who asked to remain anonymous told RPS the online servers are "not handling any of the computation done to simulate the city you are playing."

According to the source, the servers are coordinating social messages between cities in a region, as well as "cloud storage of save games, interfacing with Origin, and all of that. But for the game itself? No, they're not doing anything."

Even when the servers go down, certain cities have stayed online and playable for a period of time, suggesting off-site computation is not entangled in the main gameplay loop. The RPS source claims servers are also being used to repeatedly check for instances of hacking and cheating - and the game's verification messages to servers are creating queues and hampering responsiveness.

Finally, the source casts doubt on EA's claims that a single-player version of this SimCity would be impossible to produce. "It wouldn't take very much engineering to give you a limited single-player game without all the nifty region stuff." EA's current public reasoning about why the game needs to stay online has done little to quell frustration voiced over the game's tremendous launch issues.

Joystiq has contacted EA for comment regarding the source's claims.

Rumor: Maxis insider claims SimCity servers not essential originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live cloud services down

JC Fletcher — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:31:00 EST

There may be a few clouds hanging over your Xbox Live experience today. Microsoft reports that users are experiencing troubles accessing cloud saves and other remotely stored information on Windows 7 and Xbox 360. We've also received reports of trouble with the Halo 4 servers.

The (crackpot) theory going around the Joystiq think tank is that Sony's testing PS4 cloud services and taking up all the bandwidth in the imaginary "cloud." Xbox Live isn't working right, because Kaz Hirai is streaming some Cool Boarders 2 to QA.

Xbox Live cloud services down originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony registers 'PlayStation Cloud' domains

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:00:00 EST

Trademark and domain sleuth Superannuation has dug up several domains that allude to a PlayStation Cloud product. Sony's Gaikai service has registered domains for sites such as PlayStation-Cloud.com, PlayStation-Cloud.org, and PS-Cloud.net.

In early 2009, Sony registered a trademark for PS Cloud. Shortly after, a "100% fake" mockup made the rounds. Since then, we hadn't heard a whisper about this until the recent domain registrations.

Earlier this year it was reported the next PlayStation would stream PlayStation 3 games, giving some consumer-facing purpose to Sony's $380 million acquisition of Gaikai. Sony is expected to announce the next PlayStation tomorrow.

[Image Credit: faithie via Shutterstock]

Sony registers 'PlayStation Cloud' domains originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nvidia Grid server pumps power into cloud gaming, six partners already lined up

Sinan Kubba — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST

Nvidia unveiled "Grid" at this year's CES, a powerful server built for cloud computing across PCs, smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. As Engadget reports, Grid is catching the attention of cloud gaming companies, with Agawi, Cyber Cloud, G-cluster, Playcast, and Ubitus already signed up to use the technology.

According to Nvidia, a single Grid server can enable up to 24 HD quality game streams. At CES Nvidia showcased the Grid gaming system, which incorporates 20 Grid servers into a single rack. Nvidia says the rack is capable of producing 36 times the amount of HD-quality game streams as 'first-generation cloud gaming systems.'

As our friends at Engadget note, that gaming rack of 20 Grid servers pumps out around 200 teraflops worth of operations, which equates to what around 700 Xbox 360s can do. That's a whole lot of Master Chiefs running themselves to death on hamster wheels.

Nvidia Grid server pumps power into cloud gaming, six partners already lined up originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai sued over alleged patent infringement

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:45:00 EST

A Delaware company called T5 Labs has filed suit against cloud-gaming service Gaikai for alleged patent infringement, putting the technology that underpins Gaikai's fancy cloud-computing/game-streaming wizardry under the legal microscope.

Specifically, T5 Labs claims that by "providing a system and methods of sharing a graphics processing unit (GPU) between a plurality of programs," Gaikai is "actively, knowingly and intentionally" using the technology covered by T5's patent for "Sharing a graphical processing unit between a plurality of programs."

Multiple programs using the same GPU may sound like something that every single computer does on a regular basis, but T5's patent actually covers a specific scenario involving servers, remote terminals and compression algorithms. No specific dollar amount is listed in the complaint, but T5 is seeking damages, attorney's fees and "a judgement permanently enjoining Gaikai from further infringement."

Gaikai has "no comment at this time" regarding the situation.

Gaikai sued over alleged patent infringement originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Plus cloud storage increase coming with PS3 update 4.25

David Hinkle — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:30:00 EST

About a month ago at Gamescom, Sony announced its PlayStation Plus service would arrive on the PS Vita and that the storage limit for the cloud would be increased. While we're still waiting on a date for PS Plus on PS Vita, the PlayStation Blog says the cloud storage expansion is coming with the next PS3 firmware update, version 4.25.

The cloud storage cap for saved game data currently has a ceiling of 150MB. Sony says v4.25 will be available "soon," though no specifics beyond that have been given. We've contacted Sony to try and get a better idea of when we should expect the firmware update.

PlayStation Plus cloud storage increase coming with PS3 update 4.25 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive on rumors of closure: 'of course not' [update]

Mike Schramm — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:55:00 EST

InXile Entertainment's Brian Fargo tweeted this morning that he heard from someone inside Onlive that it was closing down, and has now posted that everyone on staff has lost their jobs, and that "a new company will be formed" soon after. A Mashable report from an anonymous source alleges the same.

Joystiq reached out to OnLive directly to ask about the rumors, and Director of Corporate Communications Brian Jaquet replied to us with a blunt denial: "We don't respond to rumors, but of course not."

"The exciting news is that the first VIZIO Co-Stars (Google TV stream players) with the OnLive app built-in have just arrived in customer homes," he continued, "and our second of three 'Indie Giveaway Weekends' is going on now. OnLive users can get a free copy of the award-winning games Space Pirates and Zombies and SpaceChem." So it sounds like OnLive is still open for business.

Joystiq followed up to ask if there were any layoffs at the company this morning at all, and Jaquet could only confirm that "the OnLive service is not shutting down." We'll update this post with any more details if we can get them.

Update: Kotaku is now hearing from "a source inside OnLive" that there in fact was a meeting this morning where CEO Steve Perlman told the staff that the company was filing for bankruptcy, and that no one would be employed by the current OnLive going forward. We're still researching this story, and will provide more information when we get it.

Update 2: IDG's Martyn Williams reports via Twitter that he's outside OnLive's headquarters in Palo Alto, CA, and that he's seeing "employees leaving OnLive headquarters with moving boxes." It's looking more and more like there were layoffs at the company today. Joystiq is continuing to follow up.

Update 3: OnLive laid off "at least 50 percent" of its staff this afternoon, and the company is being taken over by an unknown third-party. More through this link.

OnLive on rumors of closure: 'of course not' [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GameStop's cloud streaming service shifts to PC, tablets and internet TVs only

David Hinkle — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EST

GameStop has been talking about its plans to stream games since acquiring Spawn Labs and Impulse back in early 2011, and next summer the new service will launch. But it won't be available on consoles as originally thought.

"Based on consumer feedback, our success in selling mobile devices, and the imminent launch of new consoles, we have decided to move our technology to a PC-based model," GameStop president Tony Bartel said during a conference call with investors today (via Gamasutra). After running a nationwide private beta, GameStop has decided to offer the service only on PC, tablets and internet-enabled television sets.

Previously, GameStop senior VP Mike Mauler proposed a scenario where users would need to own a retail copy of a particular game they wished to stream from the cloud. That's not set in stone, of course - and that's not to say GameStop won't bring the service to the next generation of consoles, but for the near-future, it appears consoles aren't getting an invite to GameStop's cloud club.

GameStop's cloud streaming service shifts to PC, tablets and internet TVs only originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai hits Samsung 7000 series TVs in beta, despite Sony acquisition

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:15:00 EST

Streaming games service Gaikai and Samsung are still in business, regardless of Sony's recent purchase of Gaikai to establish a "new cloud service." Gaikai's cloud gaming beta is live today with a firmware update on 2012 Samsung LED 7000 series and higher SmartTV systems.

Early investors in these high-end internet TVs can download the Gaikai early access program now, cracking the cloud-gaming floodgate on a few Gaikai games. Some "selected participants" will be eligible to receive a free Logitech gamepad as well.

Sony purchased Gaikai for $380 million on July 2 to "establish a new cloud service" for as-yet-unannounced platforms and purposes. It was previously unclear how this acquisition would affect Gaikai's hardware-integration efforts, but it appears all systems are go, at least for Samsung.

Gaikai hits Samsung 7000 series TVs in beta, despite Sony acquisition originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's House: Gaikai expansion to other Sony platforms 'absolutely' possible

Jordan Mallory — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:00:00 EST

Assuming it successfully clears all of the regulatory hurdles that govern these types of deals, Sony's $380 million acquisition of Gaikai (and the mysterious cloud gaming service borne from said purchase) may eventually benefit the electronics megalith's non-dedicated-yet-gaming-capable devices like cell phones, internet-connected televisions and Blu-Ray players, waffle irons, etc.

Migrating Gaikai's capabilities to those devices is "absolutely within the frame," according to Sony Computer Entertainment president/CEO Andrew House, speaking with the Wall Street Journal. "It's recognition on Sony's part that the cloud and cloud streaming technologies are going to have profound and possibly a very positive impact on not only our game business, but also in the way our consumers interact with and obtain content in general."

Of course, the world still has no idea what this partnership actually means in practical terms, but its nice to know that we may soon have a Blu-Ray player capable of playing modern video games. Oh wait.

Sony's House: Gaikai expansion to other Sony platforms 'absolutely' possible originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gibeau says EA mostly ignores NPD reports; NPD knows 'for a fact' major publishers use them

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:30:00 EST

Last year EA went on record calling the NPD's sales reports "a misrepresentation of the entire industry," and this year EA Labels president Frank Gibeau is taking that sentiment one step further, saying EA largely ignores NPD reports.

"An occasional bad report from NPD, which measures a sliver of what's actually happening in gaming, gives people an erroneous impression," Gibeau tells Games Industry International. "My point is it's an irrelevant measure on the industry. It's totally irrelevant. We don't even really look at it internally anymore."

NPD reports track retail games sales from stores such as GameStop and Wal-Mart, but don't provide a comparable breakdown of digital sales. In Q4 2012, EA saw digital sales generate $419 million, while packaged goods made more than double that, with $949 million.

David McQuillan, president of NPD Games, is "surprised" by Gibeau's comments for a few reasons, provided in a statement to Joystiq. The first: "While we will not comment on the specifics on our long-standing relationship with EA, we can say with confidence that we have daily dealings with all of our major publisher clients. And we know for a fact they're using the data."

The second reason McQuillan cites is the continued prevalence of physical sales, making up 56 percent of industry sales in 2011. "The current games industry is still largely rooted in retail and any industry player involved with AAA content simply can't take their eye away from the retail environment," he writes.

NPD Group's David Riley adds, "We do cover digital. Granted, it's not near the level of granularity that we provide via physical point of sale, but physical POS is still huge and needs to be taken seriously. In my opinion, you do a disservice to our industry when you dismiss the value of retail sales research."

EA's Digital sales are growing rapidly, Gibeau says, and EA is focused on riding that streaming, cloud-based, downloadable wave into the future, with or without NPD sales reports.

"We're going to be a 100 percent digital company, period," he says. "It's going to be there some day. It's inevitable."

Gibeau says EA mostly ignores NPD reports; NPD knows 'for a fact' major publishers use them originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hawken to be playable via Gaikai prior to official release

Mike Schramm — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:30:00 EST

Hawken keeps surprising us. First, we were surprised that the really great-looking mech shooter is being made by an indie studio, then it surprised us to learn that it would be free-to-play. And here's another surprise: Dave Perry's cloud gaming system Gaikai has signed a deal to let players see Hawken running through the service in advance of the planned December 12 release date.

Gaikai allows nearly any game to be streamed directly from its servers to any browser, which means that the first impression of the graphics-intensive Hawken will be playable anywhere Gaikai will run (including on some tablets, and computers of all shapes and sizes). This deal makes a lot of sense from both sides: Hawken needs a large audience to get its free-to-play engine running, and Gaikai could use a big title to connect users to its servers. The Gaikai demo will be on playhawken.com and a few other sites, so eyes open until then.

Continue reading Hawken to be playable via Gaikai prior to official release

Hawken to be playable via Gaikai prior to official release originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 20 May 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Six years in, Journey studio rewards itself with two new hires

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:30:00 EST

Did you know that today is thatgamecompany's sixth birthday? It's true! In those six years, the team of approximately a dozen people created Flow, Flower, and, most recently, Journey, all the while cementing their place as heads of the art games movement. The company recently completed its contract with Sony for three exclusive titles, but that doesn't mean it's resting on past successes. For instance, TGC is already in talks with publishers for whatever's next.

Alongside its success, some big names at the studio recently moved on - co-founder Kellee Santiago and executive producer Robin Hunicke both exited in the past few months, following the launch of Journey this past March. Today, TGC adds two new employees.

In light of its big sixth birthday, thatgamecompany is announcing the appointment of two new stars: former director of marketing and business development of PowerMMO Games, Sunni Pavlovic, becomes studio manager, and taking up the new position of audio director is Cloud and Flower contributor Vincent Diamante.

In a prepared statement from TGC, Diamante said, "I'm very excited to be a part of thatgamecompany, joining forces with both friends from past projects as well as new faces. The last time around, I worked with TGC mostly as a music contractor. Things this time around will be a bit different, as I'll be dealing with all sound and music issues on their upcoming game."

Diamante related his first several weeks at TGC as akin to "tight-rope walking with chainsaws," which is, like, the exact opposite of what we imagine working at TGC to be like. Isn't it all floaty stuff and soft music? Quit ruining our illusions, Diamante! You've only just started!

Six years in, Journey studio rewards itself with two new hires originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 May 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP considering the cloud, wants to put EVE gameplay on mobile devices

Mike Schramm — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:00:00 EST

EVE Online developer CCP is looking for a way to bring its Internet spaceships into the cloud. CCP's chief marketing officer David Reid said at last week's Fanfest in Iceland that the company is in talks with OnLive, Gaikai, and other services to try to bring the popular space simulation MMO to one of their platforms.

Reid said there "isn't some giant announcement" for release on any other platforms but PC and Mac at this time. But he also said CCP is thinking about ways to bring elements of EVE, including the upcoming Planetary Interaction system (in which players can set up to harvest resources from virtual planets) "finding their ways to tablets and mobile devices." CCP is considering a number of ways to do that, and "to add new sorts of experiences" to the game.

CCP considering the cloud, wants to put EVE gameplay on mobile devices originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: ME3 on the 360 can't import ME2 saves in (or transferred by) the cloud

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST

Despite Mass Effect 3's impressive mastery of the atmosphere, it still can't quite handle clouds. EA is "aware of an issue" that prevents Mass Effect 2 save files that either exist in the cloud, or were transferred to a new 360 through the cloud, from being imported into ME3.

EA's help guide for the problem makes no mention of plans to implement such functionality, but it does offer solutions, provided you still have access to the 360 that birthed your ME2 save. If your ME2 save exists in the cloud and you're playing from its original console, simply move it back to your hard drive and it should import fine.

If it exists on a new console and was transferred through the cloud, it'll need to be moved back to its original 360, and then re-transferred to the new system using a memory card or USB thumb drive. If you no longer have access to that original 360, it looks like you're going to be spending some time on the character creation screen. But hey, don't feel guilty, all right? Shepard would have wanted you to love again.

PSA: ME3 on the 360 can't import ME2 saves in (or transferred by) the cloud originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai full-game streaming to start 3 months after launching on Facebook

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:00:00 EST

Gaikai is set to launch full-game streaming services on its network of gaming and entertainment websites, ramping up its current demo-only model, GamesIndustry reports. After launching its cloud service on Facebook, Gaikai will roll out full-game streaming on retailer sites such as YouTube, Best Buy and Walmart, and on publisher sites such as EA and Ubisoft.

Full-game streaming will go live about 90 days after the Facebook service begins, which should be soon, Gaikai head Dave Perry says. Gaikai's main competition is OnLive, but Perry says there is a huge difference between the two companies. "They have to modify the game; they have to get the source code to the game," Perry said. "Gaikai doesn't require modification of the game."

There are no direct plans to put Gaikai on console, but Perry can see the need for cloud services on all platforms: "You do not want to be the console that can't do this," he said. "You do not want to be the retail website that doesn't have playable games on it. You don't want to be the gaming website that you can't buy a game from.

"I don't want to take your console from your cold dead hands, that's not the case at all. You're going to continue to play the way you play, but just imagine that you could have an opinion on all games because you've been able to try all of them."

Gaikai full-game streaming to start 3 months after launching on Facebook originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai will introduce your mom to hardcore gaming through Facebook

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:00:00 EST

Streaming service Gaikai has finalized a deal to bring hardcore PC game demos to Facebook, following previous deals made with YouTube, Wal Mart and others. Gaikai said it has been working with Facebook for some time, and it sees this as a golden opportunity for both parties.

"Facebook already owns the category of casual gaming; we're going to help them own core games," founder David Perry said at Cloud Gaming Europe, GamesIndustry reports. "A click and boom, you're playing World of Warcraft."

Perry demoed World of Warcraft on Facebook, but later clarified to GameSpot that Gaikai "is NOT bringing WoW to Facebook (at least not in the foreseeable future)." Gaikai's approach to streaming games sees it in more of a marketing role than a game-provider, but introducing the Facebook audience to more hardcore opportunities shouldn't be a bad thing. Unless your mom starts sending you invites to join her guild page, "Massive Mamacitas."

Gaikai will introduce your mom to hardcore gaming through Facebook originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive releases iOS and Android apps, custom touch controls, and a wireless controller

Mike Schramm — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST

Cloud gaming service OnLive has been up and running for about a year now, and in all that time it's been doing exactly what many gamers thought impossible: Playing high resolution games over the Internet on any computer powerful enough to run a simple streaming app. Now, the company is taking its cloud-based show to smartphones and tablets, with a whole suite of apps available this week for Android and iOS devices.

Joystiq had a chance to chat with OnLive CEO Steve Perlman, and he told us how the company has brought OnLive's library of PC and console titles to touchscreens everywhere (with the help of developers like Rockstar Games and a brand new controller), how OnLive and its service compares to the Xbox 360 console, and how his company would rather play nice with traditional console makers like Microsoft and Sony than disrupt their current business models.

Continue reading OnLive releases iOS and Android apps, custom touch controls, and a wireless controller

OnLive releases iOS and Android apps, custom touch controls, and a wireless controller originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Chrome will add native gamepad support, more video and audio hooks

Mike Schramm — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:56:00 EST

Google's Paul Kinlan spoke at Develop Liverpool last week, and revealed that Google is aiming to add some more plug-and-play hardware support to its Chrome browser, including gamepad support. The update will also add connections to webcams and microphones, which means that Chrome could, after these updates, directly use those accessories for games and other services.

It should probably be noted that Firefox's API already allows for gamepad support, so Chrome here is just filling out the alternative. Google is also planning to cook in native support for WebRTC, an open source video chat initiative that it has helped run in the past. At this point, developers are basically just lining up APIs to work together, but setting up these built-in solutions could eventually help bring cloud gaming services right into a native Internet browser.

Google Chrome will add native gamepad support, more video and audio hooks originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft: Cloud gaming the 'distant future,' cloud services coming to Xbox

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:30:00 EST

Speaking at GDC China, as reported by Gamasutra, Microsoft's Brian Prince discussed the possibilities of cloud gaming. Prince believes that services like OnLive and Gaikai are the "distant future of gaming in the cloud," though currently they suffer from "limitations." Such limitations include a reliance on "AAA" games and the need for a high speed internet connection, which most of America still doesn't have, according to Prince.

Prince had good things to say regarding cloud features for the "Xbox platform," though he was reluctant to share specifics. He promised "cloud-specific" features, saying, "I'm already doing it, it's really exciting, but I can't tell you about it or else I'll get fired." It's unclear if Prince was referring to the current Xbox or a future iteration, but we're assuming he's talking about more than just cloud storage.

[Image Credit: Flickr user turtlemom4bacon]

Microsoft: Cloud gaming the 'distant future,' cloud services coming to Xbox originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How games can teach students 10 times faster, with more sweeping hand gestures

Jessica Conditt — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:30:00 EST

In order to ensure mankind's future as the dominant super-race on this planet, we must activate our youth through education -- and video games.

Atari founder Nolan Bushnell has been testing education software for years and says he has created a method of teaching a full high school career in less than a year, using, in large part, cloud systems. "In cloud gaming you disconnect the system's administration from the computer to the cloud," Bushnell told GamesIndustry.biz. "It's going to be an important step for allowing technology into the classroom." Bushnell says his program teaches students 10 times faster than traditional methods, and his shortened high-school-span plan could be ready for implementation by the end of 2011.

Not to be outdone, the Kinect-based education-resource blog KinectEDucation advocates using Kinect to augment learning environments, and is currently holding its Kinect in Education Contest, challenging hackers to create Kinect apps for use in classrooms. Two $500 prizes will be awarded, one for the most innovative and adaptable classroom software, and one for the "best" in-class video showcasing a Kinect classroom experience. The contest runs now through November 30.

How games can teach students 10 times faster, with more sweeping hand gestures originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kojima using 'Transfarring' cloud data for all future games

Mike Schramm — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:10:00 EST

Hideo Kojima said during a recent Kojima Productions podcast that the cloud data sharing system he created from dragonscales, Old Snake's mustache trimmings and cardboard boxes -- "Transfarring" -- will be available for every title his studio releases in the future. That means all of its games going forward, including the Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders re-releases, Metal Gear Solid Rising and the new Fox Engine game, will all presumably provide some connection between the PS3 and PS Vita.

Does this mean a version of Metal Gear Solid Rising for the PS Vita? We'll have to wait and see. More importantly, perhaps, we're wondering how long it will take for someone to tell Kojima that cloud saving has been around for a while -- just so he can stop using that very silly name.

Kojima using 'Transfarring' cloud data for all future games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA Sports planning 'persistent' gamer profiles across its titles, all of EA to follow

Randy Nelson — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST

"Today we're looking at a seamless experience across all our franchises." EA Sports president Peter Moore made this remark while outlining the label's future today during the MI6 video game marketing conference in San Francisco. "Regardless of where you are, what platform you have, what game you're playing, that you're constantly connected," he said, adding that he sees EA Sports games of the future being "connected experiences that recognize users and reward them for playing multiple games."

The concept itself certainly isn't new, but EA's take on "persistence" (aka cloud data) sounds promising. "We recognize [players] -- that's the persistence -- and their presence there gets its achievements and carries them from iteration to iteration," said Moore. "It's no longer 'buy Madden 11 and then buy Madden 12 and start from scratch,' it is 'take everything that you've done and migrate it and move it along.'"

Moore stopped short of naming which titles will usher in this new dynamic for his brand, but did say it's not far off -- and doesn't just encompass EA's sports label. "It's not far away. It's certainly within [our] grasp," Moore said, explaining that "this is how we envision the future of our industry, and this is how we at EA Sports individualize and personalize this as the future of our brand and ultimately the future of what Electronic Arts as a whole is going to do across all of its titles."

EA Sports planning 'persistent' gamer profiles across its titles, all of EA to follow originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crowdsourcing company introduces the 'game-ification' of dull labor

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:30:00 EST

What might look like a bridge of gibberish to you is more precisely a string of seemingly random Finnish words (so, yeah -- gibberish). See a word and type it. Do so correctly and you'll have constructed a segment of the bridge, leading a parade of moles across a chasm. You repeat the process -- type the word you see -- until construction is complete and your performance is scored. This is Mole Bridge, and it's "valuable work," Ville Miettinen, CEO of creator Microtask, tells VentureBeat.

Like other taskmaster companies before it, Microtask, a Finnish startup, is using a crowdsourcing model to distribute mind-numbing, repetitive work across a network of laborers -- actually, volunteers for now. "Pure monetary compensation is a 20th-century concept," Miettinen told The New York Times last October. At the time, he envisioned the "game-ification" of dull clickwork, which could pay players with virtual currency or other rewards valued by gamer culture. It's now a reality.

The company's first major project, "Digitalkoot," has some 25,000 volunteers digitizing the archives of the National Library of Finland by playing Mole Bridge and its companion game, Mole Hunt. (See a video of each posted after the break.) So all that gibberish? Uh-huh, it's actually a series of randomly selected images -- in most cases, individual words -- from scanned documents, which character recognition software has been unable to interpret. Our reward for still being smarter than the machines? A high score.

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Crowdsourcing company introduces the 'game-ification' of dull labor originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Plus adding online game save storage March 10

Randy Nelson — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST

Sony's expanding the features list for its PlayStation Plus service tomorrow, March 10, with the launch of online storage for PS3 game saves. As part of the $50 per year subscription, members will get 150MB of space in "the cloud" for up to 1,000 save files. Copy-prohibited files can even be backed up, with the caveat that users can only restore files that have been deleted from their systems once per 24 hours.

Future titles will offer the ability to save directly to PSN, Sony says, bypassing your local HDD entirely. The new feature is being introduced in PS3 firmware v3.60, which rolls out tomorrow, so factor the obligatory download into your game-playing schedule accordingly.

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PlayStation Plus adding online game save storage March 10 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive calls T5 Labs claim to key game streaming patent 'irrelevant'

Mike Schramm — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:30:00 EST

OnLive had supposedly nailed down the patent it needed to run its cloud-based gaming service (quite successfully so far, from all reports), but a new challenger is claiming otherwise. A company named T5 Labs now says it has been awarded a patent that predates OnLive's registration and gives it control over the fundamental tech behind cloud gaming. OnLive's patent was originally filed in December of 2002, but T5's was filed in March of that year, so, if the two patents do in fact cover the same tech, T5 would appear to have precedence.

An OnLive spokesperson tells Joystiq that the company has examined both patent applications after being contacted by T5 head Graham Clemie and "saw no relevance whatsoever to OnLive and told him so. We are approached by people with irrelevant patents all the time. We are highly confident in our own patent portfolio, and have no further comment."

Things seem fairly cut and dry from OnLive's point of view. T5 only says so far that it is "deciding whether to commence a procedure in the U.S. Patent Office known as an 'interference,'" which would establish the correct patent ownership. We'll see what -- if anything -- comes of that.

OnLive calls T5 Labs claim to key game streaming patent 'irrelevant' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: PS3 getting cloud saving in firmware update 3.60

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST

According to a recent report from Kotaku, unnamed sources in the game development community have received notifications from Sony telling of a feature which will be incorporated into PS3 firmware update 3.60: Cloud storage for saved games. According to the report, the feature (called "Online Saving") gives developers the opportunity to let players set up their save files on a remote server, preserving the precious, precious space on their own hard drives, and allowing players to access save data from multiple consoles.

These developers also reportedly explained that the feature will only be made available to PlayStation Plus subscribers, or, as they'll henceforth be called, the "Save File Insured." This report sounds fairly believable -- remote storage was one of the rumored features of PlayStation Plus before its reveal, and there was also that Sony trademark for "PS Cloud" back in 2009. We've contacted Sony for a comment on this report.

Report: PS3 getting cloud saving in firmware update 3.60 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PS3, PSP get Music Unlimited service in UK, Ireland

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:30:00 EST

Sony's cloud-based, digital music service, "Music Unlimited" ("powered by Qriocity"), is now available in the UK and Ireland. Similar to Microsoft's Zune Pass, the service is also coming to the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand at some point in 2011. Two available plans are charged monthly, with the "Basic" service being £3.99 in the UK and €3.99 in Ireland; and the "Premium" service £9.99 and €9.99, respectively. The basic service is like radio, with preset playlists, but users can skip songs at will, while the premium option offers customizable lists and "premium Top 100 channels which are regularly updated with the latest hits."

Music Unlimited's current catalog is approximately 6 million songs deep, with tracks from leading indie labels, as well as corporate behemoths like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music. The service will be available on a wide range of Sony devices, including PS3, PSP and "Android-based mobile devices."

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PS3, PSP get Music Unlimited service in UK, Ireland originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World of Warcraft streaming and playable on an HTC Desire

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST

Hey GameString! You guys need to cut it out. Yes, the tech demo you've been circulating for your cloud-based, game-streaming technology is wicked impressive, but the subject of said demo is just plain irresponsible. Using its own "Adrenalin Host Server" and a customized, touch-based user interface, GameString has managed to run a playable version of World of Warcraft on an HTC Desire smartphone. (Check out a video demonstrations after the jump.)

Sure, we've seen WoW running on an iPad recently, and we've seen a few cumbersome attempts to put it on a mobile phone in the past, but we're concerned nonetheless. Until now, the only thing keeping the world from ... well, stopping, was the fact that you couldn't properly play World of Warcraft without sitting (or biking) at your computer. Just think: If GameString pulls this off, you could soon be able to grind, farm, raid and PvP your way through Azeroth using a thing that fits in the pocket of your skinniest jeans! That's gonna be it, man. That's gonna be the end of this great big beautiful experiment we call humanity.

If you're looking to contribute to, you know, the apocalypse, you can sign up for the Adrenalin Host Server's public beta on GameString's official site.

Continue reading World of Warcraft streaming and playable on an HTC Desire

World of Warcraft streaming and playable on an HTC Desire originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive now working over Wi-Fi, announces 'Indie Fest'

Mike Schramm — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

OnLive has begun rolling out support for Wi-Fi connections to its cloud gaming service. So sure is the company that it can offer lag free streaming of game content that it is bringing Wi-Fi support to subscribers before it planned to. Support is still in beta, but most OnLive members are supposed to see the fuctionality available sometime this month. OnLive users with questions can get answers from this FAQ.

Additionally, the company has announced an initiative to support indie games on the service, offering its developer tools and SDK to independent game companies to sell their titles to subscribers. This coming weekend, OnLive is holding an "Indie Fest," offering discounts of up to 75% on great indie games like World of Goo, Trine, and AaaaaAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! We would like to know how offering indie games for cheap means you're supporting the developers, but it's cool -- we don't understand how the whole streaming things works so well either.

OnLive now working over Wi-Fi, announces 'Indie Fest' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive reports smooth launch, adds Lego Harry Potter

Mike Schramm — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:05:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

OnLive has posted a "state of the service" on its official blog after ten days of accepting beta users, and from the report, everything seems to be going well. While there were a few bugs, the service has been up 24/7 since launch, and OnLive says it's "accommodated far more members at this stage than ever anticipated." We've contacted the company to see if we can find out just how many members OnLive is serving so far.

And the company is also adding games -- Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is being added this week, hours before stores open to sell the physical copy of the title. There's a contest as well -- if you happen to be an OnLive member and are the first to complete the game entirely, you can take a video of your winnings, upload it to the service and drop an email about it, and you could win an iPad or iPod touch. We don't know how many people are floating out in the cloud quite yet, but it is drifting right along.

Thanks, Dennis!

OnLive reports smooth launch, adds Lego Harry Potter originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive hopes to make it to the UK by 'the end of 2011'

David Hinkle — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

"We'll announce further details about our launch plans later this year, but we would hope to make it available by the end of 2011," a British Telecom spokesperson told PCR. BT, who announced this partnership last month, will offer OnLive through select broadband bundles -- it will also be available to existing customers and PlusNet subscribers. "Over time, as consumer broadband connectivity increases and as games become more complex, we expect cloud-based distribution models for gaming to become increasingly attractive and mainstream," the spokesperson added.

OnLive is currently set to launch in the US on June 17. Pre-registrants gain access to a free game and free year's subscription. As of now, no such incentive has been announced for the UK.

OnLive hopes to make it to the UK by 'the end of 2011' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dave Perry details Gaikai's server plan, teases E3 announcement

Mike Schramm — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:30:00 EST

Dave Perry is dreaming big with his Gaikai streaming service. He went into a little more detail on just how it will at work at today's LA Games Conference. The company is still planning to kick off its service with 300 data centers, and while he admits it will have "much more traffic than the servers can handle," Gaikai will limit early users to those closest to the centers. If you're close enough to the server to have only about 5-10 milliseconds of lag, you'll get in. If not, Perry told Joystiq, then you won't even see the embedded window -- but your request will be logged anyway. That way, he said, Gaikai will be able to track not just where people are using the service, but where they want to use it. If a bunch of users in Alaska try to play, but can't connect because they're too far away, then "we know we're losing money in Alaska," he says, and Gaikai will set up more datacenters there.

Perry says Gaikai will help with security as well -- he suggested that companies might even be able to release their E3 demos to the world just during the week of the event, allowing press or the public to play them online for a limited time, with the code securely held on Gaikai's servers. It's all speculation at this point, though -- a service like that won't be ready to go by this year's E3 in June. But stay tuned anyway: Perry also promised us an announcement about Gaikai at E3. "We got some cool stuff to show off," he confirmed with a knowing nod.

Dave Perry details Gaikai's server plan, teases E3 announcement originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Mario Galaxy 2 introduces 'Cloud' power-up

Andrew Yoon — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:30:00 EST

No, this new power-up won't give Mario spiky blond hair and a giant sword. Instead, the Cloud power-up from Super Mario Galaxy 2 appears to give Mario the magical ability to walk on clouds. Judging by this image from the Official Nintendo Magazine, these are the happiest clouds ever. They love being stepped on!

It's clear that Mario's return trip to the stars will have no shortage of new (and returning) gameplay gimmicks. In addition to floating in the sky, it seems Mario can also turn into a boulder, ride dinosaurs, and drill through planets. The only thing he can't seem to do is his job. What happened to that plumbing gig you had, huh? This leaky pipe isn't going to fix itself, you know.

[Thanks, Fernando!]

Super Mario Galaxy 2 introduces 'Cloud' power-up originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steamworks adding microtransactions, upped cloud storage limit

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST

As the company itself puts it, "Want to offer your customers a scabbard for their sword? New tires? The latest in night vision goggles? Now you can!" It seems that while we were all up in arms about the added Mac client for Steam and Epic Games giving away its SDK to Steam devs, Valve also slipped out software developer support for microtransactions, not to mention a 100 fold increase in cloud storage limits (from 1MB to 100MB per game).

Joystiq's PC-centric sister site Big Download noticed the additions in a PDF that Valve recently released on an overview site, detailing the changes coming to the Steam digital distribution client in 2010. As for the microtransaction update, Valve promises users the ability to "buy and instantly use the items they want -- all without leaving the game," perhaps opening up the gate to free-to-play/microtransaction-based games on the service. And, maybe more interestingly, leaving open the possibility of free-to-play games based in the Source and Unreal game engines.

[Via Big Download]

Steamworks adding microtransactions, upped cloud storage limit originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai's Perry says OnLive pricing is a 'shot in the arm'

Justin McElroy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:10:00 EST

Though we weren't particularly thrilled to hear about game streaming service OnLive's $14.95 monthly user fee, there's at least one guy who's totally excited for it: Dave Perry, the frontman for competing service Gaikai. "We were just as surprised as everyone else when we heard the final business model," Perry told GamesIndustry.biz. "That's why it's a shot in the arm to us, because now we're just perfectly positioned."

If it sounds like corporate chest-beating, that's because it totally is. But there's a nugget of truth in what Perry says; even though he neglected to discuss the OnLive Game Portal, which seems to more closely mirror his service. Haven't you been a bit less interested in OnLive since you learned you'd have to pay $15 a month for the privilege to buy and retain ownership of games?

Gaikai's Perry says OnLive pricing is a 'shot in the arm' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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