Joystiq

FigurePrints now immortalizing your Minecraft world with real-world replicas

David Hinkle — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:30:00 EST

Ed Fries is a former VP of publishing at Microsoft, Ouya advisor and the creator of Halo 2600 - he's got quite the resume. He also founded FigurePrints, a company known for making real-life recreations of your in-game content, like statues modeled after World of Warcraft avatars. Now FigurePrints is recreating Minecraft worlds.

If you're interested, you'll first want to install FigurePrints' world exporter, compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows XP. Once you've installed the exporter, you can select a portion of your MineCraft PC world and upload it to FigurePrints where its artists will re-create your lovingly-crafted game world into a physical model. Then you only need to place your order and wait impatiently for the box to hit your doorstep. As for price, FingerPrints says "replicas of Minecraft worlds significantly vary in cost," based on the size of the area recreated.

FigurePrints now immortalizing your Minecraft world with real-world replicas originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Xbox co-creator backing $99, Android-based game console (and all its games are free!)

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:30:00 EST

What is "Ouya," besides an amusing onomatopoeia? It's reportedly the concept for a $99, Android-based game console that has some very interesting backers.

We've got original Xbox cheerleader Ed Fries, and acclaimed designer Yves Béhar. The former is said to be serving as an advisor on the project, while the latter is said to be developing the device. The supposed task is to develop a game console that can be connected to a television with an open development platform; better yet, all its games will be free.

This is all according to a listing on startup website AngelList (since pulled, detailed on The Verge), which apparently counted a variety of other big names on its masthead. Several images are also available (including the one above), but it's worth noting that they're all concepts for now. The various games seen on the console's dashboard are, naturally, Android titles.

We reached out to Ouya representatives, but haven't heard back as of publishing.

Report: Xbox co-creator backing $99, Android-based game console (and all its games are free!) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision and Nintendo were involved in Rare bidding war, former Microsoft exec recounts

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST

A classic industry tale of "D'oh" tells of how Activision missed an opportunity to buy Blizzard on the cheap a decade before the $18 billion merger. Here's the opposite tale: In 2002, it seems Activision dodged a bullet by losing out in a bidding war to purchase Rare. Microsoft ended up being the fish that took the worm -- for $375 million -- and the rest has been ... well, let's just say that Rare hasn't lived up to the high expectations set by the studio's independent successes (despite having settled into a key role in the Microsoft Game Studios family).

In an interview with Develop, Ed Fries, former Microsoft VP of game publishing, revealed that Activision was close to a deal to secure Rare, but that Microsoft ended up offering more. Fries also shared that Nintendo was involved in the bidding war, further inflating an eventually outrageous price for the developer. At the time, Nintendo owned half of Rare, so if Microsoft had bid low, the House of Mario could have easily taken control of the entire studio. "So, there's a problem: If we drive a hard bargain and put in a low price for Rare, Nintendo would have the chance to buy at that low price and probably would," Fries reasoned. "So, the price was high."

Unfortunately for Fries and Microsoft, they did not heed Kenny Rodgers' sage advice: "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know ... when to run."

Activision and Nintendo were involved in Rare bidding war, former Microsoft exec recounts originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Promise you'll play Halo 2600 (that's a covenant we can get behind)

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:30:00 EST

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

Have you ever wondered what Master Chief's intergalactic adventures would look like if rendered by an Atari 2600? Neither have we -- and now that the folks over at Extra Guy have shared their find of "Halo 2600," we don't have to. Bizarrely, ex-Microsoft VP of game publishing Ed Fries is credited on the game's cover as the creator (as seen on the game's Facebook page).

Halo 2600 was playable at the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, which came to an end today. Sure, it's playable online right now, but apparently we missed out on 500 real-life Atari 2600 cartridges containing the game (check out a photo of them all lined up). How's that for a limited edition?

[Thanks, Anthony!]

Promise you'll play Halo 2600 (that's a covenant we can get behind) originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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