It's been a while since we first speculated on the gaming potential of Microsoft's Surface multi-touch tabletop computer -- long enough, in fact, that that potential has now become somewhat more actual. Sarcastic Gamer has the video of a Carbonated Games demo for Firefly, a simple game that, appropriately enough, involves gathering fireflies into jars (sorry Whedon fans, no Reavers here).
The multi-touch abilities of the Surface are put to good use in the video -- even with three hands and up to 15 fingers pushing the little flies around, the Surface doesn't seem to miss a beat. Our favorite part, though, has to be the ability to squash opposing players bugs with your actual fingers. Try doing that with one of today's consoles. We dare ya.
Continue reading to see why the future of gaming is as bright as a squished firefly's bottom.
Though we can't recall Major Nelson mentioning it, a new Halo 3 video documentary (or ViDOC, as the cool kids say) is now on Xbox Live Marketplace. Available only in HD and weighing in at 753 MB, "Journey's End" discusses the events in the first two Halo games as told through in-game footage and interviews with Bungie staffers.
Ardent fans of the Halo universe will probably not glean any new information, but they do get a chance to stare into Managing Editor Frank O'Connors gorgeous eyes - in HD no less! We've also embedded the video above (via Gametrailers) for those unable to get to an Xbox 360.
We're not going to lie, this story moved us - not only for its content, but also because someone managed to use the YTMND format in a way that actually enhanced the storytelling process. This touching tale tells of the impact that Animal Crossing had on an ill family member. We don't want to spoil it, so check it out for yourself.
The story is from "a member in IGN" and illustrated by ONESOUND from This Is Game. If YTMND isn't your thing, you can also view a full-sized copy of the comic here and save it for later, or print it out and show your loved ones.
Update: As reader RySenkari has warned, the YTMND link had been "altered" to shy people away from the link, and the subsequent imagery was NSFW (try going to the site via Digg and you'll get an idea of what we're talking about). If you're sending this to family members or just don't want to risk seeing such things, we recommend either typing the URL in a separate window or just taking a look at the full-sized comic that we're hosting at the moment.
Ever hear the song that doesn't end? We have our own rendition for the continuing Red Ring of Death debacle: This Red Ring mess just doesn't end. Yes it goes on and on my friend. Xbox owners started getting it not knowing what it was. And we'll keep on reporting it 'til someone fesses up. (And now just keep repeating.)
The latest news comes from DailyTech who says that the failure rate is somewhere around 33%. Now let's just slow it down and take a step back. DailyTech came to the conclusion with the use of unnamed sources and no documentation. The Microsoft version of the Pentagon Papers this is not.
But, they did put some effort into the work, which although being anecdotal, does give a better picture to the situation. DailyTech contacted retail outlets that offer in-store extended warranties and found the Xbox 360 to be the least reliable. They also mention conference calls for EB Games stores which led to warranty policy changes due to the failure rate. A former EB Games employee by the name of Matthieu G. says, "The real numbers were between 30 to 33 percent ... We had 35 Xbox 360s at launch I know more than half of them broke within the first six months (red lights or making circles under the game discs). Two of them were dead on arrival." Of course, this is referring to launch Xbox 360s, an issue Microsoft has already addressed.
The rest of the article beyond that is just a chronology of everything that's been covered before, culminating in the cringe inducing Holmdahl interview with the Mercury Times. As more and more media outlets join the bandwagon, it's amazing that Microsoft hasn't just released the numbers regarding the failure rate, which they say is less than 5%. If you were a corporation with the evidence to make this all go away and you were telling the truth, why wouldn't you just do it at this point? And the next media outlet to report on the Red Ring of Death is?
It's been oftrumored that Microsoft's music-playing, photo-sharing Zune (which was almost called the Xpod) will eventually have some sort of game-playing ability as well. Now, Microsoft Europe Chief Chris Lewis has thrown some more fuel on the rumor fire, telling TotalVideoGames in an interview that "gaming is certainly something we're considering for the device."
We can definitely see the appeal from Microsoft's point of view -- the move could provide the company with a quick, back-door entrance into the highly competitive portable gaming market while at the same time keeping up with Apple's game-playing iPod. The online functionality of Xbox Live and the library of casual and classic games from Live Arcade could also provide for good software support.
Still, we're not convinced games will attract many new customers to the weak-selling Zune. Given the system's design as a music player, we doubt the system has the hardware power or game-centric interface needed to really compete with the firmly entrenched DS and PSP. Still, you can never have too many devices that play Bejeweled in your pocket.
Our friendly anonymous source at Microsoft has provided us with a few more details concerning the 360 accessories announced back at E3.
Perhaps the most important involves the bundling of the Xbox Live Vision camera with a wired headset, the popular Live Arcade title UNO, and a month of Live Gold service for $39.99 when it releases in the States on September 19, 2006.
Granted, this is still an unofficial report (based on a leak of "official" info), so understand that you're probably not gonna get much confirmation from MS until they're good and ready to give it. If you'd like information on what other peripherals are coming out "Holiday 2006" (so sometime in the 4th quarter) and at what price, read on for more.
Thanks to a reliable source from Microsoft, we've learned some important details about the new peripherals announced for the Xbox 360, including pricing and a few Halo faceplate (non)specifics. Check out the leaked info and prices below:
360 wireless gaming receiver (which enables wireless 360 controllers, headsets, and wheels on your PC): $20
Wireless racing wheel: $130
Wireless headset: $60
Xbox Live Vision Camera (with headset, one month of Live Gold, and one arcade -- presumably Xbox Live Arcade -- game): $40
New faceplates for Halo (with the Master Chief on 'em, but not Halo 3 specific) and Forza (no word on connections to the sequel): $20 each
256 MB portable memory unit (MU): no official price yet, but definitely not four times the cost of the older 64MB MU
Besides acknowledging that the PC is "the biggest gaming device of all," MS appears to be setting an agressive price for its most relevant new PC accessory, the wireless gaming receiver (at least in comparison to the outrageously priced 360 wireless networking adapter). Unfortunately, no price was revealed as of yet for the USB-based HD-DVD add-on.
We've speculated in our recent podcasts as to what would happen to the various 360 SKUs when price drops inevitably occur. An interesting theory bandied about by prolific Joystiq Contributor epobirs (on our earlier bump-to-256MB-MU post) was that a $20 price drop for the Core system, coupled with a $20 price drop on the 64MB MU, would finally allow folks to pick up a capable non-Premium bundle for the original $300 Core price point. (Not a bad way to undercut PS2 memory card prices, too.) We hope to get official confirmation on this info in the not-too-distant future.
[Update: Sorry, had the camera price wrong in the headline; it now matches the price of the bundle listed in the body of the text below.]
It's been a while since we first speculated on the gaming potential of Microsoft's Surface multi-touch tabletop computer -- long enough, in fact, that that potential has now become somewhat more actual. Sarcastic Gamer has the video of a Carbonated Games demo for Firefly, a simple game that, appropriately enough, involves gathering fireflies into jars (sorry Whedon fans, no Reavers here).
Ever hear the 
It's been 
Thanks to a reliable source from Microsoft, we've learned some important details about the new peripherals announced for the Xbox 360, including pricing and a few Halo faceplate (non)specifics. Check out the leaked info and prices below:
