Latest Gear Live Videos
Gamefly Adds Fast East Coast Shipping, More Availability Info
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Culture, Hot Deals, Internet,
Living in SF, I’ve never had a problem with the turn-around times for getting new games from Gamefly. Since it only takes about 3 days between sending in my played games and getting my next game, I’ve found the 3-game plan to be more than worth its cost. Still, Gamefly was hampered by the fact that it only had one shipping facility, in Los Angeles, CA. That all changed this past week when Gamefly opened up their second shipping facility in Pittsburgh, PA. This warehouse will serve the east coast and some inland states, including “CT, DC, DE, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, and VW (sic)”. I can only assume that VW stands for Vest Wirginia.
In addition, Gamefly has been adding several other tweaks to their website, including an improved “availability” ranking in your GameQ. Items in your Q will now show whether the availability is “Now” (will ship immediately), or “High”, “Medium” or “Low”, or “Very Low”. High means there’s a 75% chance that your game will be available to ship, Medium 50%-75%, and Low 25%-50%, and Very Low 0%-25%.
Finally, Gamefly appears to be doing some work on improving their web interface. Games in your Q will now display a blue “In Q” button (instead of the standard “Rent it!” button) if a game is already in your Q. Unfortunately, the “In Q” button only shows up when you navigate to the specific game page, and does not appear on any list pages (a la NetFlix). Clicking on the “Rent it!” button for a game already in your Q still results in the annoying “This game is already in your Q!” pop-up box, but hopefully they’ll be fixing that soon.
Overall, some much welcomed improvements! Now, just find a way to ship me Guitar Hero 2 for rental, and I’ll be a happy camper 😉
Read More 
| GameFly.com
Advertisement
Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update Hits Wednesday
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Accessories, Internet, Release Dates, Wireless, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
The long-awaited Spring Update is finally set for launch tomorrow (Wednesday), with the headline feature being all-new Xbox Live integration with MSN/Windows Live Messenger. This is the third such major dashboard update in the life of the Xbox 360, and contains a long list of new features – but it’s ultimately the weakest of those three releases.
Being able to instant message while gaming, watching movies or doing whatever else on the 360 is certainly a nifty feature, but isn’t going to be worth taking advantage of for the average user – at least not until the mini-QWERTY keyboard is released. USB keyboard support is being added, but unless you’re sitting fairly close (or wireless keyboards are supported), you’ll be stuck typing with the virtual keyboard. And from having sent hundreds over messages over Live, let me say that using that is nothing short of an exercise in patience.
In addition to the IMing capabilities included in the update, the following features have been added:
- On-screen pop-ups that immediately display the name and gamerscore value of a just accomplished Achievement, allowing gamers to see their progress without leaving or pausing the game.
- An even safer way to communicate through Xbox LIVE with enhanced family settings that enable different default settings for video chat and voice chat.
- A new, standalone Xbox LIVE Marketplace blade houses all Xbox LIVE Marketplace content in one easy to navigate space.
- Xbox LIVE Arcade enhancements that showcase what games friends are playing directly from the friends list. Boasting about high scores, comparing progress and checking out leaderboards are all easier now as well.
- Faster access to free, trial version of Xbox LIVE Arcade games through an improved Auto Downloads feature.
- The ability to fast-forward, pause and rewind video as it is being downloaded on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
- Owners can now set their consoles to turn off after downloading content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace to help save energy, and download speeds have been increased.
The Marketplace blade will certainly be useful, but what Microsoft is really trying to do is simply make it as easy as possible for you to hand over those Microsoft Points. But the new Achievement notification will be sure to go over well, especially with me, as I’m the type of person who always checks out what achievement I just unlocked - even if I’m in a multiplayer game.
For more details on the free download and a full list of features, check out this page on Xbox.com.
Google’s RSS Reader Now Wii-Compatible
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Internet, Nintendo, Wii, Wireless,
Google Reader has always been a personal favorite of mine among online RSS readers. It’s light, is a part of your Google account, and works well – can’t really ask more than that. While porn and gaming sites have been quick to implement Wii-friendly versions of their sites in order to garner more traffic, Google has now done the same with their RSS reader.
4 Color Rebellion found the page, which has an adjusted resolution and improved functionality for the Wiimote. As Google says, “Google Reader can take advantage of the buttons on your Wiimote, letting you navigate easily from the comfort of your couch.” The controls are as follows:
- up/down: scroll up/down
- right/left: next/previous item
- 1 button: show subscriptions
- 2 button: show links
When showing subscriptions:
- up/down: previous/next subscription
- right: select current subscription
- left: close
- -/+: collapse/expand folder
The page can be found here. The number of reasons to actually move from the chair in front of you TV is dwindling.
Read More | Google Reader Wii via 4 Color Rebellion
Double Dragon On Arcade This Week, Six More Games Coming
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Casual, Fighting, Release Dates, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
As was rumored this past week, Double Dragon will be released on the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. It’ll be available at 2 a.m. PDT for a fee of 400 Microsoft Points, or $5 in non-virtual money.
It’ll ship with the standard Arcade fare of 12 achievements and 200 achievement points, graphical enhancements, and leaderboards. But the major benefit of picking up Double Dragon will be the two-player co-op, playable locally or over Xbox Live. For $5, you really can’t go wrong with this arcade classic.
Microsoft has also announced six other upcoming Arcade titles – only one of which is a port. Finally, another use for the Vision camera will be available with Spyglass Board Games, a collection of classic board games such as chess and checers. Video chat will be available in game, much in the same fashion that it is in Uno.
The full list of titles can be seen after the break.
Click to continue reading Double Dragon On Arcade This Week, Six More Games Coming
GamerAndy Live! Episode 79: Sony Happy Goat Time
Posted by Edie Sellers Categories: Corporate News, Culture, E3, Editorial, First Person Shooters, Nintendo, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Role Playing Games, Rumors, Square Enix, Take2, Third Person Shooters, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace, GamerAndy,
We are back with another episode of GamerAndy Live! This week GamerAndy, GamerEdie, and Gear Live‘s Andru Edwards are behind the mic, bringing you a fresh dose of this week’s gaming news. Be sure to hit us up on the forums and let us know what you think.
SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 79:
- A recent ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board threatens Internet radio and independent musicians by increasing costs to webcasters by 1,200 percent retroactively…and even for non-RIAA music. Please send a letter to your representatives to help reevaluate this Draconian and dangerous decision!
- Sony throws party to celebrate God of War II. Great. The centerpiece of this event? A partially decapitated goat—and guests are invited to reach into the still-warm body, grab handfuls of offal and eat it. Good lord, what were they thinking?!? (Warning: Photo slightly NSFW in the United States for slight nippleage.)
- Edie discusses the relative difference of “titties,” “boobies,” “boobs,” and “tits.” Andy defines “gazongas.”
- The Xbox 360 Elite: Does Andru care? Does Edie?
- Hironobu Sakaguchi (Red Racer, Final Fantasy) + Ken Kutaragi = BFF? Apparently not.
- Speaking of Krazy Ken: He’s gone. Sony doesn’t want him, and neither does Nintendo, apparently. Sayonara, Sony! Konnichiwa, Mickey-Dees!
- Andy goes into more detail about his recent PS3 purchase… and it’s not pretty. Andru and Edie also discuss the possibilities for Playstation Home, both pros and cons.
- Edie still hearts her PS2, and Bully.
- Andy rails about Kotaku’s recent habit of using countless internal search links in their stories—frustrating as hell, he says.
Rumor: Nintendo US Division To Move to NY or SF? Me: SF Please!
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Rumors, Wii,
According to the online version of GameInformer Magazine, Nintendo employees were recently told that the company would be relocating, away from its current Redmond, Washington offices. According to the article:
Employees of Nintendo of America were told on Thursday that they would have to decide by June 1st whether or not they would be willing to relocate or accept a severance package. Our sources indicated these new offices would be opened as early as this Fall.
...
Both San Francisco and New York were pointed at as being the potential targets for new locations.
Personally, I think a move like this would make a lot of sense for the company. Redmond one day looked like it was going to become the next tech hotbed, but it’s so dominated by Microsoft these days that it’s hard to really make a presence in that area. Plus, the number of third-party publishers located in the bay area is staggering (just look on the case of your most recent game for an address, trust me…), so if Nintendo really is serious about courting third parties more actively, this would definitely give them a more hands-on way to do it. A New York office would also make a lot of sense given that, well, it’s New York and they’ve already got their only US store there.
My guess? IF they do move (and that’s a big “if”, they’ve been in Redmond for a long while)... they’re probably going to do both. I could see it easily being advantageous for Nintendo to have both an east coast and west coast operations branch. But if they HAVE to choose, my vote is for the SF Bay area. Having Nintendo so close to home would be sweet indeed.
Read More | GameInformer.com
Spiderman 3 for Xbox 360 Is A Confusing, Unholy Abomination
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, PlayStation 3, Rumors, Xbox 360,
Okay, I can’t speak for the game yet - who knows, swinging around cityscapes for a third time may be just as fun as the first outing. But my God, Sony has painted themselves into a corner with this whole PS3/Spiderman font crossover thing. I mean, just look at that Spider Man 3 360 box. There’s the big sideways, PS3 -font logo on the lefthand side, which would make me think “Oh, this must be a PS3 game!”, but then there’s that huge honkin’ Xbox 360 logo at the top! Gah! And to top it off, there’s a big “3” smack-dab, front and center. Does this mean Playstation 3? It’s like, it’s a PS3 game... but it’s NOT a PS3 game. Whoa. It certainly looks like it has something to do with the Playstation, what with that PS3 font and all. Oh wait, that’s the Spiderman font as well.
Of course, we all know what this means. It’s all part of a secret, UNDERCOVER PLAN by Sony and Microsoft to make people amenable to their UPCOMING MERGER! That’s right, you heard it here first! RUMOR: Sony and Microsoft will merge, soon after the release of Spiderman 3. Or is it SPIDERMAN 3? Anyway, it all makes perfect sense!!!!! It’s the only way to counter the threat of Nintendo taking over the world with their magic wands!!! Can’t you see, CAN’T YOU SEE!!?!!!?! (brain asplodes)
Read More | Gamestop.com
Alex St. John Talks Wii, Casual Games, Blasts Vista
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, PC,
Alex St. John, CEO of online game publisher Wild Tangent, recently talked with Dean Takahashi at Mercury News about casual gaming, Vista, and a little about the Wii, but most of the interview seems to focus on a withering criticism of Vista. St. John has long made his feelings known about the things he feels are broken in the gaming support in Vista, but here he seems to go into a little more depth. Some of the stuff isn’t that shocking – it’s fairly well known that there is generally a performance hit when gaming in Vista. Gamers don’t really get any benefits from DirectX 10 right now without content to support it, and of course St. John goes after the standard Microsoft criticisms of code bloat and memory footprint.
Beyond that, St. John’s big criticism is that the security mechanisms and parental controls, in his opinion, are horribly poorly thought out and implemented. St. John claims that Wild Tangent had to do tons of work to make sure that their online platform worked correctly in Vista, and very few of the competing online providers did the same, resulting in a broken experience for most casual gamers.
Interestingly, Microsoft sent a response to the interview, but the email from Microsoft reads more like a general “feel good” press release about how they worked with developers and families to come up with the solution in Vista, while countering none of the issues that St. John raised. St. John is saying that the implementation is broken, and Microsoft’s response basically seems to be “we talked to a lot of people and tried really, really hard” which in itself seems to be an indictment of Microsoft’s development process.
Read More | Mercury News
Impossible Mission: First Non Virtual Console Game Download
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Nintendo, Wii,
Infendo today is indicating that the remake of Impossible Mission by System 3 will be coming to the Wii shop channel, rather than by retail disc. Nintendo Power is sourced as claiming the title will head to the Shop channel as well as see a Nintendo DS cartridge version. While the Opera browser for the Wii has lived in the shop channel for a while (and will cost 500 points after the end of June), this would be the first confirmed game title that is not a Virtual Console title. Hopefully this is just the opening of the floodgates to more original works heading to the Shop Channel in the future.
Read More | Infendo
EA Canada Media Open House Press Conference
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Electronic Arts, Features, Sports,
Welcomed to EA Canada, the largest interactive studio in the world. NBA Street doing very well, and we will be focusing in the next wave of games. There are three studios in Canada - EA Canada, EA Black Box, and EA Montreal. EA is focusing on new IP and game concepts. We are shown an image of the campus, which is fairly huge, including a small soccer field. Over 2,000 employees and 400,000 square feet.
EA Canada sold 1 billion worth of software. Each of the three studios has some new, original titles. Black Box has a title called Skate, which will be their Tony Hawk killer. EA Montreal has a game called Boogie hitting the Nintendo Wii. EA Playground (working title) is coming from EA Canada.
We watch a demo reel of new titles. Homecourt, NHL ‘07, NBA Live 07, SSX Blur, UEFA CHampions League, Skate, Army of Two, Need for Speed Carbon are shown. Quite a few of these titles are already available.
Talks about Vancouver Game Summit, bringing awareness to style and talent in the city. President of worldwide studios hits stage. Reiterates that EA Canada is the number one interactive studio in the world, and gives us the low down on why Vancouver is a fantastic place to live and do business. They have announced support for academic institutions by starting new media programs at Great Northern Way, EA pledged a $1,000,000 grant to the Masters of Digital Media. The program starts in September 2007.
Recent Galleries
Playfeed Categories
Playfeed Shows
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.