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Microsoft's CES 2009 Keynote - Press Releases
Posted by XanTium | January 7 21:35 EST | News Category: Xbox360
Here the Xbox-related information from Microsoft's CES 2009 keynote press release. What's not in their PR, so I'll mention it here, is that Halo Wars will be available on February 28th with a demo hitting Xbox LIVE on February 5th. [QUOTE] Microsoft's president of the Entertainment & Devices Division, Robbie Bach, shared the stage at CES with Ballmer. Bach addressed Microsoft's unique ability to deliver entertainment on virtually any screen that consumers commonly use today, including the PC, TV and mobile phone.
Despite a tough holiday and economy, Xbox 360 registered its biggest year ever, driven by record sales at retail with 28 million consoles sold to date, an 84 percent jump in online consumer spending, and Xbox LIVE membership that has grown to 17 million active members.
"Not only is Xbox 360 one of the world's leading next-generation gaming consoles, but with partners like Netflix, it is one of the world's leading entertainment devices, period," Bach said. "With 28 million consoles sold worldwide, an active online community of 17 million members, and more than $1 billion spent on Xbox LIVE since the launch of the Xbox 360, it's clear that consumer demand for these great entertainment experiences has never been higher. We're only beginning to scratch the surface of what's possible with Xbox."
Bach shared how consumer demand for connected TV experiences is growing and announced the Mediaroom platform has reached nearly 2.5 million subscriber homes worldwide, an increase of more than 1.5 million new connections in the past year alone. The award-winning Microsoft Mediaroom is driving the future of television by enabling broadband service providers to deliver new connected TV and entertainment experiences to consumers around the world. Bach also unveiled a groundbreaking feature called Mediaroom Anytime that lets subscribers access previously aired shows directly from the Interactive Program Guide without any pre-planning or prior DVR recording.
Bach discussed how Microsoft is making it easier than ever for people to synch their entertainment content across the screens in their lives. This month, Microsoft and Netflix, the world's largest online movie rental service, will offer software that enables Windows Mobile customers to update and view their Netflix movie queue. Changes will appear instantly on Netflix on Xbox LIVE, extending the existing service that launched in November. Xbox 360 is the only game system that lets people instantly watch thousands of movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix, many in HD.
Bach also spoke about how Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are transforming the way people enjoy interactive entertainment at home. This spring, Microsoft will introduce a new interactive entertainment genre with the premiere of the Xbox LIVE Primetime channel, which brings together the best of TV and gaming. Xbox LIVE Primetime will debut with an online version of the popular TV show "1 vs. 100" that enables thousands of gamers to play together with real hosts and compete for real prizes.
In addition, Bach talked about the outpouring of creativity from the Xbox community since the announcement of Community Games in November, with over 100 new games available for anyone to play. He highlighted an upcoming Xbox LIVE Community Game called "Kodu," launching in the spring, designed to help anyone from age 7 to 70 create their own video games. [/QUOTE]
Microsoft also issued a press release specifically about Kodu: [QUOTE] Microsoft announced today that it will turn Xbox 360 players into creators with the release of their new game, "Kodu". Launching on the Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel, "Kodu's" easy to use game creation techniques will make building personal playgrounds simple for anyone, with the help of an Xbox 360 controller. During a keynote speech at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, 12-year-old student, Sparrow joined Microsoft's President of the Entertainment and Devices Division, Robbie Bach on stage to demonstrate the intuitive game that lets players choose from a variety of visual building blocks in order to develop their own unique creation.
This spring, "Kodu" will find its home among some of the freshest, most diverse and creatively independent games showcased on the Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel. "Kodu" is a pick-up-and-create game where anyone can build their own unique world in just minutes using a simple image-based creator menu that makes game creation simple for anyone, from ages seven to 70. "Kodu" created playgrounds are expressed in physical action-reaction terms, using basic concepts like vision, hearing and time to control your character's behavior. Players can start their own unique "Kodu" created playgrounds from scratch or, if they aren't in the mood to create, they can choose from several pre-loaded levels for quick play. With almost 200 different game-creation building blocks to choose from, the opportunities are endless.
"We've done everything possible to make sure that creating a "Kodu" playground is not only easy, but that it is also fun and engaging for people of all ages and backgrounds," principal program manager for Microsoft Research and lead "Kodu" designer, Matt MacLaurin said. "Since 'Kodu's' interface is intuitive and prevents common programming mistakes, we're making it easy for everyone to enjoy the magic of game creation."
Originally designed by Microsoft Research as a learning tool for young kids, "Kodu" is the newest game to keep minds of all ages sharp by developing logic, problem-solving and creative thinking skills. In fact, in 2006, Microsoft Research teamed up with Girls Inc. and the University of Santa Barbara to create an after school "Kodu" program to accurately measure the influence educational games have in the fields of math, science, and comprehension. The team logged hundreds of hours of "Kodu" research with creators from ages five to 45 to ensure that it is easy for beginners, but maintains a depth of content for those who are more advanced.
"What I love about "Kodu" is that I can do everything myself," Sparrow, who demoed the game, said. "It's fast to build and different from the other games I play. I can do cool, silly things in it!"
"Kodu" will join a host of family-friendly and casual games already on the Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel. Since its launch in November, the Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel has seen a lot of enthusiasm from both game-makers and consumers, where there are currently more than 100 independent, community-created games available for download. [/QUOTE]
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They go on about how big the streaming TV/Movies are, but they don't negotiate copyright deals outside of the USA, severely limiting all these features in the rest of the world.
I know its difficult to negotate content deals with other countries, but give it some effort. Otherwise all we read about is how good these features are, and we can't use 'em.
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QUOTE(Zod5000 @ Jan 8 2009, 08:50 AM)
They go on about how big the streaming TV/Movies are, but they don't negotiate copyright deals outside of the USA, severely limiting all these features in the rest of the world.
I know its difficult to negotate content deals with other countries, but give it some effort. Otherwise all we read about is how good these features are, and we can't use 'em.
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QUOTE(miggidy @ Jan 8 2009, 08:15 AM)
Kodu is interesting. I hope they release some media, after all the game is just around the corner.
Yeah, does it have the potential to be a LBP killer? That is one of a handful of games that is really unique to the PS3. Most of Sony's exclusives have got similar titles on the 360 but MS has nothing close to LBP at the moment.
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QUOTE(Zod5000 @ Jan 8 2009, 07:50 AM)
They go on about how big the streaming TV/Movies are, but they don't negotiate copyright deals outside of the USA, severely limiting all these features in the rest of the world.
I know its difficult to negotate content deals with other countries, but give it some effort. Otherwise all we read about is how good these features are, and we can't use 'em.
indeed. they don't seem to be doing any real effort to gain costumers in europe, australia and asia, they really need to stop acting all US exclusive, the age of "you must be at least 18 years and a US resident"-discrimination is over.
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QUOTE(bucko @ Jan 8 2009, 12:38 PM)
So a 12 year old student gets on stage to show how crap most of the XBLA games are, very nice and great success .
I hope MS can fix the slow loading in the new NXE guide, it takes ages to download information like gamerpics.
lol I thought it was just me - the bloody thing just sits there for ages before it populates the page! That and the odd random freezing whilst going into the blades from a game...
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QUOTE(Martinchris23 @ Jan 8 2009, 01:09 PM)
lol I thought it was just me - the bloody thing just sits there for ages before it populates the page! That and the odd random freezing whilst going into the blades from a game...
Yup and also it annoys me cause i have to give so much bad feedback and file complaints for people cheating on COD WAW, when are they getting a dam patch out, nearly every map now I've seen and the guide is so slow it ruins my score lol.
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QUOTE(bucko @ Jan 8 2009, 08:58 AM)
Yup and also it annoys me cause i have to give so much bad feedback and file complaints for people cheating on COD WAW, when are they getting a dam patch out, nearly every map now I've seen and the guide is so slow it ruins my score lol.
ive never seen either of those issues with the nxe only time i ever seen that is with the old guide.
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QUOTE(bucko @ Jan 8 2009, 01:58 PM)
Yup and also it annoys me cause i have to give so much bad feedback and file complaints for people cheating on COD WAW, when are they getting a dam patch out, nearly every map now I've seen and the guide is so slow it ruins my score lol.
lol - you too?
Personally I'm fed up of people using XFPS devices - it's not like you can't see how accurately their crosshairs move in the killcam!!
Microsoft's CES 2009 Keynote - Press Releases
Jan 8 2009, 03:35 AM
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