GamesIndustry.biz has learnt that Valve asked Microsoft if it was possible to place its award-winning Orange Box title, Portal, on Xbox Live Arcade for download, but that it was rejected.

"We'd love to do that. Right now it's something we'd love to do. I'd love to sell Portal on Xbox live," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "[But] the platform holders aren't doing that right now. There's a size limit and all kinds of other things.

"We've asked them, we said we were open to it. So it's a decision for the platform holder and how they want to make the games available and how much bandwidth they want to [allow]."

But Lombardi did hint that something might be possible in the future: "I think it's a trade-off, we'll see it one day.

"It always happens once it's been proven and I think it's been proven now on Steam, so I'm sure it'll migrate back to the consoles just like everything else does."

Portal was one of five titles available as part of last year's acclaimed Orange Box release, and won three awards - including Game of the Year - at this year's GDC event in San Francisco.

Microsoft increased the size limit for Xbox Live Arcade titles last March to 150MB, up from its previous limit of 50MB.

Source:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/portal-was-offered-to-xbla-but-rejected

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167600

Summary: According to a new report released on Tuesday, Nintendo trailed Sony last year in terms of the highest rated games, followed by Capcom, Lucas Arts, Atlus, EA, and Microsoft.

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In the wake of Electronic Arts saying it was unhappy with its low review scores two weeks ago, Next-Generation has compiled an exhaustive list of publishers who released 10 or more games in 2007, ranking them by combined average review scores.

Sony bested 26 other publishers with a combined average of 78% according to compiled data from GameRankings.com, followed by Nintendo with 75%, and Capcom with 74%. Lucas Arts, EA, and Atlus rounded out the top five with 73%, 72%, and 71% respectively, followed by Microsoft Game Studios at 69%.

Square Enix held the top spot in 2006 while Microsoft hoisted the honor in 2005, the data tells. Nintendo lingered in the third and second spot respectively.

Additionally, the report ranked publishers who released 10 or more games in a single calendar year in terms of their output, including ports. EA was number one in terms of sheer volume, followed by Activision and THQ.

Source:

http://www.gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=5627

Summary:

An unknown gaming site from Ireland takes a stand against Xbox 360, saying it will no longer cover the console due to its infamous reliability, namely the dreaded Red Ring of Death.

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"Next Gen Ireland will be suspending all Xbox 360 coverage indefinitely," the publisher said on Thursday, this after all three of its review consoles experienced the fatal Red Ring of Death error in a single week.

Despite Microsoft's extended three-year warranty and repeated apologies, the site claims that the problem is compounded in Ireland, where Next Gen says that Microsoft fails to provide satisfactory service.

"Next Gen Ireland felt that we needed to take a stand as customers and not reviewers in this instance, and to be treated that way by Microsoft after they were at fault by releasing a console that was blatantly untested onto the mass market is unacceptable," continues the notice. "In our opinion, the after sales service we received today was atrocious and we can't stand for it."

Since launching in November 2005, a reported 33 percent of all Xbox 360s fail, something an unverified former employee said Microsoft knew when launching the system in an effort to beat Sony to market.

Microsoft was not immediately available for comment when contacted by GamePro on Friday.

Source:

http://www.gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=5588

Demo Xbox 360 dies from the infamous three red lights

One of Microsoft's demonstration Xbox 360 consoles has succumbed, rather publicly, to the infamous 'Red Ring of Death' in the company's XNA area at the Game Developers Conference.

The machine, videoed by BBC technology editor Darren Waters, has clearly developed problems the outcome of which will be familiar to a large number of owners of the console - three red lights surrounding the unit's power button.

Writing on the BBC's tech blog dot.life Waters references the hardware failure problem which could cost Microsoft up to USD 1 billion to deal with.

"Microsoft wants consumers to believe that its problems with the Xbox 360 console in terms of hardware failure are over. But wandering through the Game Developers Conference halls and it's clear that the problem persists," he says.

"On Microsoft's own stand at the show one of the demo consoles has a rather familiar problem - the red ring of death. There's no way of knowing if this particular console was manufactured before or after Microsoft identified the problems with the machines.

"But at the very least it's embarrassing for the company that its own stock of demo machines is still susceptible to the problem."

Sources:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33248

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3166379

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2008/02/red_ring_of_death_returns.html

"It is reasonable to believe these rates will increase over time" - SquareTrade

SquareTrade, a firm that specialises in electronics warranties, has found that of a sample of 1000 Xbox 360 consoles, the failure rate was 16.4 per cent.

That compares to a failure rate of just 3 per cent for the PlayStation 3 and Wii, from sample sizes "in the high hundreds" reports 1UP.com.

And according to SquareTrade CEO Steve Abernethy, the overheating problem associated with Microsoft's console may cause the failure rate to climb.

"It is reasonable to believe these failure rates will increase over time, since the Xbox 360 failure issues tend to increase with prolonged use where overheating appears the main culprit," he said.

According to the company's data, the much-publicised 'Red Rings of Death' error accounted for around 60 per cent of the sample failures. Of the different hardware variations of the Xbox 360, Abernethy stated that of the associated problems he "would estimate most if not all were the original motherboard."

Last year, Xbox boss Peter Moore offered an apology to consumers who had been forced to send away their Xbox 360 consoles for repair, with the company extending the warranty of the machine to three years.

Although Microsoft would not offer a solid figure on failure rates, Moore told GamesIndustry.biz at the time that, "you know it when you see it. We saw it, and it was unacceptable."

Again, Microsoft has refused to disclose any internal repair figures, with a spokesperson telling GamesIndustry.biz this monring, "The majority of Xbox 360 owners have had a great experience with their consoles.

"We do not disclose internal hardware repair data and we do not comment on speculation."

Sources:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33094

http://www.gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=5557

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/855/855113p1.html

Summary: Sony's upcoming Heavenly Sword contains 10 GB of in-game audio, According to Develop Magazine, arguably making it the largest amount of audio on a single game disc.

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The game is said to feature three and a half hours of music and 4,500 lines of dialog in eleven languages according to Ninja Theory's design team.

For those wondering if that equates to 10 GB of master files or if that massive amount is what will end up on the game's Blu-ray disc, Sony's unofficial Three Speech blog says it's the latter.

"Looks like when Chief Design Ninja Tameem Antoniades said that Heavenly Sword couldn't be done with DVD, he wasn't joking," they write.

Heavenly Sword launches for PS3 on September 12.

Source: http://gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=4992

Summary: Microsoft announced on Monday that it would soon allow MMO developers to require hard drive space when playing games on Xbox 360 despite the console maker's previous denial of such claims.

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360 hard drive will be required for some MMO games

"Feel free to require 30GB for your game - 'but' that's just going to make your potential audience a lot smaller," a Microsoft representative told a group of developers while speaking at GameFest.

Effective immediately, Microsoft will not restrict the amount of hard drive space MMO game developers can use. It is unclear if non-MMO games will be allowed to require hard drives when playing future games on 360.

An estimated 20% of 360 owners don't own a hard drive, which is optional for those only wanting to purchase the Core model.

Developers will be able to create a single "Master Storage File" on user machines so long as the server-based games illicitly state the amount of hard drive space required on the front of the game's box.

Microsoft also said the that it will not increase the allowable size of Xbox Live Arcade games which currently stand at 150 mb.

Just last week, Microsoft denied reports in an email to GamePro that Xbox 360 Core owners would be unable to play certain games labeled with the "hard drive required" sticker.

"Every game will work with every Xbox 360 system," a Microsoft spokesman told us. That no longer appears to be the case, at least with MMO games.

Source: http://gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=4986

Summary: Long-time PlayStation developer Insomniac Games publicly shares its development files on the Internet with the hopes of improving the number and quality of PS3 games made by the PlayStation development community.

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"The 'R&D' page on the Insomniac website is meant to share knowledge with fellow studios about PS3 development while giving our fans a detailed look into how we make our games," said Insomniac CEO Ted Price.

Price believes PS3 development archive will help explain and improve on the companies current production process.

The R&D archive is said to document "current research and development in hopes of supporting the PS3 development community and enhancing overall development for its core technologies such as the CELL processor and RSX [the PS3 graphics chip]," reads the website.

Translation: they hope to less the costs of PS3 by sharing what they know with others and vice versa. If a success, PS3 owners can expect more and better games as the initiative aims to boost PS3 awareness and game quality.

"In addition, we hope that giving interested tech-heads a deeper look into Insomniac's game development and production philosophy will let them see a bit more of what goes on behind the scenes here," adds Price.

Insomniac is created for the creation of Spyro, Ratchet and Clank, and most recently, Resistance: Fall of Man.

Source: http://www.gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=4952

By Jim Finkle

BOSTON (Reuters) - David Daoud ran into trouble when he started using Vista, the new version of Windows that Microsoft Corp. and PC makers have spent millions of dollars advertising since it came out six months ago.

He said it short-circuited key software programs he counts on: Quicken for balancing his checkbook, Lotus Notes e-mail and a networking program that connects his home to the office. His Sony camcorder also doesn't communicate with the PC properly.

"Basically they don't work," said Daoud, a computer industry analyst with market research firm IDC.

Such problems are part of the normal growing pains that come with every major upgrade to the Windows operating system.

To ease those pains, some consumers are seeking out machines equipped with the more compatible Windows XP. That's prompted some PC makers and retailers to give the older operating system more room in their product lines.

Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. recently started selling XP machines on their Web sites. Lenovo Group Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. also offer similarly equipped machines.

Microsoft has done its best to get Vista off to a strong start, making it compatible with more than 2 million different types of hardware.

The effort seems to be paying off. The company late on Thursday reported quarterly revenue of $13.4 billion, up 13 percent from last year, citing help from strong Vista sales.

Microsoft says most people using Vista are pleased with it and that nearly all software and hardware is compatible.

Still, some companies have been slow to respond to Microsoft's call for upgrades. Consumers have taken note.

Craig Rabe, owner of the Computer Cafe, an independent computer store in Arlington, Massachusetts, says he received so many complaints about Vista after it was launched in February that he stopped selling machines loaded with the software.

"People came back and said, 'Please, will you take this off and replace it with XP," he said.

ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE?

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is advising incoming freshmen to buy PCs loaded with Windows XP.

"XP is still fully functional. It's what people are familiar with," said Jon Hunt, who made the decision for MIT. But he expects MIT will soon start supporting Vista.

Among retailers, CompUSA says it has the widest selection of XP machines, something it plans to tout during the busy back-to-school sales season.

Circuit City Stores Inc. offers nine XP models on its Web site. Best Buy Co. does not carry XP machines.

The Windows User Group says Vista is an "awesome" system and all of its employees use it. But the company, which provides technical advice on Windows and runs online communities, cautions that the switch can be uncomfortable.

"My father-in-law, my niece, my accountant -- they all have computers running XP now. If they put Vista on top, not everything is going to work," said vice president Joel Diamond.

Microsoft says it has put a lot of effort into working with other companies to solve any problems.

"There are some products that don't work with it," said Windows group product manager Justin Jed. "But ... the data shows louder than the anecdotes that people are having a great experience with Windows Vista."

He says 72 percent of users have a "favorable" view of Vista, 8 percent "unfavorable," with the rest neutral.

What's more, about 96 percent of all printers, keyboards, mice, scanners and other devices in use are compatible with Vista, as are about 2,000 software programs, including 49 of the current 50 best-selling retail titles, he says.

But while Adobe recently introduced a version of Photoshop professional that works with Vista, customers with the previous edition have to pay $199 for an upgrade.

Norton SystemWorks, a $70 security program, has yet to be made Vista compatible though the company says it is in the works. TiVo software for linking to PCs is also incompatible.

Microsoft declined to comment on specific problems.

"We are going after the ones that impact the most customers," Jed said. "Obviously you cannot be all things to all people."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1939886820070719?sp=true

Summary: Anecdotal evidence suggests the Xbox 360 failure rate may be as high as one in every three machines according to retailers.

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"After contacting several retailers from various regions in North America, the responses were unanimous: the Xbox 360 is the least reliable gaming console in recent history," reports Daily Tech after polling several retailers on 360 failure rates including EB Games, GameStop, and Best Buy.

"The real number [of Xbox 360 failure rates] is between 30 to 33 percent," said one former EB Games employee. An anonymous Best Buy employee said the failure rate for the console was "between a quarter to a third" of all units sold. A different yet current EB Games employee told GamePro the failure rate was 1 in 4 at their store.

Many stores have revised their policies in addition to increasing the price of in-store warranties "solely due to the failure rate of the Xbox 360" says Daily Tech. In addition, the report states that EB Games nearly doubled the price of its one-year, over-the-counter warranty.

By comparison, one retailer said the single store failure rate of PS3s was less than one per cent and conceded that "in the hundreds of Wii units sold at that location thus far, zero have come back as defective."

Microsoft has said before that its Xbox 360 failure rate is "well within industry standards" of 3-5%, but decline to disclose the actual number even in light of recent media and consumer scrutiny.

Just last week one UK-based repair company refused to continue fixing faulty Xbox 360s due to the high number of machines coming in which rendered excessive losses for the company.

Microsoft representatives were not immediately available for comment when contacted by GamePro.

Source: http://gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=4836