Category Archives: Microsoft

Train2Game News: Gallant Cloud Video

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Gallant Cloud 01A Train2Game start up games studio named Gallant Cloud games have been invited to be a part of a Microsoft Accelerator Programme.

Microsoft described the Accelerator programme as an intensive chance for start-up businesses’ focused on anything from games to new social media ideas to break into the big time. Microsoft will be aiding the start up as much as they can to help them.

Gallant Cloud was interviewed whilst on a recent trip to the Train2Game head office in Luton about their experiences so far and you can watch the video below.

Train2Game News: Jonathan Ross joins Microsoft

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'The Jonathan Ross ShowMicrosoft have announced that TV presenter Jonathan Ross has been brought in to the company to be a consultant.

The announcement was made last night at an Xbox One event held last night in London, Ross will function as a consultant, advising various Microsoft teams in the UK. What projects Ross will be helping with however is yet to be announced.

“We wanted to change our thinking,” said Microsoft corporate VP Phil Harrison following the announcement.

“We wanted to do was to bring in new talent that would challenge the way we build games and the way we think about what an audience is, to think about what is entertainment, and broaden the concept of gaming to maybe blur the distinctions about what is a traditional game is and what a traditional television programme or what is a traditional linear media.”

Jonathan Ross is no stranger to the video game world having previously released Catcha Catcha Aliens on mobile devices with his own gaming company, Hotsauce.

I look forward to what Jonathan Ross will be bringing to Microsoft in the near future.

Train2Game News: Nokia Lumia 2520 Tablet

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Nokia Lumia 2520Nokia has announced their very first tablet. The Nokia Lumia 2520 which runs Microsoft’s Windows RT 8.1

The Nokia Lumia 2520 is ideal for life on the move, with high definition 1080p, 10.1-inch screen is made using Gorilla Glass 2 for toughness, and has been made to give less reflection than other tablets in the marketplace, a superior brightness range to see your content in different lighting environments, as well as a wide-viewing angle, for sharing or presenting.

The components, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, were selected for flawless performance from the touch-screen OS, without soaking up the battery. The system is designed to selectively cut down power consumption when it’s not needed.

While it’s running a full computer operating system, the Lumia 2520’s battery is capable of such feats as playing video for ten hours non-stop without a charge. The battery also offers a quick start with its ultra-fast charging time. It can go from zero to 80 per-cent charged in an hour.

On the back, there’s a high quality 6.7-megapixel camera with ZEISS optics and an f1.9 aperture that delivers great low light performance. This is supported by two new apps from Nokia – Storyteller and Video Director, which will help you make the most of the media you capture and create. On the front, a secondary 2-megapixel camera allows for crystal clear video calls.

The Windows RT 8.1 operating system offers a complete Microsoft Outlook and Office experience, preinstalled, at no extra cost. Also, from Nokia, you’ll find a new version of HERE Maps, making this the first tablet with a true offline mapping capability. There’s also Nokia Music onboard, for free streaming and offline Mixes.

The Nokia Lumia 2520 is estimated to be £399 and be released this quarter but nothing has yet been confirmed.

Train2Game News: Games with Gold offer extended

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Xbox 360Microsoft have announced that the Games for Gold initiative on Xbox 360 has been extended past 2013.

It was announced at E3 in June this year as a limited-time promotion, Games with Gold gives Xbox Live subscribers two free games to keep each month, with new titles made available on the 1st and 16th.

Since then Microsoft says over 120 million hours have been played with Games with Gold titles. These have included Fable 3, Defense Grid: The Awakening, Assassin’s Creed 2, Crackdown, Dead Rising 2 and DR2 prologue Case Zero, Magic 2013, Rainbow Six Vegas, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and most recently Halo 3.

Despite switching focus to Xbox One in the run-up to the console’s November 22 release, Xbox chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi said in September that the company will continue to support Xbox 360 for years to come.

“If you look at Xbox 360 that platform has lasted for seven to eight years and it’s going to go for another three years. It’s incredibly profitable now in the tail,” he said. “We are going to continue to invest in Xbox 360 and the two devices can work in concert. So it isn’t just like the day we ship Xbox One, Xbox 360 won’t work, we will continue to support it. In fact, we are going to ship over 100 new games on Xbox 360, so you will still be able to play your games, just not on the same exact box.”

So for all those not wanting to go next generation from release you should still have at least three years with your Xbox 360.

Train2Game News: Marmalde SDK helping Windows 8 developers

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MarmaladeMarmalade, in partnership with Microsoft is giving you the opportunity to get a free 3-month Marmalade license extension and a Free Windows Phone 8 Device when you get apps approved on the Windows Developer Center.

When you sign up for this program you will receive a free Windows Developer Center token. You’ll need this token to submit your beta app and get your free Windows Phone and activate a free one-year membership for the Windows Developer Center.

After registering at the Windows Developer Center, you can submit your beta WP8 app and then tell Marmalade.

You have 30 days to submit your app in beta mode to the Windows Developer Center. Beta apps are reviewed to ensure that they are suitable for listing on the App Store (once complete) and that they are made with Marmalade. It doesn’t matter if it is not 100% complete, just as long as it shows how your app works. If you are porting an existing app, make sure to mention that.

Once your beta app is submitted on the store, letting Marmalade know can flag it for priority review by Microsoft.

When you’re ready, submit your final working app to the Windows Developer Center and inform Marmalade of the live URL, so they can issue your free Marmalade license or extension, and you can keep your Windows Phone 8 device.

The offer closes on the 31st December 2013 so make sure your app is approved on the Windows Developer Center by then!

To get in contact with Marmalade and start this great opportunity you can visit http://www.madewithmarmalade.com/wp8-hub

Train2Game News: Microsoft Executive comments on Cross-platform gaming

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MicrosoftPhil Spencer, executive of Microsoft, has recently commented that cross-platform between Xbox One and PC makes a lot of sense.

Spencer was asked in an interview with AusGamer, whether Windows 8 and Xbox One could host cross-platform play between their respective platforms.

“I’m not allowed to leak things,” Spencer replied, “but I think what you’re talking about makes a lot of sense.”

Mr Spencer then went on to mention past attempts at cross-platform and how it was received.

“If you go back to Shadow Run on Xbox 360, something I worked on, we had PC players playing against Xbox 360 customers. We didn’t have tremendous success with that, but we learnt a lot from it.

“Then earlier this year we released Skulls of the Shogun, which was a game we launched on all three platforms on the same day, and you could start on one platform and then save the game to the Cloud and play across any of the screens and progress. And then Halo: Spartan Assault has some links between Halo 4 and Spartan Assault, even though they’re very different games.”

The executive went on to comment on how important Xbox Live will be in developing for cross-platform.

“This connected ecosystem across all the different devices is definitely where I think the future of gaming is going; you don’t have to do it as a developer, but you have the capability and I think a system like Xbox Live across all those screens where you know who someone is and who their friends are, what their Achievements are and their progression is really critical to that.”

The Xbox One releases next month so it won’t be long before we can start seeing how this next generation console will evolve over the coming years.

Train2Game News: DreamSpark Booklet

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DreamSparkTrain2Game have released a small simple booklet detailing the benefits of DreamSpark and how it is benefiting Train2Game student studio, Gallant Cloud.

You can view the booklet below.

Train2Game News: Xbox One Tour

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Xbox OneMicrosoft has announced plans for a worldwide Xbox One promotional tour. If you didn’t get a chance to play it at Eurogamer you still have hope!

Beginning on October 1 and running until the end of the year, the tour will take in 75 cities with the initial phase covering Europe, the US and Canada. While attendance is free of charge, it’s limited to those over 18 years of age and space will be limited.

The tour will give consumers the chance to go hands-on with games including Forza 5, Ryse, Killer Instinct, Dead Rising 3, Kinect Sports Rivals, Crimson Dragon, Max: Curse of the Brotherhood, Zoo Tycoon and Minecraft.

Additionally, custom Xbox One ‘Test Drive’ vehicles will offer hands-on time at festivals, university campuses, retail centers and other locations across the UK, Germany, France, US and Canada in the coming months.

Here’s a select list of tour dates:

  • Philadelphia: 3.10 – 6.10
  • Paris: 10.10 – 13.10
  • Toronto: 10.10 – 13.10
  • Chicago: 17.10 – 20.10
  • Vienna: 17.10 – 20.10
  • Atlanta: 24.10 – 27.10
  • Dallas : 31.10 – 3.11
  • Berlin: 31.10 – 3.11
  • Phoenix: 7.11 – 10.11
  • San Francisco: 14.11 – 17.11
  • Dublin: 14.11 – 17.11
  • Los Angeles: 21.11
  • London: 21.11 – 24.11

Keep an eye on the following link for more information of tour dates as they are announced. http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/onetour

Microsoft has confirmed an Xbox One release date of November 22, 2013 in 13 markets. The Xbox One price has been set at £430 / €500 / $500.

Train2Game News: Eurogamer Expo 2013

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Eurogamer 2013The past weekend was one I look forward to every year. It was the annual Eurogamer Expo and this year was completely sold out.

I attended the event with a couple of friends of mine, one of whom had never attended a gaming event before so it was nice to see his eyes light up at the sight of the event. There is nothing quite like your first time!

The first game we ended up playing was the new Lego Marvel Super Heroes game from Warner Brothers Interactive. The game was similar to the other Lego games just involving all of your favourite Marvel heroes! The only other Lego game I had played was the Lego Batman game so I was quite shocked when the Lego characters started talking to me. Certainly a fun game to try if you can.

Second one of my friends and I discovered an XBLA game there that we were both interested in which was a game called Foul Play by Medatonic. The game was an entertaining side scrolling hack and slash which has no health bar. The game instead rewards big combos in a similar way to Guitar Hero. I would describe this as Guitar Hero meets Castle Crashers. Foul Play is out now and I will be buying it soon.

Next I decided to start tackling the main objectives I had set myself for the weekend and started with Batman: Arkham Origins. I am a big Batman fan and absolutely loved the other two Arkham games and was a bit worried when I found out that Rocksteady wasn’t going to be doing this game as I imagine most batfans were. My worries were put to rest on playing the game though. It plays exactly like Arkham City, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it! My other worry was the voice actors for Batman and Joker. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are the characters I hear when reading them so when they weren’t in this game I worried. I have to say though they both have excellent voices and I could find no fault with the small window of the game that I tried. I will definitely be pre-ordering my copy soon.

I then got two birds with one stone as I tried Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag on a PlayStation 4. The game was absolutely gorgeous and they have really polished up the ship sections from AC3. I enjoyed the quite open sea feel that I got from the game but couldn’t test much more than that in the time I was given.

The PS4 graphics were of course jaw droppingly stunning but what surprised me was how comfortable the joysticks were on the controller. They have just the right amount of indentation on the joysticks so your thumb slots in and is firmly in place for those more frantic moments.

The final game I tried out for the day was Killer Instinct on the Xbox One. I never played one of the  Killer Instinct games before so it was all new to me. I was paired up with a guy I didn’t know to play the game and it turned out we were incredibly evenly matched! We had two and a half games, the first he one with very little health left, the second I one with very little health left and the third one got cut short saw him well in the lead. The game was easy to get on with and just pick up and get to fighting!

Again the graphics of the Xbox One were beautiful with every little detail on display and much like the PS4 the XB1 has an incredibly comfortable joystick for your thumb to fit in to.

It was a great event as it always is but I wish I had more time to get to grips with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. I do certainly advise you to go next year though as in the three years I have been, I have never been disappointed.

You can view all the developer sessions from the weekend at http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/eurogamer-expo-2012-live-developer-sessions

Train2Game News: SpecialEffect Windows Phone 8 app released

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SpecialEffect SpecialEffect, the UK charity that helps people with disabilities to play computer games, have released a free Windows Phone 8 app.

The charity are confident that the app, designed at no charge to the charity by Des Gayle of Altered Gene Studios (http://alteredgenestudios.com), will form a vital part of their communications strategy in spreading the word about how they raise the quality of life for gamers with disabilities.

Des is an ambassador of SpecialEffect and has taken part in many fundraising activities for them, including the British 10K run and several footballing events.

“With gaming getting bad press in some quarters it’s even more important that we can increase our communication channels about how gaming can be a force for good,” said the charity’s Communications Officer Mark Saville. “The app contains news, information and links to many wonderful video case studies that show how we’re bringing families together through video games. It’s targeting something that often gets overlooked – that people with disabilities have lives beyond simply ‘being disabled’ and want to enjoy themselves with everyone else.”

The app can be downloaded at
http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=e2802437-3a6c-49b2-91eb-fe5499575b9f