Category Archives: Microsoft

Train2Game News: Windows 8.1 bringing back Start button

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Windows 8Reports have emerged that with the update of Windows 8, the missed Start Button will make its return.

Since Windows 8 launched many have complained that there is no Start button for the system, with Windows 8.1 this will be rectified. Microsoft and Windows have heard the complaints and changed their system for you. The revived Start button still won’t open a Start menu, however, just offer a way to access the Start Screen.

Microsoft will also include the option to boot any Windows 8 device to its classic PC desktop and allow this to once again become the default view.

These features aren’t in the current Windows 8.1 beta but are expected to be included in its final release, due later this year.

These details were revealed by The Verge and are backed up by an identical report from ZDNet, posted earlier this month.

The decision to backtrack on these features shows Microsoft do listen to their customers and are trying to get the best system out for everyone. Windows 8 has, so far, had mixed reviews from Developers and Train2Game students a like.

Time will tell if this back track of features will increase the popularity of the operating system.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 19.04.13

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Connor AdamsIt is the end of the week so it is time for the Train2Game end of week round up!

The first bit of news this weeks come with the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us, the new DC Universe fighting game. Train2Game student Connor Adams did some of the concept art for the game at the company he works at Atomhawk in Newcastle. Congratulations Connor! You can view some of his art work, which I highly suggest, in the following link: http://crayonmechanic.deviantart.com/

The Pokémon Company International recently revealed a mysterious new Pokémon that looks strangely familiar to Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo. Nintendo have now confirmed that this new Pokémon is connect to Mewtwo! How this connection will play out when Pokémon X and Pokémon Y launch in October is still to be confirmed. You can enjoy a short clip, that makes the connection clear, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tSVBVQzNMg&feature=player_embedded

Bethesda have recently uploaded a couple of six second long clips to the video sharing site, Vine. These little teaser clips had the internet buzzing about what could be coming. It has now been announced that it is the new game from Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami. Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks will reveal ‘project Zwei’ via a debut trailer set for release at 5:00 a.m. Pacific / 8:00 a.m Eastern. Mikami has previously described Zwei as “a true survival horror” in which the player “confronts and overcomes fear”. Mikami has also said this will be his last game as director.

Activision social media manager Dan Amrich has said he expects 2013’s entry in the Call of Duty series, which is most likely going to be Modern Warfare 4, to be revealed no later than E3 in early June. Amrich noted that the last two Call of Duty games were revealed in May 2011 and May 2012. It has been rumoured that Microsoft are revealing their next Xbox on May 21 so it is likely the new COD will be announced around the same time.

Finally, Microsoft reports that Xbox Live now has around 46 million members worldwide. This, is according to the firm’s Earnings Release for FY13 Q3. It represents an 18 per cent increase from the prior year period. Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division posted revenue of $2.53 billion, an increase of 56 per cent from the prior year period. Microsoft sold 1.3 million Xbox 360s during the quarter, which is down 9 percent from the same period but it is still impressive that so many consoles are still being sold, even at the end of this generations cycle.

Train2Game News: Rapid2D winner interview

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NicolaTwo weeks ago, the winner of the Rapid2D £10,000 competition was announced as Nicola Valcasara and this week he was interviewed by Eric Wiltsher on RTI.

Nicola is a truly inspirational young man and his story is quite incredible.

You can listen to the interview at www.rti.fm in the podcasts section

or read the transcript below:

An Interview on RTI with a student from Train2Game Who won £10,000 with Rapid2D

Train2Game News: Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon release date

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Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon

What some thought to have been an April Fools joke has now been confirmed as reality. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is being released next month.

The game is set in a dystopian 2007 and Ubisoft describes the game as “an ’80s VHS vision of the future where you must get the girl, kill the baddies, and save the world”. The game will star Terminator and Aliens actor Michael Biehn who will likely voice the game’s eye-patched protagonist Sargent Rex Colt, whose mission it is to defeat a rogue cyborg army.

The title is set to be a stand alone title, you will not need Far Cry 3 to play the game. It is set to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, PC and PSN on May 1 according to previous leaks.

In addition Melbourne electronic music duo Power Glove has posted a series of new tracks that claim to be the Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon official soundtrack.

Far Cry 3’s lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem said earlier this year “I’m working on something now that will be surprising, I think, when it’s announced, but it definitely is a ‘strike while the iron’s hot’ thing, and we’ll see.”

You can enjoy a teaser trailer below, ready for the games imminent release:

You can find out more about the game by going to www.fc3blooddragon.com

Train2Game News: Virgin gaming coming to Xbox Live

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virgin gamingGamers already competing against players worldwide with Virgin Gaming, the premier online destination for competitive console gaming, now have a new way to challenge competitors as Virgin Gaming and Microsoft Corp. team up to launch Xbox Tournaments on Xbox LIVE.

This exclusive entertainment application, powered by Virgin Gaming, launches today and allows Xbox LIVE Gold members to seamlessly browse, enter, play in and track tournaments for their favorite games directly from the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network. Gamers can register an account at http://virgingaming.com/xbox and download the app from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

“Competitive online gaming is increasingly becoming an important component of the video games industry, and the Xbox Tournaments app allows us to bring engaging tournaments to a large and lively community,” said Billy Levy, president and co-founder of Virgin Gaming.

“The new app on Xbox LIVE delivers unparalleled accessibility for gamers to compete in their favorite games like never before.”

The Xbox Tournaments app makes its debut in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom with launch titles that include EA SPORTS Madden NFL 13, FIFA 13, NHL 13 and NBA2K13.

Virgin Gaming offers numerous proprietary features; including in-game reporting of match results, a skill ranking system, secure payment facilities, and strong customer support, making it the platform of choice for competitive gamers.

Additional territories, titles and features will be added in the coming months, but at launch, players will be able to compete in three-round, free-entry tournaments designed for gamers of all skill levels. They will also have the opportunity to participate in free head-to-head challenges to hone their skills for upcoming cash-play.

To celebrate the launch of the app, Virgin Gaming is hosting a $100,000 tournament and leaderboard challenge between April 9 and May 6, 2013. During that time, all players that participate in and win all three tournament rounds or that climb the ranks of the leaderboard will win a portion of the cash prize pool. Details can be found at www.virgingaming.com/xbox.

“Virgin Gaming is a proven leader when it comes to online video game competitions, and we believe Xbox Tournaments will deliver a wide variety of competitive and casual tournament options that will add an exciting new dimension to game play,” said Matthew Bencke, general manager Xbox LIVE, Microsoft.

“From the beginning, we’ve wanted to create amazing and accessible gaming experiences for our members and Xbox Tournaments give our customers a new way to play.”

With a community of more than two million gamers and top partners, Virgin Gaming offers a strong network for sponsors, such as NOS Energy Drink, Ford, Kia and Dr Pepper, looking to reach the coveted gamer audience.

Train2Game News: Microsoft analyst comments on next Xbox

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XboxPreviously, on the Train2Game blog, we reported rumours, that the next Xbox may have to always be connected to the internet. It seems, as time goes on, those rumours may be true.

Microsoft analyst Paul Thurrot has revealed that Microsoft will reveal its next-generation Xbox at an event on 21st May and the console will launch in early November.

Thurrot reiterated what was rumoured already – that previous Microsoft design documents have mentioned the “always internet connected” feature.

Thurrot claims “Looking at some of the stuff I got a long time ago, it actually says ‘must be internet-connected to use’ in the notes. That’s all I have, but it does say that.”

Mr Thurrot also revealed the console will be named just “Xbox” and the Microsoft’s machine will be “expensive”. He estimated they will cost around $500 (roughly £326, although likely higher in the UK) but a lower price $300 (£195) model will also be available with some form of subscription.

He also mentioned two other unannounced Xbox-branded machines. One, code-named “Yumo”, was to be an Xbox device purely for entertainment apps, rather than games. The product has seemingly been abandoned to avoid confusing consumers.

The other machine is a new budget-priced Xbox 360 model, code-named “Stingray” which is due for release later this year and the device will cost just $99 (£65). Thurrot suggested this may mean Microsoft’s new Xbox would not play Xbox 360 games.

I would speculate, the choice to create a cheap 360 model would be there way of competing with Android consoles such as the Ouya and Gamestick.

All eyes now look to May 21 in hopes of learning more about Microsoft’s next generation console.

Train2Game News: Rapid2D £10,000 competition winner announced!

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Rapid2DValca Entertainment announced as the winners of the Rapid 2D app design competition

Today lives changed for the team at development company Valca Entertainment as they were granted £10,000 as the winners of the Rapid 2D app development competition 2013. In this exciting competition entrants were tasked to develop Windows 8 apps but it was all about quality and quantity with developers entered into a draw with each game they produced. The winner was announced on www.rti.fm at 3.00pm adding kudos to this already life changing prize.

Myra Smallman, Director of Rapid 2D, said about the games engine “What we have tried to do with Rapid2D is to make it available to everyone and anyone who wants to make games. So, we have a free basic version on the Rapid2D website and very little coding knowledge is needed to be able to operate that. The novice that wants to be games designer can produce a game from the free version.”

On working in the mobile industry, Rik Alexander managing Director at AppCrowd, said “With a smaller company you can turn around apps a lot faster in the mobile market and it is a lot more enjoyable. You don’t need as many overheads and you don’t need as many people, you can be much more nimble as a team. A smaller team can communicate easier which means you make less mistakes.”

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Myra Smallman and Rik Alexander

For more information visit http://www.rapid2d.com

Train2Game News: Rapid2D winner to be announced tomorrow!

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Rapid2DRapid2D £10,000 app development competition winner to be announced on www.rti.fm tomorrow Friday 4th April at 3.00pm GM

The competition to find the cream of app developers finishes tomorrow, when international radio station RTI FM will announce the winner of the Rapid2D Windows 8 development competition. The winner of the competition is set to receive life changing prizes of £10,000 to spend as they wish and the kudos of boasting they have won this world recognised competition.

In this huge competition developers were not only challenged to design great apps but also to produce quality and quantity, with each entry to the competition boosting their chances of walking away the winner. The competition which has been running for around two months and open to any studio or individual developing Windows 8 apps. Rapid2D have received over 300 entries of top calibre apps, entrants will be nervously biting their nails with the winner announced tomorrow.

Tune in to listen at www.rti.fm

Train2Game News: PlayStation 4 UK release date and price announced

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PS4 ControllerExciting news for all Train2Game students who are looking forward to Sony’s PlayStation 4. The UK release date and price has been announced.

The Sun news paper announced that the next gen console will be released later this year in October, this follows what Sony said when they announced the console last month.

Even better news is the price. The Sony PS4 will cost you £300. This is much cheaper than when the PS3 was released in 2007, costing £425. This new cheaper price makes it a much more viable option for most gamers and, in my opinion, there should be close competition with the next gen Xbox.

The cheaper price for the new Sony console is probably due to Android consoles like the Ouya and Game Stick being released for £99. The next gen consoles will also have the mobile and free-to-play markets to compete with so I can see a lot of surprises being pulled out from Sony and Microsoft.

The PlayStation 4 console it’s self still hasn’t been seen by public eyes. A good guess would be that both the next generation Xbox and the PlayStation 4 will be revealed at E3 in June in an attempt to compete with one another further.

Train2Game News: Young Peoples Views on game age ratings

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Baseline Team and MembersChimpact, a newly released Windows game which has a PEGI 3 rating, taken to Bromley youth group to hear their perspective in the on-going debate: Which video games are suitable for children?

Videogames are often in the news for all the wrong reasons, with claims games containing inappropriate content are getting into the hands of children and people accrediting acts of anti-social behaviour to things they have experienced in games, but is this the full story?

Read the document below to find out more about what the youth themselves think.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/133793700/Young-People-Give-Their-Views-on-Games