Xbox 360 Warranty Extended from 90 to 365 Days
December 22, 2006
Microsoft has extended the Xbox 360’s warranty from 90 days to one year, bringing it in line with the warranty lengths of rival game consoles from Sony and Nintendo.
The extension is retroactive; someone who bought an Xbox 360 in the United States or Canada and paid for repairs within the last year is eligible for reimbursement. A one-year warranty already is already standard in many other countries.
“Customer satisfaction is a central focus and priority for the Xbox 360 system,” said Jeff Bell, a marketing vice president at Microsoft.
Microsoft also said reimbursement checks for repairs done in the last 12 months will be sent out automatically in about 10 weeks.
Microsoft has been the target of an online petition (with 3,382 signatures as of Friday) calling for a retroactive warranty extension to one year. The petition claims that Xbox 360 systems frequently failed after the original 90-day warranty and that customers were unreasonably required to pay between $50 and $129 for repairs.
Nintendo’s Wii comes with a standard one-year warranty, with a free 90-day extension if customers register their consoles on the company’s Web site. Sony’s PlayStation 3 comes with a one-year warranty.
Some credit cards, including American Express and Visa, extend the manufacturer’s warranty if a product is bought using that card.
Critics Slam PS3
December 21, 2006
PC World’s Dan Tynan has released a new article titled “The 21 biggest technology mistakes of 2006,” and coming in at the number 8 spot…you got it…Sony’s PS3.
Tynan starts off as describing PS3 as “late, expensive, and incompatible.” Ouch. “When it was announced in spring 2005, the Sony PlayStation 3 was going to be the greatest thing to hit home gaming since a hedgehog named Sonic. Then came the delays. By the time the PS3 arrived, it was six months late, and Nintendo’s cheaper and more innovative Wii had stolen much of its thunder. At $599 for the 60GB model, the PS3 is twice the price of the original PlayStation 2, yet research firm iSupply — which describes the PS3 as having supercomputer qualities–estimates that Sony still loses more than $200 per unit.”
Tynan cited the manufacturing delays that have drawn ire from gamers across the globe, as well as Son’y shipment of “less than half the number it had originally planned.” Tynan then knocked PS3 for being “incompatible with more than 200 PlayStation and PS2 games.”
Tynan did, however, see a silver lining surrounding the delays and skeletal number of launch units: “Game-crazed youth are buying up PS3s and reselling them on eBay for double the asking price. And unlike, say, Sony batteries, they don’t catch fire…at least, not yet.”
Tynan writes that one big mistake was “trying to turn a supercomputer into a gaming device,” and an even bigger blunder was “failing to drive a stake through the heart of Nintendo when the opportunity offered.”
And the hits keep on coming…
Time Magazine labels PS3 a huge bust for Sony.
In an article titled “5 Things That Went From Buzz to Bust,” Sony received quite the vicious lashing for its PS3. Unproven Cell and Blu-ray technology, a hefty $600 price tag, and the “lamest launch titles ever seen” all contributed to Time Magazine’s brutal assessment of Sony’s PS3. “You know you’re in trouble when you get beat by something called a Wii,” said Time.
Nintendo Wii Straps Draw Lawsuit
December 20, 2006
To no one’s surprise, Nintendo now finds itself on the receiving end of a nationwide class action lawsuit relating to issues with the wrist strap for the Wii remote.
The class action suit has been filed by attorneys Green Welling LLP in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington. According to a statement on the company’s website, the lawsuit arose “as result of the defective nature of the Nintendo Wii.” Specifically, it is claimed that the wrist straps have been prone to breaking causing the remote “to leave the user’s hand.”
The statement does not describe why the strap breaking would cause the remote to be dropped. It maintains that “Nintendo’s failure to include a remote that is free from defects is in breach of Nintendo’s own product warranty.”
The class action lawsuit seeks to enjoin Nintendo from continuing “its unfair or deceptive business practices as it relates to the Nintendo Wii.” Unfair, deceptive? I don’t know about that…
The lawsuit also seeks an injunction that requires Nintendo to correct the supposed defect in the Wii remote and to provide a refund to the purchaser “or to replace the defective Wii remote with a Wii remote that functions as it is warranted and intended.”
As previously reported, Nintendo has already offered Wii strap replacements, providing instead a new stronger version, which has begun to replace the original versions packaged with the system. According to a previous statement from the company, “Nintendo is not recalling any of the Wii wrist straps for its motion sensitive Wii Remote. There is no problem with the existing wrist strap as long as the Wii Remote is used sensibly and properly in accordance with the guidelines provided by Nintendo.”
Referring specifically to the lawsuit, Nintendo has issued a statement indicating that the lawsuit is “completely without merit.”
Nintendo Wii News: Forecast Channel, Opera Browser, and 26 New Titles
December 19, 2006
Officials from Nintendo have announced that the Forecast Channel for the Wii console has gone online. The Forecast Channel is provided in conjunction with Weathernews.com and allows users to check weather information for anywhere in the world using a 3D globe. The channel was enabled overnight via a small online update, the first such update since the Wii’s shop went online at launch.
Nintendo has indicated that more channels will be made available for the console over time, but the Forecast, News, Internet, and Shop channels are the only ones so far described in detail. According to an official Nintendo press release the Internet channel, using the Opera Web browser, will go live worldwide on December 22.
The Internet channel will be free to download until June 2007, after which it will cost 500 Wii Points ($5) to download. The initial version available this year is described as a beta version, with the final version scheduled for March, 2007. Unlike the much criticized Nintendo DS Browser, the Wii version of the Opera software will support Adobe Flash and other more advanced online features.
“Our software brings the power and reach of the Internet to the hottest video game system available,” said Scott Hedrick, executive vice president, devices at Opera Software. “Wii’s unique interface adds a new dimension to our browser, making it a useful tool that the whole family will enjoy operating with ease.”
No update on the launch of the News channel was made by Nintendo, although an earlier press release had suggested a launch date of January 27 in North America and Europe.
Finally, listed below are some game titles that will hit shelves during the first quarter of 2007:
Baja Racing - Feb
BIONICLE Heroes - March 23
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Bust a Move Wii - March
Disney’s Chicken Little: Ace in Action - Feb
Disney’s Meet the Robinsons - March
Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 - March
Excite Truck – Feb. 16
Heatseaker
Impossible Mission
Kororinpa – Feb. 23
Leaderboard Golf
Mario Party 8 - March
Metal Slug Anthology
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (pictured)
Puzzle Balls
Rampage Total Destruction
Sonic and the Secret Rings - March
SSXTM Blur - March
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - March
Tennis Masters
The Ant Bully
The Grim Adventure of Billy and Mandy
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR - March
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves – Jan. 12
Wing Island – March 23
Sony’s New Downloadable Movie Service for PSP
December 18, 2006
Following Microsoft’s lead, Sony is gearing up to launch downloadable movie content for the PSP, weeks after a similar service was launched for the Xbox 360 in North America, and apparently in opposition to Apple Computer’s iPod related service.
The new PSP movie download service will allow users to download a film to a PC (or presumably a PS3, although this is not specifically mentioned) and then to transfer it to the PSP, much in the manner of already announced emulated PlayStation games.
According the British newspaper The Financial Times, the service is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2007, following deals with various online video providers.
Several websites are reportedly currently in talks with Sony about 
the service, where the question of improved security against piracy is being promoted as a major benefit over iTunes and the iPod. The new service has been developed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, not Sony Computer Entertainment.
A move of this kind has been predicted for some time, as the sales of movies and video content on UMDs have failed to live up to Sony’s expectations. To accompany the launch of the service, the company will make available a new 4Gb memory stick which will be able to store up to ten feature length movies.
Nintendo Replaced Wii Strap Replacements, Recalls DS
December 15, 2006
After continued reports of them snapping during play, Nintendo Wii straps are being replaced by Ninetendo on a voluntary basis, with the company denying that any active recall is in place.
Nintendo executives responded quickly to the reports of breaking straps, with legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto advising fans to “calm down.” Nintendo president Satoru Iwata commented, “Of course before the launch of the Wii hardware Nintendo had a number of tests on the durability of everything, including the strap, but our understanding right now is that even beyond our expectations people are becoming more and more excited playing with the Wii.”
In North American, the company is already offering to send a newly strengthened strap to any customer who applies online; the newer versions of the console shipped from the beginning of December already contain the new straps.
Nintendo of Japan has announced a recall for 200,000 AC/DC power adapters for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite consoles. The recall involves adapters supplied by Nagano Japan Radio (JRC) between January and October this year, which could generate excessive heat and potentially cause burn injuries while charging.
Nintendo has reported nine incidents of overheating, including one where a hole was burned into the console itself. No injuries have been reported, though, and the defective adapters have not been sold outside of Japan.
Sony Stumbles Again
December 14, 2006
Fan Blog Exposed
After a PSP “fan blog” was exposed to be a promotional site actually set up by Sony, the company has come clean with the following statement:
“Busted. Nailed. Snagged. As many of you have figured out (maybe our speech was a little too funky fresh???), Peter isn’t a real hip-hop maven and this site was actually developed by Sony. Guess we were trying to be just a little too clever. From this point forward, we will just stick to making cool products, and use this site to give you nothing but the facts on the PSP.”
This statement comes after swiftly-removed comments left in their hundreds on the blog expressed the readers’ displease with Sony’s ‘hip’ promotional effort.
Other gamers (yours truly) who’ve never stumbled across this PSP blog are wondering if this mea culpa is nothing more than sensationalized promotion. Hmmm…
More Delays for PS3 in Europe
Sony’s head of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison said in an interview that he wouldn’t like to make any definitive statements PS3’s March ’07 European launch, but Sony quickly followed that up with a re-confirmation that PS3 is on track for March, 2007 across Europe.
High-placed industry sources see April as a more realistic launch time, but others say that a PS3 delay as far back as September, 2007 is now far more likely, pointing the finger of delay at “component shortages.” No surprise there.
“We’re 100 percent on track for a March release,” a UK Sony spokesman has said. Déjà vu all over again.
China, Germany Crack Down on Gaming
December 12, 2006
China is now requiring video game distributors to closely monitor game content after some were found that included forbidden religious or political material, a state news agency said.
The Chinese government is also tightening controls over newspapers, television, and other media.
The latest crackdown was prompted by “a rash of problems with imported online games, some of which contain sensitive religious material or refer to territorial disputes,” Xinhua said. It said some were criticized as pornographic or too violent.
The report gave no details about the religious and territorial issues, but the government is sensitive to references to Islam and Taiwan. Regulators said distributors concealed the content of the games when applying for approval, and operators sometimes upgraded games with improper content, Xinhua said.
In Germany, after an attack on a middle school by a former student earlier this year, the German government has become increasingly determined to legislate against not only games, but also the gamers themselves!
A recently proposed law would not only make it illegal to create or distribute game content which features “cruel or otherwise inhumane acts of violence against humans or humanlike creature,” but players of such games could also be charged.
Crytek studios, developer of Far Cry and the upcoming Crysis, is considering leaving Germany for a more welcoming environment. CEO and President Cevat Yeril stated that if the German government followed through on its intended legislation, “Perhaps there won’t be a Crytek in Germany. That would mean we’d have to get out of here and go elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere” could very well be somewhere here in the U.S., as the company works to complete the highly anticipated Crysis.
Germany, of course, has had a long history of aversion to violent game content, often requiring a game to remove blood and violence towards humans to be replaced with indistinguishable “ooze” or other fluids as well as zombie or robot enemies.
Creators Club & Game Studio Express Up and Running
December 11, 2006
Microsoft has officially launched its XNA Game Studio Express and the XNA Creators Club, which means that anyone with Windows XP can sign up and create, build, and play game content for the Xbox 360.
Creators Club is available for purchase on Xbox Live Marketplace for $49 for a four-month subscription, or $99 for an annual subscription. Games created with Game Studio Express cannot yet be shared with all Xbox 360 users, but there are four requirements that must be met in order to share a game targeting Xbox 360 which is developed with XNA Game Studio Express.
As requirements, the intended recipient of the content must be logged in to Xbox Live and have an active subscription to the XNA Creators Club, must have downloaded the XNA Framework runtime environment for the Xbox 360, and must have XNA Game Studio Express installed on their own development PC.
To celebrate the worldwide launch of XNA Game Studio Express, the company announced an upcoming “Dream-Build-Play” contest, which will be open to XNA Game Studio Express customers on Windows, as well as those on Xbox 360 through the XNA Creators Club membership. The contest will offer a chance for the winner’s game to be published on Xbox Live Arcade, and the full Dream-Build-Play contest will be launched on its official website in January.
XNA supporter GarageGames has launched an open beta for its Torque X platform, including Torque Game Builder. Based on the XNA Framework, the Torque X tools “bring drag-and-drop game development to Windows and Xbox 360.” Final availability of the Torque X platform is scheduled for early 2007.
CPL to Drug Test Cyberathletes
December 8, 2006
Angel Munoz, founder and president of the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), says that the gaming company will start testing contestants for drug use at its events starting next year. As Munoz explains, drugs “should concern anybody in e-sports, because as the stakes get larger, as in any sport, people will look for an edge.” Such measures are sure to rock the e-sporting world to its very core, no doubt.
With drugs like Ritalin appearing as un-prescribed “smart drugs” in U.S. schools, performance enhancing substances are no longer uniformly identified with bulging muscles and heart valve damage. Today, illicit compounds like crystal meth could be used in a misguided attempt to enhance reflexes and postpone the effects of mental fatigue.
Preemptive and random drug testing procedures aren’t in the plans, at least not yet, but the newly drafted changes to the CPL’s operating policies are meant to give the group some latitude when dealing with accusations. “It hasn’t been an issue yet. None of the top players I know have ever been accused of drug use or anything like that,” said Munoz. “But we want to reserve the right to test people, in case there’s an accusation or indications that someone might be using a performance-enhancing substance.”
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