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Last week, Marc Whitten posted on the Xbox 360 press page some discouraging news. Microsoft will stop supporting games for the original Xbox on Xbox Live. That means you won’t be able to play online with or against your friends in classic games like Halo 2, Crimson Skies or Star Wars Battlefront. And that means your old Xbox consoles won’t work online anymore.
Microsoft is tweaking Xbox Live and plans to introduce new features to the service. According to the press release, some of these changes are incompatible with the classic Xbox games.
TechStuff Looks at Video Game Controllers and Electronics
by Jonathan Strickland | December 18, 2009
It’s hard to believe there are only a couple of weeks left in 2009. It’s been a great year for TechStuff. Not that we’re quite ready to say goodbye to 2009 yet. In the near future, you’ll be able to hear how Chris and I scored on our predictions for 2009, following up on a show we recorded at the end of 2008. And in another episode you’ll hear us prognosticate on what we can expect in 2010.
This week, we focused on a listener mail request and a more general discussion. The request was about Project Natal, Microsoft’s innovative video game controller system. Microsoft unveiled the control interface at the Electronic Entertainment Expo last June. Gamers will be able to play video games without using a controller at all. They can also scan normal devices to act as a controller within certain games (thanks to all the TechStuff listeners who wrote in to remind me about that — it slipped my mind during the recording). In the episode, Chris and I talk a little about the history of controllers as well as what we think the future will be.
Wednesday’s episode was all about the theory behind electronics. We discuss the relationship between current, voltage and resistance. We also give a brief overview of what a circuit is and why its important. Oh, and I take some pot shots at a beloved figure of American history.
Lots of stuff going on today, so here are some highlights:
Nintendo dropped the price of the Wii to $199 in the United States. John P. Falcone wrote in CNET’s Crave blog about the change, which comes hot on the heels of Sony’s cut in the Playstation 3′s price to $299, and a little farther back, Microsoft’s cut in the 120GB hard drive version of the Xbox 360. I’m guessing that will help push the three consoles through the holiday season, but I’m also thinking sales will remain slow, based on what I’ve heard.
Andrew Nusca wrote at ZDNet that Microsoft‘s acquisition of Danger has yielded two Sharp-manufactured phones, the Turtle and the Pure. These are part of the so-called Pink Project. The pictures look a little like Danger’s Sidekick devices. A few days ago, Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet said Pink Project phones will use a version of Windows Mobile 7 and will be able to use the Zune music store.
Mega Episode and Video Games – TechStuff Podcast Roundup
by Jonathan Strickland | August 28, 2009
Hey there! This week was an eventful one for me and Chris at HowStuffWorks.com. On top of the podcasting, blogging, social networking and article writing, Chris and I tested a new project: TechStuff Live! Starting next Tuesday, we will be streaming a live show at 1:00 p.m. Eastern once a week. The show will cover tech news, sites and products that have landed on our radar and a few other fun segments. Plus it’s video! You’ll be able to watch as I say things that inspire Chris to hide behind his computer. We’ll have more details about the show on Monday, so stay tuned.
The episodes this week were inspired by listeners. On Monday, our goal was to demystify the terms megabits, megabytes and megahertz. Of course, we didn’t just focus on the mega range — we also talked about everything from kilobytes to yottabytes. But if you’ve ever wondered how many bytes are in a kilobyte (hint: it’s not 1,000), you should listen to this show. We also explain how you can calculate how long it will take you to download a file assuming your Internet connection is as fast as advertised.
On Wednesday, we talk about the current video game consoles on the market. Chris and I first did an episode about video game consoles more than a year ago. But that show was only five minutes long and didn’t have much detail. This time we give the subject a bit more time and explain why we don’t cover video game news as often as some listeners would like. We recorded the show the day that Sony announced price cuts in the PS3 but before Microsoft announced the cuts to the Xbox 360. With the cheaper 360, I think I may have found my next game console.
In today’s episode, the TechStuff guys weigh in on video game consoles, from the models they own to the future of gaming consoles. Learn more about technology in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
I’m always slow to adopt new video game consoles for several reasons. But the two biggest reasons usually boil down to reliability and price. The reliability issue is the main reason why I haven’t picked up an Xbox 360 – the red ring of death is a fate I do not wish to experience. The Sony PlayStation 3 falls squarely into the realm of price. But soon that barrier will fall away.
Before E3 last month, I had given up all hope of ever seeing another adventure starring Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate. In fact, in our TechStuff podcast about E3 predictions, I listed a new Monkey Island game as my wishful thinking prediction that I never thought would come true. I even wrote about it in our article on the best video games never made. But then I heard some news that knocked my socks off in a nautical way: We will soon have two new Monkey Island games, developed by two different companies. One of them is an all-new adventure. The other is a faithful adaptation of the first game to star Mr. Threepwood in his quest to become the most famous pirate on the seven seas.
I’m beat. After three days of running around the Los Angeles Convention Center followed by a flight that touched down in Atlanta at midnight last night, I’m ready to go into a post-E3 coma. But I have miles to go before I sleep. For one thing, I need to tell you guys about the best stuff I saw at the conference this year.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has a pretty impressive booth at E3 this year. You’ll find everything from Arkham Asylum to a small patch of Middle Earth inside. Oh, and you’ll find lots of people anxiously waiting to play games that won’t be on the market for a few months as well.
There’s a lot going on at E3 this week. Video game industry professionals are networking, testing out games that won’t be on the shelves for months and learning about new features for older hardware and applications. One thing getting a major overhaul over the next several months is Microsoft’s Xbox Live service.
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