Latest Headlines

Shadowrun developer FASA Has Gone Fishing For Good

hadowrun developer FASA Studio has indeed closed its doors with studio manager Mitch Gitelman confirming the news on the official Shadowrun community forums today. According to Gitelman, today was the last official day of work for employees still at FASA, with many former FASA team members moving on to other positions at Microsoft Game Studios.

Dear Friends,

It is my sad duty to announce that FASA Studio has officially closed its doors. Today was the official last day of employment for those of us who had not moved on to other positions within Microsoft Game Studios. While the rumors have been circulating forever, we chose to wait on an official announcement because we didn’t want people’s attention distracted from our last product, Shadowrun, a game we love.

As a testament to the team’s commitment to Shadowrun, we released three title updates to improve the product even after the team learned we were losing our studio. We have kept our Community Manager and Technical Support Manager on the job to aid and support you and will continue to do so while people continue to play our game. I am pleased that about half of us have found great positions elsewhere in MGS and Microsoft where they can share their experience and passion with the great people there.

But now, as the last of us say our goodbyes to each other, I’m saying goodbye to you on behalf of a group of talented and dedicated professionals who busted their humps for the love of the game. I am proud to have worked with and represented them to you and know that wherever they go, they will continue to kick ass.

Mitch

6 New Halo 3 ScreenShots

Halo 3 or As some would called it “The second Coming Of Christ”

Halo 3 Coming To the PS3 … HaHaHa Opps?

Did I lose a press release some place, when was it announced that Halo 3 would be coming to the PS3??!!

[youtube Gm82FY8hzxA nolink]

Looks like someone screwed up and the Halo 3 promo Trailer displayed on a PS3 at a Uk Blockbuster.

Want Halo 3 Before Everybody Else?

As part of the “First to Play/First to Own” promotion for “Halo 3,” Xbox and Pontiac today announced that gamers will have the chance to play “Halo 3” for the first time at one of two events planned in San Francisco and New York City next week.

This announcement comes on the heels of the recent news that “Halo 3” has been completed and will be officially released on September 25. To celebrate the impending launch of the biggest entertainment event of the year, premiering “Halo 3” on the biggest screen imaginable - IMAX - seemed only fitting. Gamers in attendance will have the chance to play the recently finished game projected on the world’s largest IMAX screens.

For those interested in attending, gamers are encouraged to go to http://www.pontiac.com/halo3 for the chance to win tickets. Space is limited for these two big-screen events so ticket holders are encouraged to arrive early to insure admittance. Receiving an event invitation does not guarantee entrance.

In addition to these “first to play” events, site visitors also have a chance to be among the first to own “Halo 3.” One thousand lucky winners will receive the highly anticipated game by September 24, 2007; one day before “Halo 3’s” commercial release. For more information on both promotions, please visit http://www.pontiac.com/halo3.

Grateful Dead To Join Rock Band

Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks within Viacom, and Rhino Entertainment, a division of Warner Music Group, announced a deal that will bring the legendary band Grateful Dead to the highly anticipated music videogame Rock Band. The iconic group is making 18 master recordings from its diverse catalog available as digitally distributed game levels following Rock Band’s release this holiday season. Among the songs available will be the classic Dead tracks “Truckin’,” “Uncle John’s Band,” “Touch of Grey,” “Sugar Magnolia,” and “Casey Jones.”

Rock Band is slated for release on Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system this Holiday 2007 in North America.

One New Xbox 360 Accessory You can’t Live Without

The Xbox 360 Messenger Kit available Sept. 4, which includes a Chatpad and Xbox 360 for an estimated retail price of $30.00, allows users to easily chat with friends or family on Xbox LIVE and Windows-based PCs. The automatically backlit Chatpad quickly connects to any Xbox 360 controller and can be easily controlled with simple thumb strokes so users can simultaneously chat and play games with ease.

Limited Time 4 Xbox LIVE Arcade Games Price Drop

Celebrate this weekend by downloading four Arcade favourites for half the price! For the 48 hour period beginning at 12:00 a.m. on Sunday 2nd September and continuing until 11: 59 p.m. on Monday 3rd September the following Xbox LIVE Arcade games will be available for half their usual price:

· “Small Arms” – 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
Easy to pick up but hard to put down, “Small Arms” is a frantic multiplayer action game with the feel of an arcade shooter.

· “Zuma Deluxe”– 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
Explore more than 20 realms in Adventure mode and put your skills to the test in this fast-paced puzzle game.

· “Gauntlet” – 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
The original dungeon crawler lets four adventurers explore and fight together as a warrior, valkyrie, wizard, and elf.

· “Dig Dug” – 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
Experience the fast-paced action of this quarter-cruncher from 1982 as you take control of Dig Dug himself and vanquish Pookas and Fygars.

Halo 3 Goes Gold .. mmm Duh

The wait is almost over. “Halo 3,” the final chapter in the groundbreaking “Halo” trilogy and one of the most anticipated game releases of 2007, has been sent to manufacturing.

Three years in the making by renowned developer Bungie Studios, “Halo 3” is now finished and will begin its journey to store shelves around the world in less than four weeks. “Halo 3,” which has already set new records as the fastest preordered game in history, has exceeded one million presales in North America alone. The title is set to shatter day-one entertainment sales records when it is released worldwide beginning Tuesday, Sept. 25.

“This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios,” said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. “This is the game we’ve always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25.”

Created by legendary developer Bungie Studios and exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, “Halo 3” will set a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging consumers worldwide in Master Chief’s epic battle to save humankind. In November 2004, the world’s view of video games changed forever with the release of “Halo 2,” which generated a record-setting $125 million (U.S.) in sales within the first 24 hours and changed the way people think about interactive entertainment. Three years later, it remains the most-played game on Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE online gaming and entertainment network, with nearly 1 billion hours of online gaming logged to date.

xbox Live to Deliver Music and Movies And Do It Faster

In a shared announcement made Thursday, Microsoft said that Limelight’s knowledge in content delivery network services would boost the Microsoft’s online lineup by helping to deliver music, films and games by way of less congested Internet routes, reported Reuters.

While financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, Limelight, which is already offering similar services to Dream Works, Facebook and MySpace, will also be able to make the most of unnamed Microsoft technologies.

Challenger content delivery company Akamai presently works with Sony and Nintendo to distribute media content across the gaming networks.

More Problems For Microsoft The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel

Microsoft Corporation announced today the company is taking a precautionary measure and voluntarily providing customers with a free retrofit to the Xbox 360 Wireless Wheel.

The action is being taken after Microsoft was informed of a very small number of incidents of a malfunction in the Xbox 360 Wireless Wheel, where a component in the Wheel chassis may in rare cases overheat and release smoke when the AC-DC power supply is used to energize the Wheel. There have been no reported incidences of fire, personal injury or property damage due to the component failure in the Wheel.

Owners of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel should stop using the AC-DC power supply until they have obtained their retrofit. Owners may continue to operate the Wheel using battery power.

Owners of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel should visit www.xbox.com/support or call Microsoft at 0800 587 1102 to register for the free retrofit and protect against the potential hazard described above. Instructions, if necessary, will be provided with the retrofit. We are notifying and will be coordinating our response activities with the relevant regulatory agencies such as the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. This may impact delivery dates.