Gadgets and Video Games

Microsoft held a Windows Phone 7 blowout event today, revealing details about the new interface, games, and apps for the upcoming mobile OS. Among the software shown was a repeat of the coup it perpetrated on Xbox, namely a Netflix app for its mobile OS that includes Instant Streaming. Neat! In addition to Netflix, Microsoft listed a bunch of companies that have signed on for Windows Phone apps. Names like Hudson, EA Mobile, PopCap, and Foursquare should be familiar to iPhone users — as, we’re guessing, should be the apps these companies put out. Microsoft also revealed how you’ll buy these and other apps: through a new Windows Phone Marketplace , which will also allow developers to set trial periods for their downloads.

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Windows Phone 7 app partners, marketplace, Netflix prototype shown

Click to Jabba-size LucasArts and BioWare have thus far released information for their upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic , at a painfully slow pace — the same goes for the hands-on opportunities they’ve offered us over the past year. When we finished our demo of the game at GDC, we were still left with a number of the same questions we had when we checked out the game back in December: Will there be space combat? What community features will be available? Can we build our own sentient, wise-cracking droids which secretly possess hearts of gold (and tin)? Alas, these questions remain unanswered

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Hands-on: Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Trooper class

Microsoft has announced the date for your return trip to Pacific City … when you’ll tear it to shreds in the name of justice! Crackdown 2 will launch in North America on July 6, with Asia, Australia and New Zealand releases following on July 8, and Europe’s on July 9 — narrowly missing the ” first half of 2010 ” release estimate. Producer James Cope previously said that a demo will be forthcoming before the release of the game, so we’ll be playing some small portion of Crackdown 2 sooner than July 6. We’re going to start playing even sooner than that, actually — our dreams are littered with orbs. [Update: New multiplayer ViDoc embedded above.] Gallery: Crackdown 2 Crackdown 2 touches down July 6 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:57:00 EST

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Crackdown 2 touches down July 6

In the video game industry, the talent (read: game developers) are often “hired guns,” if you will — part of a developer that is either wholly owned by a publisher (i.e. Infinity Ward’s relationship with Activision) or a developer that’s being contracted for development by a publisher (i.e. Ruffian Games ‘ relationship with Microsoft). Rarely, if ever, is an individual (or individuals, as is the case here) represented by a talent agency, nonetheless a fancy, bigtime Hollywood one like Creative Artists Agency.

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Ex-Infinity Ward heads now represented by Creative Artists Agency

At the tail end of our GDC interview with Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux, we remembered one more question we simply had to know: How well did Fable 2’s episodic experiment go? We’ll refresh your memory: Last August, Molyneux announced plans to release Fable 2 as a series of five downloadable “episodes,” with the first one given away and the subsequent four priced at $10 each. Molyneux’s response: “That was hugely successful.

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Fable 2 episodic experiment deemed ‘massively successful’ by Molyneux

“Very aggressive” is the phrase THQ executive VP of Core Games Danny Bilson used to describe his company’s plans for downloadable titles across the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC platforms during a GDC 2010 interview with Joystiq. With two studios dedicated to the downloadable space — THQ Digital Studios Phoenix (formerly Rainbow Studios ) and THQ Digital Studios UK (formerly Juice Games ) — Bilson told us THQ plans to release “up to six” downloadable titles within the next year, some based on the company’s biggest brands.

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THQ developing downloadable games based on ‘core’ brands

Windows Phone 7 isn’t just Microsoft’s attempt to compete against Apple’s iPhone. It’s also the introduction of the first portable Xbox platform. During GDC today, we talked to Xbox Live GM Ron Pessner and XNA Game Studio manager Michael Klucher about how games integrate into the mobile platform and what gamers and developers can expect in the future. For the purpose of this interview, Pessner and Klucher merged into one entity (they spoke over each other a lot!) to answer our questions: Microsoft plans to separate games that do and don’t support Xbox Live functionality on Windows Phone.

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Interview: Microsoft on integrating Xbox Live into Windows Phone 7 Series

We just got our hands on the Windows Phone 7 during an interview at GDC , and given our unnatural obsession with bolstering our online notoriety, the most prevalent question in our mind was: just how many Gamerscore points can we crank outta this thing? The answer: A beefy 200 Gamerscore points per game, which will be added to your total Gamerscore, as displayed on your Xbox Live Gamertag profile. We’ll be writing up our impressions of the platform, as well as our interview with its creators, later today.

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Windows Phone 7 Achievements to feature up to 200 Gamerscore points per game

Scr-scr-scratched through all of DJ Hero’s tracks? Activision has announced a new DLC mix pack featuring Renegade Edition headliners Eminem and Jay-Z. The collection is scheduled to drop on Xbox Live, PSN and Wii this month and includes: “Shake That” by Eminem mixed with “Show Me What You Got” by Jay-Z “Without Me” by Eminem mixed with “Encore” by Jay-Z “Can I Get A…” by Jay-Z mixed with “Lose Yourself” by Eminem The new tracks will be available on March 18 on Xbox Live for 640 ($8) and March 25 on PSN for $7.99. The tracks will not be sold separately for Xbox 360 or PS3. Each track, however, will be available for the Wii version on March 25 as a downloadable single for 300 Wii Points ($3); $9 for all three

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Eminem & Jay-Z all mixed up in new DJ Hero DLC pack

Click to enlarge It may not have “Tomb Raider” in the title, but Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light — scheduled to launch on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC this summer — will mark the leading lady’s return to a crumbling underworld and its unreasonably hostile caretakers. And while the game’s aesthetics are unmistakably consistent with previous games, its unique format draws inspiration from a wider range of sources, including last year’s polished XBLA hit, Shadow Complex . Like Shadow Complex , the game will launch for $15, offering approximately six hours of two-player co-operative action and puzzle-solving (though your pace may vary).

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Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light launching this summer for $15