As part of its announcements today at the Game Developer Conference 2007 in San Francisco, Microsoft has announced that it plans to ship a new 512 MB Memory Unit for its Xbox 360 video gaming console and that it is lifting the size cap on games available via its Xbox Live Arcade service form 50 MB to 150 MB.
The Xbox 360 Memory Units are basically designed as a portable way for players to save their games, stats, profiles, and achievements in a way they can toss in their pockets and cart around to friends’ (and competitors’) Xbox 360 consoles. The first Memory Units for Xbox 360 had a capacity of 64 MB; beginning April 3, 2007, Microsoft will start selling 512 MB units at a suggested price of $49.99 in North America; for a limited time, the new 512 MB Memory Units will come preloaded with the Xbox Live Arcade game Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved from Bizarre Creations. Microsoft is also touting the 512 MB Memory Unit’s capability to let Xbox 360 owners download content from some 45,000 Xbox 360 kiosks installed at retail locations around the world.
In case you were curious, Microsoft isn’t retiring the 64 MB Memory Unit; instead, it’ll knock $10 off the price, taking it sfrom $39.99 to $29.99…if you really feel like paying 60 percent as much money for one eight the capacity.
Microsoft also announced it is raising the size cap on games available via its Xbox Live Arcade service from 50 MB to 150 MB—games may now take three times as long to download, but will offer developers more flexibility in designing thei games, adding advanced features, and still keeping games within a size limit that’s more-or-less reasonable for many home broadband connections.
“The new size limit offers developers increased flexibility and continued opportunities for innovative game development, while also ensuring that the millions of gamers on Xbox Live can continue to easily access, download and play all Xbox Live Arcade games on Xbox 360,” said Chris Early, Microsoft’s product unit manager for Xbox Live Arcade and Microsoft Casual Games, in a release. “If you take a look at current games like Roboblitz and Small Arms, it’s clear that our developers deliver amazing game experiences within a compact size limit. Our focus is on continuing to provide developers with an environment that allows for the creation of cost-efficient games and that nurtures an artistic and creative approach to game development.”
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.