Hasta La Gadget!

SmartGlass functionality may already sort of exist on Xbox 360 per the console’s latest Dashboard update, but Microsoft’s making it a full-on reality on October 26. As it stands, the Xbox 360 allows for SmartGlass support, but without an update to Microsoft’s 360 companion app, there’s no way to use it — when Microsoft’s Surface RT and other Windows 8 tablets launch on the 26, that functionality will come built in to the “Games” section of the new OS. That of course begs the question: “When will I be able to use SmartGlass with my iOS/Android/Windows Phone 7.5 devices? And how?”

The date isn’t certain, but functionality will arrive on other platforms “soon” after the October 26 launch of Surface, Microsoft reps tell us. When it does, it’ll come in the form of an update to your existing, “My Xbox Live” mobile app (which also renames the app to, “Xbox SmartGlass”) or Games tab (per WP7.5), and it’ll be more or less identical with the Windows Phone version. The only missing functionality, we’re told, are two somewhat basic bulletpoints. “We have deeper integration in the Windows Phone,” Microsoft tells us. “That’s something we don’t have on iOS or Android, it’s just within our application. Same on Windows — the integration in Windows is ‘last playing’ or ‘now playing,’ being able to present that information.” The other, more interesting item, is the lacking ability to “send” whatever website you’re using up to the Xbox 360’s Internet Explorer browser. Regardless of which mobile device you’re on, SmartGlass can “send” websites from the 360 to said device — it won’t work the other way around, however, if you’re using a non-Windows 8 device. Not what we’d call a huge deal, exactly, but a bummer no less. Regardless, you’ll soon have the opportunity to put SmartGlass through its paces from the comfort of home when support devices launch on October 26. For a full list of applications available at launch and partners beyond that plus a quick walkthrough video, head past the break.

Continue reading Xbox SmartGlass goes live alongside first Windows 8 tablets on October 26 with several supported apps

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, Tablets, Software, HD, Microsoft

Xbox SmartGlass goes live alongside first Windows 8 tablets on October 26 with several supported apps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you follow Assassin’s Creed news, you probably know that it might not be long before we say goodbye to Desmond, one of the main characters in the story, for good. In a new interview with OXM, lead designer Steve Masters seems to suggest that Assassin’s Creed III may be the last game to feature Desmond. At the very least, it sounds like Assassin’s Creed III will be the beginning of the end for our lovable modern-day assassin.

“What we’re trying to do is bring some finality to Desmond’s story,” Masters said. “To actually wrap up what you’ve opened and experienced with him. So we’re trying to make it a little bit more direct with the storyline, but at the same time there are still going to be plenty of little mysterious bits for you to dig into, especially in the side stuff.” It sounds like Masters is trying to say that even though Desmond’s story will begin to wrap-up in Assassin’s Creed III, he’s hesitant to make the claim that the game will be the final chapter in the long-running narrative.

Masters and the rest of Ubisoft are aware, however, that some fans find the cliff hangers in the Assassin’s Creed series annoying, and in Assassin’s Creed III, the studio is looking to change that. Even if this game doesn’t conclude Desmond’s story, it will make some serious strides as far as actually telling the story goes. According to Masters, Assassin’s Creed III will offer a story that players can “sink their teeth in to,” rather than telling a story that leaves players guessing.

Whatever ends up happening in Assassin’s Creed III, it sounds like we can at least expect some major progress in wrapping up Desmond’s story. Ubisoft may need another game to fully close the story of Desmond, but one thing is sure: Desmond won’t be a mainstay in the Assassin’s Creed series for much longer. What do you think?

Assassin’s Creed III to “bring some finality to Desmond’s story” is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With shows like Battlestar Galactica, all of the Stargates and even Eureka on ice, where will Syfy go when it runs out of places and/or marginal celebrities to tell ghost stories about? One answer may be a show slated to debut next spring called Defiance, which will depict an Earth populated by humans and aliens alike trying to pick up the pieces after years of war between the two have left the planet in pieces. The twist here is that the show will run along concurrently with a massively multiplayer shooter being developed for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 from the makers of RIFT that takes place in the same world. The team behind it has been posting content about the making of both sides of the project recently (check out Massively by Joystiq’s coverage for more info), as well as a trailer for the TV show, which you can check out after the break. We’re not sure if this will go over with any more of a splash than Syfy’s usual Saturday night monster-of-the-week flicks, but at least they’re trying. We’ll be keeping an eye out for this one in April one way or another because really what else would we do, watch Revolution?

Continue reading ‘Defiance’ blends basic cable sci-fi, MMO shooter action when it launches in spring 2013

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

‘Defiance’ blends basic cable sci-fi, MMO shooter action when it launches in spring 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft is proud to announce yet another milestone that they have just passed where their Xbox 360 console is concerned, touching the 70 million mark. This figure came about nearly 7 years after it was officially launched (which was way back in November 2005, making it the first of the current generation consoles to hit the market as the Sony PS3 came out only a year after that). The 70 million figure would thrust the Xbox 360 into the Top 10 best selling console of all time at number 8, edging out the Sony PS3 at 64 million, while being behind the Sony PSP at 74 million.

The Sony PS2 is sitting comfortably at the top of the pile, looking down from a height of 153.6 million units sold, using the Nintendo DS as its footstool. It was just early last year when Microsoft announced a 50 million unit sales, so over the course of nearly two years, you can say that a fair amount of Xbox 360 made the move from store shelf to living room. I guess the dark clouds of the red ring of death is now a thing of the past, no? Perhaps folks are snapping up more Xbox 360s in an attempt to join an intelligence agency?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft retiring Facebook and Twitter apps for Xbox 360 in latest Dashboard update, Surface tablet supports Xbox 360 controllers ,

Microsoft has a lot to gloat about today, as it has announced that total Xbox 360 sales around the world have hit 70 million. That definitely isn’t anything to shake a stick at, considering that the original Xbox only managed to sell 25 million units in its lifespan. The Xbox 360 surpassed that number way back in 2008, and since then has been climbing steadily.

We’ve been hearing a lot about Xbox 360 sales lately. It’s been the top-selling console in the United States for many, many months in a row, a factoid that Microsoft isn’t willing to let us forget so easily. Eurogamer points out that these number put Microsoft firmly in second place, behind the Wii‘s 96.56 million sales (as of June 2012), and the PlayStation 3‘s 63.9 million sales (as of March 2012). Of course, both the Wii and the PS3 have sold many more units since those numbers were reported earlier this year, but it seems unlikely that the PS3 has caught up to the Xbox 360 between March and now.

1.7 million of those sales were made in Microsoft’s first quarter of fiscal 2013, the results of which were delivered last night. That’s down quite a bit year-over-year, as Microsoft managed to sell 2.3 million 360s in Q1 of its fiscal 2012. One interesting thing to note is that Microsoft’s research and development efforts were up a whopping 44% year-over-year to $140 million, which is essentially the best confirmation we can get of the Xbox 720′s development without Microsoft just outright saying it exists.

While Microsoft is basking in the glory of its Xbox 360 sales numbers, video game hardware sales have been down overall. Those will undoubtedly pick up a bit during the holiday shopping season, but whether or not they’ll drop off again once the new year arrives remains to be seen. Perhaps we need some new consoles to give the games industry a jump start again? Stay tuned.

Xbox 360 hits 70 million sales worldwide is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.