We caught a glimpse of that Nike+ Kinect Training had to offer back at E3. Now, we’ll all be able to give it our best shot just before the holiday season. The Kinect exercise title for the Xbox 360 is set to hit shelves on October 30th and will carry a $49.99 price tag. Claiming to make us “athlete-fit”, the software will offer constant tips on form and technique while monthly reports will display progress along the way. Still no word on companion apps for mobile platforms, but the kit is expected to play nice with Windows Phone devices at launch for session reminders and sharing achievements with training mates.
Three new Kinect titles for the Xbox 360 have been given pricing and dates today: Kinect Sesame Street TV, Kinect Nat Geo TV, and Nike+ Kinect Training. The first two titles are designed to be two-way interactive learnings experiences, allowing children to “ jump inside” their favorite television programs. Both titles can be expanded as well, allowing parents to buy additional content for the games from the Xbox Marketplace as part of packs or individual episodes.
Kinect Sesame Street will see characters from the popular TV show talking to children through the television screen, then reacting based on movements picked up the Kinect. The game encourages children to move around depending on the scenario, and even instructs them to remain perfectly still during others, but there’s an option for kids to simply watch the episode without participation as well. Similar functionality will be built into Kinect Nat Geo.
Nike+ Kinect Training will see users performing exercise and training with the assistance of an on-screen coach, with goals able to be set and a nagging alert that can be configured for certain smartphones. Kinect Sesame Street and Nat Geo will cost $49.99 each when they go on sale on September 18th, with episode packs costing $29.99/2400 MS points, and individual episodes costing $4.99. Nike+ Kinect Training, meanwhile, will cost $49.99 and go on sale on October 30th.
Bethesda has revealed the details of its next major update to the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which will be making its way to the PS3 and Xbox 360 but of course is already available on the PC through Valve’s digital distribution Steam platform. The update is mainly a functional one, fixing various bugs and optimizing performance, as opposed to one filled with new features.
Among the updates are what Bethesda calls “general memory and stability optimizations.” More specifically, it fixes the following: crashes related to new water shaders, a rare crash event related to dragon landings, and problems with the loading screens on Xbox 360 that occurred after players purchased an add-on. Other Xbox 360-specific tweaks include Kinect patches for international languages as well as improved English recognition.
In addition, Bethesda said, “Using vampiric grip and swimming no longer prevents swimming animation from playing afterwards.” This update is now in queue for the PS3 and Xbox 360. There is a queue of game patches, and the console manufacturer needs to verify the file before it pushes it to system owners. Now it’s just a matter of playing the waiting game.
This isn’t Wii Fit. It’s Adidas’s step into the fitness video game market, and it’s something that integrates with the company’s miCoach platform, which expands far beyond the living room. It’s the Adidas miCoach video game, published by 505 Games. The game just launched for the Xbox 360 and PS3. As should be expected, the Xbox Kinect motion camera peripheral and the PlayStation Move controller accessory are integral parts of the game.
Players are able to delve into more than 400 different exercises, get feedback, track progress, and remain committed through the motivation of virtual coaches. And because it is part of the Adidas miCoach suit, players can integrate the data from the game with other parts of their exercise lives. That is what sets this title apart from the myriad other fitness video games out there.
The following athletes appear in the recently released game: Kaka, Dwight Howard, Manuel Neuer, Jessica Ennis, Jose Mourinho, Ana Ivanovic, Will Genia and Eric Berry. The miCoach brand isn’t gaining popularity just among regular consumers. Adidas has engineered “trackable” sportswear for professional sports teams so that coaches can monitor real-time player data to help with their coaching decisions. It’s pretty cool stuff.
Today Microsoft and Harmonix announced the release date for Dance Central 3, saying that it will arrive in North America on October 16 and will be heading to Europe later that week on October 19. The game comes with over 40 on-disc tracks that you’ll be able to dance along with, as well as a very odd story mode that sees players going back in time to learn famous dance moves from decades past. The crazy-sounding story mode has already garnered a few raised eyebrows from the Dance Central fanbase, but we imagine that most don’t care and are just looking for another excuse to jump in front of TV and dance their butts off.
To accompany this release date announcement, Harmonix also revealed 11 new songs that will be included in Dance Central 3. Brace yourself, because the list that follows is quite a doozy:
• 2NE1 – “I Am The Best (Original Version)” • Alice Deejay – “Better Off Alone” • Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” • J.J. Fad – “Supersonic” • Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low” • LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It” • Los Del Rio – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” • Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger” • Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby” • Vicki Sue Robinson – “Turn The Beat Around” • Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”
Yes, that’s the Backstreet Boys, Vanilla Ice, and the Village People all included on the same list. If you find that Dance Central 3‘s catalog of songs isn’t quite to your liking, never fear, because you’ll have the ability to import the songs from the first two Dance Central games as well. There’s a fee associated with the track import, but considering it cost $5 to import tracks into Dance Central 2, we’re thinking the fee isn’t going to be substantial.
Want to find out more about the zany story mode in Dance Central 3? We can’t blame you if you just want to dance, but for those who are curious, take a look at the new DC3 developer diary above. In it, Harmonix developers struggle to explain the story while maintaining a straight face, going into absurd detail about who is sending you into the past and why you need to time travel in the first place (spoiler: you’re going into the past to help solve dance crimes). Dance Central 3 looks like it’s going to be a blast – ridiculous story and all – so look for it on Xbox 360 when it launches on October 16!
We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from is from Jaime, who’s really just showing off about their new Retina MBP. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
“I recently bought a Retina MacBook Pro and started playing a bunch of games from Steam. I’m wondering if there’s a gamepad I could use to play Portal or Left4Dead on a Mac, I grew up with a NES, so there’s something about the form that feels natural to me. Thanks!”
Okay, so for those of us who do tire of W-A-S-D, what’s the best solution to game on a Mac? Is there a perfect device on the market, or should we all just hack an Xbox 360 controller to do the same job? It’s a fun week, spread some fun in the comments.
We’ve seen quite a few Assassin’s Creed releases since the first one hit shelves back in 2007, and even though we’ve met a lot of different characters along the way, one thing has remained the same: modern-day assassin Desmond Miles is constantly featured throughout the series. That may not be the case for much longer, however, as Assassin’s Creed 3 creative lead Alex Hutchinson tells Polygon that the Desmond story line has to wrap up sooner or later, presumably with the series continuing after Desmond’s tale has come to an end. According to Hutchinson, the Assassin’s Creed series risks losing “resonance” with fans if Desmond’s over-arcing story line continues on for too much longer.
“I think Desmond needs to end,” Hutchinson said. “At some point. You know what I mean? Things that go on too long lack resonance. We’re asking people to remember seven years’ worth of story. Which is like saying you were in junior high and now you’re finishing college. And you need to remember what you were doing in junior high.”
Hutchinson compared Desmond’s part in the Assassin’s Creed universe to Rod Sterling’s role introducing each episode of The Twilight Zone, saying despite the fact that each episode had its own unique story, Sterling was there at the beginning of each one. Therefore, Desmond and Sterling both kind of serve as the one constant in an otherwise always-changing universe.
If you’ve seen any screenshots or trailers for Assassin’s Creed 3, then you know it’s a pretty radical departure from the rest of the series. Hutchinson says that it’s “90% a new game” and, were it not for the continuation of Desmond’s story, Ubisoft “could have called it anything else, and people would have said okay.” Assassin’s Creed 3 won’t be the only title in the series to step into uncharted territory, as the PS Vita‘s upcoming Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation doesn’t even feature Desmond at all. It looks like Desmond’s last hurrah may be coming up sooner rather than later folks, so get in some quality time with the character while you still can.
Fez creator Phil Fish has been making a lot of headlines lately. He recently penned a blog post on Polytron’s website which said that the Fez patch that has caused save corruption issues for some players will be going back up on Xbox Live unchanged because the company can’t afford to pay the fee to get a new patch certified. The blog post caused something of an uproar in the gaming community, and up until today, Microsoft remained silent on the issue.
In a statement made to GamesIndustry International earlier today, Microsoft responded to the controversy, saying that it attempted to work with Fez investor Trapdoor to make sure that the cost of re-certifying the patch wasn’t “a blocking issue” for the developer.
“Polytron and their investor, Trapdoor, made the decision not to work on an additional title update for Fez,” Microsoft said. “Microsoft Studios chose to support this decision based on the belief that Polytron/Trapdoor were in the best position to determine what the acceptable quality level is for their game. While we do not disclose the cost of Title Updates, we did offer to work with Trapdoor to make sure that wasn’t a blocking issue.”
Interesting. So it seems Microsoft did at least try to help Polytron out as far as the cost of certification goes. Another interesting thing to note is that the original blog post on Polytron’s website has apparently been taken down. These new developments may change the opinions of some outside observers, but none of it really matters now – the sad fact of the matter is that a deal was never struck, and the patch will remain in its slightly broken state.
Polytron says that the save bug should only affect less than one percent of players, so even with the patch going back up unchanged, the vast majority of Fez owners shouldn’t have any problems with it. Still, this is a sticky situation, and we’re sure that both parties would prefer it if a new patch could be released.
Depending on who you ask, Battlefield 3 is the game to beat when it comes to military shooters. There’s just one tiny problem: while Activision and Treyarch have really stepped it up with their Modern Warfare 3 DLC offerings, EA and DICE have been falling behind with Battlefield 3‘s. Sure, we’ve got Back to Karkand and Close Quarters, but those didn’t really add anything that plays to the grand scale we know Battlefield is capable of. Enter Armored Kill, which takes the battle from cramped indoor locations and moves it to sprawling outdoor arenas that are perfect for some vehicular combat.
Battlefield 3‘s multiplayer is impressive on its own, but with Armored Kill, it’s all about the vehicles. Battlefield 3: Armored Kill tosses a selection of new vehicles into the mix, including two new tanks, an ATV, and the massive AC130 gunship. Also included on the list of additions are 4 new maps, one of which is being called the biggest Battlefield map ever. If that doesn’t get you excited as a Battlefield veteran, then we’re not sure what will. Some of these new vehicles and maps are showcased in Armored Kill‘s new gameplay trailer, which you can check out below.
Battlefield 3: Armored Kill is scheduled to hit PS3, Xbox 360, and PC sometime in September. If you shelled out $50 to become a Battlefield Premium member, you’ll not only be getting the DLC for free, but you’ll also be gaining access to it two weeks before everyone else. Like Back to Karkand and Close Quarters before it, Armored Kill will cost $15 for everyone who isn’t a Premium member. EA and DICE haven’t shared specific dates for Armored Kill yet, so keep it tuned to SlashGear for that information once it’s made available.
We already knew that Minecraft was immensely popular on PC, but it turns out that Minecraft‘s popularity is not restricted to just one platform: the Xbox 360 version of the game – which has only been available since May 9 – has topped 3 million sales. Mojang founder Markus “Notch” Persson announced the sales milestone via Twitter today, saying “I got told Minecraft for XBLA passed three million sales today!” At this rate, it won’t be long before the XBLA version catches up with the PC version, which has sold nearly 6.7 million copies according to Minecraft.net.
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is the result of a team up between 4J Studios and Mojang. 4J handled most of the porting duties while Mojang oversaw the game’s development, with 4J planning to support the XBLA version through frequent updates, much in the same way Mojang supported the PC version. Despite the fact that Microsoft seems to be relaxing its update rules for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, it still has a long way to go before Xbox 360 players have the same version as PC players; the latest version of Minecraft on XBLA is beta 1.7.3, an update which PC players received back in July 2011.
Still, the fact that Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is just an older version of the same game that’s available on PC apparently isn’t enough to dissuade Xbox 360 owners from buying boatloads of copies. Next up, Mojang plans to release Scrolls, a virtual trading card game with free-to-play elements, and Notch has a space sim passion project called 0x10c in the pipeline as well. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a Mojang fan, so stay tuned.
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We caught a glimpse of that Nike+ Kinect Training had to offer back at E3. Now, we’ll all be able to give it our best shot just before the holiday season. The Kinect exercise title for the Xbox 360 is set to hit shelves on October 30th and will carry a $49.99 price tag. Claiming to make us “athlete-fit”, the software will offer constant tips on form and technique while monthly reports will display progress along the way. Still no word on companion apps for mobile platforms, but the kit is expected to play nice with Windows Phone devices at launch for session reminders and sharing achievements with training mates.
