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Nintendo must pay $21M for patent infringement

Patrick Goss — 1210841823

Nintendo’s US arm has been ordered to pay $21 million (£10.8m) to a small East Texas gaming company for infringing a patent with its controllers.

Anascape Ltd was awarded the amount after Nintendo were found to have infringed on patents with its Wii Classic, Wavebird and Gamecube controllers.

Appeal

Nintendo has indicated that it will be seeking an appeal and expect a significant reduction on the fee imposed by the federal jury.

The company’s Wii Wand and Wii Nunchuk were not found to have infringed on any patents.

Microsoft was also sued by the company for infringements on game controllers but had settled out of court for an undisclosed amount at the beginning of the month.

Xbox celebrates 10 million US sales

Patrick Goss — 1210838993

Microsoft's Xbox 360 has hit 10 million sales in the United States, and the Redmond-based company is suggesting this could mean they will win the console wars.

Although they are neatly ignoring the fact rival Sony PlayStation 3 was released considerably later than Xbox 360s, Microsoft are understandably delighted to have hit the eight figure mark in US sales.

Generation battle

"History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle," announced Don Mattrick, a Microsoft senior vice president.

The Xbox has beaten both the PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii to the landmark figure, but suggestions that this indicated the Xbox has won the war are fairly clearly premature.

Although sales were disappointing for the PS3, Sony’s financial report suggests they will be targeting another 10 million worldwide unit sales in 2008, and the increasing quality of games for the console mean the battle has been well and truly joined.

Everyone's a winner

Factor in the Wii’s capacity to rope in a whole new market, and you have a three way battle that is set to rage for years to come.

In fact – with all three consoles selling well and a thriving gaming industry producing multi-format hits like Grand Theft Auto IV and Valve’s Orange Box, this could be a console war with no eventual winner.

Microsoft: No new Xbox 360 in 2009

Patrick Goss — 1210752120

For those eagerly awaiting a slimmer, lighter Xbox 360, the news from Microsoft is ‘not in this decade’, with the Redmond company insisting persistent rumours about a new version of the console are wide of the mark.

"While we don't normally comment on rumors like this, we can tell you that we have no plans to release a new console in 2009," Microsoft US told Engadget.

Quashed

Although it would be in the company’s best interests for people to think that they should be buying the current version rather than waiting for an Xbox 360 ‘Lite’, the company does, as a rule, avoid commenting on hardware rumour.

Their decision to quash the speculation that 2009 would see a smaller version of the popular console is, therefore, probably indicative there actually won’t be.

So, for all the minimalists out there, it may be better if you stick to your Wii and Mac for the time being, but for gamers who aren’t too worried about having a box under their televisions then the current Xbox 360 (probably with smaller chips) will be competing with the PS3 for a little while longer.

Xbox 360s will move to smaller GPUs

Patrick Goss — 1210329000

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console will be getting smaller chips, with news breaking the popular games console will soon be using 65nm GPUs.

Revisions to the cooling and a smaller CPU have already helped later model consoles avoid the dreaded red ring of death, but the news the next revision of Xbox – code-named Jasper – will have a smaller graphics chip, replacing the current 90nm IBM designed chips, will be welcomed.

Smaller, cooler, more productive

According to Taiwan’s CENS, Microsoft have contracted Taiwanese companies Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE) and Nanya PCB Corp.to make the GPUs.

The smaller chips will generate less heat, believed to be a major factor in early XBox’s dismal reliability record.

The Jasper versions of the console are expected to become available in August of this year, with another version, codenamed Valhalla, expected in 2008.

Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for 9.99 euros

Patrick Goss — 1210066021

Fancy an HD disc drive to show off your new telly? If you have an Xbox 360, live in Ireland and don’t mind a redundant format you could pick up an HD DVD drive for just €9.99.

The death knell for HD DVD was sounded earlier in the year, and although Blu-ray has yet to truly win over the customers, in terms of spinning media it’s numero uno in the HD world.

Media Centre Remote

But if you want a fairly limited library of HD DVD films, an upscaling DVD drive and even more impressively a media centre remote for your Xbox you could do a lot worse than picking up the drive for less than £10.

Apparently Xtra-vision stores on the Emerald Isle are selling the drive at this bargain basement price – and if you use your Xbox for media it might well be worth investing just for the remote.

New wireless Xbox 360 skateboard controller

Adam Hartley — 1209727380

Microsoft is partnering with third party peripherals company Qmotions to produce a new range of wireless controllers for Xbox 360.

Fans of EA’s Skate or Activision’s Tony Hawks series of games in particular will be intrigued to know that Qmotions plans to launch a wireless skateboard controller for Xbox 360.

No news yet on other planned controllers. Qmotions currently produce a baseball bat, golf club and the 'Fun Fitness' exercise bike controllers

No word on pricing or UK availability yet.

TechRadar spoke with EA reps this morning, who were as intrigued by the news as we were. Expect to be hearing more on Qmotions wireless gaming controllers and, hopefully, more on EA’s follow up to last year’s superb Skate in the coming weeks.

Rumour: Pegatron making Blu-ray Xbox 360s

Adam Hartley — 1209724620

The rumours about the launch of a Blu-ray enabled Xbox 360 console rear their head again today, with a Chinese newspaper reporting that Pegatron – a Taiwan-based OEM partner of Asus – has taken orders from Microsoft to manufacture Xbox 360s with built-in Blu-ray Disc ROM drive.

Economic Daily News (Chinese) reports that Pegatron is expected to start shipping Blu-ray enabled Xbox 360s this autumn.

Both Microsoft and Asus’ UK offices swiftly served TechRadar with a ‘no comment’ this morning.

TechRadar has contacted Pegatron directly for comment, so stay tuned for more on this as and when we get it.

11 signs you're no longer a hard-core gamer

Dean Evans — 1209119890

You used to play videogames all night. Your Quake prowess was unmatched; your skills at Command & Conquer unparalleled. You have a gaming history that stretches back beyond the PlayStation generation to the SNES, Megadrive, Amiga and ZX Spectrum. You were there at the dawn of gaming.

Tick-tock... Time passes. You've quietly come to realise that you're not the hard-core gamer you used to be. Even your Xbox 360 Gamertag seems far too 'sensible'. How do you know that a mid-life gaming crisis is setting in? Watch out for these warning signs…

You prefer playing against the computer

Online gaming against real people has become depressing – it exposes your faded, spoon-sharp reflexes and you abhor the trash-talk from 12-year old fanboys. You prefer playing offline against the computer because a game's algorithms are slightly more predictable. And, once you master the scripted patterns of play, you stand a real chance of being good… of actually winning. And that feels great, doesn't it? Ranking second-bottom on a multiplayer leader board doesn't.

You only play when your girlfriend is out

Because you only have one high-def TV and to play videogames on it while she's at home is 'selfish' and not something the two of you can do 'together'.

You believe that winning isn't everything

It's the taking part that counts. Obviously. And that's not because you're not good at games. You are. But you've found that there's more to life than spending five hours every night killing all of the Templars in Assassin’s Creed. The fact that you can't find the last three Templars is irrelevant.

It's been days, not hours since you last switched on your console

Because things keep getting in the way: TV, movies, books, going out to restaurants, shopping, going down the pub, DIY, dinner parties, the gym, more DIY, your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend [delete as applicable]… oh, and having a job.

You’re the oldest person trading in games at GameStation

So you lie about why you’re there. "It’s, ahem, my son's birthday. I'd like to trade these in for Guitar Hero please…"

You like your Xbox 360 and your PS3 equally

Being a more 'mature' gamer means you have more disposable income, so you can afford the luxury of owning a PS3 and an Xbox 360. So you've become the gaming equivalent of the United Nations, calming accepting the virtues of both consoles to the deaf ears of Xbox zealots and Sony fanboys (who simply ignore you and carry on their slanging match regardless). Because when you stare at those side-by-side game comparison shots on CVG, you can't see the difference. Maybe the PS3 palette is lighter… maybe… Of course, your eyesight could be failing…

You fondly remember a ‘golden age’ of gaming

You lament the current glut of videogame sequels and often talk fondly of an innovative 'golden age' of gaming. You remember Manic Miner, good ‘ol Chuckie Egg and the Ultimate games on the ZX Spectrum. You played Sensible Soccer the first time around on the Amiga, Elite on your mate’s BBC B, and finished Sonic The Hedgehog on the Megadrive. Happy days… But when modernised versions of these gaming classics turn up on Xbox Live, your excitement quickly evaporates. You quickly realise that, by today’s standards, those cherished oldies are now shallow, repetitive and not much fun.

You avoid playing on the Wii because it’s too much effort

There's no denying that the Nintendo Wii is a revolutionary games machine but… well, it does require a lot of effort. Aren't there times when you just want to slouch into a comfy sofa with a traditional joypad? Times when you can't be arsed with all that wiimote waving and waggling? It's way too energetic – a 20 minute bowling session in Wii Sports is almost akin to a full workout.

Your FPS experience consists of spawn, run, die... spawn, run, die... spawn…

The reflexes that served you so well in GoldenEye and Quake seem to be two seconds slower than everybody else these days. You think 'fire', 'jump', 'spin', 'run', 'collect spinny power-up', but your fingers press 'fire' (and pause), 'fire' (and pause), 'spin' and… no, I actually meant 'jump', and – oh, I’m dead. Either you're slowing down, or today's hard-core gamerati are faster than you ever were.

You find the idea of videogames based on board games perfectly acceptable

Anyone for a game of Carcassonne tonight? The wife's out until 10pm and I'll be online after I've had my dinner…

You've pre-ordered GTA IV but don't mind if it doesn't turn up on launch day

Wednesday's just fine. Really. You're a bit busy at the moment, anyway. In fact, you probably won't get a chance to play GTA IV until the weekend. You're also not bothered by the prospect of downloading the DLC for GTA IV either. You'll never finish the main game anyway.

Xbox 360 sales doubled since March price drop

Adam Hartley — 1208423783

Sales of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console have more than doubled since last month’s price cut.

The Xbox 360 Arcade, Pro and Elite consoles are now highly competitively priced at £159.99, £199.99 and £259.99 respectively, with the lowest priced SKU costing less than Nintendo’s family-friendly Wii.

What with some huge games on the horizon, such as Rockstar’s magnum opus GTA IV, the much-awaited Lego Indiana Jones, EA’s controversially priced Rock Band and hardcore-favourite Ninja Gaiden 2, Microsoft is bullishly confident that the spring sales spurt can only continue.

True next gen

"Xbox 360 is truly the next-generation console of choice among consumers, and today’s numbers are proof that we are delivering on our commitment to achieve critical mass in Europe," said Microsoft Europe VP Chris Lewis.

"The highly competitive ERP, coupled with entertainment content that’s appealing to everyone in the home, makes Xbox 360 the ultimate high-definition entertainment choice, and it’s clear that we’re already seeing this resonate with consumers."

Owns 42% of market

Microsoft informs us that the Xbox 360 is the number one next-gen console in EMEA, "owning 42 per cent of the market in terms of life-to-date revenue".

Additionally, the company claims that Xbox 360 "continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console in Europe with more than 7.0 games sold per console (PS3: 3.8; Wii 3.5) after 27 months on the market."

It doesn’t say anything about red rings in the press release, however.

Xbox 360 motion control - latest news

Adam Hartley — 1207647208

An Xbox 360 version of a Wii Remote style motion-controller has apparently been in development since last summer, according to MTV News.

MTV News quotes “a developer who has been briefed on the project” who claims that Microsoft has been working on its own motion-controlled Wii Remote style controller since last summer. The source also adds that feted developer, Rare, “has been tasked with creating a unified interface and look for the controller”.

MTV adds that it has confirmed Microsoft's active interest in developing a motion-sensitive controller with other (unnamed) industry sources.

No surprises

It would of course come as no surprise to learn that Microsoft was planning on adapting motion-control for use in future Xbox 360 games. In fact, it would be more surprising if the company didn't have any such plans in development.

However, if the sketch of ‘Microsoft’s Wii Remote imitator’ provided by MTV’s source is anything to go by - which looks like something a two-year old knocked up in MS Paint - it would seem that there isn't too much for Nintendo to worry itself about.

Microsoft, as ever, “does not comment on rumors and speculation" and Nintendo has yet to return our calls on this, so stay tuned for more as and when we get it.

TechRadar has also contacted In2Games, developer of the GameTrak Freedom motion-control tech for Xbox 360 and PS3 for comment. We can confirm that the above story on MTV has nothing to do with In2Games.