Changes….that’s what love makes one do. First the Gamerscore Corrections update and now it appears that the My Xbox feature online at Xbox.com has undergone a bit of a change. I can’t say that I like it all that much but here’s what I’ve gathered so far. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. This could be a work in progress.
- View Friends of Friends feature online now
- Friends list now separated into pages (16 per page)
- Recently played games list now auto-scrolls
- Selected Player vs Player comparison added to game description
There’s an old saying that cheaters never win and it seems like Microsoft is putting more substance to that saying when it comes to their Xbox Live and Gamerscore service. A while back they stated something would be done about those who have gamesaved and cheated their way to a high Gamerscore. Today they put the hammer down on those people and even gave them their own Scarlet Letter C.
Take a look at the Gamercard below and you’ll see how these gamers have been marked for all to see their shame. There’s a Gamescore Corrections page to get familiar with the actions taken for those of you who are caught cheating. Here are the basics of what will happen…
A LIVE player who obtained their gamerscore in this abnormal way will:
- Find their gamerscore reset to zero, and
- Be unable to regain all previously earned achievements, and
- Be labeled as a “cheater” for the community to view.
Bravo is all I have to say on this! I’ve never understood the point with obsessing over Gamerscore especially when you cheat to increase it.
Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your valuable personal data, such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information. I’ve recently seen quite a few discussions going on about accounts being hijacked after a visit to a site that someone thought was an official Xbox site. These sites often claim they’re offering free Microsoft Points or a variety of other free things but that’s not what they really are. They are sites looking to gain your personal information including email address and passwords in order to access to your Xbox Live accounts. They do this by mirroring other official sites to deceive and trick you. They are not official.
Do not provide your information to any website that you are not sure about or that you can not verify. Many of these sites are posted on message boards so I suggest you make sure to double check the links before clicking or to not click at all. Don’t fall for the “free” temptation. I know it seems like a no-brainer but people do fall for this stuff. I’ve read far too many stories on accounts being hijacked after following what appeared to be an official Xbox site when in reality, it was a phishing site.
Many of you are obsessed with Achievements right? How would you like to be responsible for an Achievement in one of the most anticipated sequels for the Xbox 360? The crew at Gamerscoreblog posted some details today on Team Ninja’s search to find YOUR Achievement.
If you want your idea heard and possibly chosen, head over and leave a comment at the GSB blog. This should be fun.
I know. You know. The Xbox Live team knows. We’ve all been experiencing issues lately with connecting and other Xbox Live services. I’m posting just to say I feel your pain. For those of you unaware, news has come down via Major Nelson that things are being worked on with a resolution forthcoming. (sooner rather than later hopefully)
In the meantime, you can keep up with the status of Xbox Live on Xbox.com’s support page. Hang in there guys and girls. And no, don’t break out your calculators wondering how many pennies you’ll be reimbursed. However, I wouldn’t put it past Microsoft to do something for its users considering how long the issues have gone on. It’s really uncommon for Xbox Live to experience these kinds of issues for such an extended amount of time.
It was pretty clever of Spike to resort to the fancy painted girl trick in order to wow the crowd. That’s much better than keeping it about the games I say and it always works. Who wants it just about games anyway right?
How many of you watched the Spike Video Game Awards? I love Samuel Jackson but these awards do no justice to video games. However, there were painted girls and I guess that makes it all better. In fact, it was the best part about the show. Rainbow Six Vegas 2? Meh. Kid Rock? Double Meh. That doesn’t say much about the show I know but at least there were painted girls. I have a sudden urge to play Rock Band, don’t you? Click here for the video of the painted VGA girls.
The celebration continues today as we party on the fifth year of Xbox Live! What better way than to smack around the developers of today’s hottest games? Battle with the folks at Bungie in some Halo 3 or flip it against the creators of EA’s skate.
It’s your choice. Take a look at the times and developers available for crushing today.
Halo Wars Dev Team
Look for the creators of this upcoming strategy game playing Halo 3 from 9:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.
HaloWarsSWDes Rob - Software Design Engineer
HaloWarsProd Bill - Producer
HaloWarsArt1 Matthew - Artist
HaloWarsArt2 Dion - Artist
HaloWarsGameDes Aaron - Game Designer
As you’ve all no doubt read around the interweb, NPD Group numbers for September have the Xbox 360 pushing the most hardware with a little over 527,000 consoles sold. I suppose having a game that sells over 3 million units helps.
“Halo 3 had a very big and significant impact on 360 hardware sales. Consumers always tell us that the availability of the games they want to play is the #1 reason why they purchase any given hardware system, and when you have a game of this magnitude, the effect of compelling content on driving hardware acquisition is evident,” says NPD industry analyst, Anita Frazier.
Ok, so I was wrong about the Halo effect. Halo 3 did appear to have helped just a tiny bit in hardware sales. I think it’s safe to assume that at some point Halo 4 will be made.
If you are to believe fancy reports and research, then you just might believe that the more Achievements you have in games, the better that game will be reviewed and purchased. I got an email today about such a thing that I’ll share with you. Read on for the press fluff.
Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) has just released a revealing new study based on the Xbox 360 Achievement System. The study concluded that, in general, game titles that have a higher volume of Accomplishments correlate with both a higher Metacritic Metascore and higher gross sales in the United States. The data also indicated that not all developers are utilizing these design options. In fact, 29% of all Accomplishments are Completion Accomplishments; one of the easiest to develop and integrate – leaving way for additional opportunities within the Accomplishment categories.
Sometimes I marvel at how I get these things right when the interweb starts spinning with rumors. In my recent article, Bungie Leaving Microsoft - So What, I predicted that this was nothing more than the usual “we want to explore our creativity” type of thing. I submit to you the following quote from my article.
“They may have a case of the “big head” disease and want to all form their own little independent company that allows them to better showcase their creativity etc…” said Deacon.
And now I present to you the words from Bungie Studios in today’s press release detailing the Bungie and Microsoft separation.
“This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,” said Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie.
Sound like something you’ve already heard? I simply say good luck to them but if you read the rest of my original article, you’ll understand where this all might lead.
