Games Archive

Xbox Update Squeezes Out Linux

Games 52 Comments
Internet-connected Xbox units are phoning home to Microsoft and downloading a patch that closes the loophole that the Xbox Linux Project was exploiting to get Linux running on the Microsoft-built game machine. The patch may also delete "foreign" files that the Xbox Linux users install on the machine. There is some evidence that even if Xbox users don't enable the "Xbox Live" settings, some games also can connect to the internet and transmit information back to Microsoft.
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Commodore Lives?

Games 28 Comments
Tulip Computers, which bought the rights to the Commodore name in 1997, is "taking over" the main C64 web portal and will be making a vast library of old programs and games available, legally, for download.There are still a lot of C64 enthusiasts out there, some using old hardware, but probably many more using emulators to relive their youth. The downside: Tulip is planning on defending its trademarks, which may mean that fan sites might be getting harrassed. More at PC World.
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Multitasking OS for the Mattel Intellivision

  Submitted by Iggy Drougge Games 7 Comments
If this really works, this is the coolest hobby OS I've seen it a while. IntyOS is an operating system for the old Intellivision gaming console. There are Intellivision emulators available if you'd like to try it out, but it's acutally possible to run this on the original console if you have a (now out of production) "Intellicart" unit. Of course, there are few applications for it (clock, CPU load, "IntyAmp"), so its chances of unseating Windows on the corporate desktop are slim.
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Tim Sweeney 64-bit Interview

  Submitted by Sagres Games 16 Comments
Epic's Tim Sweeney has been advocating AMD's 64-bit platform since its official unveiling at Comdex last November. With this in mind, Firingsquad decided to ask Tim about Epic's 64-bit UT2K3 port, Epic's 64-bit plans for their next generation Unreal engine, and his thoughts on the Opteron architecture.
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Gaming and Linux in 2003

  Submitted by Richard James Games 23 Comments
It is no secret that the vast majority of current game titles will never see the light of day on Linux. With Loki dead and gone, and their old stock quickly running out, some would go as far as to say that Linux gaming is dead as well. However, in recent days, Linux users have been getting more titles than one would think, and many more are on the horizon for later this year. Which games will be coming out? Who is releasing them? Is this the start of something big?
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Gameboy Advance SP Unveiled

Games 34 Comments
Nintendo has announced that a new Gameboy version will be introduced in March. This version will include a front-lit screen, a rechargeable lithium-Ion battery and opens and closes like a mini-laptop. Since the Gameboy introduction in 1989, there have been over 120 million units sold. Of the most recent version, the Game Boy Advance, almost 12 million units have been sold since its June 2001 debut. Update: Gamespot.com has revealed that they have learned that a blue-colored and black-colored version will be available upon release in Japan on the 14th of February.
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DirectX and DirectPlay 8.2 Released

Games 6 Comments
This download contains DirectX 8.1b plus some DirectPlay fixes related to performance and connectivity issues exhibited with some online multiplayer game titles. This release of DirectX is not recommended for general installation. You should only consider installing this release if you have an online gaming problem that has been identified as being fixed with DirectX 8.2. This version of DirectX can replace all previous released versions of DirectX.
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Game Engine Anatomy 101

Games 6 Comments
"We've come a very long way since the days of Doom. But that groundbreaking title wasn't just a great game, it also brought forth and popularized a new game-programming model: the game "engine." This modular, extensible and oh-so-tweakable design concept allowed gamers and programmers alike to hack into the game's core to create new games with new models, scenery, and sounds, or put a different twist on the existing game material." The last part of this great series of articles over at ExtremeTech was published. If you read the entire article, you will learn what all the 3D game and graphics engine-related buzzwords are all about. The article is an easy read and not too technical.
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Doom III In-game Footage

Games 12 Comments
XP-Erience.org carries the news about the release of an in-game footage of Doom III. The 37 MB video is in the DivX format (captured by a camera, so the quality is not great, but it is more than enough to show the impressive lighting effects in the game). Real screenshots can be found at Avault. ExtremeTech reported that the demo was running on a Pentium4 2.2 GHz, with an unreleased ATi graphics chip, codenamed R300. In other graphics news, Microsoft has just released the SDK of DirectX 9 Beta 1 to their beta testers.
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Is Microsoft Losing the Console Game?

Games 47 Comments
"For the software publishing industry, video games are a numbers game. And for now, Microsoft is on the losing end. That's the upshot from the Electronics Entertainment Expo, the game industry's main trade show, where new games for Microsoft's Xbox have largely been limited to "me too" titles--games already appearing on other consoles. Microsoft has said it expects to have more than 200 games for the Xbox by the end of the year, but less than two dozen of those will be exclusive Xbox titles from third-party publishers." Read the story at ZDNews.
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