Advertising Is Awesome!

The internet has been all aglow today with stories of Gamespot editorial director Jeff Gerstman’s sudden disappearance from the company. His dismissal was for one of the worst reasons I can think of – he wasn’t so impressed with Kane & Lynch, and actually did his job as a reviewer by making his feelings known to the world by means of his review for the site. Surely that’s what reviews are for?

Well, apparently not. Not if the game you’re reviewing also happens to be a massive money-spinner in advertising revenue for your site, and we’re talking advertising on a big scale here – just take a look at the screenshot above to see what I mean. To spell it out to the people in the audience who still don’t get why this is a big deal: basically, a guy got sacked for being honest in a game review. Does this mean that in future, all of Gamespot’s review results are going to be dictated by their advertisers?

I guess only time will tell.

There is one thing you can be sure of though, and that is that our journalistic integrity here at TTB will always remain intact – unless someone gives us a big heap o’ money, that is.

As the news on this one’s coming in thick and fast, your best bet is to keep up to date with Joystiq’s excellent coverage of the controversy, which is better than ours could ever be. Then again, they do have advertisers…

I couldn’t think of a fitting picture, so here’s some Squirrel’s with lightsabers…

The good folks over at Xbox.com have released a full list of features included in the fall update… It seems that there is no clan support yet, no 3-way voice chatting, but there is DivX support! Here is the full list, but be warned… It’s long!

• Improved Video Library.
• Improved visuals and descriptions.
• Users can now sort movies and TV Shows in the video library by Title or (Download) Date.
• TV shows can now be grouped by Series .
• Group video and game trailers .
• Art associated with personal video files on a portable device will now be displayed.
• Easier to use media areas and improved metadata .
• Improved source selection for video, picture, and music libraries, making it easier to switch between console/digital camera, computer, portable device or disc.
• New “Suggested Items” link for downloaded movies.

Feature Details:

Media – All

• Added more user friendly text for various error related messages
• Added Shortcut keys from Remote Control: Pressing Play on a Video/Song/Picture will immediately start playback of that item from the list (pressing Start from gamepad does the same thing)
• Added support for Album/Video artwork larger than 500kb
• Added support to enumerate metadata in the background and not just when selected by the user
• Added support to make sort options sticky across console reboots
• Added support to show all available Media Sharing Servers on the local network and allow automatic re-affiliation
• Automatically delete older versions of Optional Media Update package when new ones are downloaded
• Improved consistency in storage naming across all areas
• Improved performance for displaying Album Art when connected to remote sources
• Improved text messaging when connection to PC is lost when streaming Music/Photo or videos

Media – Music

• Added support for CD Playback from music area in Xbox 360 Guide area
• Added support for listing multiple computer sources in Xbox Guide music sources
• Added support for Y button to toggle full screen on and off for music visualizer
• Disable ‘play all’ button when folders only contains playlists (with no audio files)
• Disable Y button when no list items selected in Music player
• Improved device support for new iPods (classic and 3rd gen Nano) – iPhone and iPod touch are not supported
• Improved error handling for mixed encoded playlists (aac,mp3,wma)
• Improved handling for MTP Music devices with >200k entries
• Improved handling of game background music after playing videos in Dashboard
• Improved handling of music playback over games (if music source terminates or has errors, background music returns to game background)
• Improved performance for “Play All” with attached MTP devices
• Improved performance of music enumeration via Guide
• Improved robustness when playing back HFS+ formatted iPods
• Improved support for returning to game background audio when user’s music player session terminates
• Improved support for scrolling song lists while listening to music during game playback
• Improved support when ejecting game disc while selecting music source through Guide

Media – Pics

• Added support to display PNG files when streamed from Windows Media Player 11 on Vista
• Improved enumeration for PTP cameras including Cannon Powershot SD 630 and Apple Iphone
• Improved playback performance of “Play All” when PC source has 1000s of photos and subdirectories
• Support Folder view of Photos from MTP Portable Devices

Media – Video

• Added 2 line support for entries in the Video Area of the Media Blade
• Added ability to recognize Colorspace attribute for Video Marketplace Content
• Added fade in transition for start of video playback
• Added full screen buffering animation for streaming videos from Xbox LIVE
• Added Suggestions scene for Video Library area in Media blade of the Dashboard
• Added support for 16x Fast-forward/Rewind
• Added support for AC3 embedded audio (see video faq for full information)
• Added support for enumeration of video files from Zune 2.0 devices
• Added support for Left Shoulder button on controller to chapter skip backward
• Added support for Left Trigger button on controller to rewind
• Added support for moving past the point user has viewed when doing progressive downloads of Video Marketplace videos
• Added support for MP3 embedded audio (see video faq for full information)
• Added support for Mpeg-4 part 2 video files in AVI containers
• Added support for Right Shoulder button on controller to chapter skip forward
• Added support for Right Trigger button on controller to fast forward
• Added support for Zune Podcast video playback from Zune device
• Added support to display metadata and thumbnails embedded in video files
• Added support to enumerate .divx video files
• Added support to group TV shows by Series in Video Library of Media Blade
• Added support to group Video and Game Trailers into same area of Video Library of Media Blade
• Added support to sort Movies or TV Shows by Title or Download date in Video Library of Media Blade
• Added top level support to show expired or soon to expire information for purchased movies from Video Marketplace in Media Blade
• Improve support for “Play Now” calculations with ISP that boost download for the first 20MB of a file
• Improved accuracy of bookmark positions when video player abnormally ends
• Improved accuracy of download progress bar after chapter skipping operations
• Improved auto resizing experience for small (under 100×100) video files
• Improved Bookmark / Resume experience with 60fps Interlaced WMV videos
• Improved bookmark support while progressively downloading videos from Marketplace
• Improved calculations for “Play Now” for Video Marketplace downloads
• Improved deinterlacer support for video playback
• Improved enumeration speed for user-generated video content in Media Blade
• Improved error message support when playing back video files without valid licenses
• Improved error message support when pulling USB drive while playing back video files
• Improved handling for USB memory stick removal while on Video device selection list in Media blade
• Improved handling of video playback when transitioning from 4x FF to Play with MP4 video files
• Improved handling of WMV bookmarks when rewinding and shutting down video player
• Improved info pane timer when playing back DRM’s WMV content from Windows Media Player 11 from Windows PC
• Improved message support for progressive video playback
• Improved overall UI, content descriptions and navigation of Video Library of Media Blade
• Improved performance during Fast Forward to Playback transition when playing back MP4 content
• Improved performance for buffering and playback of streaming videos from Xbox LIVE
• Improved performance for low bandwidth streaming of MP4 videos from Zune PC software v1.0
• Improved performance of skip forward/backward with WMV video files
• Improved performance of trick modes when streaming videos from Zune PC client
• Improved performance of WMV playback for WMV7 & WMV8 encoded video files
• Improved playback experience after extended pauses of video files from Marketplace
• Improved playback experience when resuming from a stopped/paused state
• Improved playback performance for h264 720p .MOV files
• Improved playback performance with 1920×1080 MP4 files
• Improved playback performance with 5Mb h264 encoded video files
• Improved playback performance with 60fps 720×480 MP4 content
• Improved playback performance with h264 files in .m4v containers
• Improved quality for upscaled user videos when played back full screen
• Improved quality of MP4 decoder: Global Motion Compensation and VMX optimizations
• Improved quality of MP4 decoder: improved Interlaced Support
• Improved quality of MP4 decoder: Out of order frame output, bidirectional motion vector handling, etc.
• Improved quality with non-square pixel video files
• Improved responsiveness of trick mode controls for video playback
• Improved robustness during chapter skipping of h264 video files
• Improved robustness for streaming problematic video files from Zune PC Software 1.0 or Windows Media Player 11
• Improved robustness of video player when playback catches up to downloads in progressive playback scenarios
• Improved robustness of video streaming when network congestion / stalls occur
• Improved robustness when closing video player after attempting to play a video file that would not open
• Improved robustness when entering and exiting video playback on a portable device repeatedly
• Improved robustness when exiting video files encoded in h264 and playing back from attached USB HDD
• Improved robustness when playing back Mp4 video with consecutive bad aac samples encoded into it
• Improved robustness when shutting down console during h264 video playback
• Improved robustness when trying to play a video recently moved from MU to HDD or vice versa
• Improved robustness with video player when exiting player via Xbox Guide button -> Y
• Improved support for AAC-LC 2 channel encoded audio in MP4 video files
• Improved support for chapter skipping during progressive downloads of Marketplace Video content
• Improved support for MP4 video files with discontinuous time stamps encoded in
• Improved support for MP4 video playback from burned optical dvd-r’s
• Improved support for resuming downloaded videos after reaching end of an uncompleted download
• Improved support for resuming partially downloaded videos from Marketplace
• Improved support for using Big Button controller during video playback
• Improved support for Video bookmarks when playing MP4 videos from USB portable hard drives
• Improved sync of video display and info pane display when rewinding
• Improved text for Windows Media Center setup instructions
• Improved Trick mode support when streaming videos with AAC embedded audio
• Improved video performance for 60fps interlaced WMV videos
• Improved Video performance with 15Mbs 1080i 24fps WMV video files
• Improved video playback for Fast-forward and immediate exit usage with h264 video files
• Improved video playback of MP4 content from Zune PC Software v1.0
• Improved video playback when source content has incorrect sync samples encoded
• Improved video quality for SD Composite AV pack displays of the on-screen display for video controls
• Improved video support for chapter skipping of MP4 videos
• Improved Videotrick mode support with 24fps 1080i WMV video files
• Improved visual display of WMV video files while rewinding
• Improved WMV Playback performance for 60fps and 1080i 30fps videos
• Improved WMV7 performance with VLC encoded content
• Removed occasional purple flickers in video playback when transitioning between FF and RW
• Removed potential 9 second delay when rewinding WMV video files

System

• Added fade out transition when powering down console
• Added support for browsing XNA games within the Games blade
• Added support for video playback from UDFS formatted USB devices
• Added support for XNA Game Studio Express V.2
• Added support to connect to Apple Extreme routers in 802.11a/n mode
• Added support to pause background downloads when streaming full screen videos or ads
• Added support to retrieve game thumbnail directly from XNA game package
• Added system wide support for Simplified Chinese language
• Added text to explain flashing LED in the Ring of Light during background download low power mode
• Addressed rare case where game disc would spin in the DVD drive while playing HD-DVD Movie in external HD-DVD drive
• Disable Optical audio output when in low power background download mode
• DVD player no longer converts to YCbCr709 when output is over HDMI
• Improved auto sign-in to Xbox LIVE with Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter
• Improved clock accuracy for S/PDIF optical streams
• Improved compatibility with NEC WR8400N WiFi routers
• Improved download speeds when in low power background download mode
• Improved DVD Tray State notifications immediately after application of System Update
• Improved Forced Aspect Ratio Changes via HDMI output (including DVI)
• Improved handling when ejecting game disc during game start
• Improved handling when removing MU after sending Arcade game recommendation to friend
• Improved localization text for Wifi setup in German
• Improved performance for Game Titles to reboot in backcompat scenarios
• Improved performance of Xbox Guide during Messenger signin
• Improved robustness when ejecting game disc when prompted for game title update
• Improved robustness when inserting two MU’s at the same time on the device selector scene
• Improved support for 3rd Party Controllers
• Improved support for Buffalo WiFi routers
• Improved support for Creston AV receivers with HDMI
• Improved support for JPN Corega CG-BARFX network router
• Improved support for signing into Xbox LIVE with Big Button Controller
• Improved support for starting console with Big Button Controller when console is charging attached Wireless Controllers
• Improved Xbox guide performance ~2x
• Removed “Windows-based PC” from Computers area in Systems blade
• Removed option to “Turn off Controller” when using Big Button Controller
• Resync the Ring of Light pattern to the boot audio/animation
• Updated copyright dates for 2007

‘Ello ‘Ello ‘Ello – Or “Howdy Howdy Howdy” As They Might Say In Texas.

Are you a criminal with a warrant out for your arrest? Have you just heard that you’ve won an Xbox 360 and are on the way out to pick up your prize? Well, hold it right there buddy, and have a read of this first.

You see, US Marshals (in conjunction with the El Paso, Texas police) have managed to entice 115 criminals to their door, and arrest and convict them, all by using the promise of free Xbox 360s. Wired has the details:

“…the marshals led a number of criminals, most of whom were wanted on drug or violent crime charges, to believe that they had won a free console… According to police chief Richard Wiles, the sting resulted in 115 arrests and cleared 129 warrants.”

So there we have it. No free 360 for you, you naughty criminal you.

Script Kittie Is Molesting My PHPs!

Some of you who may have visited the site late last night or early this morning might have spotted that the whole of TTB was replaced by something else. Something else put there but someone who, more than likely, was running a script they downloaded from some “hacking” website, which exploits a vulnerability in our forum software, MyBB.

We’ve taken the forums offline for now and fixed the small amount of damage that was done, so you can continue enjoying Team Teabag the way it was meant to be enjoyed – without the script kiddie bullshit!

(We’re not bitter at all… Grrr…)

Stupid Kids… They Aren’t Even Playing Tempest!

This is probably the bestest arcade setup in the whole damn world. It’s the Dreamcade Vision 120 from US company Dream Arcades, and features a built-in DLP projector capable of throwing up a 120-inch image of your retro antics on any handy nearby wall, or the included projector screen. It’s available for the low, low introductory price of $3999, and comes with over 145 pre-installed games including Asteroids, Missile Command, Pong, Tempest, Defender, Paperboy, Rampage, Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, and the mighty Street Fighter.

Shame it hasn’t got Bubble Bobble, or I totally would’ve ordered one – maybe even two.

Oh well, there’s always next time, guys.

For those who are still interested (despite the lack of bubble-blowing dragons), hardware-wise you’ll get all the classic arcade controls including 2 joysticks with 6 buttons each, 2 pairs of pinball buttons, a spinner, and an illuminated trackball. There’s even a wireless adapter to connect it to your Wii, but for those of us without one they’ve thoughtfully included an Athlon 64 X2 4000+ PC, which should provide ample power for all those old-skool games.

Dream Arcades sell loads of other arcade systems, and while they do ship internationally, those of us in the UK might find that a more local company like Gremlin Solutions might be a cheaper option. Then again, they don’t have a 120″ projector system…

Finally!

Above is confirmation of something that every XBox 360 owner in the UK, has been waiting for… The video marketplace is imminent… The above picture is taken from the outer packaging of a new batch of European 2100 MS point cards and reads as follows:-

“Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace only available in UK, Ireland, France and Germany.

To access the Xbox LIVE Marketplace you’ll need:

So it seems the rumors about the fall update including the European VMP may well be true. I guess we’ll get the same pricing as the US, meaning 160 points for an episode of a TV show in SD, 240 for it in HD and 320 points for a SD movie rental and 480 points for HD movie rental. So long as we don’t just get garbage like Eastenders and Hollyoaks then it should all be OK.

Will The Cube Appreciate Gifts Of Precious Jewels And Expensive Sandwiches?

If all of the Portal madness and cake jokes batting around the intertubes haven’t driven you insane yet, you might want to check out this excellent episode of Weebl and Bob. You see, it features none other than the infamous Weighted Companion Cube, and a certain handheld portal device.

Oh, and Weebl.

And Bob.

Unfortunately, what it doesn’t feature is pie. A terrible oversight, but the episode manages to hold its own without it.

(Shamelessly lifted from those blogmonkeys over at randomlinkage)

Da Dun Da Dun Daaa Daa Dun Da Dun Daa Daa… Aaah, Valkyries…

Does anyone else here remember the marvellously silly SimCopter on the PC? That game was the shit.

Well, soon Wii owners everywhere will get to experience the joy of quirky, arcadey helicopter flying – albeit in RC model form, thanks to the upcoming game Minicopter: Adventure Flight. The game’s being made by Aksys Games, and nothing can describe it better than their very own press release (which, incidentally, they didn’t send to us – where’s our press release, Aksys?):

“MiniCopter: Adventure Flight is a great game for budding RC modelers and children who enjoy playing with RC toys,” said Akibo Shieh, President, Aksys Games. “MiniCopter allows kids to customize their helicopter without worrying about breaking their toy and seeing immediate results.”

Well, actually that didn’t really tell us anything useful at all. Thankfully, the release goes on to tantalise us with promises of customisation options, mission-based gameplay, 2-player battle and race modes, and a choice between Wiimote motion controls or the classic pad. I also must say that the graphics look nice and slick, in a cartoony way, and that this game should suit the Wii perfectly.

Lots more info and an awesome screenshot gallery available over on Kotaku.

Of course, the real question on everyone’s lips is does it have a bambi bucket?

The miShare is a little Linux-powered device which connects two iPods together, and allows easy sharing of songs between them using the “On The Go” playlist. Finally, iPod owners now have access to a song sharing feature, something which us Zune users have enjoyed since the start – of course, the miShare costs money (about 50 squid), and it isn’t wireless. As a very big plus, however, it doesn’t apply DRM to files you legitimitely own like that certain other player.

Anyway, now I’m ranting. Go and check out the miShare here.

Yeah, I Did Use This Picture Before. Wannafightaboutit?

Well, what do you know. It seems like Bizarre Creations must be avid readers of TTB, as only 5 days after my lamenting the distinct lack of downloadable content for said game on this here blog, they go and release an entire 5 new songs. Oh, and did I mention that they’re free until December 16th?

The official list:

• Eine Kleine Rochtmusik
• Cannon in D
• Sugar High
• Sting of the Bumble Bee
• Explode to Joy

I can work out which classical pieces the other 3 will be based on, but “Eine Kleine Rochtmusik” and “Sugar High” are confusing me right now – maybe I’ll know them when I hear them. They’ve also announced improved dance mat and guitar support – which I’m pretty sure was already in there – but perhaps they’ve made it even better than it already was.

Anyway, hurrah for free DLC!

Update: Looks like the “improved support” we’re getting actually means separate leaderboards for each controller type. Thanks, Destructoid!