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Microsoft bringing XNA Game Studio 4.0 to GDC this week, does 3D gaming for Windows Phone

We’ve all had a feeling that Microsoft is holding back some pretty big surprises (or at least completely reasonable revelations) when it comes to Windows Phone 7 Series and gaming, and here at GDC this week it sounds like we’re going to get a little glimpse into that. Microsoft is unveiling its new XNA Game Studio 4.0, which lets developers work on games for Windows Phone 7 Series, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. The integration with Visual Studio 2010 that we saw the other day allows developers to build a single project and then make slight modifications to let it run on each platform respectively. Most importantly, Microsoft specifically mentions that 4.0 will include hardware accelerated 3D APIs for Windows Phone 7 Series — not stunning, giving the fact that Zune can do 3D games (and is supported by XNA), but relieving just the same. Other phone-related tidbits are also telling: there will be fairly deep Xbox LIVE integration, including unlocking achievements from phone-based games and push notifications for asynchronous turn based gaming. Hopefully we can get some real live multiplayer gaming going as well, but there’s no mention of that just yet. Microsoft promises “much, much more” will be revealed at MIX 2010, but for now we’re gonna dig for all we can here at GDC.

Microsoft bringing XNA Game Studio 4.0 to GDC this week, does 3D gaming for Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft shows off single game running on Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox

Guess we don’t have to wait until MIX to have all our Windows Phone 7 Series questions answered! Microsoft’s Eric Rudder, speaking at TechEd Middle East, showed off a game developed in Visual Studio as a singular project (with 90% shared code) that plays on Windows with a keyboard, a Windows Phone 7 Series prototype device with accelerometer and touch controls, and the Xbox 360 with the Xbox gamepad. Interestingly, not only is the development cross-platform friendly, but the game itself (a simple Indiana Jones platformer was demoed) saves its place and lets you resume from that spot on whichever platform you happen to pick up. Pretty impressive stuff, and while the words “Windows Phone 7 Series” weren’t spoken by Eric, the use of the prototype ASUS device and the clear emphasis that this would place on Xbox Live for making the magic happen make it obvious that this is the “wave of the future” for all three platforms — at least for casual gaming. Check out the demo on video below the fold.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Microsoft shows off single game running on Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox

Microsoft shows off single game running on Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 7 Series demo video reveals new apps, screens

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series demo video reveals new apps, screens

Windows Phone 7 Series demo video reveals new apps, screens originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7 Series development ahead of GDC: Silverlight, XNA, and no backward compatibility

Microsoft is keen on unveiling the meat of its developer story around Windows Phone 7 Series at MIX10 in less than two weeks, but with GDC coming up next week, they’re figuring that now is a good time to start dropping hints — they’ll want to be capturing the collective imagination of the gaming industry, after all, what with that Xbox Live integration they’ve got going on. To that end, Charlie Kindel of WinPho’s developer experience team has outed a few key items at a reception in San Francisco this evening.

The major points are that Silverlight, XNA, and .NET will figure prominently into the developer story — not a surprise considering that Microsoft is heavily invested in both, gaming is central to the Windows Phone 7 Series story, XNA is a big deal on Zune HD already, and this all lines up with what we’d heard in the past. In fact, Kindel boldly proclaims that “If you are Silverlight or XNA developer today you’re gonna be really happy.” On the flipside, it’s a bit ironic considering that Silverlight spends much of its existence going head-to-head with Flash, and all indications are that we won’t see Flash support on 7 at initial availability (though it’s sounding like a lock post-launch).

One final note at today’s event is that Microsoft has now officially confirmed for the first time that 7 represents a clean break from Windows Mobile as we know it today; existing apps won’t be compatible. Though that’s likely to be a pain for existing owners with specialized apps who are looking to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, Windows Phone 7 Series itself is a very different beast than the operating system it replaces — it feels different, seeks a different demographic, and symbolically represents a very important clean-slate departure for a company that had lost its way in the mobile space. The bright side for the 6.5 faithful, we suppose, is that Kindel closes by saying that they “will continue to work with our partners to deliver new devices based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and will support those products for many years to come” — a message Microsoft has been echoing recently.

We expect to hear much, much more on this at MIX — and we might hear a few more tidbits at GDC as well — but in the meantime, there’s a developer Q&A going down on Twitter around 9:00PM ET (check the #wp7dev tag) where we could get some details. Stay tuned.

Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7 Series development ahead of GDC: Silverlight, XNA, and no backward compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An In-Depth Look at Microsoft’s Spy Guide

We recently reported that a watchdog site, Cryptome, was removed from the Web for refusing to take down a copy of a Microsoft document.

This document, called the Microsoft Online Services Global Criminal Compliance Handbook, or “spy guide,” gives details on how law enforcement can grab user data from a wide range of Microsoft services, from Windows Live ID to Xbox Live to Hotmail. Microsoft holds and can reveal a huge amount of data on individuals through their social networking and file-sharing services, too. These data include IP addresses, credit cards, chat logs and much more.

How does a large corporation balance end user privacy balance with the need to cooperate and comply with law enforcement? Read on to see how Microsoft handles this issue.

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After a quick read-through of Microsoft’s guide, everything initially made sense. They’ve got a lot of data – IM logs that can help find missing kids, gaming records that can help return a stolen Xbox, emails that can help track down terrorists.

There’s an emergency hotline for urgent or life-threatening incidents, “situations like kidnapping, murder threats, bomb threats, terrorism threats, etc.”

The full list of services includes email, authentication (Windows Live ID), IM, social networking (Windows Live Spaces and MSN Groups), custom domains, online file storage and gaming (Xbox Live). For each service, data is accessible through a series of web interface that allow law enforcement to browse through relevant data in tables or forms.

And there are procedures for accessing all this information, too. Law enforcement can’t simply ask for the information, according to the document. They have to have a subpoena, a court order or a warrant to gain access to data such as usernames, linked accounts and email address books.

Digging Deeper

But after talking to a few sources who have worked in law enforcement (LE) and government agencies – none of whom wanted to be quoted, for obvious reasons – these procedures are a far cry from the day-to-day realities of data access.

In other words, there’s a reason it’s called a “spy guide.”

For one thing, federal and LE officers tend to have a much easier time getting access to user data than their corporate conspirators might let on, our sources told us. In ticking time bomb scenarios, this can be a good thing, as quick and unobstructed access to data can save people from imminent harm.

Where Are All Those Warrants?

However, we’ve been told by people who have handled such issues that government and LE often request and are given data without having to go through the proper procedures, often because of corporations’ fear of government retribution.

For example, not too long ago, Sprint was revealed to have complied with 8 million LA requests for GPS data in 2009. This figure doesn’t include any other type of data from anyone other than LE for any network other than Sprint – this is just for LE GPS data requests from Sprint.

The implications of this are staggering, but the most confounding of them all is that there could not possibly be enough warrants to justify the sum total of requests that digital companies are handed by law enforcement seeking user data. Our sources all confirmed that without question, LE and government officials are often given user data by companies such as Microsoft without having to provide any kind of justification – not legal documents, not proof of criminal activity and not evidence of guilt.

What About the Fourth Amendment?

And then, there are the less widely known reasons that LE or federal agencies would gain access to user data – programs such as government data mining or Project Carnivore (which is essentially the wiretapping scandal of the digital sphere). Again, our sources confirmed that LE’s desire to see user data is often the only reason a digital company would need to turn over information – warrantless wiretapping all over again.

In conclusion, Microsoft’s spy guide does state that certain steps much be taken for law enforcement to access data – steps that require law enforcement to prove that their searches and seizures in the digital world are legally justifiable. Whether or not anecdotal evidence supports this claim we will leave to our readers to judge.

What the document does show us, however, is the extraordinary breadth and depth of information that Microsoft has and is willing to give to government and law enforcement agencies. And that alone is enough to make us put on our tin foil hats.

Note: We have contacted Microsoft’s Rapid Response media team with several questions and are awaiting a response.

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Windows Mobile 7 is Microsoft’s last chance to challenge iPhone

Apple has gained incredible market share in phones in the past couple of years. It is so stunning to think that the iPhone might be unstoppable. Google is giving it a good try with Android.

But Microsoft has been sitting this one out. On Monday, the company will try again with Windows Mobile 7, a new version of the company’s operating system for cell phones, according to Bloomberg News. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer plans to show off the software in Barcelona. The new software has a revised user interface that looks like Microsoft’s Zune HD music player, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Microsoft is also working on its own mobile phone design — unlikely to be introduced next week — aimed at teens and code-named Pink. That device is the offspring of Danger, the maker of the T-Mobile Sidekick, which Microsoft acquired two years ago. Pink is being manufactured by Sharp and could be sold by Verizon Wireless and Vodaphone Group, the Journal said. The problem at Microsoft is that there have been too many competing agendas and too many shake-ups when it comes to figuring out a new internal strategy.

Windows Mobile 7 is different in that Microsoft is specifying more details of the hardware that goes with the operating system. It is specifying what kind of device can use the phone so that it will be easier to present a single, united software platform for independent developers to target. Back in December, there were rumors that Microsoft would integrate Xbox Live and Windows Mobile. That would make sense, since Xbox Live is a strong service with lots of loyal gamers. But there is no new word on that rumor. Microsoft has one advantage over Apple; it has no problem integrated Adobe’s Flash software into Windows Mobile. That allows it to run animations, games, and lots of web sites.

It better be good. Windows Mobile 7 is Microsoft’s last chance to stop its rivals from taking over the cell phone space and leaving it in the dust. It’s ironic because Microsoft had such a long legacy in making cell phone software. Six years ago, Windows Mobile was on 25 percent of mobile phones. Now it is down to about 10.5 percent, according to International Data Corp. Apple had nothing in 2006 and is now 13.7 percent of the global cell hone market.

The company launched Windows Mobile 6.5 in October. It got mixed reviews, with the worst criticism being that the design was bland and the phone was slow. Microsoft had the beginnings of an AppStore, but it had nowhere near the depth of Apple’s, which has 140,000 apps that have been downloaded more than 3 billion times. The Windows Mobile 7 devices are expected to ship later this year. Microsoft will license it to all comers, even as it works on its own device. Google has pursued the same strategy, licensing Android widely while coming up with its own Google-designed Nexus One phone. Everyone is chasing Apple, which has integrated hardware and software that it can ship in a unified device.

It’s a classic battle in technology, with a horizontal alliance of many companies trying to take on a vertically integrated company. At this point, Microsoft and its allies are clearly the underdogs. I’m not expecting to be wowed by Windows Mobile 7. Microsoft has so much history here that it has to overcome.

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Microsoft to discontinue Xbox Live for original Xbox

It has had long run, but Microsoft announced today that it will discontinue the online game service Xbox Live for the original Xbox game console that it launched in 2001.

Xbox Live for the original console debuted in November, 2002. But by April 15, Microsoft is going to discontinue that service, according to an open letter posted by Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten. That’s likely going to enrage the fans of multiplayer Halo 2, which has persisted as a fan favorite since the game launched in 2004.

No doubt the fans who didn’t upgrade to the Xbox 360 — which debuted in 2005 — are going to be steamed at Microsoft. The Halo 2 fans can at least migrate to Halo 3 multiplayer on the Xbox 360.

On the one hand, Microsoft is turning its back on loyal customers who paid good money assuming that their consoles would have a long lifespan. Sony, by contrast, has supported the PlayStation 2 console since 2000. But I suppose you can’t expect Microsoft to support its older products forever, given the costs of doing so. On the operating system side, for instance, Microsoft has been moving to cut its costs by ending tech support for obsolete operating systems. Microsoft appears to be justifying the shutdown by offering more features in the future for its online fans. The company says that future changes, which will bring new features, are going to be incompatible with the original Xbox.

“We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realize that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features,” Whitten said.

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Xbox v1 games, systems no longer Live; Microsoft’s pulling the plug April 15

It’s been no secret that original Xbox games have been the vestigial limb holding back much wanted features including raising the limit on our friends list to over 100 or mobile tie-ins, and on April 15 all that will come to an end. Even those Xbox Originals downloaded to the 360 or played via backwards compatibility will be cut off, so we’d suggest getting those last few rounds of Halo 2 in now or at least look into an alternative solution like XBConnect. Affected users should keep an eye on their inbox, Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten has promised “details and opportunities” to come for you as partners in this process — we’re figuring a coupon or two or an extended XBL subscription on the way out the door is the least they can do. For the rest of us already living in the future? The timing of this announcement mere days before the X10 event in San Francisco February 11 can’t be coincidental, we should find out what comes next by then.

Xbox v1 games, systems no longer Live; Microsoft’s pulling the plug April 15 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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