Microsoft announced today that Games for Windows – Live, the online multiplayer gaming service for Windows that connects Windows gamers to the Xbox LIVE community, is now completely free.

"Introducing Games for Windows – LIVE, the free gaming service built for Windows that makes great Windows games even better. With Games for Windows – LIVE, you get an online identity – called a gamertag – and a friends list that works across multiple games, the XBOX 360, and even the Zune music service. You can easily find and communicate with your friends online with text and voice chat. Earn achievements and Gamerscore that lets you track and compare your accomplishments. Play multiplayer games with your friends, or play against new opponents online using our exclusive TrueSkill™ matchmaking system – with other Windows® players or with or against XBOX 360 players. All of this is possible today – and at no charge."

Link: GamesForWindows

Entertainment retailer HMV is to begin offering VAT-free games via instore kiosks, under a new initiative called HMV Delivers.

According to a report in The Guardian, the company plans to extend the controversial VAT-avoidance scheme used by the company's website to stores across the UK, offering games, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray movies minus the 17.5 per cent charged on items by the UK Treasury.

Many online retailers take advantage of the loophole that allows VAT exemption for products under GBP 18 that are imported into the UK from outside of the European Union.

HMV.com and Jersey-based Play.com already operate schemes to take advantage of the legal loophole originally designed to minimise the administration burden on marginal trade.

HMV has said that products on offer via the instore kiosks will be restricted to products not available on store shelves, according to the report.

View: Games Industry

Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald has said that "Xbox 360 needs a real price cut" in his latest note to investors.

Microsoft dropped the price of the 20GB console in the US by USD 50 last week prior to E3, but Greenwald believes the company needs to do more in the face of competition from the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.

"We remain very sceptical of Microsoft's pricing strategy and competitive positioning versus the PlayStation 3.

"At USD 349, with a 60GB hard drive, we just don't think it is a compelling product compared with the PS3 at USD 399 with an 80GB hard drive (along with more processing horsepower, Blu-ray, Wifi, HDMI, and going forward, more exclusive content)," he offered.

"We'd also note that the Xbox 360 has just been surpassed by the Wii in the US, despite Microsoft's one year head start over Nintendo.

View: Games Industry

New handheld boasts 20 in-built retro classics including Sonic and Knuckles, Shinobi, Ecco the Dolphin and Golden Axe

Gamecheat specialist Blaze has announced a brand new Sega MegaDrive based handheld, which includes 20 16-bit titles built in out of the box.

Due out some time this month, the £29.99 device includes headline titles such as Sonic and Knuckles, Ecco the Dolphin, Golden Axe, Kid Chameleon, Altered Beast, Alex Kidd and Enchanted Castle and Alien Storm. The device will also hook up to TV sets using the included cable.

The firm’s press release reads: “Blaze are proud to announce they will be releasing their 16bit Megadrive handheld console in July 2008. The Blaze portable game player will be heading to a store near you from next month, so mums and dads, if you missed playing Sega Megadrive classics such as Sonic and Knuckles, Golden Axe, Shinobi and Ecco the Dolphin, you now have a chance to do so again and all for the price of a single Nintendo DS game.”

Source: MCV
View: Blaze website

After several weeks of speculation after Flagship Studio's so-called layoffs, the Mythos dev team has finally annouced they will be going on hiatus. Here is there message:

Travelers of Uld,

We, the ancient elders of Uld are issuing this warning to all citizens and travelers. Hurry! The great darkness that once plagued Uld is returning. Everyone is ordered to close down their shops and prepare. We predict the when night is at its peak the darkness will arrive. The ancient elders of Uld will be leaving immediately in order to preserve the lore of this wonderful world. Citizens please prepare thyself and know that the elders will be back from their travels some day.

From the team: We regretfully announce that on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:59 PST the world of Uld known as Mythos will be going on hiatus. On behalf of all of the Devs and Community team we want to say thank you to everyone for their support and assistance with Mythos Alpha and Beta testing and we will see you soon.

The Mythos Team

The message board has also been taken down; however, this was announced several days prior to this latest message. Some were hopefull that the game servers would remain online. It is unknown whether development will continue at a later date or if this is a permanent hiatus.

Link: Going on Hiatus | Mythos

Nintendo has announced that, according to sales tracking information released today by the NPD Group, the Wii has now become the best-selling videogame console in the United States.

The NPD Group reported more than 666,000 Wii consoles sold for the month of June, with nearly 10.9 million Wii consoles sold in the US since its November 2006 launch twenty months ago.

"Wii was created with the goal of expanding the gaming universe through its intuitive motion-sensing controller," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive VP of sales & marketing.

"As we have demonstrated this week during the E3 Media & Business Summit, Wii continues to pioneer new ways for people to interact with their video games and with one another."

View: Full article @ gamesindustry.biz

WipEout HD has yet to be released because of a "specific technical problem", but Sony hopes it will be out "before the end of the year".

"There is a specific technical problem with WipEout that we have to solve. I can't go into details but it is a really, really tricky technical problem that no region has been able to solve at the moment," Sony Europe boss David Reeves told us when we hassled him about the game's progress this week at LA.

"I think it will come out before the end of the year but it is something that was just very difficult to get to grips with."

Source: EuroGamer
View: WipEout HD website

Sony's PlayStation 3 Home service – which has been constantly beset with delays since launch – is going to be 'region-locked' according to a Sony rep at E3.

While users will be able to visit any of their online friend's private apartment areas in Home, all the public zones in the virtual world are to be restricted by the geographical area you live 'IRL' (in real life).

It's another blow to PlayStation fans who were hoping that the service would be finally rolled out this year, which is also looking increasingly unlikely.

If you want to meet up with your pals from abroad, then you'll be able to invite them into your apartment, but warping into the game space to bowl or play chess is not possible.

This is allegedly to make sure that each region receives an 'experience most suited to their tastes' as well as, no doubt, to keep advertisers happy.

View: TechRadar

Blizzard has won the first round of a legal battle against the maker of software that automates game play in World of Warcraft.

It brought the case against MDY Industries claiming its WowGlider program infringed its copyright.

An Arizona district court has ruled MDY does infringe Blizzard's copyright but not in the way the game maker claimed.

WowGlider controls characters in Warcraft so they kill enemies and loot them automatically.

The summary judgement by US District Court Judge David Campbell says that MMOGlider, as the software is now called, breaks the terms of the license players agree to abide by when they run World of Warcraft (WoW).

Despite this decision Justice Campbell did not side with Blizzard in its claim that MMOGlider broke the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

MMOGlider is the creation of MDY founder Michael Donnelly and more than 100,000 copies of the $25 (£12.47) tool are thought to have been sold.

It has proved popular as it helps players overcome the "grind" involved in turning low level WoW characters into more powerful ones.

View: BBC News

The Japanese video game titans, Nintendo and Sony, announced wide-ranging, if not entirely breathtaking, constellations of new games and services at the E3 convention here on Tuesday, but did not appear to significantly alter their overall strategies in the fast-growing game market, as Microsoft did on Monday.

Nintendo — which is riding high on the gangbusters popularity of its DS handheld game unit and its Wii home console — continued to aim largely at children and the mainstream consumers who have adopted gaming in recent years, propelling the industry and the hobby beyond its historical base of young male players. Sony, which is finally generating some traction and excitement around its PlayStation 3 console after initial stumbles, directed most of its new offerings at more traditional gamers, as well as at movie buffs interested in the company’s high-definition Blu-Ray disc format.

While far from disappointing, the combined showings from the two companies appeared to leave some of the cognoscenti a bit underwhelmed.

Full article @ NY Times

Sources have indicated to GamesIndustry.biz that Sony Europe boss David Reeves is due to announce that the 80GB PlayStation 3 will be released in Europe shortly.

At SCEE's European press event in Los Angeles this evening, it's expected that Reeves will confirm the new SKU, with a release period close to September 2008 – the date the 80GB model will become standard in North America.

As with the pricing of the 80GB model in the US, it's thought the PlayStation 3 will retail for the same price in Europe as the 40GB model, and the current SKU will be phased out when stock has been diminished.

Back in October last year Sony Europe discontinued the 60GB PlayStation 3 in the region, leaving only the 40GB model on retail shelves.

View: Games Industry

Logitech has chosen this year's E3 to announce the launch of two new wireless peripherals for your next-gen games consoles.

First up is the company's new keyboard. Called the Logitech Cordless Keyboard, this is, according to the press release, the "must-have accessory for chat-oriented games and the Wii Internet Channel."

It's not just any keyboard, either, as it is equipped with 'hot' keys that will Zoom In/Out, go Forward/Back, hit Quit and OK that will apparently make it easier to communicate with friends and surf the internet all through your Nintendo Wii.

To stay in-keeping with the Wii's style, Logitech has coloured its keyboard, wait for it, white.

The second wireless accessory has been created especially for the PS3. Called the Driving Force Wireless, this racing wheel comes complete with force feedback, making your racing games feel that little bit more realistic.

The wheel is said to be lag-free, due to its 2.4 GHz wireless technology and also contains an expandable lap rest so if you don't have to bother sticking the thing on a table.

View: TechRadar

Square Enix Co., creator of the "Final Fantasy'' series of role-playing games, rose the most in more than a month after Microsoft Corp. said the developer will offer a new installment of the video game that's compatible with the Xbox 360 console.

Square Enix gained 5.2 percent to close at 3,250 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the biggest advance since May 22. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 2 percent.

View: Bloomberg

Microsoft has unveild two limited edition Xbox 360 controllers, which come in blue or red finishes.

The new controllers will retail with rechargeable battery packs, in the same finish as the controller, and are to be priced at USD 64.99.

Microsoft's website lists the controllers as being available from September 30 and will feature design changes such as new black accents and an upgraded rumble feature to prolong battery life.

View: Games Industry

Sony and broadcaster Sky have finally televised details of their joint subscription TV-on-PSP service, which is now available to the portable console's punters.

Dubbed Go!View, the service enables gamers to access a variety of telly content through Sky, including films. Shows are downloaded onto the handheld Sony gadget through a PC - the system uses the Windows-only Kontiki peer-to-peer content delivery system that underpins the BBC's standalone iPlayer and similar on-demand services from Sky and Channel 4.

Lots of TV shows are already available, including Top Gear, Doctor Who and one of Reg Hardware’s personal favourites, I’m Alan Partridge. There's a focus on BBC and Sky content. Films and sports are available for download too.

View: The full story @ The Reg