The Sky Player has officially launched today on the Xbox Live Marketplace with 24 channels available to watch.
If you’re an Xbox Live Gold member and also have either a Sky TV or Sky Player subscription, then you can watch all 24 channels directly from your Xbox 360. However, for all of you non-Sky subscribers then don’t worry, because you can still subscribe to the service for £15 per month, but the sport channels will cost you an extra £19 per month.
Terrestrial channels and HD channels are not being show through the service, but Sky’s Griff Parry said:
"More channels are being added all the time and we're confident terrestrial broadcasters will join."
Sky’s David Mercer added:
"For BSkyB it offers further evidence that its future subscriber growth is not dependent on its traditional satellite set-top box strategy."
"For Microsoft it is further confirmation that the Xbox is on its way to becoming not just a games console, but rather a complete home entertainment system." UPDATE!
Like us, you may have had some trouble getting the Sky Player service to actually work. Well Microsoft has pulled the Sky Player from Xbox Live and will be bringing it back later today. Hopefully they’ll have fixed whatever was wrong with it in time for us to watch The Simpsons.
According to Japanese newspaper, Nikkei, Nintendo is planning to release a ‘larger’ version of the DSi.
Apparently the new handheld will have a larger 4 inch screen (top and bottom) and will be the same price as the current DSi of 18,900 Yen. There’s also word that we can expect to see the new DSi, in Japan, later this year.
No information has been given about a European or American release, but Nintendo have responded to the news by saying:
"Our company isn't doing any interviews [about this]. We think it's a speculative article."  'Now that's what I call big... and made of Lego' A bit too soon, if you ask us, but will we really see a new DSi? A better question would be: Do we even need another version of the DS?
Nintendo has announced that a brand new, updated version of Excitebike will be available to download on November 9th in America.
Excitebike: World Rally is, essentially, a re-make of the original 1985 classic that appeared on the NES, but there are a few changes to the WiiWare version. You’ll be able to play the game with the motion controls of the Wii remote, or use the standard button control scheme along with making your own tracks just like in the original.
Best of all, you’ll be able to verse players from around the world via Wi-Fi thanks to Excitebike: World Rally’s online multiplayer mode.
Those are all the details so far, but we hoping that you’ll be able to send created tracks to friends and share ghost data as well. No European release date has been announced but we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
 You may remember that, last month, Nintendo announced that their Opera powered Internet browser for the Wii would be free of charge. They also said that people who bought the channel would receive a free NES game at the end of October.
Well the offer has changed very slightly, but for the better. Now, gamers will receive 500 points worth of Nintendo points, on their Wii, to spent on a NES game of their choice. But you’ll have to hurry, because the points are valid until 23:59:59 December 31st 2009.
So what will you spent them on? The Legend of Zelda? Castlevania? Or perhaps Kid Icarus? Well the choice is yours, but stay away from Donkey Kong Jr. Maths ’cause it’s crap.
Here’s something to piss off a few American 360 owners. Sony has announced a partnership with Netflix to bring streamed films and TV shows to the PS3.
The service, which expects to launch in America next month, will allow all Netflix members to stream their favourite films and TV shows straight to their PS3’s. The president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Jack Trenton said:
“The PlayStation 3 system has always been about more than just gaming, and it will soon be the only platform in the industry to offer consumers such a variety of convenient options for enjoying movies and TV shows.”
“Whether you want to watch content on Blu-ray disc and DVD, download it from the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, or stream videos instantly from Netflix, the PS3 system is the only solution that offers it all.” Don’t worry, this doesn’t affect us British 360 and PS3 owners at all, but can imagine that they will be a lot of angry Americans… mainly in the Microsoft offices.
The man behind the eagerly anticipated Epic Mickey, Warren Spector, has answered many peoples questions as to why the game is only heading to the Wii. "Well, think about it. Would you really want to tackle convincing Halo or Grand Theft Auto players that they want to be Mickey Mouse? Would you really want to do that? In terms of finding a congenial audience, let’s go for a platform that’s known for Mario and Link and now Sonic. Come on. Honestly, with the unit sales on the hardware, it was kind of a lucky happenstance. We made the call to go to the Wii long before it was clear that the Wii was going to be, at least for now, the best-selling platform."
"It was about going where the audience is and going somewhere where they’re going to accept a visual style that is more cartoony than people are used to seeing and where we don’t feel obliged to throw in every shader on the planet. “Look at the normal maps and shaders.” We don’t have to do that kind of stuff. It’s the right platform for this project, for sure. "
The game is due for release next year for all of you Wii owners.
 'Why can't I find any work, now a-days?' A CV of an ex-Eurocom animator has been found on the internet, but this is boasting the possibility of “GoldenEye 2010” on the Wii.
The CV belongs to a Mr. Craig Peck who has, apparently, been working as an animator "on Activision's James Bond series for the Nintendo Wii."
Peck’s line of working included "key frame animation, the preparation and clean-up of motion capture data, prop animation, in-game cut-scene animation, scene layout, and camera animation."
We’re not sure if this is a remake of the N64 game or whether it’s a brand new title, like EA’s GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. But we’re not really bothered about all of this because: (a) James Bond is incredibly overrated, and (b) this game will, probably, never be made.
But, as always, we’ll keep you posted on any future developments.
A teaser for “something Unreal” was posted on Epic’s website, and was quickly removed within minuets.
The page (pictured below) features some sort of logo with the sentence “It’s Unreal. And it’s almost here.” As soon as the page was taken down off of Epic’s website, forum threads we being closed down as well. Clearly, someone let the cat out of the bag a bit too soon. But what could this be referring to? A brand news Unreal Tournament game or perhaps a new Unreal Engine? We honestly have no-idea, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.
After yesterdays announcement by Steve Ballmer of a possible Blu-Ray disc drive for Xbox 360, Microsoft’s Major Nelson has decided to let everyone know that it was just a simple mistake.
 Major Nelson said:
"During an interview yesterday, Steve Ballmer was asked about Blu-Ray and the Xbox 360. I wanted to clear something up. Steve was referring to Blu-Ray accessories for the PC.
"As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360. In fact, the future of home entertainment starts very soon when Xbox 360 becomes the first and only console to offer instant-on 1080p streaming HD movies.
"With a library of thousands of TV shows and movies to choose from, Xbox 360 owners can instantly watch the movies they want, when they want, in the highest form of high definition."
So there you go, no Blu-Ray player for the 360. Besides, why would you want Blu-Ray when you can dust off your old HD DVD drive?.. What do you mean it was rubbish?
Mr. Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima, has praised developer Patrice Desilets for his work on the upcoming Assassin’s Creed II when they were both being interviewed in the latest issue of Famitsu magazine.
As-well-as talking about Assassin’s Creed II, Kojima also briefly mention Modern Warfare 2 and Uncharted 2 as “incredible” games. “I’ve been telling this to everyone who interviews me lately but I think there are three games that stand out above the rest of the pack in the remainder of this year. One is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, one is Uncharted 2, and the third is Assassin’s Creed II. Those three are just incredible."
“Assassin’s Creed II has been watched since before it was made, what with the first game selling over 8 million copies worldwide. You have intense pressure from the publisher and from gamers, but you still have to keep your schedule and strive to improve on the last game. I think that pressure has crushed more than a few creators over the years, but Patrice overcame it and clawed his way to the end of the project."
“I think he’s a genius for achieving that, and I’m really looking forward to what he does in the future.”
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