I’m considering the XNA pacakge so I can install games on my Xbox. I looked into how hard it is and then I realized it’s a pay only feature. It’s $100 for homebrew games on my Xbox and thats a bit much this week. I gotta find out how many games there are and how easy it is to install them. Wheres the best Xbox XNA games place?

Connecting to Your Xbox 360 Console with XNA Game Studio 2.0

This guide assumes you have already installed a supported version of Visual Studio tools and XNA Game Studio. These products must be installed before connecting to an Xbox 360 console. For information about installing these products, see Setup and System Requirements.

* Step 1: Sign In to Xbox LIVE
* Step 2: Download XNA Game Studio Connect
* Step 3: Connect Your Xbox 360 Console and Windows-Based Computer
* Step 4: Create and Deploy an Xbox 360 Project
* What’s Next?

Step 1: Sign In to Xbox LIVE

Turn on your Xbox 360 console and sign in to Xbox LIVE. You will need at least a Silver Xbox LIVE membership, an XNA Creators Club membership, and a hard drive for your Xbox 360 console to be able to develop games for Xbox 360 using XNA Game Studio. While you are in XNA Game Studio Connect or playing an XNA Game Studio game, you must remain connected to Xbox LIVE.
Step 2: Download XNA Game Studio Connect

XNA Game Studio Connect must be downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and installed on the Xbox 360 console. XNA Game Studio Connect is listed on Xbox LIVE Marketplace next to the XNA Creators Club Subscription, which may be found by selecting Game Store, More…, Genres, and then Other.
Step 3: Connect Your Xbox 360 Console and Windows-Based Computer

When you develop games for Xbox 360, you develop them on your Windows-based computer, then transfer them over your local network to your Xbox 360 console. This requires that your Windows-based computer and Xbox 360 console share the same subnet. Most home networking layouts support this configuration. If your console and computer share a router or hub, it is likely that they share the same subnet.

With your computer and console on the same subnet, follow these steps to set up a connection between your computer and your console.

Technorati Tags: zune, xna, zune xna, zune games

Written by Alfred @ Zune MAX - Visit my Zune Card in the Zune forums now!

Popularity: 28% [?]

Tags: Games, Gaming, Microsoft, Video Games, Xbox, Zune, Zune Game Player, Zune News, Zune Rumors, Zune SDK, Zune Software, Zune XNA, xna, zune games, MICROSOFT, xbox, xbox 360, xbox live, zune, zune game, zune xna

Found another great article on Gamasutra about Xbox Live and XNA but the most interesting quote in the entire article was the one below:
Gamasutra - Connecting Communities, Redefining Xbox Live: Chris Satchell On XNA

It’s interesting. There’s always been the theory that Microsoft was going to do the “X Boy,” but there’s never been any real credibility to that theory, as far as I’m aware. Coupling XNA with Zune is an interesting way to still get into the handheld games space with an existing device and not have it be a potential problem or liability.CS: It is interesting, because Zune was never designed for gaming. I don’t know about you, but I love the way this control input feels, especially…

I’m excited about what can be done with XNA on Zune and I think game development is going to be awesome for Zune. I wrote about the XNA platform when it first came out and I knew then that XNA was a great fit not only for Xbox but for Zune as well and recent announcements have confirmed what I already knew. Microsoft mobile games development will be under the Zune platform more so than Xbox. There is no Xboy coming Zune!

Written by Alfred @ Zune MAX - Visit my Zune Card in the Zune forums now!

Popularity: 100% [?]

Tags: Games, The Zune, Video Games, Xbox, Zune, Zune Developers, Zune Game Player, Zune SDK, Zune XNA, xbox, xbox live, xna, zune, zune game player, zune games, zune xna

I realized that I never posted a link to the announcement last month about XNA development on Zune. It’s been a long time coming but we’ll have games for Zune that are designed and developed by members of the Zune community. If anyone is as hyped about developing a game as I am then please contact me so we can get to work on building some games for Zune game players.
XNA Team Blog : Announcing: XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Zune

Announcing: XNA Game Studio 3.0 and ZuneDavid “LetsKillDave” Weller

XNA Evangelist

We could have rested on our laurels by just announcing the new Xbox LIVE community games and XNA Creators Club Online features, but we’re a driven bunch of people here, and we’re passionate about gaming, so let’s lob another amazing treat out there.

The XNA Community Games Platform team is delighted to offer you a sneak peek at our first major feature for XNA Game Studio 3.0: The ability to build games for the Zune platform! This will let you write one game and deploy it to all three platforms that XNA Game Studio 3.0 will support: the Xbox 360, Windows, and now the Zune. While the Zune lacks the 3D graphics horsepower to drive high-end games like you can on the Xbox 360, we’ve taken extreme steps in making sure that you will have the broadest access to the XNA Framework APIs possible, allowing you to create fun Zune games while still letting you integrate carefully with the overall Zune media experience. That means that XNA Game Studio 3.0 integration includes discoverability/access to the user’s music – allowing the user to customize background soundtracks or create real-time visualizations at their discretion. In addition, the XNA Community Games Platform team has announced the ability to have multiple Zunes wirelessly engage in an ad-hoc gaming experience (think of the possibilities!).

Our current planning is to offer a preview release of XNA Game Studio 3.0 in the Spring 2008 timeframe, with a final release scheduled for the holiday 2008 season. We look forward to your feedback and seeing what kind of amazing games you can create for the Zune!

Read more about this at http://creators.xna.com/whatsnew.aspx

Written by Alfred @ Zune MAX - Visit my Zune Card in the Zune forums now!

Popularity: 93% [?]

Tags: Community, Games, Gaming, Microsoft, The Zune, Video Games, Xbox, Zune, Zune Developers, Zune SDK, Zune XNA

I’ve spoken to two different members of the Zune Crew about the Zune as a platform. Both Microsoft employees were rather quick to tell me it’s not. Dave Caulton flat out says Zune is not a platform in this blog posts at Zunester.com. I understand Daves’ reasoning as to why he feels it’s not a platform and what concerns me is that they miss the point. I think consumers want it to be a platform and they want it open up to modification by a variety of developers so that they can truly personalize their Zune players.

Within days of the Zune release date we saw as bunnie studios cracked open a brand new Zune player and revealed to the world the Zune internal hardware. The Zune uses a Freescale iMX31L processor which "implements high-performance audio functions suited to high-end applications, such as smartphones and UMTS handsets" according to their websites.

 

That sounds like plenty enough for a portable media player and some say it’s enough processor for a gaming device. This product detail page shows the Zune has a "FS455/6 PC-to-TV Encoders support High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD) outputs and are compatible with most graphic controller chips" It seems the Zune could support High Def and better resolution than we get on the Zune player but the limitations must be related to battery consumption. What really lacks here is battery technology as a whole, they really need to focus on building a better battery for the mobile age or we’ll all be wireless for 12 hour stretches tops without a booster battery.

Our new friends at IpodMods.com , an industry leader in used iPod repairs and parts sales, are setting up to offer Zune Repairs for the inevitable day when a Zune breaks while out of warranty and they have taken their first Zune apart. They have a nice layout of the Zune disassembly process and how to take your Zune apart if you have the need to. They also offer a 40GB hard drive upgrade using a nearly identical Toshiba MK4009GAL Hard Drive instead of the Zunes’ 30GB MK3009GAL. If you think you can handle the installation go for it or you can have them install it for you. They also offer replacement Zune screens, extended life batteries and more. Check out IpodMods.com for Zune upgrade parts and repair services.

 

Talk on the net is about the fact the Zune processor can support Linux and the possibilities of hacking Zunes to run linux and open wifi. I think it’s awesome for one reason. It will force Microsoft to recognize the consumers choice that the Zune is a platform and they need to cater to the developers market so eager to modify and customize the Zune players. What better way to gain market share then to offer one unit with many variations based on users needs. Its good to know consumers want a choice and if not given one suitable we’re willing to make one for ourselves.

 

Written by Alfred @ Zune MAX - Visit my Zune Card in the Zune forums now!

Popularity: 36% [?]

Tags: The Zune, Zune Developers, Zune Hacks, Zune Hardware, Zune SDK, Zune Software

Our new forum moderator Spell 125 has graciously donated his time and effort to assisting me, the graphically challenged, by designing a new header for the front page of the Zune MAX blog. The goal was to flow better with the design and style of the forums and to show our relationship to the Zune device.
I think it looks awesome and I’m most appreciative of his work for our community. Spell 125 is on a roll considering he was also the lucky winner of a Zune poster when selected as designer of the Zuneguy logo.

Spell 125 is better known as James Hostetler and for his blog DAPularity which offers the low down on the latest digital audio players (DAP) in the market. He’s come up with a cool iPod vs Zune size comparison image that shows the difference between a Zune, an iPod and a deck of cards. It really helps put things in perspective as to the actual size of Zune for those of us unfortunate enough not to have held one yet.

James also has a nice write up on Rock Box on Zune. which is a very designable custom firmware used to extend the software capabilities of digital audio players. He feels Microsoft has no reason not to open up the Zune for customization or "modding". He writes in his DAP blog: "By basing the coding off a commonly used language and OS, Windows made their PDAs easily accessible to windows-based applications and allowed them to run a multi-tude of interesting multimedia programs. I would have to say I expect the same efforts for the Zune. By placing no barriers between the Zune and its customers, I believe Microsoft will open it up to those respectable modders that make our life so much more personalized."

I have to agree with James in that the best move Microsoft can make is to open up the Zune platform to the army of existing Windows developers for an almost endless array of extensions and applications for Zune. The power of the Windows development world is a vital asset in the success and capabilities of Zune. I’m hopeful the announcement by David Cauldon at Zunester about there not being a Zune SDK relates to the fact they have something much larger prepared for Zune developers. I think it may be more like a Zune XNA Framework, or Zune ZNA maybe, that would be used for development on the Zune. David says Zune is not a platform but a  consumer device. I say the consumer will decide that the Zune is in fact a platform and should left for all of us to personalize with third party extensions for a truly "connected experience" in our "digital lifestyle". The market will force them to open the platform to developers if they want it to succeed and in the end there will be a Zune SDK of some form or other.

So, I would like to thank James for his work on cleaning up the look of things around here. I would also like to thank all the other dedicated members of the Zune community for their ambitious assistance in building a great forum. We’re having fun in our Zune boards and you should check it out if you haven’t yet.

 

Written by Alfred @ Zune MAX - Visit my Zune Card in the Zune forums now!

Popularity: 27% [?]

Tags: The Zune, Zune Developers, Zune Firmware, Zune Hardware, Zune Reviews, Zune SDK, Zune XNA