Although Japan has a rich history of game development, it's relatively uncommon for Japanese-developed Windows PC games to be released in English markets. That makes the recent releases of Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (see our review) and Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim on Steam reason for celebration. Both games were developed by Nihon Falcom, with Mastiff publishing Gurumin and XSEED...
Microsoft has rolled out a new Vision API which can automatically categorize imagery of an adult nature. The machine-learning API is part of Project Oxford, and like the face detection API announced yesterday — which determines your age and gender based on a photo — is aimed at assisting devs in creating more compelling apps for Windows and Windows Phone. The Vision API analyzes an...
Today, Microsoft gave more information about Windows 10, including the universal Windows Apps model. Details were presented in the breakout sessions called 'Introducing the Windows 10 App Model' earlier in the day. One bit of news we can confirm is that all Windows 10 devices, including phones, tablets, and PCs, can be developer unlocked through a toggle switch in Settings. Sightings...
The Microsoft Band Preview SDK is now making the rounds for iOS, Android, Windows Phone. Microsoft is still getting feedback from developers on what they like – and don't like – about the SDK. One way they do that is through a hackathon, whereby teams of developers need to come up with an idea and make a workable app usually in 24-hours. Microsoft recently held one of these Band...
Microsoft will update the price tier values for Windows Store during the week of April 13, 2015. Windows Store supports 96 tiers that publishers can use to price paid apps and in-app products. These price tier values are updated periodically to maintain consistency across currencies, accounting for changes in foreign exchange rates, taxes, and other geographic pricing considerations....
One year after launch, the Xbox One has a single massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called Onigiri. Based on Japanese mythology, Onigiri has a beautiful fantasy world to explore and lots of content for role-players to enjoy. And it's even free! The only downside is it's entirely in Japanese. We've already published a helpful guide to downloading Onigiri and...
Adventure Time is a comedic animated fantasy show that seems perfect for videogame adaptations. Last year, fan-favorite developer WayForward created an Xbox 360 game called Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! Despite the company's track record with quality licensed games, Explore the Dungeon didn't set the world on fire. This year, WayForward and publisher Little...
Microsoft is showing how valuable the Windows platform is as it tells developers that it anticipates roughly $100 million of Windows Store gift cards will be available this holidays for use on Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox digital content. The company says that during the holiday season, developers will also generate 2.5 times more revenue than during the rest of the year....
It started out as a mini-game inside Project Gotham Racing 2 for the original Xbox but Geometry Wars has grown since then to become a well known stand alone game franchise on its own. This week, the arcade shooter series gets a new installment, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, from UK-based Lucid Games. It's being published by Activision as the first game under their revitalized Sierra...
#IDARB or It Draws a Red Box Is easily my most anticipated ID@Xbox game of the year. Developer 'Other Ocean' describes the game as a "chaotic 8-player eSport jumping jetpack future arena ball game that is as inspired by Bomberman, Smash Bros., and NBA Jam." That said, the game is constantly changing and evolving as Other Ocean crowd-sources ideas from passionate users. Xbox One owners...
Developers building apps for Microsoft's Windows Store could potentially earn less money starting January 1, 2015. A change to the App Developer Agreement that takes effect next year would take away an appealing incentive for developing for Windows as developers could earn less money selling apps than they do currently. Currently, Microsoft is making it attractive to develop for...
Never Alone is a cooperative platformer for Xbox One that stars a young girl named Nuna and her mystical Fox companion. The pair must traverse the frozen climes of Alaska as they seek a way to stop the endless blizzard that plagues Nuna's village. Never Alone is a unique and beautiful window into the folklore and culture of the Native Alaskan Iñupiat people, and also an entertaining...
At the Connect() event in New York City, Xamarin extended their partnership with Microsoft and announced a new set of offers for developers. Xamarin enables development of cross-platform mobile applications targeting phones, tablets, and embedded devices running on iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows. Connect(), a developer event hosted by Microsoft outlining the company's next steps with...
Earlier in the summer we reported on a strikingly lovely Windows Phone puzzle game called Dream of Pixels. The game comes from Slovenian developer Dawn of Play, who first joined the Windows Phone scene with Twinoo, another puzzle game for Windows Phone 7 and 8. Like many developers, Dawn of Play started out creating games for iOS. Porting Dream of Pixels to Windows Phone 8 represented...
Earlier this month, Activision announced a new Ninja Turtles game for Xbox 360 and other consoles called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze. The game will be a single-player exploration-based action platformer, and comes from fan favorite developer WayForward Technologies. As a lifelong Turtles fan, I was thrilled to see the license paired up with a skilled developer like...
A month ago Microsoft gave Windows Phone developers the ability to respond to Store reviews. This was a new feature welcomed by the developer community as it gave them a way to address misinformed reviews or customer complaints. Now a month later, Microsoft has shared some details on the success of the program so far. For example, most developers see an average star rating increase of +...
Microsoft announced a big batch of upcoming ID@Xbox games for Xbox One at E3 earlier this summer. One of the more interesting titles from that announcement is Woolfe: the Red Hood Diaries from Belgian game developer GriN. Woolfe is a 3D action-platformer starring Little Red Riding Hood. The game intertwines her tale with several other fairy tales, creating a dark and unique fantasy...
Microsoft reportedly has a lot of ideas for the name of its revamped IT conference, which will be held in Chicago from May 4-8, and is reportedly sending a list of those ideas to a select number of customers and partners to get their input. ZDNet, via unnamed sources, got a hold of the short list of names that could be used for the conference, which will merge the content from...
Microsoft is rolling out the ability for developers to respond directly to reviews in the Windows Phone Store. Replying to reviews is a feature that we reported on before the Windows Phone 8.1 announcement and was later confirmed by Microsoft. Select developers have had the ability since April thanks to a phased rollout, but a wider rollout is taking place now. Microsoft began the...
Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 is now rolling out to those enrolled in the Preview for Developers program. Enthusiasts and developers can try out the latest version of Microsoft's mobile operating system by participating in the program. This update introduces new features, like Live Folders on the Start Screen, and also introduces support for new device resolutions. Developers will want to...