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Video: Zune Multiplayer Games In Action
Posted by Adrian Covert at 5:32 AM on May 6, 2008
There's a Zune event going on up at the Microsoft event today and the Zune team showed off a few demos of games. Two cool aspects are that Zune XNA games supports 8-player ad-hoc wireless game play, and while there is no 3D hardware acceleration, it can use software rendering for 3D. The demo for the first-person shooter, Potato Chase, put these features on display.
There's a Zune event going on up at the Microsoft event today and the Zune team showed off a few demos of games. Two cool aspects are that Zune XNA games supports 8-player ad-hoc wireless game play, and while there is no 3D hardware acceleration, it can use software rendering for 3D. The demo for the first-person shooter, Potato Chase, put these features on display.
Potato Chase controls pretty smoothly with the Zune Pad. You push slightly on any edge and it moves you forward, backward, left or right. Click the middle, or any of the edges, and it fires a bomb toward your adversary. You can host a game, or join a game wirelessly with up to eight other players. While it is a primative demo, there was a minimal amount of slowdown while playing with two other people. There's also an API feature that uses album art to build the walls of the battle arena, however it wasn't functional on the demo units. Pretty cool stuff from the XNA team.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Vibhorsir
Posted 6:04 AM 6/5/08
I wonder if it'll work on first gen. Zunes.
Vibhorsir
Elvisisdead
Posted 6:02 AM 6/5/08
Looks good - good to see that they're expanding the use of the hardware.
Elvisisdead
P3nnst8r
Posted 6:00 AM 6/5/08
Warning: typical joke ahead
Yes, that's great, but i'd like to see it run Crysis.
ZING!
P3nnst8r
hatboysam
Posted 5:58 AM 6/5/08
For anyone who watches video on his/her PMP and isn't already ensnared by iTunes, the Zune 80 is the single best device available right now.
hatboysam
Monty
Posted 5:57 AM 6/5/08
Microsoft finally has an Xbox portable, and it appears to already have more games than the PSP.
(Yes, I am a PSP owner that is just bitter that I still do not have Gran Turismo for it.)
Monty
electrikecho
Posted 5:56 AM 6/5/08
I'm glad the 3d maze screen saver made it onto the Zune. I kinda missed it.
electrikecho
blackwand
Posted 5:51 AM 6/5/08
it looked like the turning and what not was fairly hard to see, understandable when you look at the hardware that they are trying to use... but definite duke nukem-esque gaming.... looks sweeet!
blackwand
apeguero
Posted 5:50 AM 6/5/08
Castle Wolfenstein anyone? Oh, and what's up with those things they're shooting? Why not regular rounds? Looks cool though. I'll stick to my Jesus Phone. (BTW, that's iPhone not Jesus' phone for those of you in Rio Linda).
apeguero
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 5:47 AM 6/5/08
That sucked!
Noobs-R-Us
maven2k
Posted 5:46 AM 6/5/08
Another great reason to get a Zune!!! I love it.
maven2k
mrxcel
Posted 5:46 AM 6/5/08
looks good . wow.... should i get a Zune now?
mrxcel
phantam
Posted 6:37 AM 6/5/08
ya the first and second gen zunes share all features, except the touchpad, shows that micorsoft is keeping to their promise of making past, present and future mobile hardware backwards compatible.
competitive with the others?????????!?!?!?!?!?!
WHAT OTHERS?
The zune 4,8.30,80 gaming only competes against the ipod CLASSIC, stop putting this up against the PSP and iPhone/iTouch... their not the same!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zune Currently is only pitted against the iPod Classic, and im sorry but even the games microsoft has shown so far run better than the crap on the ipod Classic gaming wise.
phantam
cmsjustin
Posted 6:34 AM 6/5/08
Craptastic
cmsjustin
Ken_Darrow
Posted 6:28 AM 6/5/08
I guess that looks okay. No 3D... it really needs to have that to make it competitive with the others.
Ken_Darrow
CasualGeek
Posted 6:19 AM 6/5/08
@Vibhorsir: It will work on 1st and 2nd gen Zunes. The controls will be slightly different because the 1st gen does not have the touch pad "squircle".
CasualGeek
honozooloo
Posted 6:15 AM 6/5/08
This makes me want to toss my touch in the trash and buy a zune. Now.
honozooloo
TOWken22
Posted 6:14 AM 6/5/08
It really is a shame that this kind of product integration took so long for the Zune. It could have been a far better contender to the iPod had Microsoft done something like this sooner. Unless, Microsoft has some tricks up their sleeves it seems as though it may be too little too late for the poor Zune.
TOWken22
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 7:05 AM 6/5/08
@phantam: Sorry, but people are not going to ignore the gaming capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch just because you insist that they're not the same.
Kaiser-Machead
taciturnforsale
Posted 6:57 AM 6/5/08
Seems like the shy Zune has a tough act to follow, what with his hipster hacker friend the Iphone rocking Quake and a 400mhz processor.
Typing that made me feel really dorky. I'm going to make up for it by drinking a 40 while thinking about lifting weights.
taciturnforsale
dragonphyre
Posted 6:48 AM 6/5/08
Welcome to 1994.
dragonphyre
bigbill25
Posted 6:47 AM 6/5/08
Sweet someone finally ported MIDI Maze from the Atari ST! Long live 1987!!!!
[en.wikipedia.org]
--Bill
bigbill25
sisedi
Posted 8:01 AM 6/5/08
@apeguero: Haha yes Rio Linda, they're a little behind over there. I think I'm the only one who got that.
sisedi
mricpx
Posted 7:56 AM 6/5/08
Anyone know if the games will be able to work on the smaller 4 gb?
mricpx
Woodwater
Posted 7:44 AM 6/5/08
Yikes.
That was bad. Really really bad.
Woodwater
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 8:12 AM 6/5/08
For those of you coming in your pants at the sight of this, just wait until you see what will be availble on the iPhone and Touch later this year.
Noobs-R-Us
pellier
Posted 8:41 AM 6/5/08
forgot to add this. No health bar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pellier
pellier
Posted 8:39 AM 6/5/08
I love my 4gig zune. the new nano was way to small and now that I can make games for it is even awesomer. If only I could connect to the internet...
pellier
giislander
Posted 8:37 AM 6/5/08
@taciturnforsale:
Do your research, the zune, even the original 30 gb version has a 400mhz processor.
giislander
paja
Posted 10:03 AM 6/5/08
My finger hurts just watching the video.
paja
aaj111
Posted 9:39 AM 6/5/08
That's pretty awesome, considering it's not impressive at a first glance, then I realized, hey this is a ZUNE, with 8 player compatibility!!
aaj111
apeguero
Posted 10:06 AM 6/5/08
@sisedi: SSSHHHHSSSHHH Don't tell please :)
apeguero
B
Posted 4:59 PM 6/5/08
@phantam: People, not tech specs, decide who is a zune competitor. And they are obviously choosing the ipod touch.
B
B
Posted 4:57 PM 6/5/08
8 player games!!! Now all Zune owners can play together!
B
techni
Posted 5:14 PM 6/5/08
@B
That's like saying iPhone/iPod compete with the DS/PSP. And they leave any game playing MP3 player in the dust. PSP destroys every handheld ever made and every console before the XBOX
techni
dremon21
Posted 11:30 PM 6/5/08
maybe if they got some games that werent only for kids it would be worth it!
dremon21
LyriCa1z
Posted 12:05 AM 7/5/08
The fact that the Zune provides a lot more tactile feedback than the iphone or touch will make gaming on the Zune a more user friendly experience.
LyriCa1z
CalebHaruhist
Posted 1:01 PM 7/5/08
Comment on Video: Remember everyone, this is pretty much a TECH DEMO... Eventually XNA will be open for EVERYONE to create games for their Zunes. Also remember, 3D games can suck much worse than 2D games. Look at all the 3D cell games, most are terrible!
CalebHaruhist
Shenzhov
Posted 6:44 AM 6/5/08
Oh please. I was dumb enough to buy a zune 80. It's not a bad little device, the zune store is total crap with that have to buy points mess. Would never use it. Problem with the Zune is that if you are playing music and try to maybe lets say, look through your pictures, the zune chokes.
I can only imagine just how wonderful the games will be on this thing.
Shenzhov