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Audiosurf, PGR and other games added to Zune HD with latest update

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 11th 2009 at 10:50AM }

Okay, so the Zune HD didn't get off to the greatest start as a portable gaming platform, but we're willing to let bygones be bygones should the device's most recent patch be as amazing as it sounds on paper. A recent press release has announced that firmware update 4.3 adds six free games to the Zune Marketplace: PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Piano, Checkers and Audiosurf: Tilt.

The press release does explain that, yes, you'll have to watch a short ad when you start these free games up. So what? It's Audiosurf on a mobile device, and it lets you make rollercoaster tracks out of your own songs. If we had to watch The Adventures of Pluto Nash start-to-finish every time we loaded the game, we'd still be thrilled.

Devs show Steam love as Pitchford defends his criticism

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 20th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Just under two weeks ago, Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford let out his less than pleasant feelings regarding digital distribution platform Steam and its owner, Valve Software. Today, Ars Techinca posted a rundown of developers from World of Goo's 2D Boy to Sam & Max's Telltale Games who all feel ... the exact opposite of Pitchford. "If this is exploitation, more please," Audiosurf creator Dylan Fitterer said.

According to Telltale CTO Kevin Bruner, "Steam may be one the greatest things to happen recently ... we put Steam as one of the A-list distribution channels; up there with XBLA and WiiWare." The praise doesn't stop there -- Ars points out that it was unable to find even one developer who would "admit to feeling exploited" by Valve's business practices concerning Steam.

We reached out to Pitchford, who told us, "As a gamer, I love Valve ... as a customer, I love Steam." He clarified, "From an industry perspective, Steam would be even better off if it were a separate company ... trust issues that result from conflict of interest could be mitigated." To Pitchford, it's a question of appearances rather than actual impropriety. "It's just perception within segments of the publishing and development community that, I guess, no one is really talking about."

We've posted Pitchford's entire (and quite lengthy) response after the break. Hopefully we're not alone in hoping everyone will just hug it out.

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Zune HD does games: Project Gotham Racing, Audiosurf 'in November'

by Christopher Grant { Sep 15th 2009 at 11:55AM }

While it doesn't carry the same cachet as "Election Day" or "Chinese Leftovers Day," Zune HD Day is still very much a real thing. With today's launch of Microsoft's pretty-cool-but-still-not-a-phone media player comes final confirmation that the Zune HD will support games. Buried in the device's launch press release is the following line: "Later this year, Zune plans to release ... fun 3-D games such as Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, Vans Sk8: Pool Service and Audiosurf Tilt."

Of course, three games does not a platform make and, while Apple is busy touting the availability of 21,178 games in the iPhone App Store, Microsoft is launching the Zune HD with a far less ... robust marketplace. Even at the launch of Apple's App Store, over a third of the 500 programs available were games; today, it's closer to half.

Unfortunately, the Zune HD isn't competing with the pre-App Store iPhone or iPod Touch, so when Zune marketing manager Brian Seitz tells the Seattle Times that it's "hard to say right now" if the "sometimes connected" Zune HD will be opened up to third-party app development, it's difficult to hide our disappointment. Game development on the Zune HD is happening on a "case-by-case" and not a "come one, come all" basis, Seitz says.

So, what he's saying is you shouldn't expect to see anywhere near 21k games (regardless of quality) and you can also write off seeing the Zune HD popping up on the list of IGF Mobile nominees next year. As a gaming platform, even a casual gaming platform, will this be enough to compete against the iPod Touch or even the PSP Go? We'll find out "in November" when these games are finally available.

[Via Engadget]

Source – Press release

Source – Seattle Times

Steam offers 75% discount on indie games this weekend

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 8th 2009 at 2:00AM }

Steam is offering the "who's who" of independent video games in an incredible sale you'd be silly to miss. For $30, you can get 10 indie games via the service:

There's a lower-budget $20 option as well, which only includes half the games above. Either way, you'll be feeding starving independent developers without having to break the bank. Oh, and most of these games are pretty fun, too. It's a win-win for everyone, so make sure you rush to Steam before the sale ends on Monday, August 10.

8bitar Hero turns NES music into Rock Band tracks

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 7th 2009 at 3:31PM }

"Oh, please. You think Painkiller is tough? You should try The Moon theme from DuckTales." We expect this phrase to soon become commonplace among the Rock Band and Guitar Hero elite as Insignificant Studios' recently unveiled 8bitar Hero program begins its swift rise from general obscurity to rampant popularity.

The program works like this: as one person plays an NES emulator, 8bitar Hero breaks down the game's audio code into four Rock Band tracks in real time. The developer's site has a complex breakdown of the algorithm that makes this Audiosurf-esque gameplay possible, though we know the truth behind the program's inner workings -- it's magic. Possibly dark magic. Check out the video preview after the jump, and decide for yourself.

[Via Offworld]

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Rumor: Audiosurf soon surfing onto iPhone

by Griffin McElroy { Mar 21st 2009 at 5:30PM }

Apple's recent preview of the iPhone OS 3.0 didn't really contain any savory tidbits for mobile gaming enthusiasts, save for one intriguing new feature -- the new model will allow the iPod Music Library to be accessed by independently developed applications. The possibilities for uses of this new capability are endless, but one idea collectively stuck in the minds of fans of customizable rhythm games -- an iPhone version of Audiosurf could now ostensibly be developed.

APPera, an iPhone gaming news site, recently issued this sentiment to Audiosurf creator Dylan Fitterer, whose response was as simple as it was promising: "Woohoo! I'm on it," he enthusiastically replied. We certainly hope he was being serious. Our hearts are so easily broken.

[Via Kotaku]

Bodysurf: Audiosurf meets the Balance Board

by David Hinkle { Jun 17th 2008 at 2:45PM }

Those of you who aren't big PC fans might not know what Steam is. It's Valve's distribution service for PC games, demos, and has quite the large community of gamers supporting it. If your PC can handle it, we suggest you check it out.

One of its most popular titles available is Audiosurf. We've touched on the game before, but never really went in-depth with it. Now, Evan Jones has gone ahead and hacked the game to include support for the Balance Board. It's pretty damn cool, if you ask us. Check out his work in the video above.

[Via Joystiq]

Bodysurf: Where the Wii Balance Board meets Audiosurf

by Justin McElroy { Jun 17th 2008 at 10:30AM }

We've made no secret of our love for rhythm action game Audiosurf. But if there's one thing we've made more blatantly obvious it's our distaste for exercise. So you can understand if we have mixed feelings about Bodysurf, a hack developed by Evan Jones that allows you to play the game using the Wii Balance Board.

If you're curious how you deploy your power ups, Jones has you covered, allowing you to shake the Wiimote to use them. We're sure you're also asking if a game can still be fun if it asks something more than fingertip energy from you, but for that we, sadly, have no answer.

Wii Warm Up: Rhythm-based downloads

by David Hinkle { May 28th 2008 at 8:00AM }

The news that Helix would be gracing WiiWare got us to thinking about other rhythm-based titles on the download service. It seems like all the competition gets the love when it comes to the genre. Steam has Audiosurf. Xbox Live has Rez. Even iTunes has Phase. Guess we'll see if Helix becomes the Wii's killer music-based title ...

But, we digress. Aside from the obvious (uh, Rez), what music-based game would you like to see available for download on WiiWare? Any of the ones listed above? A different franchise? Lay it on us!

Audiosurf gets a free, audioscrobblin' update

by Justin McElroy { May 6th 2008 at 8:30AM }

If you haven't taken a procedurally-generated spin on your copy of runaway indie hit Audiosurf for a while, you may want to fire it up: The game has gotten a batch of new features, referred to collectively as the "FM Update." You'll now be able to run the game as a music visualizer, make scoreboard comments and create your own mods. All the features (which we've listed after the jump) will automatically download the next time you load the game on Steam.

Perhaps most notably, last.fm audioscrobbling has been enabled in the new patch. We here at Joystiq would like to remind everyone that though audioscrobbling seems fun and a good way to really get to know people, it should only be performed by adults and only with protection.

Audioscrobblin' -- It's Worth The Wait.®

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Audiosurf will not ride its way to the XBLA [update]

by Dustin Burg { Apr 23rd 2008 at 12:30PM }

Update: Audiosurf creator Dylan Fitterer contacted Joystiq saying "Must have been a miscommunication. I never said Audiosurf was coming to XBLA." We knew it was too good to be true. Lame!

We have eleven words for you. Audiosurf is coming to the the Xbox Live Arcade, w00t, w00t! Now stand up and do a celebratory dance.

According to a GamesTM Magazine article on the hit game Audiosurf, it mentions that the game "released via Steam to PC users and soon to Xbox Live Arcade." Double w00t! If you aren't familiar, Audiosurf is a pretty well received music inspired puzzle racer game where players ride a music "track" to collect colored blocks along the way. The most exciting feature Audiosurf sports is the ability to add your own MP3s to the game and play the music's racetrack. It's all very exciting stuff and hopefully Microsoft doesn't force them to cut the custom MP3 feature. If that happens, a ginormous piece of Audiosurf's soul would be lost.

[Via Game Stooge]

Audiosurf not coming to XBLA [update]

by Justin McElroy { Apr 23rd 2008 at 11:00AM }

[Update: Audiosurf creator Dylan Fitterer just wrote us to say "Must have been a miscommunication. I never said Audiosurf was coming to XBLA."]

If you haven't played Audiosurf, you're missing out on one of the best fusions of music and game since Milon's Secret Castle. After importing any MP3 you like, you're hurtling down a procedurally-generated course collecting and destroying gems, with every twist and turn created by your music. We know, we know, we're explaining it poorly. You really just have to try it.

According to GamesTM, you might soon have another way to do just that. In a feature about Audiosurf, the magazine reported that the game will be available "soon on Xbox Live Arcade." It seems like it would be a great fit on XBLA, so here's hoping we get some more official word soon.

[Thanks, Jonah]

Revolutionary: A Musical Revolution

by Mike Sylvester { Mar 11th 2008 at 8:00PM }

Every (other) Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.

The rhythm gaming genre, while relatively young, is already on the verge of becoming stale. Hitting buttons in time with a visual cue only remains as fresh as the accompanying song. But there's a new game that's set to turn the genre on its ear and destroy your preconceived notions of what a rhythm game can be. Today we'll be giving Audiosurf the GlovePIE treatment.

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Today's most innovative Rick Roll: Astley's hit on Audiosurf

by Ross Miller { Mar 7th 2008 at 1:00AM }

At long last, someone has found a way to update the "RIck Roll" phenomenon in such a way that we could post about it on Joystiq. Of course, we could have tricked you with a headline like "Check out the best Audiosurf play evar!," but that'd just be cruel. Instead, we'll give you the tools for successfully Ricksurfing your friends and enemies. Proceed with caution after the break.

[Thanks, Andrew!]

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Audiosurf becomes Steam's top seller for February

by Scott Jon Siegel { Mar 5th 2008 at 4:10PM }

Indie title Audiosurf had a very good February, indeed. After getting released on Valve's Steam distribution system, and winning the Independent Games Festival Award for best audio, the procedurally-generated music racing game has just been announced as the top-selling title on Steam for the month of February.

Though no sales numbers have been given, a press release from Valve reveals the results of February's Steam sales, with Audiosurf beating out titles like Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Counter-Strike. Not bad for a one-man, indie operation.

If you have yet to experience Audiosurf's transcendental gameplay, it's only $9.95 USD; go get it already. A video of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in Audiosurf after the break.

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