Video Games

MaddoxX, a member of hacking group no-steam recently cracked one of VALVe’s file servers and obtained strange bits of confidential information, including credit card numbers, Valve software assets, and private security keys. Steam-review claims that because a Steam server was not compromised, there is no danger. Doug Lombardi, director of marketing at Valve, issued a statement with a similar sentiment:

There has been no security breach of Steam. The alleged hacker gained access to a third-party site that Valve uses to manage the commercial partners in its Cyber Cafe program. This Cyber Cafe billing system is not connected to Steam. We are working with law enforcement agencies on this matter, and encourage anyone with more information to e-mail us at Catch_A_Thief@valvesoftware.com .

Is this an authentic break-in at Valve, or just hype spun out of proportion by the blogosphere? Our favorite gaming site, 1Up, sheds a bit more light:

We ran all of MaddoxX’s proof by a software security expert who requested anonymity. “This looks real to me. He found a way into [Valve’s] Cyber Café software,” the security expert confirms, “but what I’ve seen — the files pulled down — don’t indicate whether or not he breached Valve itself.”

The data MaddoxX released includes:

- Screenshots of internal Valve web pages
- A portion of Valve’s Cafe directory
- Error logs
- Credit card information of customers
- Financial information on Valve

It’s our opinion that the hack is legit, and that Valve’s security model is flawed. If one file-server can be compromised, they all can. If they can’t, then Valve is deploying servers haphazardly, leading to the possibility that flaws will sporadically exist which can be used to exploit their customer base. If you play Counterstrike or Half-life, be scared.

We know quite a bit about the Xbox 360, due to be released in exactly 4 days (Nov. 22), but what we don’t know for certain is even more interesting. Several important rumors, and many more facts, have surfaced concerning the Xbox 360.

1) The Xbox 360 has been rumored to feature in-game ads in order to subsidize costs. This rumor started when Bryan Lee, chief financial officer of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices subdivision, hinted the possibility of partial costs of the Xbox 360 being subsidized by ads, in certain extra-North American markets (yes, it’s quite vague).

2) The Xbox 360 has been rumored to support custom, in-game music . The rumor was specifically that

at any time, during any game, the player could access a custom music selection and stream it into the playing field. However, speaking at Atari’s GoPlay event in Lyon, an Eden Studios representative suggested that developers could control the use of custom music, just like on the original Xbox. He stated that Eden would not allow players to stream in their own music during the studio’s upcoming horror-themed action title, as doing so would ruin the ambience of the game.

This is a smart move for developers, and hopefully they will be equitable in their judgments concerning the extent to which the player is able to control his music.

3) The Xbox 360 will have a high-resolution software emulator, enabling the 360 to be backwards-compatible with many of the original Xbox games. Below is Halo 2 emulated on the Xbox 360:

4) Tying in with the last tid-bit, the Xbox 360’s software-emulator seems to be region specific, with the number of original titles supported on the 360 seemingly proportional to the general popularity of each region:

while the US Xbox 360 will be compatible with over 200 Xbox games right out of the box, […] the Japanese list featured a paltry 12 games. Do these number corollate with the popularity of the console in each region? It might appear that way, especially with the list of European Xbox games compatible with the 360, released today.

The list features 156 games - not as many as the US, but still 13 times the number of BC Japanese games. The list, as with all regions, will be constantly updated as they get more original Xbox titles to work on your 360.

It seems like Microsoft is trying to compensate for their overly generous Japanese Xbox 360 Lounge.

5) Here’s quite a negative rumor, and it’s a bit disappointing. “Every single Xbox 360 launch title is single threaded. Apparently during a talk on multithreaded programming, a Microsoft speaker mentioned that all first generation Xbox 360 games will not take advantage of the Xbox 360’s two other cores. This probably isn’t worrying Microsoft too much, since they’ve given developers plenty of time to perfect their games before the PS3 and Revolution launch sometime next year.” Despite that many preview screenshots of the launch titles are breathtaking, it’s troubling that the games could be, in theory, three times the quality. Here’s a few choice screenshots of launch titles:

Test Drive:

Madden:

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion:

Need For Speed:

6) So while the Xbox 360 seems to be the clear choice for any enthusiastic gamer, the NY Post (via Joystiq) gives 5 good reasons why not to buy the Xbox 360 on the launch day:

1) Too expensive. If you want backwards compatibility a la the hard drive, it’s gonna cost at least $400 bones.
2) Lack of games. Most console launches suffer from a lack of games, the 360 is no different.
3) Wait and see what the competition will do. Before you rush out and buy one, learn a little more about PS3 and Revolution. Also, a mini-price war is eminent.
4) Hidden costs. Don’t forget the cost behind an HD set and your Xbox Live monthly subscription.
5) Older consoles are not dead yet. The GameCube, PS2, and original Xbox still have and will continue to have quality games for at least 6 more months.

It should be noted that these reasons are applicable to any new console release in the video-game industry. Given that the 360 is a ground-breaking system, I feel that it would be money well spent for the hardcore gamer.

7) Microsoft has officially released the launch-titles in North America, so no more speculation! Here’s the big 18:

Amped 3 (2K Sports)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision Inc.)
Condemned: Criminal Origins (SEGA Corp.)
FIFA Soccer 06 Road to 2006 FIFA World Cup (Electronic Arts Inc.)
GUN (Activision)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios & Rare Ltd.)
Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts)
NBA 2K6 (2K Sports)
NBA LIVE 06 (Electronic Arts)
Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)
NHL 2K6 (2K Sports)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios & Rare Ltd.)
Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios & Bizarre Creations Ltd.)
Quake 4 (id Software and Activision)
Ridge Racer 6 (Namco Ltd.)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 (Electronic Arts)
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (Activision)

Here is the official European line-up.

8) Joystiq has covered the Xbox 360 allocations for Best Buy by store:

Wanna know how many Xbox 360s are coming to your local Best Buy? Find your store number(s) off Best Buy’s official store locator, then check out the list for the right store for you to camp out next to on the 22nd or 21st.

Of course, knowing how many units have been allotted to the store of your choice doesn’t guarantee you a system on launch day, but it is touching to know that being an official launch sponsor does indeed mean more boxes at launch than the other guys (up to possibly a tenth of total U.S. numbers).

So if these figures are correct, Best Buy’s getting 40,770 systems in the U.S. total, split exactly 70-30 among Pro and Core systems. And as for those few anomalous stores with at least 100 Pro and 30 Core units? Just those among the 12 Best Buys around the nation slated to open their doors at midnight to sell the 360

9) The ninth point on this list isn’t a rumor or detail; it’s a resource. For any fanatic willing to shell out the big bucks, eBay auctioneer richman723 is offering to “fly to your location, camp out for 24 hours in front of your local XBOX 360 retailer, and personally deliver the new game system to your front door on release day next week.” With one day till the auction closes, you’d better hurry down to your bank and make that bi-weekly deposit, because the auction is over $2,100. But if you’ve got the moolah and you’re too lazy to get one for yourself, richman723 is the man…

With all the previous details in mind, we can expect support for our High-Def TVs, control over what we listen (to some degree), and a plethora of other benefits. This will be unquestionably the biggest and most demanded gift of the holidays.

While many portable hard drives exist, the Kanguru BioSTOR hard drive is one of the few, and one of the best, that features Biometric security. And what is this Biometric security? It’s a system that will scan your fingerprint and let you access the contents of the hard drive if, and only if, your fingerprint is a perfect match. The hard drives are USB 2.0 compatible, and can be purchased in sizes of 40GB to 100GB at prices ranging from $229.95 to $349.95 The hard drive can encrypt data at the rate of 1.6 gigabits per second. As soon as the hard drive is removed from your USB port, it automatically locks and remains at status quo until your fingerprints are scanned again.

[thanks, Engadget]