Online warranty company SquareTrade made plenty of headlines when it reported a 16.4 percent failure rate on Xbox 360 consoles it covered.

In response to the interest generated by that initial report, the company has provided some more details on its blog of the methodology it used for coming up with that failure rate.

The money quote:

this report only tracks this test group for a period of 6 to 10 months after warranty purchase (ending January 31, 2007). Once this same test group is tracked for 24 or 36 months, the fail rate is certain to go up. Our data shows that failures spike in the third month after warranty purchase but remain fairly steady after that, with only incremental drop-off until the eighth month. This pattern is fairly consistent with all electronics failures.

Take-Two, for all its blockbuster success with titles like GTA, has never been a well-run company.

And the shenanigans continue.

I think EA is determined to see this thing through, and Take-Two shareholders will likely be overwhelmingly in favor, given how big of a premium EA is willing to pay.

EA is a big, well-funded company with lots of lawyers and accountants on staff, so I'm sure they know a lot more about the kooky financial and managerial doings at Take-Two than I do.

But this just seems like a giant potential headache for EA.

I just got this presser from D3:

Thrilling casual and hardcore gamers alike with the announcement, D3Publisher of America, Inc. and Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd. today confirmed their partnership for the development of brand new videogame Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, a rich new addition to the beloved Puzzle Quest universe. The game incorporates a powerful blend of casual and hardcore gameplay elements, similar to those adored by fans of the critically acclaimed Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, into an all-new futuristic, science-fiction setting. Puzzle Quest: Galactrix is scheduled for release in Fall 2008.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix is under development by Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd., confirmed for Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows PC and the Nintendo DS handheld system. The game is currently rated "RP" (Rating Pending) by the ESRB.

Even more big news today, AP is saying that Microsoft will halt production on the HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360.

No word if a Blu-Ray attachment will be next...

Read about the inevitable here

According to Bloomberg, EA has offered to buy Take-Two Interactive (creators of the 'Grand Theft Auto' series) for 2 billion bucks!

EA's plans to take over the world continue.

(UPDATE: looks like Take-Two had refused the offer, saying it wasn't enough!)

Read about it here

I've been seeing more lists like this in 2008... I think I need to make one.

Here's GameTrailer.com's lists of what they are looking forward to this year:

10. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- A dozen new characters, including Solid Snake, Sonic and Olimar as well as online play, expanded single player and co-op modes and a stage builder puts this highly anticipated game on the list

1. Resident Evil 5
- Topping the list at number one, the horror title Resident Evil 5 is sure to capitalize on the excellence of its predecessor with outstanding weapon upgrades, headshots and a creepier story line

Seeing this tech demo for the PS Eye camera for the PS3 about gave me a heart attack.

Watch as Kotaku has a demo guy draw a fish on a piece of paper and have the PS Eye and PS3 turn it into a turreted battle tank.

So COOL!

WATCH IT HERE

Yea! No one saw this coming (sarcasm, sarcasm).

'Gears of War 2' has been officially announced for November 2008.

How official? HERE'S THE OFFICIAL PAGE with some teaser (and gory) video. You can even pre-order.

Rarely, oh-so-rarely, does a game company delay a game to fix the problems found in press previews.

For example, 'Lair' should have been delayed and its control scheme overhauled.

Last fall, early press impressions of 'Army of Two' were awfully negative towards a nearly finished game. EA pulled the game from 2007 release and moved into 2008. Well, the release date is almost here, and it looks like the developers have removed the fat and firmed up the title.

IGN has their impressions and offered some new gameplay video:

I'm re-excited about this one!

That's the word from GamePro (via LocalTechWire.com, via Kotaku), anyway, and while I think the price tag sounds a bit steep, the deal would make sense.

It makes sense for Microsoft for two reasons:

1. As pointed out in the original article, Epic is valuable not just for the franchises it has created (Gears of War and Unreal Tournament), but for the royalties it collects for licensing out its Unreal game engine to other game makers.
2. With the departure of Bungie, Microsoft is surely looking for a top-flight development studio to take over the Halo franchise. Epic fits the bill nicely.

The deal makes sense for Epic for one reason:

1. $1 billion!!!!

If the deal does happen, though, it will be interesting to see whether Microsoft continues to license Unreal to developers working on PS3 games, or whether Unreal becomes an Xbox-only technology.

In my column this past weekend, I looked at Sony's determination to make the PS3/PSP combo the ultimate home media device in the universe.

The latest addition to the package is the so-called PlayTV, a devices that lets you turn your PS3 into a TiVo-like device to view and record live TV, and then stream that live or recorded television over Wi-Fi to your PSP, a la Slingbox.

The BBC has a nice writeup of the PlayTV with a cool video (PlayTV is scheduled to come out in Europe first this year, with the U.S. and Japan presumably following).

I am as entranced by this tech as any of you, but I just don't see a lot of gamers shelling out the cash for an expensive peripheral that either duplicates a gadget they already own (TiVo or other DVR) or a gadget that has yet to hit mainstream success (Slingbox).

Like I said, though, I'm certainly intrigued.

Here's my review from today of the new Skype Internet phone software for the PSP.

Bottom line: The technology works as advertised, but the headphone setup is a little clunky and being limited to making calls only when in a Wi-Fi hotspot means you can't ditch your cell phone just yet.

Still, it's free and fun.

Online warranty company SquareTrade.com sent me an e-mail today claiming that, based on a survey of more than 1,000 Xbox 360 warranties sold through the site, Microsoft's console has a 16.4 percent failure rate.

Of those failures, the fabled Red Ring o' Death accounted for 60 percent of the problems.

I'm actually a little surprised that it was only 16.4 percent, but SquareTrade doesn't say how long it's been selling warranties.

Because I suspect the failure rate for the first batch of consoles sold in late 2005/early 2006 was pretty close to 100 percent.

Also, I highly recommend this article from an anonymous source claiming to be a Microsoft insider. Again, it's anonymous, but it has the ring of truth.

The Dallas Business Journal got 3D Realms to spill the beans on the 'Duke Nukem Forever' release date.

3D Realms got a little embarrassed and denied it.

DBJ stood by their story and finally got an apology from 3D Realms.

I love when everyone hugs it out.

VICTOR UPDATE: Actually, if you read the "apology" article, it sounds like 3D Realms isn't apologizing for the denial.

They're apologizing for the confusion created by the original article. In other words, "We're sorry this happened," not, "We're sorry we impugned the reputation of the DBJ."

The "apology" link also includes an audio clip of the original interview where 3D Realms boss George Broussard says DNF "might" be out this year. Well, look, DNF "might" also come out when the sun finally begins to run out of nuclear fuel in a few billion years. Granted, the whole part about maybe missing the mark by a month or two sounds like the game is on the verge of being completed. But I wouldn't bet on it.

Bottom line: 3D Realms obviously screwed up in the interview, and is trying to obfuscate without actually denying or apologizing for anything.

Sure it's a dying format, but the purchase includes five free HD-DVD movies, so you're practically getting the player for free.

Here's a game that I've been anxiously awaiting. If you like Poker and Tetris-type puzzle games, then you might love the new Xbox Live release Poker Smash! You can catch a glimpse of the gameplay on YouTube. Available NOW!


I'm also excited to hear that 3 new (old) classic XBox games will be available for download on Monday: Black, Sid Meier’s Pirates!, and Ninja Gaiden Black. I think I've already decided that I'm downloading Ninja Gaiden Black...one of my most favorite games.

Some new titles just hit retail, but while I was waiting I checked out some cool game gear.

OK, it's a big week in the video gaming world. What's happening? Let me tell you in a new sort of way...

The Sony PlayStation 3 now comes in a beautiful Silver color bundle featuring a Sega-stamped box, some tattoos (or maybe stickers)... 1000 available... only in Japan (the same country that's getting the Xbox 360 Arcade in March). This is also the system that EA is predicting will outsell the Xbox 360 in 2008... in the U.S..

Speaking of PS3, if you buy its version of 'Devil May Cry 4,' you have 25 minutes of downloading to do before you start the game (at least it's optional). What's up with recent PS3 games and all the downloading from the game disc to the hard drive?

Hey, here's something else about hard drives: those 7 gamers that bought 'Burnout: Paradise' for the 360 are having a hard time playing parts of the game because IT REQUIRES A HARD DRIVE. Developer Criterion responds.

Oh, and if you smoke, don't Wii. Smoking gamers in Japan are finding their Wiis choking from second-hand smoke. The good news: Nintendo will clean the dying systems for free.

Finally, how is this going to work (?): Time Warner Cable testing pay-per-gig for internet usage in Texas. Can you imagine having to pay for Xbox Live, pay for internet usage, then PAY for downloading free demos?!

Interesting discussion over at Engadget about an apparent shortage of Elite consoles.

There's plenty of rumor-mongering, if you're so inclined (which I am).

My favorite theory is that Gates was all set to announce at CES a new Elite model with a built-in HD-DVD player. But the last-minute Warner defection to Blu-ray effectively neutered HD-DVD and Gates quickly pulled the plug on the HD-DVD Elite.

So now retailers have been clearing their shelves of the old Elite, but the new model with HD-DVD player never came along to fill the hole.

Or maybe there is no shortage.