| Developer won't patch XBLA game because Microsoft would charge 'tens of thousands' of dollars Jul 19th 2012, 12:41  Seeing as how so much software is moving to online distribution, the significance of this controversy might extend far beyond gaming and XBLA. For now, however, the spotlight is firmly on Microsoft and the way it charges developers for testing their games and patches, after a well-known developer made an unusually public complaint. In a post on its official blog, Polytron said it would not patch a rare game-saving bug in its popular title Fez, because Microsoft would charge it "tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game." It added that "had Fez been released on Steam instead of XBLA," the problem would have been fixed "right away" and at no cost to the developer, which strongly hints that it'll jump to another platform as soon as its XBLA exclusivity expires. Responses to the story over at our sister site Joystiq are decidedly mixed, with some folks outraged that Microsoft's high maintenance attitude could hold back improvements in this way while others suspect Polytron of blame-shifting. Filed under: Gaming, Software Developer won't patch XBLA game because Microsoft would charge 'tens of thousands' of dollars originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Joystiq |  Polytron | Email this | Comments | | Verizon issues Q2 earnings, touts $15.8 billion service revenues in Wireless Jul 19th 2012, 12:13  Big red is reporting some green, green earnings. Verizon today posted its second quarter financials, and it seems pretty happy about the whole thing, thanks to $28.6 billion in total operating revenues -- a 3.7 percent increase over this time last year. The carrier's consolidated operating income, meanwhile, hit $5.7 billion for the quarter, up from $4.9 billion in Q2 2011. In Wireless, the company racked up $15.8 billion in service revenues (up 7.3 percent from last year) and $6.9 billion in data revenues (up 18.5 percent). The second quarter saw the addition of 1.2 million retail net customers, for a total of 94.2 million by the end of the financial period. Also, according to the numbers, smartphones now make up half of the carrier's postpaid customer phone base -- that's up three percent from last quarter. Continue reading Verizon issues Q2 earnings, touts $15.8 billion service revenues in Wireless Verizon issues Q2 earnings, touts $15.8 billion service revenues in Wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Google improves maps for several countries, helps you follow the path well trodden Jul 19th 2012, 11:27  So it seems the team at Mountain View won't rest until the whole world is mapped to within an inch of its cartographic life. Good for us though, and especially folk in Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lesotho, Macau, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore and Vatican City. Those nations have had their maps improved to be more detailed and precise. For example, when planning your saunter around Venice's St. Mark's Square, you'll now see the canals better aligned, along with 3D buildings and more detailed labels for places of interest. There's some more general housekeeping too, with multilingual names available, and clearer distinction between local and major roads. Planning a trip? Just curious? Drop a pin in the source link to discover more. Google improves maps for several countries, helps you follow the path well trodden originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 07:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Google Lat Lon (Blog) | Email this | Comments | |
