360 Archive

Sky Player On Xbox LIVE Update!!

Words by

Russell Maher

Posted on October 30, 2009

Posted on the Xbox.com forums by Xbox Community Manager Graeme Boyd:

Hi everyone – I’ve been talking to the team working on Xbox and Sky Player and they’ve given me this statement:

“We know that this is frustrating for those of you that are not yet able to access the Sky Player service on Xbox 360.

We know some of you have been able to access the service, and some can’t, this is due to the unprecedented scaling issues we’ve experienced.

This is unfortunate and we are doing everything we can to open the service to everybody. To make this possible we are doing the following; working with our Sky beta community and tens of thousands of consumers from the launch morning to test the service over the course of the weekend.

We aim to have this resolved as soon as possible.

In the meantime we really appreciate your support and patience while we address the problem.”

That’s all I have right now, but I’ll keep an eye here over the weekend and try to answer as many questions as possible and give you an update on Monday. Thanks again for your patience.

Review: Rock Band Queen DLC (Xbox 360)

Words by

Jennifer Allen

Posted on October 30, 2009

For the uninformed (and shame on you if you are), Queen are a huge rock band. A band that has spanned four decades in one form or another, they are responsible for such memorable classics as We Are the Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody and Under Pressure, as well as so many more. For me they are the ultimate rock band and I would have loved to have seen Queen Rock Band rather than Beatles Rock Band (not that I don’t love the Beatles too) but alas it was not to be. Instead my hunger for Queen based rhythm action has been sated by the song pack that has just come out for Rock Band comprising of 10 of the best Queen songs.

The song pack comprises of Another One Bites the Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Fat Bottomed Girls, I Want It All, I Want to Break Free, Killer Queen, One Vision, Somebody to Love, Tie Your Mother Down and Under Pressure. A fantastic selection for any Queen fan, I’m sure you would agree. I have to admit I was a little disappointed to see that there was no sign of A Kind of Magic or Don’t Stop Me Now, my personal favourite of Queen’s back catalogue. There is also the noticeable absence of We Are the Champions and We Will Rock You but presumably this is so that we have all the more reason to buy Lego Rock Band, which will include both songs.

Despite these minor gripes, it’s difficult to complain really as all ten tracks are so strong. It’s great to see that there isn’t one weak link here in terms of song quality. When it comes to difficulty levels, it’s a fairly mixed bunch of songs with the likes of Another One Bites The Dust being ridiculously simple while One Vision and Killer Queen being rather fearsome at times, especially on vocals, usually the simplest of instruments I find. Playing One Vision on drums completely wrecked my arms but I was still grinning at every second of it simply because it was Queen.

How much enjoyment you’ll get from the pack really does depend on how much you love Queen. It’s refreshing to see a track pack that covers all skill levels, meaning that even the weakest of Rock Band players will manage to complete all these songs on easy. But really the enjoyment comes from the music. For me, and many others, songs such as Under Pressure and I Want To Break Free make me want to break out the air guitar anyway, so the ability to play them on Rock Band is brilliant. However if you aren’t very keen on Queen’s music then get out of my sight….I mean, this isn’t for you. It’s as simple as that.

VideogameUK verdict: 9/10 (best take 5 points off if you’re not a Queen fan though!)

Sky Player Problems Blamed On “Unprecedented Demand” For The Service!!

Words by

Russell Maher

Posted on October 29, 2009

Sky Player Problems Blamed On “Unprecedented Demand” For The Service!!

Via gamesindustry.biz:

Microsoft and Sky have said that consumers demand is to blame for the service being pulled from Xbox Live on the same day it launched.

The companies apologised for the delay, and intend to roll-out the movie and TV viewing service in stages to avoid similar problems.

“Sky Player on Xbox 360 launched on Tuesday 27th October and was met with phenomenal demand, with many tens of thousands of customers attempting to sign up within the first hour of launch,” said the companies in a statement.

“Unfortunately due to the unprecedented levels of simultaneous demand, we did not have the capacity to satisfy all service requests and therefore temporarily suspended all access to the service.

“Today, the roll-out will be implemented in phases to ensure that consumers experience both a smooth sign-up process and high-quality experience. We apologise to all customers that have not been able to experience Sky Player on Xbox 360, we assure them that this is being rectified and we thank them for their patience,” added the companies.

It is, as stated above, slowly being rolled out. Of the 2 consoles here only 1 has the service on the dashboard. There is a way of getting Sky Player though if you have already downloaded it and it’s still not appearing within the Video Marketplace. Just press the guide button on the controller, select quick launch, then latest downloads and it will be there. Just click on it to launch!!

I myself can’t seem to sign in. I get an error message along the lines of “You cannot sign in to Sky Player on this Xbox as it is not registered.” If anyone else is having the same problem, or knows how to resolve it, let me know!!

Sky Launches On Xbox 360. Again.

Words by

Russell Maher

Posted on October 28, 2009

Later today Sky Player will attempt a second launch on Xbox LIVE. A few technical issues yesterday meant the service was pulled within hours of its initial appearance on the service.

This is what was posted tonight on the Xbox Support site:

Sky Player on Xbox 360 launched on Tuesday 27th October and was met with phenomenal demand, with many tens of thousands of customers attempting to sign-up within the first hour of launch. Unfortunately due to the unprecedented levels of simultaneous demand, we did not have the capacity to satisfy all service requests and therefore temporarily suspended all access to the service. Today, the rollout will be implemented in phases to ensure that consumers experience both a smooth sign-up process and high-quality experience. We apologise to all customers that have not been able to experience Sky Player on Xbox 360, we assure them that this is being rectified and we thank them for their patience.

UPDATE: Via @OXMUK: We’re hoping Sky Player will be back up soon. We’ll let you know as soon as we know.

UPDATE 2: Via @OXMUK: Sky Player appears to be up, check the Video Marketplace tab on the NXE.

UPDATE 3: Via @OXMUK: If you can’t see Sky Player, try signing out and signing back into Live. It should appear on the Vid Marketplace tab.

UPDATE 4: Again via @OXMUK: We’re getting mixed reports, some accounts have access others don’t. Keep an eye on it though, seems they’re rolling it out gradually.

UPDATE 4: This time via @MajorNelson: Live members in Ireland & UK who looking for an official update on the Sky Player->keep an eye on Xbox.com support. I’ve posted the update above.

Sky Player Finally Hits LIVE Then Disappears!!

Words by

Russell Maher

Posted on October 27, 2009

Sky Player Finally Hits LIVE Then Disappears!!

Sky Player launched earlier today on Xbox LIVE. It was more of a whimper though, and not the fanfare that Sky and Microsoft were themselves hoping. After the initial download users were faced with constant network error messages. Even a journalist at the launch event in London noted that they were having problems there too.

Just after 12 noon I noticed that Sky Player had been removed completely from the Spotlight section and the Video Marketplace on the NXE dashboard. The Official Xbox 360 Magazine posted this on their Twitter.

Microsoft have posted the following on the Xbox Support website:

The Sky Player on Xbox 360 service did successfully launch early this morning, it has subsequently been suspended due to an unforeseen technical issue. With so much excitement and interest in the service, we’d much prefer to ensure that our customers enjoy the highest possible quality of service. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our customers who have attempted to access the service today. Sky Player engineers are hard at work to resolve the problem – we expect to have the full service available tomorrow.

So there you have it. We will now have to wait until sometime tomorrow for the service to launch proper.

UPDATE: Sky Player now says “Coming later today” on the dashboard. Clicking on the icon brings up a rather naff promo video.

UPDATE 2: Major Nelson has just posted this on his Twitter: UK Xbox LIVE Members: If you are having trouble w/ the Sky Player, we are aware of the issues and are investigating.

UPDATE 3: Via @OMXUK: Update! Sky Player is now back up, and working, but only if you’ve already downloaded the software. I have just tested it and no, it is not working. Still the promo video when clicked on.

UPDATE 4: Via @SuperKaylo: Sky Player update, there’s a statement on the Xbox support site here: http://bit.ly/18Nwlt. The statement has been added above.