MS reveals Xbox on-demand pricing

Microsoft has revealed the price of its forthcoming on-demand gaming section for the Xbox 360, with titles likely to range from 1 600 to 2 400 MS points, reports TechRadar.

This equates to around £13 (R176) to £20 (R270) per title for gamers, and was confirmed to Joystiq by Microsoft as the likely opening cost when the service goes live on 11 August.

This means the games, with less packaging and distribution to worry about, will actually cost less than their high street equivalents, which might see a glut of users who don't care about holding the physical media switching quickly to an online version.

Reports suggest that Apple is to announce a multimedia and gaming tablet next month, according to Digital Spy.

The touch-screen device, which will cost $800, will play music, video and games on a 10-inch screen.

An analyst believed to have used the device said it is "better than the average movie experience when you hold this thing in your hands", according to Eurogamer. Playing games on the tablet, which has become increasingly popular on the iPhone, will "be a big part of what this is about", he added.

Sony has had to remove in-game advertising from Wipeout HD on the PS3, following widespread criticism from not only gamers playing the game, but also criticism from some parts of the gaming press, states Product Review News.

According to ArsTechnica, the ads were not present in the game when Wipeout HD was introduced. It was only after an update to the game that resulted in the appearance of these ads that the complaints came pouring in.

While many gamers don't mind the odd in-game ad or two, the new ads featured in Wipeout HD were simply too much, and proved that they significantly added to loading times.