MS scraps cross-platform gaming

Microsoft has scrapped plans to allow cross-platform gaming between its Xbox 360 console and PCs, says ITProPortal.

The company had previously experimented with the idea in its 'Shadowrun' first person shooter, and had planned to make games like Gears of War and Unreal compatible with both console and PC.

The founder of Voodoo PC and the CTO of HP's gaming division, Rahul Sood, stated on his blog that the company decided to scrap the project as PC gamers would have benefited from an unfair advantage over Xbox gamers.

While physical sales still hold a dominant position over digital downloads when it comes to videogame consoles, retail is in danger of losing that spot with PC gamers, writes Variety.

A study from the NPD Group, which tracks videogame sales, finds that digital downloads of PC games essentially reached parity with retail sales in 2009. Online purchases of full-game PC titles hit 21.3 million in the US last year, compared with 23.5 million units purchased at stores.

PC digital downloads accounted for nearly half of unit sales but only 36% of the dollar sales. Profit margins are considerably higher on digital sales, however; so smaller dollar volume still meant healthy revenues for game developers and publishers.

Hi5, a former up-and-coming social network that shifted focus last year and is now trying to become a social-gaming hub, has debuted a portal for game developers, states GigaOm.

The president and CTO, Alex John, says the company is prepared to take on Facebook in a head-to-head battle for the gaming space. John, the former CEO of gaming site WildTangent, told TechFlash that Facebook accidentally discovered "a fantastic gaming opportunity" but has since neglected it to death.

John also described most of Facebook's popular social games as "parasitic spam engines" and said he believes Hi5 can show the social network how to do online social gaming properly.