Microsoft

Xbox One’s Day One Patch Takes 15-20 Minutes To Download

Let’s remember this on Nov. 22: Microsoft says the Xbox One will require a day-one patch that, the console’s chief architect says, will take 15 to 20 minutes to download. [first item, via IGN]

Xbox 360 Owners Say They Were Banned For Downloading Free Games

So, for a while now, and very much on the down-low, some Xbox 360 owners have been downloading free games, taking advantage of a loophole in Microsoft’s Xbox Live marketplace. I hope they enjoyed it, because a bunch of them are now saying they’ve had their consoles banned for their troubles. Here’s the situation: for…

Leaked Dark Souls II Videos Show Co-Op, Armor and Enemies

Dark Souls 2 isn’t out until March of next year. But the network beta’s been running in Japan and other places for a little while now. You know what that means: leaked footage showing what the hotly-anticipated sequel looks and plays like. There’s about an hour’s worth of footage total here so get a snack.…

Why I’m A Little Bit Worried About Kinect

I am a little bit worried about Kinect. I’ve just spent 10 minutes being scanned into Kinect Sports Rivals. I’m not sure if it’s working correctly. The only feedback I am being given is from a Microsoft rep to my right. He’s politely giving me instructions when the Kinect (for some reason) stops the scan.…

How Microsoft Could Be Jumping Over China’s Console Ban

In China, video game consoles are banned. Recently, there’s been chatter than the ban will be lifted. But who needs home consoles when there’s already a workaround: Ditch the game machines completely. This week, Microsoft announced (via WSJ.com) that it was partnering with China’s BesTV to create “family games and related services.” According to Reuters,…

The Metal Gear Solid Side Mission Demo Ended With A Badass Car Jump

If nothing else, Hideo Kojima knows how to work a crowd. So it’s only natural that he’d have something extra planned for the public day live performance of Tokyo Game Show 2013. In addition to the12-minute Ground Zeroes demo, Kojima also treated spectators to a brief side mission demo. Made specifically for the limited time…

One of Metal Gear Solid‘s Most Iconic Tropes Was Almost Axed

Looking at its gameplay, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and its prologue, Ground Zeroes capture the spirit of the Metal Gear series despite worries arising from director Hideo Kojima’s announcement that the game would be open world. However, a staple of the series—the exclamation point—was almost not included in Metal Gear Solid 5…

Crimson Dragon: Prettier And No Longer Kinect-Only

Crimson Dragon was originally scheduled to be an Xbox 360 downloadable game But as fortune and Mike Fahey’s prayers would have it, it is now an Xbox One launch title Director Yukio Futatsugi was at TGS this year to show off the new Crimson Dragon and comparing the game to when it was for the…

Don’t Worry, Japan. Microsoft Is Still Into You.

November 22nd. That’s when the Xbox One will be out in 13 markets Not among those privileged 13? Japan and other Asian markets While the Xbox 360 may not be the dominating force in the Japanese game market, it has its loyal fans and indeed Microsoft has recognized that, holdingspecial events to both gather support…

Dark Souls 2 Owes Me No Favors, And I Respect That

I have never played Dark Souls. I believe I should probably preface this article by making this fact clear. The original Demon’s Souls hated me. It hated my mother. It hated my whole damn family. I died so many times in my first hour of playing the game I just could not continue it. That…

Breaking—apparently! Japanese site Famitsu busted out a “sokuhou” (速報) or “news flash,” because Microsoft just announced the Xbox One would be launching in Japan in 2014. Online in Japan, people seemed amused by this, joking, “That’s sooner than I thought” and “Wasn’t it going to be 2015?” Previously, Microsoft stated the console would be out…

How To Install GTA V On Xbox 360 Without Hurting Performance

Today, Rockstar support advised Xbox 360 players not to install Grand Theft Auto V‘s second “play disc” to their hard drives. Doing so, they suggested, would affect performance. The 360 version of GTA V comes on two DVDs. One is an 8GB “install disc” that you must install, and a second one is a “play…

Fable: Legends Is Sounding Like An Xbox One MMO

In an interview on Games Industry International posted yesterday, Lionhead studio head John Needham outlined the developer’s big-picture plans for Fable: Legends, its upcoming Xbox One exclusive title. According to Needham: “This is the next big Fable game that is going to be out for five to ten years so it needs to be big,…

Report: PS4 Is ‘50% Faster’ Than Xbox One [UPDATE]

With about two months to go before the release of the Xbox One and PS4, there’s been a lot of buzz about the performance capabilities of both next-gen consoles. A new article over at Edge has sources apparently familiar with developing for both consoles saying that Sony’s upcoming hardware is more powerful. But the difference…

Siri who? Looks like Microsoft is working on its own version of Siri, and it’s codenamed “Cortana.” (Via The Verge)

Game Dev Claims PS4 Is More Powerful, But Microsoft Pushes Back

The next-gen console war is getting more and more entertaining every day. As developers and executives publicly argue about the differences between the upcoming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it’s time to take out the popcorn and enjoy it. Over the weekend, a curious thing happened: one game developer claimed a huge performance disparity between…

Watch Out Spotify: Xbox Music Is Finally Coming To iOS & Android

These days, all-access streaming music services no longer feel like unlikely magic tricks—they’re a convenient, widely adopted way to listen to music. There’s clearly a lot of money to be made in streaming music, and big technology companies aren’t going to sit idly by and let upstarts like Rdio and Spotify corner the market. Enter…

Every Game Coming Out Between The PS4 And Xbox One

PlayStation 4: November 15. Xbox One: November 22. But when do the games come out? And don’t forget that they’re still making games for the Xbox 360 and PS3, which we will soon have to refer to as the “old consoles” (can you imagine?). In the one-week span that we’ll be getting Sony and Microsoft’s…

Somebody Already Has An Xbox One

Last week, the first Xbox One consoles rolled off the production line. So, naturally, we’ve now got video of someone using one, a whole two months ahead of the machine’s launch. In this clip – uploaded earlier today – you’ll see the lucky/wanted man give us a quick tour of the control pad, console and…

Watch Some Hot Sexy Xbox One Dashboard Action, Right Now

[Update:] The video has since been removed. Someone with a copy of Ryse and, apparently, an Xbox One or hardware strong enough to run that game, released this video yesterday, showing less about the game and the new console and more about how the dashboard performs on it. Awesome. The Xbox One dashboard. That really…