Microsoft

What Time Does The Xbox One Actually Check To See If You’re Online?

Persona fans know the answer. Everyone else: you’ll want to be asleep when it happens

As Expected, Francis Is Not Happy at All About Today’s Xbox One News

Think you’re mad about tonight’s flood of controversial news from Microsoft about the Xbox One? Your rage pales next to Francis’ fury. Francis’ reaction to the unveiling of Microsoft’s next home game console was something to see. But, in this one, he takes the current-gen Kinect into his big, meaty hands and tries to break…

Can Your Network Handle The “Optimal” Xbox One Experience?

Along with today’s clarification of the online requirements of the Xbox One, Microsoft also gave us an internet speed target: “For an optimal experience, we recommend a broadband connection of 1.5Mbps.” That doesn’t seem unreasonable. Let’s see how we do! A quick trip to Speedtest.net will tell you how your network is doing, and while…

The Xbox One Just Had A Very Bad Day

In two weeks’ time, we may look on this as one of the smartest PR moves of all time. But for now? It’s been a bad day for Microsoft. Seeking perhaps to head off criticisms that it had been vague (at best) and incompetent (at worst) in its messaging of core Xbox One services at…

Xbox One Lets You Share Your Games With Up To 10 “Family” Members

Here’s another interesting detail from the Xbox news that popped up this evening. Microsoft says that 10 of your “family” members can access your shared games library. Not just on your console. On any Xbox One. Here’s Microsoft: Xbox One will enable new forms of access for families. Up to ten members of your family…

Xbox One Kinect Privacy Concerns? Turn It Off. Pause It While Gaming.

Responding to worries that an always-on Kinect sensor recording camera and audio information would be a threat to user privacy, Microsoft offers a simple solution: the ability to turn the Kinect off, which they’d told us about. Better: pause it while gaming. You can also determine which personal data is or isn’t shared with others.…

Xbox One Games Can Be Traded In, If The Publisher Enables It

After much waffling, Microsoft finally delivers a concrete answer on the ability to trade-in or resell your used Xbox One games — it’s not up to them. According to the “How Game Licensing Works On Xbox One” document released today by Microsoft, the console has been designed so publishers “can enable you to trade in…

Xbox One Needs To Connect To The Internet Every 24 Hours For Gaming

Following a whole lot of mixed messaging and confusion Microsoft has just confirmed what we told you three weeks ago: the Xbox One will indeed need to be connected to the Internet once every 24 hours to play games. If you don’t connect once every 24 hours, you will not be able to play games…

Microsoft Accidentally (?) Advertises PlayStation Game

Microsoft’s Dutch Facebook page, maybe realising E3 was on the horizon, has asked readers/fans if they can recognise the four big games shown in an image. At first glance, they all look like games shown at Microsoft’s big Xbox One reveal. That bottom one is Collar of Duty. Above that, Madden. Up top is Forza…

The Only $1000 Bill Gates Photo You Will Ever Need

There are very few scenarios in which I would even consider spending $1000 on a photograph of former Microsoft boss Bill Gates. This – a signed photo of Gates playing Guitar Hero at CES looking like a goofball – is one of them. BILL GATES SIGNED PHOTO 11X14 RARE XBOX WII GUITAR HERO MICROSOFT JSA…

One Year Later, Did Microsoft Keep Their E3 2012 Promises?

E3 is just around the corner and, for the fifth year in a row, we’re taking a look back at the big three’s big E3 promises. What came true, and what didn’t? After looking at both Sony and Nintendo, it’s finally time to examine Microsoft. While Microsoft talked about a lot of games at their…

Deadline Hollywood says that Microsoft’s trying to get Hollywood bigwigs excited about the Xbox One. CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly said that Microsoft “doesn’t want to be a cable channel.” Well, that’s a relief.

The Vultures Circle To Pick At The Carcass Of Used Game Sales

Responding to a report last week that claimed Microsoft would be taking a cut from all pre-owned game sales on the Xbox One, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick chimes in with the inevitable follow-up. It’s equally hard to imagine used game sales surviving attitudes like this. Even if they technically make it past this generation of…

Why The Xbox One Is The “Blackest Black” A Black Can Be

The Xbox One is not just black. It is “liquid black”. There’s an element of marketing fluff behind this, of course, and the console’s design team are not short on marketing fluff, but behind all that, there’s some interesting reasons for the decision. No, really. Here’s an excerpt from a design piece on Microsoft’s new…

Get So Close To An Xbox One You’ll Think You Can Touch It

Seeing as precious few people on Earth have actually been up-close with an Xbox One in the flesh, why don’t you check out this 3D model of the console, which you can explore right here. You can rotate, pan and zoom to your heart’s content, getting close to all the lines, ridges and ports there…

Xbox One’s Kinect Can Turn Off, Microsoft Says, Noting Privacy Worries

The state of confusion around the new Xbox One console is such that we’re delighted to bring you the news that Microsoft’s next console has a power button. What’s more: its watchful new Kinect sensor that must be plugged in for the console to run can be turned off. Oh brother, big brother! Maybe this…

Microsoft Thinking About Giving You Achievements For Watching TV

Achievements are changing on the new Xbox One. They might be changing even more than we realise, though, if a Microsoft patent application for TV achievements ever actually comes to fruition. Yes, according to a report on GI.biz, last November Microsoft applied for a patent aimed at giving you achievements for watching TV. “Television viewing…

Report: Retailers Can Charge Whatever For Used Xbox One Games

According to “retail sources”, trade publication MCV is reporting that stores will be able to sell Xbox One games for whatever price they want. The catch? Both Microsoft and the game’s publisher will get a percentage of that sale. The way used games will be controlled and sold on the console has been one huge…

Microsoft Doesn’t Own XboxOne.com, Files Dispute Against Guy Who Does

Though it may seem ridiculous that Microsoft would name its new console without already owning the domain name for it, there are a couple of mitigating factors here. One is that the guy who owns XboxOne.com registered the name almost two years ago. That’s some good guessing! Fusible reports that Microsoft has filed a complaint…

The 360 Figures to Hang Around a Lot Longer than the Original Xbox Did

The Xbox 360 launched Nov. 22, 2005. Within two years, Microsoft unceremoniously discontinued its predecessor. The company expects the 360 to be with us a little longer this time. Yusuf Mehdi, a senior Microsoft executive, told Official Xbox Magazine that the company has a goal for the Xbox 360 of reaching a 100 million-unit installation…