Microsoft - Page 140 of 239

Here’s What (Some) Japanese Developers Are Looking Forward To In 2013

And so this is 2013, and what have we done? Another year over, and a new one’s just begun… Holiday songs aside, 2013 is upon us, and that means reflecting on the past year and looking forward to things to come. This week, Weekly Famitsu asked several Japanese game developers about their plans for 2013.…

By Toshi Nakamura Published January 10, 2013

There’s An Official Xbox 360 Car Being Sold In Mexico

Because… somebody wills it, Volkswagen’s Mexican branch will soon be selling a limited edition Beetle based on the Xbox 360. With branded stripes down the side and a colour range that (mostly) matches that of Xbox 360 consoles, it’s certainly a thing Strangely, there’s no Xbox 360 integration in the car (sorry, this isn’t Pimp…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 10, 2013

Microsoft’s IllumiRoom Concept Turns Your Entire Room into a Video Game Level

Microsoft and Samsung apparently think that your TV—no matter how big it is—isn’t big enough. That’s the only possible explanation for the two companies’ partnership on the IllumiRoom project, which projects images and colors across the space that you’re playing video games in. Shown off at CES during Samsung’s keynote today, IllumiRoom pairs up a…

By Evan Narcisse Published January 9, 2013

Xbox Support Staff Say They Were Fired After Posting About Their Jobs On Kotaku

If you do customer support for Microsoft, don’t post about it on this website. You’ll probably lose your job. Over the past week, I’ve been in touch with two former Xbox support staff. Both people, who asked that we not use their names, say they were fired for writing comments about their jobs on Kotaku.…

By Jason Schreier Published January 9, 2013

Windows 8 Was A “Giant Sadness”, Says Valve Boss Gabe Newell

He’s rarely had kind words to say about Microsoft’s latest operating system, but in the same interview with The Verge in which he spoke at length about his company’s plans for a “Steam Box” PC, Valve boss Gabe Newell also talks about Windows 8. Mainly, how it’s a “giant sadness”. And how he finds the…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013

Sony And Microsoft Should Be Worried About The Steam Box. Very Worried.

The future of home gaming. The next generation. For years now, the anticipation and excitement over what’s to come has been dominated by speculation over what would come next from Microsoft and Sony. In one day, Valve has changed all of that It’s been hard to get excited about PC gaming in the way you…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013

Demo For Panzer Dragoon “Sequel”, Crimson Dragon, Leaks Onto Japanese XBL

Yesterday, a demo for upcoming Kinect action game Crimson Dragon was accidentally released on Xbox Live in Japan before being swiftly pulled. But not before people could download it and record it being played. The actual demo itself isn’t new, it did the rounds last year, but this is the first time we’ve been able…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2013

Microsoft Just Bought a Company That'll Help the Xbox Win Your Living Room

Microsoft just bought R2 Studios, a company that Apple and Google were both after, to help the Xbox continue its assault on living rooms across the world. R2 Studios, which was founded by Blake Krikorian (the guy who also made the Slingbox), apparently “works on” technology related to distributing and displaying digital media on televisions.…

By Casey Chan Published January 2, 2013

You Don’t Often Get A Chance To Own An Xbox As Cool As This

Howard Phillips may be a Nintendo legend, but after he left that company in the early 90’s he would eventually find his way to Microsoft in time to play a key role in the launch of the original Xbox. Which explains why he’s now selling one of the coolest Xbox lots I’ve ever seen on…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 1, 2013

If Your Xbox Cloud Saving Had Issues Last Week, You Get A Free Month Of Gold Membership

Maybe you were playing a game on Xbox Live last week and you tried to save online. Maybe it didn’t work. Maybe you are cursing at the skies, wondering why you ever relied on this newfangled “cloud” technology when back in your day all you needed was a pen, paper, and a string of meaningless…

By Jason Schreier Published December 31, 2012

How To Sneak Behind The Wheel Of A Pelican Dropship In Halo 4

Ever since I crash-landed in one in Halo: Combat Evolved, I’ve had a soft spot for those big ol’ UNSC Pelican dropships. As it turns out, it’s possible for three players to team up in the campaign level “Reclaimer” and hop behind the wheel of one, despite the fact that the story doesn’t call for…

By Kirk Hamilton Published December 28, 2012

The Status Of Microsoft and Sony’s Next Consoles. Plus: A Whole Bunch Of This Year’s Gaming Secrets.

No topic appeared in the rumor mill this year as much as the coming next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. At the beginning of January, British trade magazine MCV reported that the next Xbox and PlayStation would both debut at E3 2012. This did not actually end up happening, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it…

by Superannuation Published December 26, 2012

There Are Two Versions of Halo 4 on iTunes. You Don’t Want Either of Them.

Loaded with official artwork from the Xbox 360 hit and padded with dozens of glowing reviews, the two Halo 4 games that made it through Apple’s strict app approval process this week are, quite obviously, not what they claim to be. Spotted by a reader of AppAdvice, Toan Tran’s Halo 4 and Dung Bui’s Halo…

By Mike Fahey Published December 21, 2012

Halo 4 Problem Banned “Less Than 200” Players, Microsoft Says

When users began pouring into Halo’s official online forums complaining that a new map pack had been inadvertently banning them from matchmaking multiplayer, it seemed to be a widespread problem. Well, according to Microsoft, it was about as widespread as those people who had gone to post on the forum. A statement provided to Kotaku…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 17, 2012

Halo 4 Players Are Getting (Sort of) Banned For Downloading a Halo 4 Map Pack

The farce surrounding the release of Halo 4’s Crimson Map Pack has got a whole lot more farcical, with some users complaining that those who downloaded and began playing the pack for free—like Microsoft told them to—are being banned from certain portions of the game. The game’s official forums are full of people saying that,…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 17, 2012

There’s a Zelda Game On The Windows 8 Store! (Don’t Buy It)

For a store that’s meant to be all about control, it sure didn’t take long for someone to sneak a fairly blatant clone onto Microsoft’s Windows 8 Marketplace. Spotted by NeoGAF user PsychoRaven, the game pictured above is still there at time of posting. Perhaps out of bravery, or at least stupidity, the “creator”, Joeri…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2012

Windows 8’s Store Now Supports Adult Video Games

When the platform first launched, Windows 8 inexplicably shut out games rated PEGI 18, meaning that, if/when the day came that developers began releasing games with Windows 8 features, Europeans wouldn’t be able to get them from Microsoft’s store. It was a stupid oversight, especially since other markets like the US had no such issue,…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 12, 2012

The Smartest and Dumbest Things Microsoft Did in 2012

As the year winds to a close, it’s becoming possible to get some perspective on just what happened in gaming this year. If promises were kept, expectations met, games loved, or trends followed. What exactly were the major companies up to in 2012? One company managed to stay busy while avoiding perhaps the one thing…

By Holden Miller Published December 10, 2012

Men Massaging Each Other With Video Game Controllers

The DualShock. When you look at the original PlayStation controller, you probably see an iconic game controller. These guys see something they can press into each other’s backs. Mitsuhiro Saitou, a writer from Japanese site Daily Portal, became a pro masseur. With his newfound knowledge of pressure points, he decided to see if the original…

By Brian Ashcraft Published December 7, 2012

The Xbox 360 Won’t Be Banned By a Silly Court Case

While it seemed unlikely, there was always the chance, however remote, that a battle of patents between Microsoft and Motorola could have seen the Xbox 360 taken off store shelves. A US judge, however, has ruled that this won’t be happening. The two companies have been fighting for years, with Motorola saying the Xbox 360…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 4, 2012