Microsoft

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

Remember that Microsoft Killer Instinct trademark? Seems it’s been knocked down by a TV show with the same name.

Another Report Says The Next Xbox Is Launching in November 2013

According to business news site Bloomberg, Microsoft’s next Xbox console will be released in time for the 2013 holiday season. That’s “according to people familiar with the company’s plans.” Those same “people” (so, not machines!) say it’ll be out in time for Thanksgiving sales. They also say Microsoft is still debating internally whether to use…

Microsoft Sold 750,000 Xbox 360s Last Week

Turns out people like video games, and buying video games, and buying machines to play video games on. Microsoft sold a whopping 750,000 Xbox 360s in the United States between Sunday, November 18 and Friday, November 23 (Black Friday), according to spokesman Major Nelson. Not too shabby! For comparison, Nintendo sold 400,000 Wii U consoles…

Halo 4 Was Shaped, At Least In Part, By One Of The World’s Great Concept Artists

You’re in for a treat today. Today, we’re looking at a collection of Halo 4 art by Nicolas “Sparth” Bouvier, aka one of the most talented concept artists in the world, regardless of the industry. Sparth’s ability to convey not just the look of a sci-fi setting but its mood is legendary, so it was…