Microsoft

Microsoft’s SmartGlass Xbox Companion App Now on iOS

Microsoft’s SmartGlass app is now available for iOS devices. SmartGlass lets Xbox 360 users interact with synced game content on their phone or tablet while they play a game—for example, as in a separate map view in Forza Horizon The app has been available on Android devices since last week.

You’ve Never Heard A Master Chief This Creepy

On November 21, close to seven years after it launched in America, the Xbox 360 will come to Israel for the first time. To celebrate the occasion, Master Chief came out to greet Israelis and introduce the system. Check out this video, shot by YNet reporter Shahar Shushan, for what might be the best Master…

Fox News Says Halo 4 May Keep Gamers From Voting

Never one to back away from humorously uninformed hogwash, Fox News has run a new article suggesting that young voters might skip the polls to spend time playing the newly released Xbox 360 game Halo 4 How have they arrived at this provocative conclusion? Because they talked to some people! Um, experts! A PR guy!…

Some Halo 4 Players Facing Launch Day Server Woes

It’s November 6, and the long-anticipated, well-received Halo 4 is here. For some players, though, it seems the wait to get their shooting on will be a little longer. Players at Halo Waypoint are reporting a variety of server issues. The studio has acknowledged the server issues on twitter and their forums, saying, “We hear…

Here’s How To Find Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter in Halo 4

Earlier this spring, Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter goofed around in a Halo 4 voice recording booth, talking about loading crates. The duo are appearing in the game as a special Easter Egg. YouTube user GameFrontDotCom has a quick walkthrough on how to find them and hear their dialogue. You can hear more of their…

The Many Ways Halo 4 Changes The Series’ Competitive Multiplayer

By now, a whole lot of folks have reviewed Halo 4. Our own Tina Amini played it, and liked it quite a bit Most every review has focused on the single player and multiplayer in more or less equal measure. But so, so many people play Halo only for the multiplayer. Surely there’s a review…

Every Single Microsoft Device. Ever.

With the release of Surface, Microsoft is taking a serious dive into the wide world of hardware production. But this isn’t the first time Microsoft has gone down that road. In fact, Redmond has racked up a pretty impressive catalogue of devices. Here’s a list of all of them [Editor’s note. You might notice this…

Every Single Microsoft Device. Ever.

With the release of Surface, Microsoft is taking a serious dive into the wide world of hardware production. But this isn’t the first time Microsoft has gone down that road. In fact, Redmond has racked up a pretty impressive catalogue of devices. Here’s a list of all of them [Editor’s note. You might notice this…

WSJ: Microsoft Is Testing Its Own Smartphone

WSJ: Microsoft Is Testing Its Own Smartphone [updates.gizmodo.com]

Chinese Grandma Tries to Shut Down a Microsoft Event, Then Things Get Ugly

To kick off Surface, Microsoft held big launch events in China. At the midnight event in Beijing, there were dancers, loud music, and one pissed off grandma. That’s when things got ugly. According to Sina, the noise was apparently keeping her grandchildren awake—a problem since the next day was a schoolday. So the grandma and…

Check Out Halo 4’s New “Gameplay” Launch Trailer

Putting aside the fancy live-action stuff for a day, Microsoft tonight released this “gameplay” launch trailer for Halo 4. As pretty as it looks, “In-game cinematics interspersed with brief staged moments of gameplay from a third-person perspective” might have been a more accurate title. Though, admittedly, a little less snappy.

You Can Get a 250GB Xbox 360 For $99 (But There’s a Catch)

Microsoft is expanding its “pay as you go” plans for the Xbox 360 in the United States, adding a 250GB console (and a 250GB console + Kinect) to go alongside the 4GB console that’s been available for a few months now For $99, you can get the 250GB unit (the 250GB + Kinect deal is…

Microsoft has released the list of games and apps that will support Smartglass when it launches on Friday.

Why Didn’t Anyone Use Facebook or Twitter on the Xbox 360? In a Word, Screenshots.

I am an inveterate Twitter-er, with the second-most Tweets of anyone on Kotaku‘s staff. I’ll interrupt a game to bash out a 140-character punchline to something that just happened or occurred to me in one. It’s just my nature. After locking myself out of my bathroom and resolving the matter by literally kicking down the…

Who Is Stealing Halo 4?

Halo 4 doesn’t come out until November 6th. Millions of people are eagerly awaiting the highly anticipated next chapter in the Master Chief saga, poring over every bit of info released about the game. But some others aren’t waiting at all. They’re already playing and selling Halo 4. As of this week, half a dozen…

There’s Five Spots We Get THIS Close to Seeing Master Chief’s Face in the New Halo 4 Trailer

The Halo 4 launch trailer was predictably big budget, but what I found most interesting was how human they made Master Chief look. We usually just see him as a giant hulking killing machine, all armour and visor, but Tim Miller and David Fincher’s clip goes right ahead and actually takes the mask off the…

Xbox Live Has Got A Binder Full Of Awful Debate Questions

I’ve been watching the Presidential debates on my Xbox 360. I’m not alone—Microsoft reports that more than 100,000 people watched last night’s debate on their gaming console. While I applaud Microsoft for making these vital discussions available on the Xbox, there’s one big downside to watching them this way: Those insipid, meandering interactive questions. At…

Xbox Live Gamers Think Obama Won the Second Debate

Tonight, President Obama squared off against Governor Romney. Did either win one hundred percent of the debate? What about 47 percent? Oh, the suspense! Xbox Live thinks it knows. According to 100,000 Xbox Live community members, President Obama took the second debate, with 51 percent of undecideds giving it to the Commander in Chief. Republican…

You Can’t Watch Halo 4‘s Intro Right Now [Update]

The leak, and subsequent piracy of (and perma-bannings for playing) Halo 4 resulted in a flurry of videos such as this one, uploaded by the YouTube user Madchinima. [Update] Microsoft is officially not screwing around with this leak. This video was taken down inside of 20 minutes. This is the opening of the game, not…

Xbox 360 Gets a $50 Price Cut And a Bunch of New Bundles for the Holidays

The Xbox 360 is getting a set of holiday bundles as well as a short-term $50 price cut, Microsoft announced today. As Kotaku reported over the weekend, the $50 discount promotion applies to the 250GB Xbox 360, the 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect, and the 250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect. (Not included: the 4GB Xbox…