Microsoft

Rumor: Microsoft Prepping “Kinect Play Fit” Exercise Tracking and Heart-Rate Monitor

The Verge is reporting today that Microsoft will be adding new functionality to the Xbox 360 that tracks users’ physical activity across multiple Kinect games. The report also says that there will be a sensor accessory—codenamed Joule—that will track your heart rate while playing. Stats on your activity, measured against various fitness goals, will live…

By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012

You Can Now Buy An Xbox 360 For $99 (If You Can Find A Microsoft Store)

The rumored $99 Xbox 360 bundle is now no longer a rumor. It’s live. You dish out $99 up front and commit to two years of Xbox Live Gold at $15/month, you get a 4GB Xbox 360 and a Kinect. (Oh and also you have to buy it at a Microsoft Store. Yes, there is…

By Jason Schreier Published May 7, 2012

German Court Orders Microsoft To Stop Selling Xbox 360s

Achtung! A Mannheim court ruled today that Microsoft can no longer sell its Xbox 360 and Windows 7 operating systems in Germany. According to the German judge, this is because Microsoft infringed upon a Motorola patent while using certain video compression software. But! A U.S. court has granted Microsoft a preliminary injunction while it appeals…

By Jason Schreier Published May 2, 2012

Report: Microsoft Might Launch $99 Xbox 360 With Monthly Payment Plan [UPDATE]

Microsoft may launch a $99 Xbox 360 package attached to a two-year $15 monthly subscription plan, according to a new report. The Verge says the bundle, which could ship as early as next week, will include a 4GB Xbox 360, Kinect, and an Xbox Live Gold subscription. You’ll have to dish out $99 upfront and…

By Jason Schreier Published May 2, 2012

Joy Ride Gets a Dis-Kinected Sequel

Kinect Joy Ride was a casual racing game released at launch with Kinect in 2010, and it didn’t wow critics. (“Joy Ride might be the equivalent of a new word for spaghetti,” wrote Stephen Totilo. “The old one’s fine.”) Gamers especially didn’t care for standing up as they approximate the steering-wheel controls, something they felt…

By Owen Good Published April 29, 2012

Dragon’s Lair, with Kinect Support, Arrives on Xbox Live in May

Announced back in March, the Xbox Live port of Dragon’s Lair was dated for May 18 by Microsoft yesterday. The game will feature Kinect support, allowing you to jump out of the way of the Lizard King and dodge the columns on the mechanical horse, if you so prefer. Digital Leisure is handling the port…

By Owen Good Published April 28, 2012

A Baylor Bear, Fighting as a Spartan

News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming: • In the picture above, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, widely expected to be taken second when the NFL Draft kicks off in 90 minutes, enjoys a game of Halo 4 at a Microsoft-sponsored VIP event in New York yesterday. •…

By Owen Good Published April 26, 2012

Kotaku East

Foxconn Workers Use Suicide Threats as Bargaining Tool. Again.

In China, workers’ rights kind of suck! So when the folks who make your game consoles and electronics want to protest, they take to the roof and threaten to kill themselves. Lovely. Earlier this month in Shenzhen, while the world was watching how their iPads really got made, a group of approximately twenty Foxconn laborers…

By Brian Ashcraft Published April 25, 2012

Kotaku East

Microsoft Rejects Game Because it Made Toilet Sounds

A Windows phone game, developed by Austrian Christian Zangl, has been blocked from release in China not because it contained contentious political commentary. It’s been blocked because it featured the sound of a flushing toilet. According to Microsoft, that makes it offensive to the Chinese market, and “Content that is offensive in any country/region to…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 23, 2012

I Shouted ‘Fus Ro Dah’ At Skyrim, And I Kinda Liked It

Here’s a confession: I have absolutely no interest in Microsoft’s Kinect. The controller-free interface doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t want to dance around my living room or wave my arms to fling boulders at castles. I get bored just thinking about it. Shouting dragon words in Skyrim might have changed my mind. Kinda. Within…

By Jason Schreier Published April 20, 2012

The Halo Movie Failed Because Microsoft Didn’t Understand Hollywood

It had a script. It had the backing of two major film studios. It had the support of Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. Everything seemed like it was clicking into place for the Halo movie before it abruptly collapsed, and you can blame Microsoft for that, according to writer Jamie Russell. Writing in…

By Jason Schreier Published April 19, 2012

Halo 4 Will Be Out On Election Day

Halo 4 will be out on November 6, 2012, publisher Microsoft said today. That’s also the day Americans will vote for the next President. My money’s on Cortana. The upcoming Xbox 360-exclusive first-person shooter will mark “the first chapter of a brand new Halo saga,” the company said. This will be the first entry in…

By Jason Schreier Published April 17, 2012

Kotaku East

Beauty of China, Show the World Your Latest Kinect Copy

China already has a handful of Kinect inspired game machines. But that’s not going to stop it from getting more. The latest is the iGame Move, a console with the tagline “Beauty of China Show the World”. Sporting 32-bit graphics (32-bit!!), the iGame Move is a motion controlled game system and is priced at around…

Brian Ashcraft & Eric Jou Published April 13, 2012

The REAL Reason Peter Molyneux Left Microsoft: Chair Lady

You’ve read the fluffy reasons Peter Molyneux left Lionhead, the studio he built, and Microsoft along with it. The general stuff. It’s important to know, sure, but I like the raw specifics a bit better. In another post-Microsoft interview, this time with Develop, Molyneux says it was all about the chairs. I had this unbelievable…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2012

Developer Hopes Microsoft and Sony “Go Nuclear,” Destroy Used Game Sales

Many, many rumors continue to fly around the internet concerning the future of Microsoft and Sony’s game consoles. One of the most contentious and repeated assertions about the next iterations of both the PlayStation and the Xbox is that neither will easily support used, rented, or secondhand games. Gamers and developers have gone back and…

By Kate Cox Published April 12, 2012

Kotaku East

How Microsoft Almost Screwed Up a Japanese University

When the Sapporo Gakuin University attempted to transfer their mail system from Hotmail to Windows Live@edu, it looks like Microsoft may have misinterpreted the meaning of the word “Troubleshooting.” After a hiccup in the transfer process, the university’s system engineer followed Microsoft’s instructions, and as a result, ended up deleting the entire university mail system.…

By Toshi Nakamura Published April 12, 2012

Peter Molyneux Explains Why He Left Lionhead and Microsoft to go Indie

Game designer Peter Molyneux surprised many when he announced his departure from Microsoft last month. Molyneux is best known for heading up the Fable franchise and for his ambitious, unusual game ideas, both the successful and the cancelled Speaking with Eurogamer, Molyneux finally explained why he chose to leave Microsoft when he did, and why…

By Kate Cox Published April 11, 2012

Wreckateer Is Like A Kinect Version Of Angry Birds

Here’s some video footage of Wreckateer, an upcoming Xbox Live game for Kinect that requires you to smash and destroy castles by moving around your body. I found the game at PAX East last weekend and thought it looked interesting enough to record. There’s just something about wanton destruction that tickles that section of my…

By Jason Schreier Published April 11, 2012

Reviews

Fez: The Kotaku Review

The first thing that appealed to me about Fez, an independent puzzle platforming game developed by Polytron, was how adorable it was. If my childhood proved anything, it was that eight bits of detail can still make me squee with delight. I instantly knew that I would need a plushie version of Gomez, the main…

By Tina Amini Published April 11, 2012

The Kinect Gears of War Game has Been Cancelled

Around a year ago, we brought you a look at a new Gears of War title being developed at Epic Games and designed to take advantage of Microsoft’s Kinect technology. It looked pretty silly, something Microsoft and/or Epic obviously agreed with, because the game – called Gears of War: Exile – sounds like it’s ended…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2012

Rumor: Microsoft Prepping “Kinect Play Fit” Exercise Tracking and Heart-Rate Monitor

You Can Now Buy An Xbox 360 For $99 (If You Can Find A Microsoft Store)

German Court Orders Microsoft To Stop Selling Xbox 360s

Report: Microsoft Might Launch $99 Xbox 360 With Monthly Payment Plan [UPDATE]

Joy Ride Gets a Dis-Kinected Sequel

Dragon’s Lair, with Kinect Support, Arrives on Xbox Live in May

A Baylor Bear, Fighting as a Spartan

Foxconn Workers Use Suicide Threats as Bargaining Tool. Again.

Microsoft Rejects Game Because it Made Toilet Sounds

I Shouted ‘Fus Ro Dah’ At Skyrim, And I Kinda Liked It

The Halo Movie Failed Because Microsoft Didn’t Understand Hollywood

Halo 4 Will Be Out On Election Day

Beauty of China, Show the World Your Latest Kinect Copy

The REAL Reason Peter Molyneux Left Microsoft: Chair Lady

Developer Hopes Microsoft and Sony “Go Nuclear,” Destroy Used Game Sales

How Microsoft *Almost* Screwed Up a Japanese University

Peter Molyneux Explains Why He Left Lionhead and Microsoft to go Indie

Wreckateer Is Like A Kinect Version Of Angry Birds

Fez: The Kotaku Review

The Kinect Gears of War Game has Been Cancelled

How Microsoft Almost Screwed Up a Japanese University