Microsoft - Page 157 of 238

Kinect Could Automatically Control What you can Watch On Your 360

A Microsoft patent, filed in March 2010 but only publicly released last week, is called PARENTAL CONTROL SETTINGS BASED ON BODY DIMENSIONS. It’s about using tech like Kinect to automatically restrict content on a PC or Xbox depending on who (or what) the camera sees in the room. Basically, it would use a camera (Kinect…

By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011

Video of the New Xbox Dashboard Surfaces After Leak

A recent leak of the latest software development kit for Xbox 360 included the new Xbox Live dashboard, which rumor has it will be released on Nov. 15, and scuttlebutt has it some kind of cable TV service could arrive with it. This two minute video [hit mute unless you want to hear some reggae]…

By Owen Good Published October 2, 2011

Microsoft Looking into Auto Mature Filtering Options

Gears of War 3 is the latest in an increasingly long list of games that include the ability to filter out adult language and gore through the game’s settings. I wrote about that earlier this week, but I also reached out to Microsoft to see if they would ever consider adding a new filter-centric option…

By Brian Crecente Published September 30, 2011

Full House Poker Isn’t Getting a New Fall Season, but Isn’t Going Away Either

The leaves have turned and still Full House Poker‘s online “Texas Heat” tournament is in day 119 (and counting) of its summer season on Xbox Live, stoking fears that the game will head the way of spiritual predecessor 1 vs. 100 Microsoft, according to XBLA Fans, seems content to just let the summer Texas Heat…

By Owen Good Published September 29, 2011

Lets Talk About The Gears of War 3 Finale Right Now

Welcome back everyone! During today’s meeting of the Kotaku Game Club, we’ll be discussing the later three acts of the Gears of War 3 campaign. Warning: For all you Gears players who haven’t finished the campaign yet, there will definitely be spoilers below. Last week, the KGC spent a lot of time discussing the plot…

By Mike Epstein Published September 29, 2011

Bloomberg: Xbox As Cable Provider Could Be Unveiled Next Week

Rumors that U.S. cable providers Comcast and Verizon are on the verge of a deal with Xbox 360 to use the console as a cable box have been circulating for weeks. Today Bloomberg joins the crowd, citing their own sources. The article, which cites people with knowledge of the situation, says that the service could…

By Brian Crecente Published September 29, 2011

Internal PayPal Email Points to Nov. 15 for New Xbox Dashboard Release

In May, Microsoft revealed that PayPal would be added as a payment option for Xbox Live transactions such as subscriptions and Microsoft Points purchases. This week, an internal email to PayPal employees asked them to test the service, and pointed to Nov. 15—the 10-year anniversary of the original Xbox launch—as the date the new dashboard…

By Owen Good Published September 28, 2011

Reminder: The Kotaku Game Club is Meeting Tomorrow

If you haven’t heard, the Kotaku Game Club will be discussing the second half of the Gears of War 3 campaign at Kotaku tomorrow at 4pm Eastern here on the site. If you’ve been playing Gears 3, check it out!

By Mike Epstein Published September 28, 2011

There’s a New Xbox 360 Transfer Cable If You Need it

Microsoft released a new Xbox 360 transfer cable that can deal with Xbox 360 S to Xbox 360 S transfers. Previous transfer cables would not work between Xbox 360 S consoles. [Major Nelson]

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 27, 2011

In Game Design, Sometimes You Have To Fake It ’till You Make… The Gunstringer

Some of the best ideas are born of strange, stressful circumstances. Case in point: Twisted Pixel’s inspired and highly enjoyable new Kinect game The Gunstringer. To hear Twisted Pixel CEO Mike Wilford and chief creative officer Josh Bear tell it, the two of them came up with the idea for the game… during their pitch…

By Kirk Hamilton Published September 26, 2011

Microsoft Thinking About Windows Phone “Control Pads”

A patent filing made public last week (but first filed in 2010) shows that Microsoft is at least thinking about making its Windows line of mobile phones a little easier to game on. The patent is for a mobile phone that looks like Sony’s Xperia Play, with a slide-out design. Interestingly, the patent is focusing…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 26, 2011

Here Are Some Gears of Wars 3 Maps We Didn’t Know About

That is, until somebody spotted them on the Gears 3 leaderboards. The maps are titled “Azura”, “Blood Drive”, and “Rustlung”. They’re apparently not playable and are probably upcoming DLC. Gears of War 3 was released in North America on Sept. 20 to much fanfare. The game does have unlockable content, but like so many recent…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 26, 2011

Dashboard Beta Testers Get Free Digital Halo: Reach to Replace Borked Disc

The recent title update to Halo: Reach has rendered unplayable the free disc version of the game given to Xbox Live dashboard beta participants earlier this year. Rather than say tough luck, Microsoft is giving all of them a free digital copy of the game. An email to dashboard beta participants today advised them of…

By Owen Good Published September 24, 2011

Wrongly Banned Xbox Live Users Welcomed Back with Gifts

A recent crackdown on modded consoles snared “a very small percentage” of Xbox Live users who had done nothing wrong, yet received comprehensive bans from Microsoft nonetheless. Xbox Live’s top cop today apologized for the mistake and said these gamers would be reinstated immediately. Stephen Toulouse, better known as Stepto to some, said the bans…

By Owen Good Published September 23, 2011

The Kotaku Game Club is Debating Gears of War 3 Acts 1-2 Right Now

Welcome to the first meeting of the Kotaku Game Club: Gears of War 3 edition. Today we’ll be discussing the the first two acts of the game’s campaign. For all you Game Club first-timers, this group convenes to analyze and discuss games as we play them. For all you Gears players who haven’t played the…

By Mike Epstein Published September 22, 2011

Reminder: The Kotaku Game Club is Meeting to Discuss Gears of War 3 Tomorrow!

Hey guys! Keep in mind that the Kotaku Game Club is having its first discussion Gears of War 3 tomorrow! We’ll be talking about acts one and two of the game’s campaign at 4pm Eastern. Be there!

By Mike Epstein Published September 21, 2011

Japan Likes Gears of War Just Fine, Thank You

Back when the first Gears of War was launched in 2006, so many Japanese gamers used to turn their noses up at Western games. Slowly, but surely, that’s beginning to change. While at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, many members of the Japanese press I talked with expressed interest and excitement about Gears of War…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011

Forza 4 Demo Overtaking You In Early October

Microsoft has announced that a demo for upcoming racer Forza 4 will be released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 3. The actual game is out just over a week later, on October 11 (Oct 14 for Europe).

By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011

Was The Gears of War 3 Launch Party Worth the Wait?

Microsoft really tried to pull off an epic event to Launch Gears of War 3, but did it work? I spent a while inside the venue before it was opened to the main line. I checked out the early access people playing the game. Dj’s were keeping the venue saturated with music, while the open…

By Chris Carolan Published September 20, 2011

The Sexiest Gears of War 3 Unboxing Made Sexier with Spanish

Spanish always makes things sexier. Not sure if the same is true for man bellies and man boobs—or even Gears of War, for that matter. YouTube KevinWK and his Mexican friend unbox Gears of War 3 Out of all the things they get in the Gears bundle, a shirt is not one of them. The…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 20, 2011