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Will There Be an Xbox 720? Hollywood Thinks So.
Real Steel, that new Hugh Jackman flick with fighting robots, is set in a near future, dominated by battling bots. More preciously, the movie is set in 2020. In one arena scene, corporate logos like Mercedes-Benz, Capital One, and, ahem, Del Taco light up a stadium. There is also a Bing logo and an Xbox…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 5, 2011 -
Kinect Hacked for Bigger Boobs
Kinect hacks provide an endless rabbit hole of would-be tech wizards using the peripheral for a rainbow of results. Some of them are amazing, such as this Kinect-controlled drone. Some of them are silly, such as this. This is a multiplayer-supported Kinect hack that gives both women and men “giant breasts” that they can shake…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 4, 2011 -
Your Cable Box Is Dying. Long Live the Game Console!
Your cable box is headed for obsolescence. It may not be within the next year, but it could be within the next three that having a box dedicated to TV programming sitting under or next to your television will no longer be the norm. Instead, more universally usable entertainment devices will become the hub for…
By Brian Crecente Published October 3, 2011 -
The Forza 4 Demolition Derby
What happens when you go the wrong direction in Forza Motorsport 4? You smash shit up. The cars sure make a noise on impact, especially compared to Gran Turismo 5, which sounded like a cardboard box being kicked. Though, pretty sure something like this is totally impossible. Call it a hunch. Crashing into Little Cars…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011 -
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 -
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