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There’s Xbox Live Inside Every Copy of Windows 8
Confirmed today during Microsoft’s 2011 Build developer conference in Anaheim, California, Windows 8 will have the Xbox Live service built right in. What does it all mean? Aside from further justifying the upcoming fall Xbox 360 dashboard update, the integration of Xbox Live into Windows 8 means more to Microsoft than it does to us…
By Mike Fahey Published September 13, 2011 -
Culture
Age of Empires’ Art is Like Free-to-Play Ice Cream
When opting for “cartoon” graphics, there’s a fine line between looking stylish and looking childish. Age of Empires Online, I think, gets it just right. The fact the recently-released online game doesn’t look like the old Age of Empires has upset some fans, and that’s unavoidable. Still, it’s a shame, as the new game looks…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 13, 2011 -
Spend the Witching Hour With Gears of War 3
There will be more than 20,000 midnight launches next week to kick off the release of Xbox 360’s Gears of War 3. Among the events is a Times Square party at the Best Buy Theater in New York featuring Big Sean. Launching Sept. 20 worldwide, Microsoft says the game is the fastest pre-selling Xbox exclusive…
By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011 -
Win $10,000 and Score a Gears of War 3 Console in deviantART’s Wallpaper Contest
The ‘Shop Contest we run on weekends is for bragging rights only. deviantART don’t fuck around, however. It’s offering a $10,000 cash prize to whomever sends in the best wallpaper in a promotional Gears of War 3 contest offering a lot of other loot to the runners-up, too. For the first time, deviantART is permitting…
By Owen Good Published September 10, 2011 -
“Swatting,” the Hip New Griefing Trend, Sends the Cops to Xbox Live Mod’s House
Cops in Sammamish, Wash. are super pissed after being sent to a home here by a 911 call claiming someone inside had claymore mines and hostages. The caller turns out to be a prick seeking revenge on an Xbox Live moderator. Rolling Johnny Law up to someone’s doorstep just to cause them trouble is called…
By Owen Good Published September 10, 2011 -
With The Coming Dashboard Update, Your Xbox Might Finally Replace Your Cable Box
I haven’t had cable since I moved, and my Xbox 360 had a lot to do with that. Over the past few years, my Xbox 360 has become a bit of a “Netflix Box,” and more often than not I’m using it to stream episodes of Twin Peaks and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Yesterday,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 9, 2011 -
Microsoft Bans Users for Stealing Xbox Live Content
Last month, Microsoft very quietly swept a broom through the Xbox Live userbase, finding—and banning—a number of Xbox 360 owners for “illegitimately [accessing] Xbox LIVE Marketplace downloadable content”. As the company “will not divulge additional information regarding individual suspensions for these offenses”, it’s unclear what brought on the crackdown, or how the culprits were able…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
Is This a Sign of Microsoft’s Japanese Retreat?
After spending millions upon millions of dollars promoting the Xbox 360 in Japan, Microsoft still only sells about 2,000 or so consoles every week. Last sales week, the Xbox 360 was outsold by the PS2. The PS2! After all these years, it looks like Microsoft might finally be tossing in the towel and calling it…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
Rise of Nightmares’ Tearful, Red-in-the-Face New Trailer
Rise of Nightmares will get your blood pumping, even if it is just from standing up and going through the motions of killing virtual enemies. I’m not sure anyone is going to get THIS excited about air-chainsawing creepies, but it is sorta fun. You can contact Brian Crecente, the author of this post, at [email protected].…
By Brian Crecente Published September 6, 2011 -
The Music of Gears of War 3 Will Be Commercialized
On September 20, the same day Epic and Microsoft unleashed Gears of War 3, Sumthing Else Music Works will release Steve Jablonsky’s epic score for the game on iTunes, Amazon, and SumthingDigital.com. Are your MP3 players prepared for war?
By Mike Fahey Published September 6, 2011 -
Halo Creative Director Leaving Halo 4 [Update]
Halo 4 is the first title in a new trilogy of Halo games. The previous three titles were developed by Bungie, but the next three are being made in-house by Microsoft’s own Halo studio. Halo 4 won’t be out until late 2012, and today, one of the game’s creative directors, Ryan Payton, is not only…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 6, 2011 -
This Halo Helmet Looks Good Enough for the Movie They’ll Never Make
The way it’s looking there’ll never be a Halo movie. Ah well! So long as regular humans keep making killer props like this, we’re free to imagine our own. Which is always for the best, because then, they never end up sucking. This helmet was submitted to MAKE magazine by creator Tsabo Tsaboc over the…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 5, 2011 -
European Retailer Stops Selling Busted Old 360 Consoles
Two of Europe’s biggest games retailers, Game and Gamestation (the latter owned by the former), have stopped selling old models of the Xbox 360, according to a report on Eurogamer While Game told the site that this was simply due to a focus on new hardware, a more likely reason came from a contact at…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 5, 2011 -
We’re Betting that Slavery: The Game is an Elaborate Troll
My guess is that, 10 seconds after Microsoft and Sony are made aware that their corporate symbols are endorsing a fake slavery RTS, seen at the end of this fake trailer, this offensive piece of attention-whoring is going to be abolished from YouTube. That, or the alleged Kentuckians allegedly making this game are stupid enough…
By Owen Good Published September 3, 2011 -
The Best Gears of War Book You’ll Ever Read
In anticipation of the upcoming Gears of War 3, Microsoft and Epic contracted novelist and Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter author Tom Bissell to take a deeper look into the design and history of the Gears franchise. Titled “The Art and Design of Gears of War,” it covers most every aspect of the Gears…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 1, 2011 -
The Gears of War Universe Explained In 1:17
If you’ve missed the first two games in the series, and don’t have time to catch up on large necks and dead wives and giant worms, this new trailer for Gears of War 3 gets you instantly up to speed on humanity’s war against the Locust. It’s short. So short, in fact, you get to…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 1, 2011 -
Child of Eden Sweetens the Kinect Sensor Bundle
In case you were still on the fence about dropping $150 on Microsoft’s magical camera stick, the company today announced that the bundle is getting updated to include a download code for a free copy of sensual shooter Child of Eden Not that Kinect Adventures wasn’t enough of a hardware mover, but one can only…
By Mike Fahey Published August 30, 2011 -
Halo‘s Master Chief Selling Toy Guns in Japan
Xbox might not be popular in Japan, but that’s not going to stop some unscrupulous toy maker from slapping a totally unofficial Halo‘s Master Chief on toy packaging. The fact that the Xbox 360 and Halo are not widely known in Japan could be the reason why this company thought this would be totally cool.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 30, 2011 -
Gears of War 3 Season Pass Available at Launch
Gears of War 3 comes out so soon we can almost see it. Yes on September 20 you’ll get back to chainsawing through Locusts and friends alike. But also available at launch will be the Gears of War 3 season pass. Priced at 2400 Microsoft points, the pass gives holders access to the first four…
By Max Abrams Published August 29, 2011