Microsoft - Page 170 of 239

Video Game Shopping Gets EXTREME On Xbox Live This Week

Now’s the time to strike on select Xbox Live games and add-ons, as Microsoft is offering deals through its “Extreme Shopping” promotion. You could get a copy of After Burner Climax, Costume Quest or Red Dead Redemption’s Undead Nightmare cheap! The following deals run until April 4, with Xbox.com warning that “special one day only…

By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2011

Microsoft Tests A New Xbox 360 Disc Format In The Latest Update Preview

Microsoft is seeking U.S.-based Xbox 360 owners to test out the next Xbox 360 system update, paving the way for an “updated Xbox 360 disc format”, whatever the hell that means. There’s a new Xbox 360 system update in the works, and as always, Microsoft is looking for stateside Xbox owners in the thousands to…

By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011

Bring Your Xbox 360 Avatar Kicking And Smiling Awkwardly Into The Real World

Your Xbox 360 avatar lives on your Xbox 360. And the internet. If you’d like him or her to live on a shelf in your office as well, you should speak to custom toy company FigurePrints. For USD$50 they’ll take your avatar and produce a figure replicating its appearance and dimensions. The only catch is…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2011

Kinect Powered Glass Eye Is The Stuff Of Nightmares

Sure, Kinect can be used for good – stuff like possibly helping the blind. But it also can be used for evil. And I’m not just talking about rumored Forza 4 motion controls. UK-based Pufferfish design makes spherical displays for a variety of uses that range from Coldplay’s Viva La Viva Tour to Disney’s Epcot…

By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2011

The Real Voice Of Halo Is Not Who You’d Expect

This is veteran actor Jeff Steitzer. He’s done Broadway. Law & Order. Oh, and if you’ve ever played Halo, chances are you’ve heard his voice more than Master Chief’s, Sgt. Johnson’s and Cortana’s combined. Why? Because he’s the voice of the game’s multiplayer announcer, meaning any time you’ve heard a gravelly, distant voice grunt “DOUBLE…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Joys Of A Console’s First Moments

Know what I tend to remember consoles by? Not their games, or controllers, or even hardware casings. I usually remember them for their boot-up jingles. As silly as that sounds, those first few seconds of animation and music really set the tone for what the platform holder hopes is to come, and more than any…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2011

Forza 4 Has 500 Cars, Lets You Touch Them (And Drive With Your Face)

We’ve known that Forza Motorsport 4, when it releases later this year, will support Kinect as a control method. A marketing survey now hints at what some of those features might be, such as head tracking to move the game’s camera, and a casual mode that allows players to steer with their hands, similar to…

By Owen Good Published March 23, 2011

Which Game Companies Do You Trust?

In today’s episode of Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter Kadin is curious to know which video game hardware and software companies have earned your trust over the years, and which have lost it. Where does your trust lie? Which of the big companies out there has earned your trust and which of them has lost it?…

By Mike Fahey Published March 23, 2011

Halo: Dawn Is The Fan Fiction That Didn’t Result In A Job

A few months back, Kotaku reader Jon applied for a job at Microsoft’s Halo arm, 343 Industries, for a cinematics editing gig. In an attempt to stand out from the other applicants, he created a Halo-based machinima. This is it. “The story tells of the war between the UNSC and the Insurrection, and the genesis…

By Brian Ashcraft Published March 23, 2011

Overheat This Xbox And It WILL Catch Fire

When working with wood for this particular piece, artist Ben Winfield decided against making something clichéd, like a breadboard or a chair. Instead, he made a replica Xbox console. Before you ask, nope, it doesn’t work. Come on, you can’t make consoles out of wood! It does look great though, and when it comes to…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 23, 2011

Industrial Designer Dates New Xbox For 2015

The online portfolio of industrial designer Ben Peterson lists all sorts of projects he’s worked on or is working. One of those is apparently the next Xbox. In the past, Peterson’s work, like this concept “magnify” or electric kettle, made waves online. But an entry posted just yesterday in his online portfolio is bound to…

By Brian Ashcraft Published March 21, 2011

Microsoft’s “Future Of PC Gaming” Video Is Terrifying

Microsoft probably has many ideas on what constitutes the future of gaming on the PC. It’s too big a company not to. But this particular one is so horrible you may not want to even see it. Put together by the Windows Gaming Experience team, this video was originally made and released in 2010. So…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 21, 2011

Here’s Kinect — Working on a PS3 (And Playing Killzone 3)

This genie of Kinect modification is never going back in the bottle. Now a modder has figured out a way to get the Microsoft device to work with a PlayStation 3. This is Shantanu Goel, and his code is in a pre-alpha state, but you can see him navigating the Xross Media Bar, starting Killzone…

By Owen Good Published March 20, 2011

Keeping The HD-DVD Dream Alive

The other day while watching my high-definition copy of Blade Runner on my Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive, I received an Xbox Live message thanking me for keeping the dream alive. Oh come on, where else can you buy a copy of The Bourne Identity for $2.39? They called us foolish for supporting HD-DVD over Blu-ray,…

By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2011

Microsoft’s Kodu Cup Contest Rewards Underage Game Developers

Today Microsoft fully launches its kid-friendly PC game development tool Kodu Game Lab, along with a contest that could win your child $5,00 cash, a new laptop, and a trip for two to New York’s Imagine Cup. We got our first look at Microsoft’s Kodu Game Lab back in 2009, finding it to be a…

By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2011

PlayStation Network Hit By Earthquake. Fukushima Xbox Repair Temporarily Closed.

According to Sony, the earthquake has caused difficulty in connecting to the PSN, and it urges players to backup their data. Sony has apologized for any trouble caused by this, also sending it deepest regards to those affected by the quake. What’s more, Sony’s PlayStation information call center and repair center were both suspended by…

By Brian Ashcraft Published March 15, 2011

Is The Zune Gone For Good?

Microsoft’s attempt to dethrone the iPod, its music, movie and video game-playing hardware known as the Zune, may have just been put out to pasture. Bloomberg reports the Zune HD, introduced in 2009, will be the last of its kind. Microsoft will reportedly continue to sell existing versions of the Zune, but won’t introduce new…

By Michael McWhertor Published March 14, 2011

The Xbox Live Arcade Lineup As Vintage Movie Posters

During PAX East this weekend Microsoft hypoed up their attractive upcoming Xbox Live Arcade lineup with a series of limited edition postcards transforming each title into a classic action movie poster. Can you tell which movies the posters came from? Limited to a print run of 700-or-so, chances of getting your hands on these sexy…

By Mike Fahey Published March 14, 2011

Hope You’re Ready For More Kinect Sports

Interested in the idea of Kinect Sports more than the rather basic game released last year? Maybe Kinect Sports 2 will do a better job. Yes, we’ve heard that – and this should really surprise none of you – a sequel to the Kinect social/sports game is currently in development. There’s no word yet on…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2011

A Look At Project Milo, Which Was Actually An Adventure Game

Despite being presumed dead in the water, Lionhead’s Project Milo was once one of Kinect’s most interesting titles. What originally appeared to be little more than an AI chat program eventually was revealed as an adventure game, something we’re only now getting our first real look at. These storyboard images obtained by Develop show some…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 12, 2011