Microsoft - Page 171 of 238

Microsoft Reanimates Dead Xbox Live Gamertags

Was your original choice for an Xbox Live gamertag unavailable? Well check again! Microsoft has started reviving previously used and unavailable gamertags, so now’s the time to recapture your former glory. Some bastard is still hogging the Fahey gamertag, but you might have better luck. According to Xbox Live’s Major Nelson, Microsoft is slowly reactivating…

By Mike Fahey Published March 1, 2011

Fable III Journeys To Traitor’s Keep Next Week

Only the best-dressed adventurer will survive the three new levels for Fable III in Traitor’s Keep, the new downloadable content pack coming to the Xbox 360 on March 1. Ravenscar Keep, Clockwork Island, and the Godwin Estate will open to Fable III players for the price of 560 Microsoft points ($8.00) on the first of…

By Mike Fahey Published February 24, 2011

Halo: Reach Players Get Defiant On March 15

Microsoft has nailed down a March 15 release date for the Halo: Reach Defiant Map pack, punctuating the announcement with a set of fresh screens showing off the three maps you’ll be paying $10 for. Let’s take a visual tour of Condemned, Highlands and Unearthed, the three new maps that make up the Defiant Map…

By Mike Fahey Published February 24, 2011

Little Japanese Girl Wins Over Our Hearts (And Kinect)

If you are looking for success in the Xbox 360’s uphill battle in Japan, look no further than this. It’s easy to be jaded about the Xbox 360 in Japan. The console isn’t exactly a blockbuster there — ditto for Kinect. But none of that matters, because this four-year-old girl is adorable. On Kinect title…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2011

This Is How Minority Report Surfs The Web On Its Lunch Break

Continuing the trend of Kinect doing awesome things in everything but video games, take a look at this web browser that’s been built specifically for Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera. It’s called SwimBrowser. Sounds like a stupid name until you see it in action, because “swimming” is exactly what you’re doing as you gently wave and roll…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011

Watch A 360 Avatar Try Lip-Syncing

Microsoft’s upcoming “Avatar Kinect” was pitched as a glorified chatroom. It didn’t sound that exciting. This real-time demonstration, though, at least makes it look remotely interesting. Sure, it’s still a glorified chatroom, but there’s some neat technology on display, not the least of which is the impressive almost-real-time lip-syncing your avatar is capable of when…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011

Space Invaders, Played with Kinect

From France comes the latest Kinect mod – fully playable Space Invaders, whose control scheme turns the 1978 Taito classic into an exergaming ordeal. Extend left arm, move left. Extend right arm, move right. OK, but you have to extend both to fire. That means, even if you’re a perfect shot, you’re doing 55 jumping…

By Owen Good Published February 19, 2011

Farewell to a Fast Friend

Dedicated to all of the talented men and women at Bizarre Creations, this video created by the team’s trailer editor should only be viewed with someone to hug nearby. Goodbye Bizarre. We’ll miss you.

By Brian Crecente Published February 18, 2011

Halo: Reach’s Defiant Map Pack Hits This March

Due out this March, the Defiant Map pack for Halo: Reach will include three new maps and 150 more Gamerscore points for $10. The three maps, all produces of 343 Studios, not Bungie, include one for Firefight and two for competitive play. Here’s the break down. Condemned: Condemned takes place aboard Orbital Station Gamma, a…

By Brian Crecente Published February 14, 2011

Won’t Anyone Let This Man Sell A Sarah Palin Xbox 360?

Poor David Morrill. All he ever wanted to do was sell an Xbox 360 that had, inexplicably, Sarah Palin’s autograph scrawled on the side of it. Instead, all he’s getting is trouble. First, unable to sell the console for one million dollars on auction site eBay, he had to drop the asking rate to a…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2011

Hacked Kinect Grooves Out A Beautiful Music Video

Kinect music videos are not new. There have already been a few like this one from Echo Lake. But while impressive, it’s not nearly as impressive as this. You are looking at “Catalina” by Portguese duo Moullinex, which is made up of Luis Clara Gomes and Luis Calçada. Gomes tells Kotaku that the video was…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 11, 2011

Why You Shouldn’t Threaten School Massacres Over Xbox Live

A teenager from Maryland thought it would be a good idea to get hold of somebody else’s Xbox Live login details then send over 100 messages threatening to turn up to school with a gun and start shooting. It wasn’t. Instead, the boy has been arrested, after police (with help from Microsoft) were able to…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2011

Kinect Can Be Used For Real Games After All

The first bunch of games for Microsoft’s Kinect were…crude. Resulting in a fear from many gamers that the peripheral may not be cut out for more complex titles. Well, this Dead Space 2 footage might convince you otherwise. In it, you can see the guy – if this is legit – is almost literally playing…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011

The Xbox 360 Experiences A Mid-Life Crisis In Japan

The Wii is easy to peg — family-friendly and fun. The PS3 is also easy to categorize — slick and high-tech. But in Japan, the Xbox 360 has a category of its own. And that’s starting to change. It was former Dead or Alive designer Tomonobu Itagaki who is quoted as saying that nobody buys…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2011

Gears Of War For Kinect An On-Rails Shooter, Says Source

Microsoft’s Kinect may get its first taste of hardcore flavor—made a little bit softer—in the form of an on-rails Gears of War shooter, pictured above, said to be in development for the Xbox 360. According to sources claiming to be familiar with the project, the previously rumored Gears of War Kinect project is indeed real.…

By Michael McWhertor Published February 8, 2011

Xbox Live Arcade’s House Party Priced & Dated

Microsoft’s next big Xbox Live Arcade push, the “House Party,” kicks off next week with the release of Contra spin-off Hard Corps: Uprising. When can you expect the rest, like Beyond Good & Evil HD and Torchlight? And how much? The five XBLA games arriving over the next five weeks will run between 800 Microsoft…

By Michael McWhertor Published February 8, 2011

Boy’s Xbox Spending Spree Bleeds His Single Mother Dry

This is Brendan Jordan. He’s 11 years-old and he racked up £1082.52 (US$1,743.90) on Xbox Live. And now, his 37-year-old mom, Dawn, is working two jobs just to make ends meet. “When I put my card details in 18 months ago I thought it was just for his membership to play online with his friends,”…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 8, 2011

Fanboy Or Gaming Hardware Loyalist?

In the first post-everything-changes edition of Speak-Up on Kotaku, GiantBoyDetective wonders who else sticks with one hardware maker for their video game platform needs. Anyone else only buy one brand of gaming system? I’ve only ever bought Nintendo consoles. The 3DS is next! I can imagine some people out there grew up on strictly PlayStation…

By Mike Fahey Published February 7, 2011

Why Conan O’Brien Isn’t Hosting An Xbox Live Show

Talk show Conan 0’Brien landed at cable network TBS after a brouhaha broke out on the Tonight Show. As previously posted, O’Brien could’ve inked a deal for Xbox Live, but didn’t. His producer now finally explains why. “The Xbox thing — a lot of the conversations were ‘well, it’s a show, but it’s not a…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 7, 2011

Draw Your Own Controller With This Kinect Mod

The march of mod progress has steadily delivered many cool things during the Kinect’s short lifespan to date. We can add another breakthrough: The ability to recognize hand-drawn buttons. This hack, by Garratt Gallagher, won Willow Garage’s recent open-source Robot Operating System contest. Here he draws four buttons with a piece of paper and a…

By Owen Good Published February 5, 2011