Microsoft - Page 174 of 239

Can This Pop Princess Be A True Gamer With No PS3?

During the last decade, Japanese singer Maki Goto was a big pop star. Now, she’s a big gamer. That is, a big gamer apparently without a PS3. Earlier this week, Goto appeared on popular variety show Downtown DX, hosted by the popular comedy duo Downtown. On the show, celebrity guests typically show photos or videos…

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 10, 2011

Reviews

Review: ilomilo’s Surprising Depth Is A Matter Of Perception

A pair of friends vow to meet each other in the park each day, despite a twisted world that strives to keep them apart. This is the simple story behind ilomilo, a puzzle game much deeper than initial appearances. Poor ilo and milo. Every day they venture into the park to spend valuable time together,…

By Mike Fahey Published January 7, 2011

Fable For The Phone Is A Fun Round Of Coin Golf

The Fable series may be known best for its wild ambition, but the Windows Phone 7 spin-off keeps things perfectly simple. This is Fable: Coin Golf. Microsoft says the mobile phone take on Fable draws upon traditional British pub games like Shove Ha’penny, Bar Billiards and Skittles, tasking you with launching the “Hero Puck” into…

By Michael McWhertor Published January 7, 2011

What’s Up With Xbox 360 As A Cable Box, Virtual Game Room, And Game Show Host?

Microsoft has a lot they want to talk about at this Consumer Electronics Show: Their big Kinect sales numbers, the future of that tech, their new phone. But they also have a few things they’re not keen to discuss. The makers of computer and cell phone operating systems and the Xbox 360 likes to push…

By Brian Crecente Published January 7, 2011

Hands On With Game Room For Windows Phone 7

Microsoft is bringing its Game Room retro collection to the Windows Phone 7, starting with Centipede, Asteroids Deluxe and Shao-Lin Road. What does Game Room gaming look like on a mobile phone? Let’s take a look. These games are controlled by touchscreen with virtual joysticks, track balls and buttons, perhaps not the best interface for…

By Michael McWhertor Published January 6, 2011

Xbox Avatars Invade the Windows Phone With Full House Poker

Full House Poker is both an Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7 game. A poker title that tracks your card-playing skills and pot across both platforms. While the Windows Phone 7 version of the game, due out this spring, doesn’t let you play against other gamers, it does keep an eye on how much money…

By Brian Crecente Published January 6, 2011

Torchlight On Xbox 360 Looks Like…This!

Torchlight, one of 2009’s surprise hits on the PC, is hoping to be one of 2011’s surprise hits on the Xbox 360. Here’s how it’s shaping up. Torchlight should be out in Feb/March, and will sadly only be appearing on the Xbox 360, with no PS3 version planned (as it’s actually being published by Microsoft).

By Luke Plunkett Published January 6, 2011

So, This Kinect Thing Is Popular With The Humans

In its first sixty days on sale, Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral for the Xbox 360 has sold millions. Actually, that should read millions and millions Obliterating even Microsoft’s own internal wildest dreams, the motion-sensing camera has sold over eight million units since its release late last year. Considering there are “only” 50 million Xbox 360s out…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 6, 2011

Live At Microsoft’s CES 2011 Keynote

What has Microsoft brought to Las Vegas for the Xbox 360? What else will they show besides video games? The answers await inside Microsoft’s CES 2011 keynote. Read on for Kotaku’s live blog of this year’s Microsoft news conference, headlined by CEO Steve Ballmer presenting what’s in store for 360 fans in the coming year.…

By Owen Good Published January 5, 2011

Your First, Secret Look at 2011’s CES

The Consumer Electronics Show floor doesn’t open officially until Thursday morning, but we got an early look at the show in progress. What did we see? Green Hornet, Smurfs, and lots of 3D. Here’s a quick look at some of the biggest company’s rush to deliver the pinnacle experience at this year’s show. While an…

By Brian Crecente Published January 5, 2011

Kinect Can’t Just Read Your Motions, It Can Capture Them Too

We’ve already seen one way Microsoft’s Kinect can be used to help bedroom game developers, but here’s another, just as practical way: it can allow for home-grown motion capture. For professionals, motion-capture work is time-consuming, highly specialised and expensive. Indeed, it’s one of the big reasons Rockstar’s LA Noire has been so long in development…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 5, 2011

What Is “Avatar Kinect”?

Some photos snapped from behind the scenes at the setup for this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas hint Microsoft will be showing something called “Avatar Kinect”. What is it? Provided, that is, these shots show anything other than a new marketing slogan? Your guess is as good as ours, since it won’t be…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 4, 2011

There’s A Trick To Playing R.U.S.E. With Kinect

You won’t be able to play Ubisoft’s strategy game R.U.S.E. using Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Kinect anytime soon, but the PC version is another matter entirely. Here we see multitouch and gesture computing company Evoluce boss Wolfgang Herfurtner navigating the opening battle from Eugen System’s R.U.S.E. using a combination of his company’s software and Microsoft’s motion-sensing…

By Mike Fahey Published January 3, 2011

Microsoft Researchers Made An Xbox Game

For years, getting a computer to play chess has been a badge of honour for AI programmers. Getting an Xbox Live game to play something 10x more complex, then, seems like something to be proud of. Microsoft has quietly released a first-party game on Xbox Live Arcade called “Path of Go”, a computerised version of…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 3, 2011

Red-Ringed Xbox 360 Faces Celebratory Firing Squad

You just wrapped up another semester of college. What are you going to do to celebrate? Shoot up a dead Xbox 360 with semi-automatic rifles of course! Ben Strauss sends in these pics of the celebratory firing squad that both wrapped up another year at a local college near Kansas City and bid adieu to…

By Brian Crecente Published January 1, 2011

Possibly Illegal Lengths To Get Xbox 360s In Japanese Homes

In Japan, generally speaking, you cannot rent video games, nor can you rent consoles. It’s just not done. Software and hardware companies successfully pushed for a ban on rentals, which is why used games in Japan are in such good shape. Players buy new games, complete them very quickly and then sell them second hand.…

By Brian Ashcraft Published December 31, 2010

Kinect Gives Life To This Humanoid Robot

Using Microsoft’s Kinect to control a modified Roomba is impressive. Using it to get a kit-built humanoid robot to mimic your actions is pretty damn amazing. Once again hobbyists beat Microsoft at their own gaming peripheral, utilizing Kinect’s impressive technology in ways that go so far beyond gaming. Here we see software engineer Taylor Veltrop…

By Mike Fahey Published December 29, 2010

Forbes Predicts the Rise of Apple and Google Gaming and Decline of Sony and Microsoft

In light of Forbes amazingly perceptive 2000 piece about the computers of 2010, Forbes’ Paul Tassi decided to take a stab at predicting what gaming will be like in a decade. Some of his ideas seem spot on, others a bit dated, but it’s still an interesting read. The most likely prediction Tassi makes is…

By Brian Crecente Published December 28, 2010

New Owner of an Xbox Phone? Play These Games

If you’re the owner of a brand-spankin’-new Windows Phone 7 device, then “Ilomilo” is a game you should play. But there’s a catch. The new operating system just launched in November and hasn’t exactly been doing gangbusters in terms of sales. Still, the phones have much to offer gamers. After all, Windows Phone 7 devices…

Winda Benedetti Published December 28, 2010

The Consumer Electronics Show Cometh

One week from today team Kotaku descends on Vegas to prepare for the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show. While there are no expectations of huge news shaking loose from the annual gadget and gear show, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a boring week. Sony often drops interesting nuggets about their gaming division during…

By Brian Crecente Published December 28, 2010