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The Gears of War 3 Beta Kicks Off April 18, Bringing Flaming Guns With It
If you want to dress the “Cole Train” in a Thrashball uniform or demand that your guns come in one flavor—flaming—play the Gears of War 3 beta when it kicks off on April 18. That’s when owners of Bulletstorm’s “Epic Edition” get access to Gears 3. Those without a copy of Bulletstorm get it one…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 4, 2011 -
Microsoft’s SideWinder Gaming Hardware Isn’t Dead Yet
Has the long-lived SideWinder line of gaming-centric computer peripherals finally bitten the dust? Microsoft says it isn’t so. Microsoft’s been releasing computer gaming peripherals under the SideWinder brand for the better part of two decades, pushing out everything from flight sticks to elaborate force feedback steering wheels. The line was put on hiatus in 2003…
By Mike Fahey Published March 3, 2011 -
Pin-Up Model Turned Xbox Japan Spokes-girl Paralyzed After Accident
Hikari Yamaguchi first captured Japanese gamers’ eyes with her bikini pin-up photos. She captured their hearts as one of the hosts of Xbox Japan’s Inside Xbox program. Right now, she needs all the love she can get. According to paper Sports Hochi, Yamaguchi slipped on the balcony of her home on February 19, resulting in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 3, 2011 -
The Near Future Of Video Games, Straight Outta San Francisco
The Kotaku crew is hip-deep in the 2011 Game Developers Conference, bringing you the latest news, newest games, and anything else we can drag kicking and screaming out of one of gaming’s biggest annual events. It’s not over until our boys in the field come home, and even then the coverage will keep on coming.…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2011 -
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 -
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
