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Xbox Live Rewards Gives You “Money” For Nothing
Microsoft’s “Xbox Live Rewards” program, which began testing over a year ago, looks set to finally be about to open to the public, with a page turning up on Xbox.com devoted to the service. The program essentially rewards users for spending money on Xbox Live, giving out Microsoft Points and other freebies for doing things…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2010 -
NSFW: Kinect Can Recognize Solo Play
People are hacking Kinect, doing all sorts of amazing things with it like mapping their rooms and turning into a bloated mutant. But when does the screwing start? Sex tech website Slashdong wonders just that. Well, with it possible to teach Kinect to track boobs, then surely laying pipe must be around the corner, no?…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 30, 2010 -
Two Kinects Can Make A Model Of The World Around You
With one Kinect motion-sensing camera, we can see part of our surroundings in 3D. With two, however, we can actually generate 3D models of our surroundings. Oliver Kreylos, the man behind the first of these kind of videos, has got hold of a second camera and with it built an adorable little 3D model of…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 30, 2010 -
Kinect Sees 2.5 Million Sales In 25 Days
It took ten days for Microsoft’s Kinect to hit one million sales. Now Microsoft reveals that the device has sold 2.5 million units in 25 days. This can only mean one thing: Someone is buying 100,000 Kinects a day. It’s either that, or Kinect is simply selling at a relatively steady rate. The latest numbers…
By Mike Fahey Published November 29, 2010 -
Xbox 360 May Get Cable-Like Online Subscription Service
Microsoft’s no stranger to working with TV networks, but according to Reuters they’re working on a cable-like online subscription service for the Xbox 360. It’s likely to have come about because of the Google TV threat—however much of a threat it may or may not be, it’s likely worried Microsoft. Nonetheless, it’s all good news…
By Kat Hannaford Published November 29, 2010 -
Kinect Hacked To Play Super Mario Bros.
This unholy marriage of Microsoft technology and Nintendo software comes from Yankeyan, who probably just gave Shigeru Miyamoto an inspiration for the Wii’s next exergaming title. Yankeyan programmed this with OpenKinect drivers and Nintendo emulation, so that Kinect recognized his motions and virtual button presses onto the emulator. “I could have placed a simulated keypad…
By Owen Good Published November 27, 2010 -
There Are 26,000 Kinects In Japanese Homes
Not just, one Japanese home per se, but oodles more. Defying the odds, Xbox Japan turned out impressive Kinect sales figures…impressive for Xbox Japan. While the peripheral sold over a million in its first ten days in the U.S., the motion sensor sold 26,000 in Japan during its first two days. Pretty good! The Xbox…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 26, 2010 -
Sony Dev Rips Kinect Star Wars — And Outs Move Lightsaber Game?
A top engineer for the PlayStation Move backhanded Kinect’s upcoming Star Wars game as “scripted,” called its notorious E3 demo “faked,” and said a Star Wars Move game will “be damn better than Kinect’s.” Such a game hasn’t been announced. “I’m usually not very aggressive,” said Anton Mikhailov to Eurogamer. He then proceeded to be…
By Owen Good Published November 25, 2010 -
Pop Stars Move Kinect In Japan
Microsoft doesn’t view Kinect simply as just some peripheral. It’s as important as a console. That’s why the company poured millions into launching Kinect. And as expected, Xbox 360 sales saw a spike in Japan. Xbox 360 sales actually tripled. But that wasn’t big enough for the console to overtake the DSi. Or the DSi…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 25, 2010 -
Kinect Is Wasted On Video Games
We’ve seen some truly astounding things being done with Microsoft’s Kinect motion-control camera in the month since its release. It’s a shame, then, that none of them have had anything to do with video games. From 3D-mapping to robot programming to manboobs to advanced user interfaces, Kinect has shown it has the potential to revolutionise…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 24, 2010 -
Should You Buy An Xbox 360?
The Xbox 360 was the first of the current generation of home consoles to launch, all the way back in 2005. If you haven’t decided to buy one by now, is there any reason to buy one, well, now? [UPDATED for the holiday season of video games.] Consider this guide our formal advice on whether…
Team Kotaku Published November 23, 2010 -
PopSci Honors Playstation Move, Insults Wii, Xbox 360 Kinect
Popular Science (that’s PopSci to you cool kids) just released their 23rd annual Best of What’s New awards. Inside are just two video game gadgets and a bit of a backhand for the Wii and Xbox 360. The magazine’s awards go to 100 innovations that, according to PopSci, “indicate where technology is headed in the…
By Brian Crecente Published November 23, 2010 -
Nintendo Returns to CES After 16 Year Absence
The Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in the second week of 2011, and for the first time in 16 years Nintendo will be there to show off some new goodies. What’s on their list to show off? We don’t know yet, but I suspect their big push will be for the Nintendo 3DS and it’s…
By Brian Crecente Published November 23, 2010 -
He Waited Two Days For This? Poor Bastard
A dude named “Butch” waited two days to be first in line for Kinect’s Tokyo launch. He camped out on the street in a cardboard box painted “Xbox 360”. Too bad his room isn’t much bigger. Butch posted a photo of his Kinect set-up, and it doesn’t look like he has the necessary 8 feet…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 23, 2010 -
GT5 And Forza 3 Race For The Checkered Flag
Forza 3 is a pretty game. Gran Turismo 5 is a pretty game, too. But in the world of virtual car pornography, which is prettier? Here are two comparisons between Gran Turismo 5 and Forza 3. They take into account car modelling as well as light reflections. These aren’t the first GT5 vs Forza 3…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 23, 2010 -
Microsoft Bringing Cross-Platform Apps To The 360?
It’s since been edited to remove all mention of Microsoft’s home console, but earlier today, the Redmond software giant was advertising for people to come help work on Silverlight stuff for the Xbox 360. What does that mean? Silverlight – Microsoft’s in-house rival to Adobe’s Flash – is of course already used on the Xbox,…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 23, 2010 -
Kinect Can Also Turn You Into A Bloated Mutant
We’ve seen some fun and sometimes funky homebrewed uses of Kinect for the Xbox 360, thanks to the release of open source drivers for Microsoft’s camera sensor, but how many of those apps support house cats? This one does. Robert “Flight404” Hodgin has whipped up a Kinect demo that can bloat or emaciate the body…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 22, 2010 -
Microsoft Will Not Be Taking Kinect “Hackers” To Court
When people first started talking about messing around with the insides of the Kinect, Microsoft played bad cop, making legal threats. Thankfully, things have calmed down since then. A few weeks back, Microsoft said – in response to a “bounty” being offered to the first person to “hack” Kinect – that it would “work closely…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 22, 2010 -
Kinect Can Turn You Into Star Wars Kid
Star Wars Kid, one of the internet’s earliest celebrities, had to do his lightsaber combat the hard way. Now, with Kinect and a computer, anyone can look like the world’s biggest Star Wars nerd. Using a hacked Kinect, Yankeyan has rigged up this basic tool that can track a user wielding a wooden stick and,…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 22, 2010 -
Halo Wars Goes Dark On Dec. 15
Barely two years after its release, Microsoft is pulling the plug on Halo Wars on Dec. 15, axing leaderboards and stat-tracking as well as the forums. Fans of the real-time strategy game are not pleased. The community was informed of this on Tuesday. They were told they’d be “transitioning … to Halo Waypoint’s forums,” which…
By Owen Good Published November 21, 2010