-
Kinect Launches In Japan But Does It Connect With Players?
After going on sale earlier this month in North America, Kinect finally launched in Japan. How’d it go? There was at least one long line for Kinect, which is good news. Why is it good news? Because if Kinect is successful in Japan, hopefully that means more Japanese developers will make software for it. If…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 20, 2010 -
How A Game Controller Can Change The Way You Work
We’ve seen Kinect do some pretty interesting things these past few weeks, but ironically, the most exciting thing we’ve seen so far is simply using the camera to control Microsoft’s Windows 7. Here you can see Wolfgang Herfurtner, boss of “multitouch and gesture computing” company Evoluce, use several Windows 7 programs using nothing but his…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 20, 2010 -
This Won’t Help Kinect Work In Tiny Apartments
American homes can be huge castles, but Japanese homes are, and I quote, rabbit hutches. How are Japanese gamers to know if their matchbox-sized apartment can handle Kinect? This is how. Maybe Xbox Japan’s Kinect displays have 0.9 meter (2.9 feet) paper measure for gamers to take home and suss out their gaming quarters. 2.9…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 19, 2010 -
Your First (Brief) Look At Kinect’s Panzer Dragoon
Project Draco is basically Panzer Dragoon for the Xbox 360’s Kinect. It’s even made by the same guy. First revealed at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, though, it’s only today we get our first proper look at the game. These two screenshots, courtesy of Japanase game site Famitsu, show that, yeah. You ride dragons! Project…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 19, 2010 -
How Long Until Kinect Turns Into Skynet?
Why play games on Kinect when you can hook it up to a robot, teach it how to learn from its surroundings then take your orders with the wave of an arm? Philipp Robbel, a student at MIT’s Personal Robotics Group, has done just that, connecting Microsoft’s motion-sensing peripheral to a small robot (a hacked…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 18, 2010 -
Uh, Where’s Fable III On PC?
It’s a valid question. After all, the Xbox 360 version is out, while the PC version is not, and does not even have a release date. Well, according to Lionhead, it’s still…in development, the team behind the series saying “Fable 3 PC Version is still in development here at Lionhead so PC GAMERS don’t panic.…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 18, 2010 -
Could Microsoft Give Project Gotham Devs A Lift?
Microsoft is shopping around for a new Project Gotham Racing developer. Activision is looking to offload original Project Gotham development studio Bizarre Creations. Could the timing be any better? the Project Gotham Racing franchise was a huge success for both Bizarre Creations and Microsoft, but that pairing came to an end in 2007 when Activision…
By Mike Fahey Published November 17, 2010 -
How To Hack Kinect
You’ve seen the kind of cool stuff people can get up to when they hack their Kinect. Now you can too, with this simple rather complex guide. Adafruit, the team behind the recent “bounty” on hacking Microsoft’s new motion-sensing peripheral, have posted an in-depth and incredibly technical guide on how to get the camera doing…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 17, 2010 -
Xbox 360 Over-Heating? You Could Always Try This
The Xbox 360’s famous Red Ring Of Death was usually caused by over-heating inside the console. We’ve seen many backyard solutions claiming to fix this, but none as elaborate — or possibly effective — as this. It may not be easy on the eye, and certainly won’t win any awards for style, but piping a…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2010 -
Can Microsoft’s New Online Store Compete With Steam?
As expected, Microsoft’s new online shopfront for PC games has gone live. We were promised a bigger, better store. So has it delivered? I don’t like it. Not yet, anyways. It certainly looks pretty, its minimal appearance a nice break from Steam’s clutter of buttons and menus and buttons within menus within menus. This theme…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2010 -
Fable III DLC Travels Under Bowerstone With An Afro
The world of Albion expands on November 23 with the Understone Quest Pack, adding an entire new town for you to explore, while the Exclusive Hair Pack adds afros, corn rows, asymmetrical bobs, and a dog buff. That’s right, for 160 Microsoft points come November 23, you can sport a lovely afro, rock the corn…
By Mike Fahey Published November 15, 2010 -
Japan: We Love Cars, Kinect, Notsomuch
PS3 exclusive Gran Turismo 5 might be released a week after Kinect hits Japan on November 20, but the game already looks set to run over Microsoft’s motion control system this holiday season. The following photos were taken at the Bic Camera in Tokyo’s Yurakucho. This one of the largest electronics stores in the country.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 15, 2010 -
How Kinect Can Build A 3D Model Of Your Bedroom
You’ve no doubt heard (or even seen) how Kinect works, by projecting thousands of points of infrared light around a room. Now see what it can do once it takes all that information in. Okreylos has posted this handy little video on YouTube – produced by hacking his Kinect, of course – showing how Microsoft’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 15, 2010 -
Is Kinect Reporting What It Sees To Advertisers?
Speaking at an investor’s conference on Thursday, a Microsoft executive offered that Kinect not only knows how many are in the room when an ad’s shown, but what kind of team colors they might be wearing. Uh-oh. Privacy concerns with the Kinect aren’t a new subject, of course. At the BMO Capital Markets forum, Dennis…
By Owen Good Published November 14, 2010 -
Alan Wake Coming To XBL Games On Demand
Alan Wake, which released May 18, arrives on the Xbox Live Marketplace’s Games on Demand service six months later. Major Nelson listed Alan Wake in his most recent update; it’ll get here Nov. 23. A price wasn’t listed in North America but MCV reports it’ll be £19.99 in the U.K.; those who balked at it…
By Owen Good Published November 14, 2010 -
No Full Body Protective Suits For You, Kinect Players!
When the Wii was launched, gamers got hurt. They whacked their TVs, their friends and themselves with the Wii Remote, which prompted Nintendo to make a protective jacket for the remotes. Likewise, Kinect players are getting hurt Is Microsoft giving out protective body suits? Well, no. Sadly, it doesn’t not look like Microsoft will be…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 12, 2010 -
So, How Many Consoles Have Been Sold In The US This Generation?
Ever wonder how many Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft consoles have been sold in the USA over the past six years? Allow Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to fill you in. Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets Annual Digital Entertainment Conference in New York, Fils-Aime revealed that since launching in 2004, the Nintendo DS has…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 12, 2010 -
Report: Kinect Only Cost $56 To Make
The Xbox 360’s fancy motion-sensing camera Kinect may cost you $149, but according to a report from UBM Tech Insights, it costs Microsoft a whole lot less. UBM have got hold of a Kinect, torn it apart to examine each of its components then tracked how much each of them cost. What they found was…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 12, 2010 -
Kinect Sports Launches Facebook App
Rare has built and launched a Kinect Sports application for Facebook, which will keep track of players’ league results, allow them to issue invitations and be invited to others, and collect video highlights in a single place. The application will soon update with the ability to see complete personal stats and records (by event, or…
By Owen Good Published November 11, 2010