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The First Moron To Break His TV With Kinect
Well, the first moron that we’ve heard of. He’s not really a moron, he’s Phil Villarreal, author and critic. And he’s out a pricey television. You are the controller? No Phil, you are the guy with the broken TV. “A public service announcement: Do not under any circumstances play Kinect Sports Volleyball at 1:30 a.m.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 5, 2010 -
Hack Kinect, Win $2000
DIY hardware champions adafruit industries want somebody to come up with a set of open source drivers for Microsoft’s Kinect, so anyone can run the thing on all kinds of different computer systems. There’s a reward. Of $2000. Here’s the challenge, as thrown down on adafruit’s website: What do we (all) want? Open source drivers…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 5, 2010 -
What’s Inside A Kinect?
If the sight of bare printed circuit boards, tangles of wires and exposed chips makes you queasy, best look away from iFixit’s new Kinect dissection. But if you want to know exactly whats inside that new hands-free controller, read on. iFixit dives into the electronic guts of Kinect’s sensor and microphone arrays, finding it full…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 4, 2010 -
Consumer Reports Knocks Down Kinect Skin-Color Claim
Yesterday GameSpot set off a minibomb with an anecdote about Kinect not recognizing two dark-skinned users while lighter-skinned gamers had no problems. Consumer Reports has weighed in, saying this sounds like a claim about laptops from last year. In a post yesterday evening, since updated, GameSpot mentioned that of three employees of color, Kinect’s facial…
By Owen Good Published November 4, 2010 -
The Ultimate Guide To Xbox 360 Kinect
This is your guide to everything you need to know about Xbox 360 Kinect: how it works, what it costs, and what games you can play on it. What Is Kinect? Microsoft calls Kinect a hands-free motion control device for the Xbox 360. It allows players to control games using a combination of body movement…
By Mike Fahey Published November 4, 2010 -
See Kinect’s Thousands Of Points Of Invisible Light
Kinect works by projecting infared light throughout the room it’s situated in. Under normal circumstances, it’s invisible, but switch to night vision mode and you can actually see the dots floating around your living room. Kiwi reader Cullen sends us this footage that, while a little tough to make out at first (he’s having to…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2010 -
360 Gets Old-School Role-Playing For A Buck
“West” is a new indie game for the Xbox 360 that looks right up the alley of anyone who has ever played (and enjoyed) games like Pokemon or Mother It of course lacks the polish of those top-down, role-playing Japanese classics, but then, you can’t get them for $1 on an Xbox console, either. West?…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2010 -
The Sights, Sounds And Dancing Armies Of Kinect’s NYC Launch
While Kinect launches all across the US tonight, the peripheral’s official bash was in New York City, where Marky Mark, Microsoft and an enormous army of purple-shirted dancers overran Times Square.
By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Kinect
Microsoft says that Kinect is the next big thing for video games, a way to control both games and TV without touching a thing. This expensive future is now. It’s amazing, but you can wait for it. The Kinect sensor is a device that plugs into an Xbox 360 and uses a combination of cameras…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 4, 2010 -
What We Loved, What We Hated About the Xbox 360 Kinect
Microsoft calls it a new console, but the Kinect is really a fresh coat of paint for the Xbox 360, promising to deliver not just motion gaming, but controller-free gaming to the masses. We’ve had the peripheral add-on in our offices for a little more than a week now, time enough for us to play…
By Brian Crecente Published November 4, 2010 -
Marky Mark And Microsoft Bring Kinect To All The Good Boys & Girls Clubs
Actor Mark Wahlberg teams up with Microsoft today to help deliver a funky bunch of Xbox 360 and Kinect gaming hardware to thousands of Boys & girls Clubs across the nation. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America have been helping underprivileged children become productive, caring, and responsible adults for more than 100 years. Today…
By Mike Fahey Published November 3, 2010 -
People Already Lining Up For Kinect, But They’re Not Crazy
Microsoft’s controller-free add-on for the Xbox 360 officially doesn’t launch until November 4, but some clearly passionate Kinect fans are already lining up in New York City for its midnight launch. Crazy? Not really and here’s why. Microsoft is giving the first 3,000 people who line up and buy Kinect at the official launch party…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 2, 2010 -
So, Microsoft, Why The Xbox Live Price Hike?
This week, the price of a subscription to Xbox Live Gold went up. Want to know why? Here’s the reason Microsoft is peddling. “In 2002 it was strictly multiplayer gaming,” Xbox Live’s Craig Davison told Gamasutra. “Now we get those Call of Duty map packs before anybody else does. We’ve got Gears and Halo, of…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 2, 2010 -
New Xbox 360 Bundle Includes Forza 3 and Alan Wake
Microsoft yesterday revealed a new Xbox 360 bundle for the holiday season, one which packs a 250GB console in with two games. It’s the same one as we’ve already shown you for the Canadian and European markets; namely, one that also packs in a boxed copy of Forza 3 and a token for a downloadable…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 2, 2010 -
Indie Devs Not Happy With New Xbox 360 Dashboard
The new Xbox 360 dashboard is clean. It’s very white. It’s also got a lot of indie developers for the platform upset with Microsoft, accusing the platform holder of putting their baby in the corner. Xbox Live Indie Games used to be somewhat easily found in the “Games Marketplace” section of the dashboard. Now? They’ve…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 2, 2010 -
Frankenreview: Fable III
If there’s one thing compiling the Fable III Frankenreview has taught me, it’s that even the most powerful monarch is subject to the court of popular opinion. In this case the court of popular opinion features the opinion of the assembled video game reviewers, who seem to have mixed feelings when it comes to the…
By Mike Fahey Published November 1, 2010 -
Project Gotham Racing Making A Comeback
Project Gotham Racing’s engines have been stalled since Activision bought developer Bizarre Creations in 2007. Is Microsoft warming up European development studios for a potential PGR revival? “Trusted sources” tell game development website Develop that Microsoft is currently courting several independent European studios to revive the franchise that was the definitive racing experience on the…
By Mike Fahey Published November 1, 2010 -
Xbox Live’s Keyboard Gets New Coat Of Paint
Those blue menus of old? They’re gone in the fall Xbox Live update. In their place are silvery white menus. Xbox Live’s keyboard gets tweaked, too. “We’ve taken the existing QWERTY keyboard in-dash and made it easier to use for scenarios that involve repeated text entry,” Microsoft’s Larry Hryb explains, “when signing up for LIVE…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 1, 2010 -
Burger King Is Giving Away A Kinect Bundle Every 15 Minutes
Burger King is giving away a 4GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle every fifteen minutes between now and November 28, and all you have to do is order a Whopper extra value meal. Is it worth it? It’s Kinect release week, and Microsoft has teamed up with Burger King to give customers a shot at winning…
By Mike Fahey Published November 1, 2010 -
The Problem With Microsoft’s New Way To Play Video Games
When Xbox 360’s controller-free Kinect add-on hits stores later this week it has the potential to redefine gaming in ways even the Nintendo Wii hasn’t yet done. It could just as easily fall flat on its face. While Nintendo’s motion-sensing Wii changed the way we use controllers, Microsoft’s Kinect completely removes the need to hold…
By Brian Crecente Published November 1, 2010