Microsoft - Page 182 of 239

The Control Pad Family Tree

Steve Cable has whipped up this handy “family tree” of video game controllers (click through for the full thing). Informative and educational! As seen on CX Partners (thanks Josh!).

By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010

Turmoil In The Land Where Your Consoles Are Made

This year, a rash of suicides at the factories of manufacturing giant Foxconn has focused attention on working conditions. Improvements were apparently made, but a recent report suggests otherwise. Foxconn assembles the Xbox 360, the PS3, the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone, among many other electronic devices. A recent report features interviews with over 1,700…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010

How I Met Your Kinect

The most recent episode of American comedy program “How I Met Your Mother” featured not one, but two cameos. One of them was talk show host Maury Povich. The other? Microsoft’s forthcoming Kinect motion control system. The show is actually a series of flashbacks narrated by Bob Saget of Full House fame about how he…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010

Taking Pictures, Watching Movies, Typing and Playing Games on Windows Phone 7

This morning Steve Ballmer filled a New York “meeting space” to capacity to unveil the specifics on the November launch of Windows Phone 7. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect from what appears to be the only mobile phone that will support Xbox Live. This is how Microsoft put it today: “Windows…

By Brian Crecente Published October 11, 2010

Watch U-verse TV On Your Xbox 360 This Friday

Xbox 360 owners that subscribe to AT&T’s U-verse television service can return one of their set-top boxes this Friday, when the service goes live on Microsoft’s console. Would you pay $99 to turn your 360 into a cable receiver? Last Friday we posted information indicating that the U-verse experience would launch sometime next month. How…

By Mike Fahey Published October 11, 2010

EA Readies The Sims 3 And More For Windows Phone 7

Continuing its tradition of making a splash whenever a new gaming platform launches, EA is gearing up for the Windows Phone 7 launch with a suite of titles, including The Sims 3. Revealed during the Windows Phone 7 launch event in New York today, the Windows Phone 7 version of The Sims 3 doesn’t look…

By Mike Fahey Published October 11, 2010

Xbox Avatar Editing and Gaming on Windows Phone 7 in Action

Microsoft spent Monday morning walking gathered press through the release dates and details for their Windows Phone 7 phones, due to start hitting in early November. Here’s a look at the gaming they walked us through on the phone.

By Brian Crecente Published October 11, 2010

First Windows Phone 7 Devices Drop In November

The first wave of Windows Phone 7 devices kicks off with the November 8 release of the Samsung Focus in North America, with eight more Xbox Live-ready devices making it to market worldwide in time for the holidays. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 initiative launches on November 8 in North America with the release of the…

By Mike Fahey Published October 11, 2010

Windows Phone 7 Liveblog… What About The Video Games?

Here in Manhattan Microsoft is celebrating Windows Phone 7 as it heads to launch. They invited us because this phone has an Xbox Live connection. Let’s liveblog this, shall we? Also, please check out the exhaustive Windows Phone 7 coverage by our pals at Gizmodo. They have piles of previews of the final hardware.

By Stephen Totilo Published October 11, 2010

The Kinect You Never Knew

In late 2006/early 2007, then-Xbox boss Peter Moore wanted a “Wii Killer” to be the centrepiece of Microsoft’s next E3 press conference. So he had two teams compete to try and make him one. Having seen the immediate success of the Nintendo Wii following it’s launch in late 2006, Kotaku has been told that Moore…

By Luke Plunkett Published October 11, 2010

8 Features From The Xbox 360 Fall Update You May Not Know About

Microsoft will be releasing a new update to the Xbox 360 soon, adding support for Kinect, ESPN and introducing a revamped dashboard. But there are also a few “under the hood” features Microsoft will be including in that update. While we’ve discussed the Xbox Live Fall 2010 update‘s most visible new features at length, there’s…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 8, 2010

Xbox 360’s AT&T TV Service Launches In November

Having first been revealed in, oh, 2007, it seems that the Xbox 360 is finally going to be able to play nice with AT&T’s U-Verse streaming TV service. Thing is, there’s a catch. Well, catches For one, you can’t just sign up and use the Xbox 360 on its own like you can with, say,…

By Luke Plunkett Published October 8, 2010

Before Kinect, Microsoft Had “Exotic” Motion Controllers

In 2010, Microsoft’s Kinect is a motion-sensing camera that requires no control pad. You are, as the marketing goes, the controller. In the beginning, though, things weren’t so fancy. According to a big write-up on the history of Kinect on Wired, in 2007, Xbox boss Don Mattrick had called for a “reimagining of the way…

By Luke Plunkett Published October 8, 2010

Halo Waypoint Spawns ‘Apt. 117,’ A Cartoon About Bores & Idiots

The current home of all things Halo, 343 Industries, is working with Powerhouse Animation Studios—responsible for the animation in Risk: Factions—on a new, ongoing Halo-themed animated series dubbed Apt. 117. Maybe you’ll think it’s funny? Maybe not, because Apt. 117 is pitched as “an underwhelming animated series” about “a boring, average guy who lives with…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 7, 2010

Win One Of Three Legendary Editions of Halo: Reach

As the holidays loom in the ever decreasing distance and the world economy continues to wallow in the dumpster, we thought it might be a great idea to start giving some stuff away to you, our readers. Better still, we’re not going to make you work that hard for it, because there has been a…

By Brian Crecente Published October 7, 2010

Review: Hydrophobia

Hydrophobia, a downloadable Xbox 360 survival adventure title, claims to have some of the most realistic water physics video games have ever seen. But does the title wade into the deep end or is it just shallow? Hydrophobia (which does not mean “fear of water” — aquaphobia does) is the first of several planned digital…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2010

Should The Xbox 360 Form Its Own Corporation?

Goldman Sachs’ analysts punked Microsoft’s stock rating and archly suggested that the company spin off the Xbox 360 division, saying such a sale could unlock hidden value within the unit and free it from the company’s more sluggish performance. The report, released over the weekend, downgraded Microsoft from “buy” to “neutral” (which, if a stock…

By Owen Good Published October 7, 2010

Report: Halo Movie Might Happen With Spielberg, But In An Unexpected Way

Microsoft’s “on hold” plans for a Halo film series may be back on again, with Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures “renewing its efforts to obtain the rights and revive the project,” according to a new report. NY Mag’s entertainment column, Vulture, cites “insiders” in a report that claims DreamWorks is “focusing on using novelizations of the…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 6, 2010

Japanese Kinect Commercial Doesn’t Mention Room Size

According to the Kinect manual, the controller-free peripheral needs between 6 and 8 feet of space. That’s important to know. Here is the manual’s exact wording: The sensor can see you when you play approximately 6 feet (2 meters) from the sensor. For two people, you should play approximately 8 feet (2.5 meters) from the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2010

Chuck’s 30th Birthday Is Not The Event

Chuck actor Zachary Levi and The Event star Jason Ritter play Kinect at Zack’s Xbox-sponsored 30th birthday party. Gameface is a photographic celebration of the people who make, play and love video games.

By Mike Fahey Published October 4, 2010