Microsoft - Page 191 of 238

The Inconvenient Truth Of Buying Video Games?

What do you consider when shopping for a new video game console? The games available for the console? How much it will cost you? What about the ethical impact of your choices? Do you weigh what the creation of that console does to the environment, whether it was built in sweat shops or contains supplies…

By Brian Crecente Published July 2, 2010

Microsoft Solves Backwards Battery Problem

The mad scientists at Microsoft have conjured a technology called InstaLoad that will allow you to put batteries into a device — in either direction. Look at the batteries in this official Microsoft image here. Madness! The technology, announced yesterday by Microsoft, works with AA, AAA, C and D batteries. This is one of those…

By Stephen Totilo Published July 2, 2010

Apple Engineers “Totally Wrong”, Nintendo Misjudged Excitement and Other Great Corporate Excuses

This morning iPhone owners woke to a very unusual thing: An apology letter from Apple. Everything about the letter, from its opening line of “Dear iPhone 4 Users”, to its unusual use of phrases like “totally wrong”, is cringe-inducing, but Apple isn’t the only company that doesn’t know how to come clean when they screw…

By Brian Crecente Published July 2, 2010

Crackdown 2 Meets Perfect Dark

You know, I was playing Perfect Dark the other day, and thought to myself, “Man, you know what this game needs? More Crackdown cameos”. And whaddya know. Here we are. With a Crackdown unlockable now available within Perfect Dark XBLA. Now if only I’d actually thought that, instead of using it to set the scene!…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010

How The Xbox Helps John Deere Supply Vehicles To The US Army

Well, there’s a headline I never thought I’d have to write. But behold! John Deere, masters of agricultural vehicles, have made the R-Gator, a small “utility” vehicle for the US Army that looks like a golf cart in olive green. It’s like a regular Gator, only this time the “R” stands for “Remote”, as it…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2010

Microsoft Is Hiring For The Next Halo Game

While Halo: Reach is Bungie’s last hurrah in the Halo universe, Microsoft’s 343 Industries is keeping the dream alive, with fifteen new positions opening today for qualified individuals seeking to “be part of the awesome.” The 343 Industries jobs page at Microsoft updated today with fifteen new positions on top of the nine that were…

By Mike Fahey Published July 1, 2010

Fable III Going Episodic, Downloadable

Fable II’s episodic experiment seems to have been a success, because Lionhead and Microsoft will be doing the same thing with upcoming Xbox RPG Fable III, releasing the game in downloadable chapters over Xbox Live. It won’t replace the retail version, of course, as it’ll be shipping shortly afterwards. But it’ll be a nice complement…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010

And You Thought Laptops In Starbucks Were Bad

That’s an Xbox 360 and a small TV set. In Starbucks. This is in Alaska. All that snow and darkness must make this seem normal.

By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010

Report: Here Are Kinect’s Technical Specs

A British retailer has posted a set of technical specifications for Microsoft’s upcoming motion-control peripheral, Kinect. Interestingly, it says only two “active” players can be tracked at any one time. While the camera can track “up to six people”, it can only handle two “active players” at a time, relegating the rest to support roles…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010

Hand-Carved Halo Stamp Has Master Chief Seal of Approval

As seen on Boing Boing via Wonderland via Craftster

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 30, 2010

Kinect Marketer: Hardcore Gamers will be the First to Buy It

Microsoft’s Kinect messaging is definitely core-obsessed. First they said they didn’t want core shooters like Halo on it. Then they said it’s got casual approachability, but core depth. Now, they’re saying hardcore gamers will be first in line for it. “I think we know that hardcore gamers will be the first to go out and…

By Owen Good Published June 29, 2010

Microsoft: Project Milo “Not A Game We’re Planning To Bring To The Market”

We’d always thought Project Milo, Lionhead’s Kinect tech demo from E3 2009, was an actual game. Or at least an actual something. Turns out it’s not, and will probably never be released to market. While Microsoft told us that “Project Milo is something that is in ongoing development at Lionhead Studios” following its no-show at…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2010

Don’t Think Of Kinect As ‘Casual,’ Think Of It As Super Mario Bros.

Worried that Microsoft’s E3 showcase of its Kinect controller for the Xbox 360 was a little too “casual,” a little too Wii Sports rewarmed? Kinect’s creative director sees it otherwise, that Microsoft’s taking a Super Mario Bros. approach instead. So says Kudo Tsunoda, the oft-sunglassed man behind games like Kinect Adventures, the river rafting and…

By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2010

Kinect Marketer: We Don’t Want Shovelware — Nor Even Call of Duty

Microsoft’s director of platform marketing says he knows Kinect “will have fewer games than our competitors,” but that’s fine. “We don’t want shovelware, we don’t want ports, we don’t want stuff with motion controls tacked onto it.” “That’s not a slam to our competitors,” Chris Penello told Gamasutra in an interview Friday. “We wanted original…

By Owen Good Published June 27, 2010

Windows Phone 7 Coming In October?

According to this video of a Microsoft Live Labs presentation of Windows Phone 7 at Cannes Lions 2010, Windows Phone 7 will be coming this October. Listen yourself, the month slips out around the :16 mark. [Thanks, Gary!]

By Rosa Golijan Published June 27, 2010

Here’s Where You Can Play Kinect Right Now

Can’t wait until November to play with Skittles the tiger or flail wildly until slightly moist with some Kinect Sports? Good news! Microsoft will be demoing its new motion controller “nationwide” for the public at retail this weekend. If you live near one of the four Microsoft Stores—located in Scottsdale, AZ, Lone Tree, CO, Mission…

By Michael McWhertor Published June 25, 2010

Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg is a Def Jam Rap Star

Words cannot describe. Fortunately we have this video, featuring HipHopGamer and Microsoft’s product manager Aaron Greenberg, which does an ample job of describing.

By Brian Crecente Published June 25, 2010

The New Xbox 360 Torn Apart

For your viewing pleasure! Or displeasure? Website PC Watch has dissected the new, smaller 250GB Xbox 360. Have a look at the console’s innards. Think of this as a service. They take apart the console so you don’t have too! That’s so nice. 新型Xbox 360米国版ハードウェアレポート〜小型で省電力、シンプルな基板 [PC Watch]

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 25, 2010

Will Fable III Have Fable II’s Money Exploit?

In Fable II, lazy players like me (hello!) could use a loophole in the game to do something very important: Earn lots of in-game cash quick By setting the Xbox 360’s clock forward and then starting the game, Fable II would be fooled into giving players all the money have were supposed to have earned…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 25, 2010

Kinect’s Magic Powers Aren’t Exclusive To Microsoft: TVs, Computers Coming Soon

The technology behind much of Microsoft’s Kinect – PrimeSense – isn’t exclusive to the Xbox 360. It’ll soon be appearing in other gadgets, from TV sets to computers. PrimeSense is the tech that lets cameras track and interpret human movements in a three-dimensional space, by bathing the area in infared light then turning what it…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 24, 2010