Microsoft

Get Ready For Kinectisements (Kinectomercials?)

You didn’t think Microsoft’s Kinect would be used just for games, did you? Silly. It’s going to be used for interactive advertisements as well, beginning with a Chevy commercial later this year. As part of the campaign surrounding the launch of the Chevrolet Volt electric car at the end of the year, the car manufacturer…

How To Play The Crackdown 2 Demo FOREVER

Microsoft may have slapped a time limit on the new Crackdown 2 demo, but that won’t stop the internet, with users seemingly finding a way to play it for as long as they want. It involves a little juggling, as you need to manually disconnect your console from Xbox Live then reconnect it at a…

Four Play For The Price Of Two With The Xbox Live Gold Family Plan

Microsoft gears up for the launch of family-friendly Kinect this fall with the Xbox Live Gold Family subscription plan, delivering four Xbox Live Gold memberships for the price of two, plus a host of new features and family-exclusive content. This is why I need kids. Starting in November, Microsoft’s new Xbox Live Gold Family Pack…

Microsoft Explains Why Kinect Doesn’t Do Gears of War 3, Halo: Reach

When Kinect was unveiled as Project Natal during last year’s E3 and Tokyo Game Show it looked like the sort of controller that would be used for a wider variety of games. Up on stage, Microsoft showed off not only a bunch of casual games for the motion-controller, but also innovative titles like Milo, which…

Steampunk Halo

Master Chief…all Victorian like. Over the course of two months, artist Christophe worked on this steampunk version of the helmet worn by the Halo Spartan. After a series of misses, Christophe was able to use four layers of acrylic paint and PCV pipe to create the effect. Oh, forgot one last material used — the…

Kinect Unfairly Compared To…A Sofa

This is Kinect. It is Microsoft’s new motion controller system. You cannot sit on top of it. Well, you can, but you’ll break it. You can sit on a sofa. Right now, I am sitting on a sofa! Amazing. For snots and giggles, this comparison between a sofa and Microsoft’s Kinect has appeared on the…

Watch Kinect Lag It Up On Jimmy Fallon

As expected, Microsoft’s Kinect made its second appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s show earlier this evening. The first show, last year, went OK! This one, less so. First, Kudo Tsunoda may be the brains behind Kinect, but he’s also a giant dork. He probably shouldn’t be the public “face” of the thing (sorry!). Second, those on-cue…

Even Microsoft Says Kinect Costs $150

While Microsoft HQ has yet to confirm an official recommended retail price for Kinect, the company’s own online store has no problems tagging the device at, yes, $150. What you’re seeing here is Kinect’s listing on the Microsoft Store, the company’s very own internet shopfront. Now, when retailers like Walmart and Best Buy say Kinect…

Report: Kinect Costs Microsoft $150 To Make

There may be a simple reason Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart and others are pricing Kinect for Xbox 360 at $149 USD. That’s how much it costs Microsoft to make the thing, according to a new report. Develop cites a “highly-positioned, trusted source” who considers the price of Kinect for the Xbox 360 “a topic…

Fable III Really Signals A Larger Microsoft Push For PC Gaming This Time

Microsoft asks itself hard questions in an internal Q&A document obtained by Kotaku, including whether the larger investment in PC gaming brought on by Fable III is different than the other times it promised the same and didn’t deliver. We didn’t ask the question. We didn’t have to. In an internal Q&A document prepared for…

Microsoft Gets A Bit Too Personal

As seen on reader Lockhart’s mirror, but not mine, nor on Ash’s

The Crackdown 2 Demo Has A Facebook Twist

The Crackdown 2 demo goes live today, giving players a jump on their retail version achievements and extra goodies for those who play the tie-in Facebook game. The 1GB Crackdown 2 demo has dropped for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, giving players an early taste of four-player co-op sandbox action game. As a special bonus to…

Checking Out The Xbox 360’s Take on Wii Bowling

Kinect Sports comes packed with more than half-a-dozen ways to play, but my limited time with the game only gave me a chance to check out one of them: Bowling. Nintendo’s Wii Sports proved just how popular bowling can be on a video game console. It may not be the sexiest game, but it was…

No Controller? No Glasses? No Problem

The big news popping out of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo was more about what was missing than what was there. Microsoft’s motion-controlling Kinect add-on for the Xbox 360 turns your body into the controller for video games, making you the puppet master of your own virtual avatar in a slew of video game experiences.…

Crackdown 2 Demo Out Later Today

Seems we’re getting a Crackdown 2 demo later today, which has accelerated levelling, 4-player co-op and even achievements.

New Xbox 360 Warns You Of Possible Doom

The new smaller Xbox 360 will not flash the “Red Ring of Death” — the iconic symbol of catastrophic system failure. It’s new warning mark is the “red eye”. Sounds…ominous It’s not necessarily the red eye of death, though. This new 250GB unit is clearly displaying the red dot. That’s only half the story. Apparently,…

Microsoft Confirms Kinect Bundles, New $199 Xbox 360

Ask the right questions, get the right answers. An internal marketing Q&A for Microsoft about confirm that Kinect will be bundled with consoles, and a $199 configuration of its new Xbox 360 will be available this fall. In its document, Microsoft said Kinect would be available as a standalone device and as “part of a…

Halo: Reach Campaign Eyes-On: Skyrockets in Flight

One of the more intriguing reveals of Microsoft’s E3 press conference was a brief glimpse of a spacefighter combat level in the upcoming Halo: Reach. The Bungie team gave a longer look at it during a closed-doors demonstration later. There will be only one spaceflight mission in the game, said Bungie’s Eric Osborne. What we…

Wait, There’s A 120GB Xbox 360 Slim? [Update]

At E3 earlier this week, Microsoft unveiled a new 250GB Xbox 360. According to a report on Giant Bomb, there’s also a secret 120GB version available. Popping down to a local Best Buy to pick up one of the new consoles, Tested.com’s Will Smith was charged $279 for his 360, not the $299 it should…

How Does The New Xbox 360 Perform Compared To The Old One?

In broad terms, the new Xbox 360 “S” model is the same as the previous console; it plays the same games, does the same stuff. But under the hood, there have been changes, and mostly for the better. AnandTech have put the new Xbox to the test, comparing it to three previous iterations of the…