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Activision Wants “More Value” For Call Of Duty Xbox Live Players
The Call of Duty games have a massive multiplayer following on Xbox 360. But is the series going to make the leap to a massively multiplayer online game? Nothing is confirmed yet. “We’ve heard that 60 per cent of [Microsoft’s] subscribers are principally on Live because of Call of Duty,” Activision Blizzard honcho Robert Kotick…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 5, 2010 -
Kinect’s Simple, Purple Box Art
Some Xbox marketing material we got hold of over the weekend shows what looks like the box art for the Xbox 360’s upcoming motion-sensing camera, Kinect. It’s no game, sure, but box art is both an art and for some a fetish (especially with novel stuff like this), so here it is (along with that…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 5, 2010 -
Indiana Jones Disneyland Attraction Recreated in Left 4 Dead 2
Disneyland attraction “Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye” has been recreated by a modder in zombie first-person-shooter Left 4 Dead 2. The name? You guessed it, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Zombies. It does feature zombies, but the walk through in the video does not. It’s part of a modded map pack…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 5, 2010 -
Shooting (Among the) Stars in Halo: Reach
Teased in Microsoft’s E3 keynote, seen by yours truly and played by Totilo, here’s a solid minute of gameplay in Halo: Reach‘s space combat sequence that GameTrailers just threw up on its site. Wait, that didn’t come out right. Eh, what I meant to say is, GT, got its hands on something you’ll probably want…
By Owen Good Published July 3, 2010 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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
