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Is Natal Too Big For Japan?
Not the device itself. The Natal peripheral is a small, slender add-on. But Microsoft has apparently told a group of journalists, including Techflash.com, that some space is required to use the motion controls. To quote Techflash: To be precise, you’ll want to clear an area extending at least 4 meters (a little more than 13…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 23, 2010 -
Fable Designer On Not Getting Avatar (And Then Getting It)
Peter Molyneux, the game designer behind the Fable franchise, was invited on the set of Hollywood motion picture Avatar. He didn’t quite “get it”. “I went on the set of Avatar three times and thought, ‘Good grief, he’s got the same problem I have,'” Molyneux told the Times. “All I saw the first time was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 22, 2010 -
Xbox 360 Console Spammed With Child Pornography
A couple from Dublin, Ireland had to call the cops last week when their Xbox 360 console was spammed with images of child pornography. With their real names withheld due to the nature of the case, “Amy” said her boyfriend had been playing a game when a message from another user popped up. Upon opening…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 22, 2010 -
Is USB Storage In The Xbox 360’s Future?
Is Microsoft planning to drop its overpriced Xbox 360 Memory Units in favor of more affordable USB mass storage devices? According to documentation obtained by Joystiq, the answer is yes. Currently the only external storage solution for the Xbox 360 is the Microsoft-produced Memory Unit, a relatively expensive way to add up to 512MB of…
By Mike Fahey Published March 18, 2010 -
Rumor: New Xbox 360 Model Slims Down [Update]
These pictures apparently show the guts of a new model of the Xbox 360. The important bits? The fact that for the first time the console combines the CPU and the GPU in a single chip. Oh, and it’s small The pic above shows the board in question, with the chip part of a rumoured…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 17, 2010 -
What Are Halo Creators Making With ‘Bungie Aerospace’?
Halo creators Bungie are cooking up something new, something that, despite its new name, may not actually follow in the trail blazed by id Software’s John Carmack and involve shooting rockets into space. So what is Bungie Aerospace? Well, it’s not much more than a trademark spotted by Attack of the Fanboy while many of…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 15, 2010 -
Crackdown 2 Busting Heads In July
Ruffian Games and Microsoft do what they can to take care of the traditional summer gaming drought with Crackdown 2, heading to the Xbox 360 the first week of July. 2007’s free-roaming superhero cop game was a blockbuster hit, thanks in no small part to the inclusion of beta access to Halo 3 included in…
By Mike Fahey Published March 15, 2010 -
A Real Xbox 360 Coffin
When Xbox 360 conked out in the past, folks would send their Xbox 360s to Microsoft in cardboard boxes affectionately called “coffins”. Here is a real honest-to-goodness Xbox coffin. Designed by designer Alexis Vanamois, this Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death coffin is a final resting place for a dearly departed console. There’s even a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 15, 2010 -
Microsoft Seeks to Patent the DLC Upsell
A recent patent application describes a process in which an Xbox Live gamer, invited to a multiplayer session, but missing a critical piece to play (a map, a track, whatever), is offered and may buy it without dropping the invitation. There probably is something patentable in the technology that manages such an online state, which…
By Owen Good Published March 14, 2010 -
These Fable III Screens From GDC Are All Mine
This batch of Fable III screenshots from the Game Developers Conference are indeed all mine, at least in the ‘underground area where ore is extracted from the earth’ definition of the word. It’s pretty much a given these days that any fantasy role-playing game worth its salt much have a mining area in it. Hell,…
By Mike Fahey Published March 12, 2010 -
Are You Ready For Ketsui Bullet Hell?
Finally, finally. After a lengthy wait, arcade shooter Ketsui is getting ported to the Xbox 360. Originally released in arcades in 2003, the game has already been ported to the Nintendo DS and mobile phones. The Xbox 360 port is being done by 5pb., a Tokyo-based entertainment company that has released subpar Cave ports in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2010 -
What Does Japan Really Think About Game Consoles?
Ask Google. The Japanese language version of the search engine catalogues the most popular searches. Those automatically pop up when searching. So what displays for the Nintendo Wii, the PS3 and the Xbox 360? The thinking here is that by listing what Japan searches for, this will provide a window into what the country is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 10, 2010 -
Mac vs PC: How Apple Got Back In The Game
For years – no, decades – games on the Mac have been a running joke, a constant source of derision from the dominant PC gaming community. But in a single move earlier this week, the Mac made a comeback. In unveiling not only the release of its line-up of first-party titles – classic games like…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 9, 2010 -
Win Phone 7 Games Include Achievements, Avatars, Gamertags
Windows Phone 7 games will include the ability to unlock achievements on a phone as well as pulling in a user’s gamertag, 2D avatar and even let gamer’s know when it’s their turn to play. This will all come thanks to an update to XNA Game Studio 4.0 being unveiled at the Game Developers Conference…
By Brian Crecente Published March 9, 2010 -
Microsoft, Poland Is Pissed Off
The Xbox 360’s online service Xbox LIVE is available in 26 countries. Poland is not one of them. The service is available to other European Union countries, but it is not officially available to Polish gamers. (Those with broadband connections and American credit cards can apparently get online.) Polish gamers are claiming that as a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 9, 2010 -
Watch A Man Start A Game On a PC, Continue On Windows 7 Phone, Finish on Xbox 360
Microsoft’s “Live Anywhere” concept, whereby Xbox Live can be shared across multiple platforms, isn’t quite yet with us. But when it is, it may look something like this. Speaking at TechEd Middle East, Microsoft’s Eric Rudder has shown off this demo of a platformer than is able to be played across a Windows 7 phone,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2010 -
Oscar Winning Film Features Xbox 360 Time Travel
Hurt Locker trounced the competition at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday night, winning six Oscars. The movie has been called “near perfect” by critics. “Near perfect” as in not perfect? While there have already been discussions (more here) about the film’s technical inaccuracies, those pale in comparison to two far more erroneous mistakes. The film…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 8, 2010 -
Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit Now Sold Separately
Time was, if you bought a used 360 hard drive, you could call a toll-free number and dupe Microsoft into sending a free transfer cable. Then they got wise and charged $12. It’s now a fully listed accessory, for $15. The cable went up on the Microsoft Store, sold separately, for $14.99 this past week.…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Microsoft CEO Hints at New Forms, Options for Xbox 360
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was supposed to be talking about cloud computing on Thursday, but an offhand remark during a Q&A session hinted that additional “form factors” for the Xbox 360, with price points to suit them, are being considered. By “form factor” Ballmer evidently means something vastly different from a hard drive or HDMI…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Xbox 360 Elite Bundle Packs In Forza III, Halo 3: ODST
If you planned on doing any Xbox 360 purchasing this weekend, it might behoove you to cool your jets for at least a few more days. Amazon is listing a new Xbox 360 Elite bundle that’s a solid deal. The 120GB Xbox 360 bundle packs in two 2009 console exclusives, Halo 3: ODST and Forza…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2010