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360’s New Wi-Fi will be $100; Old WiFi to get Price Cut
The 802.11n adapter whose development Microsoft recently confirmed will cost you one benjamin. The existing 802.11g adapter will get a haircut and cost $79.99. That’s according to Ars Technica’s trusty, and unnamed, “Mole.” The new adapter, and its ability to stream 1080p video, is tied to Microsoft’s upcoming Zune video store update to Xbox Live…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2009 -
Firmware Update Hits the 360
An Xbox 360 firmware update went live overnight/early this morning. Although it lays the foundation for the 360’s Facebook and Twitter capabilities, no new features are included in this download. Major Nelson confirmed the new firmware in a late-night post; also, for any of our friends who were up late and gaming and found the…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2009 -
360 Holiday Bundles To Include Pure, LEGO Batman
Ars Technica’s ever-reliable Xbox mole has revealed that this year, like last year, the 360 will be bundled with a couple of games for the holiday season. According to the insider, who has a flawless track record on these matters, the Elite will soon be bundled with free copies of LEGO Batman and racer Pure.…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2009 -
J Allard Found, Working On Amazing New Tech
J Allard, otherwise known as Dr. J Allard, otherwise known as the man we miss from the deepest recesses of our cold, black hearts, has re-surfaced today as the driving force behind a neat-looking new gadget from Microsoft. It’s called the “Courier”, and is a cross between a tablet PC and, well, a Nintendo DS.…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 22, 2009 -
Get Your Free Halo 3: O.D.S.T. Premium Theme
Your Xbox 360 looks fine while playing Halo 3: O.D.S.T., but what about when you stop playing and return to the dashboard? Microsoft has you covered with a mostly free premium theme. It’s a new Halo game, and to celebrate, there’s a new Halo theme, featuring the sights of O.D.S.T.’s New Mombasa. It’s yours free…
By Mike Fahey Published September 22, 2009 -
Halo Composer Wrote Jingles for Flintstones Vitamins, Tidy Cats
A profile by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, calling Marty O’Donnell the John Williams of the Halo series, turns up this tidbit: He wrote the Flintstones Vitamins jingle (which you now have stuck in your head) and his kids sang the chorus. That’s not news to hardcore fans (it’s all over the Halo wikis), but O’Donnell’s past…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2009 -
Get Cash Back On Your Xbox 360 Elite
Microsoft sweetens the deal on the newly $299 Xbox 360, offering a $50 rebate on all Elite consoles purchased between now and October 5th. It’s 14 days of savings! Simply purchase an Xbox 360 Elite at the regular price, visit http://www.xbox.com/eliterebate (once it goes live), jump through whatever hoops they require you to jump through…
By Mike Fahey Published September 22, 2009 -
Microsoft Confirms 802.11n Wi-Fi Adapter
An FCC listing last week showed it had reviewed an official 802.11n wireless adapter Microsoft’s developing for the 360. A flier in an Italian Gears of War 2 pointed to the same thing. The company has formally confirmed its existence. Microsoft gave the statement to Joystiq earlier today but did not divulge a release date…
By Owen Good Published September 21, 2009 -
One Web Series’ Success on XBL Doesn’t Mean Others Will Follow
“The Guild” might be a hit on Xbox Live, but don’t look for it to inspire many imitators. A senior Microsoft executive says the sponsorship deal it was able to wangle was rare, and such deals are hard to swing. Ross Honey the general manager of global content acquisition and strategy in Microsoft’s media and…
By Owen Good Published September 21, 2009 -
Frankenreview: Halo 3: O.D.S.T.
Halo Wars showed us that a Halo game in a different genre can do moderately well without Master Chief, but a first-person shooter? Can O.D.S.T. pull that off? Master Chief is such an iconic gaming figure that it almost seems wrong to have an FPS with the Halo name on it without him. It’s like…
By Mike Fahey Published September 21, 2009 -
Rare: “We’re Long Past the Stage” where Goldeneye Deal is Feasible
The long, sad tale of bringing the groundbreaking shooter Goldeneye to Nintendo’s Virtual Console, or Xbox Live Arcade, appears to have ended long ago, with a whimper. Addressing a reader question about Goldeneye ever getting an agreement between Nintendo and Microsoft, releasing it to current generation consoles, Rare said, alas, no. That was some time…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Scrapped Halo MMO’s title: ‘Halo Universe’?
Dylan Cole, an artist formerly with Ensemble Studios, has on his personal Web site some concept pieces for a canceled Halo project that may or may not have been called “Halo Universe.” Ensemble of course was the muscle behind a Halo MMO that was greenlighted and then scrapped sometime last year. Cole’s pictures (two are…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Walking the High Iron with Halo 3: ODST
These two minutes of gameplay show you the enemy aircraft in Halo 3: ODST are not only polite enough not to knock you off the top of a construction site, they’ll hover around and wait to be blasticated. Rooftop Gameplay [GameTrailers]
By Owen Good Published September 19, 2009 -
‘All You Need Is Love’ Needs Only Two Days to Set Rock Band Record
The combination of an iconic tune representing both a band and an era, sold to support a charity, helped the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love’ become the fastest-selling downloadable song in Rock Band history, two days after its release. However, in the statement Microsoft released to announce the chart-topping feat, neither the specific number…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2009 -
Surprise, There Will Be Halo 3: ODST Midnight Launches
GameStop announced today that 3,600 stores in the United States will be holding midnight openings for the latest Halo title, Halo 3: ODST. There’ll be trivia, give-aways, blah blah blah. Wondering how long until retailers find out that most of these things aren’t worth the wages it costs them to staff the store throughout the…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 18, 2009 -
Halo ODST: Breaking The Mold
Explore Halo 3: ODST‘s journey from DLC to full game, or in the words of cinematics director CJ Cowan, "Here’s an engine, here’s a story, you got a year. Go." Cowan’s quick and dirty summary of the project might be accurate, but it downplays the sheer amount of work that Bungie has put into Halo…
By Mike Fahey Published September 17, 2009 -
Another 250GB 360 Bundle, This Time For Forza 3
Microsoft today have announced a second 250GB Xbox 360 bundle to go with the Modern Warfare pack from earlier in the week. While this bundle includes two wireless controllers and a 250GB HDD, there’s a few key differences. Firstly, this pack comes with a copy of Forza 3, not MW2. Obviously. And secondly, while MW2…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 17, 2009 -
Microsoft Hiring Up For Natal
You can’t make Natal games by yourself. Maybe you can, but Microsoft can’t. That’s why the company is hiring more people. Microsoft Game Studios is looking for artists, audio staff, devs, engineers and producers to be based at its Redmond, Washing HQ for upcoming Natal games. Since August, the company has posted 18 Natal job…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2009 -
Halo 3: ODST Gets A 360 Bundle
Not a Modern Warfare man? Maybe you’re a Halo man. Or lady! If so, you might be interested in this Halo 3: ODST hardware bundle. It contains a 120GB Xbox 360 Elite, controller (curiously, not an ODST controller), a copy of Halo 3: ODST, a copy of Halo 3 and access to the Halo: Reach…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 16, 2009 -
360 250GB HDD Won’t Be Sold Separately
When Microsoft announced that a bundle including two controllers, a new game and a 360 with a 250GB HDD was “only” $399, it led many to think the days of over-priced 360 HDDs was over. It’s not. In this little demonstration video for the new console (consoles need trailers now?), Microsoft’s Larry Hryb has announced…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 16, 2009