Microsoft

Zune Video Comes to Live In 1080p HD This Fall

Starting this fall, movies and television shows from Zune Video will be playable on the Xbox 360 in 1080p HD. Microsoft says that video start up using their new service will be “as close to instantaneous as possible” by transitioning between many different bitrates and resolutions of video. What that means, Microsoft says, is that…

Facebook, Twitter Coming To Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 will be added Twitter and Facebook to its list of web services, Microsoft announced today, with some of those social networking services interact with the console’s game library. Microsoft’s Facebook implementation on the Xbox 360 looks to offer much of what’s available via a regular web browser: status updates, photo sharing, email…

Microsoft Offering 360 Games On Demand Starting August

Microsoft had more news than they could fit in their press briefing, announcing an on-demand download gaming service during a post-briefing lunch. Microsoft points not required. Xbox Live’s Marc Whitten announced that, starting in August, Xbox 360 owners will be able to download full Xbox 360 games. Titles shown in a dashboard mock-up included Assassin’s…

Microsoft Makes You The Motion Controller With Project Natal

Microsoft’s new motion controller is a camera, that uses object, movement, and voice recognition to deliver a new kind of immersive gaming experience. It may look a bit like a Wii sensor bar, but it’s something altogether different. Project Natal, as Microsoft is calling it at their 2009 E3 press conference, is a camera and…

Last.FM Coming To Xbox Live

Microsoft and Last.FM are making sweet, sweet music on the Xbox 360 this year, with the music listening and discovery service available free to Xbox Live Gold members. A relative surprise delivered as part of Microsoft’s 2009 E3 press conference, popular music community service Last. FM will be available as a free download for Xbox…

Forza 3 Speeding To 360 This October

The next installment of the popular Forza racing series is heading to the Xbox 360 this fall, with a new engine, a video editor, and more cars than you can shake a stick-shift at. Shipping in October from Turn Ten, Forza 3 will feature a brand-new engine that runs at a sliky-smooth 60 frames-per-second. And…

First Two Modern Warfare 2 Map Packs Timed 360 Exclusives

Revealed at Microsoft’s 2009 E3 press conference, the first two downloadable map packs for Inifinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 will be timed Xbox 360 exclusives. The news was delivered by Microsoft’s John Schappert following a gameplay demonstration of the game involving climbing up the side of an icy mountain, which is perhaps an appropriate parallel…

Microsoft’s E3 Expo Live Blog

It’s that time of year again! Join us as we bring you play-by-play coverage of Microsoft’s 2009 E3 press conference. Be there for the laughter, the tears, and whatever game and hardware announcements that haven’t already been leaked, and some that have! Be sure to stay for the whole thing, or at least come back…

The Beatles: Rock Band Music And DLC Detailed

New details dropped for The Beatles: Rock Band today at Microsoft’s E3 2009 press conference,a partial song list, Xbox exclusive DLC, and the first downloadable album. The three-part harmony feature debuted as the Harmonix folks took the stage. Three vocal bars scrolled across the top of the screen as they played through “Day Tripper”, just…

Achievements Reveal Halo: Reach, Joy Ride, Shadow Complex, And More

Blank achievement pages at Xbox.com may have outed some of Microsoft’s big game announcements before the press conference has even begun, with Halo: Reach, Joy Ride, Shadow Complex, and more showing up on the page. Credit Xbox360Achievements.Org with discovering the Halo: Reach page on Xbox.com. In the course of keeping abreast of the latest achievement…

Microsoft Starting E3 Presser Five Minutes Early!

Later today, Microsoft is kicking off its E3 press conference at 10:30am PDT. No, make that 10:25am. The reason: “A special surprise.” Spike TV host Geoff Keighley tweets, “Xbox just moved up its briefing start to 10:25 am tomorrow due to a very special last-minute surprise.” Starting five minutes early, huh. We’re thinking that could…

Microsoft’s 2009 E3 Press Conference Live Blog Coming Soon

Don’t forget to check out Kotaku bright and early Monday morning for our live coverage of Microsoft’s big announcements. We’ll have the entire team focused on the show and what’s coming for the Xbox 360. We may even give away some pizzas and who can say no to free pizza? If you’re thirsting for E3…

Lionhead Teases Big News At Microsoft’s E3 Presser

Lionhead will definitely be playing a part in Microsoft’s E3 2009 press conference this Monday, joining the growing horde of game development studios using Twitter for evil teasing purposes. As if all the news slipping out in the days leading up to E3 2009, this year we have to deal with the growing number of…

Microsoft Shooting For A 300,000 Player Online Game?

Yeah, you read that right. 300,000 players. A job listing issued by Microsoft’s says exactly that, indicating that the game will be for the 360 and that it will be in “real-time”. The job is specifically looking for somebody who is “an experienced server developer to help develop our server architecture. We are building an…

Xbox 360: More Than 30 Million Served

Microsoft has announced that global sales of the Xbox 360 have now surpassed the 30 million mark, with the Xbox Live community swelling to 20 million active members, all swearing at each other. The new statistics arrive with the announcement of record growth for the console so far this year, celebrating a 28 percent jump…

Coldplay Ushers In Lips: Number One Hits

Microsoft has revealed the second iteration of their Xbox 360 karaoke franchise Lips, with Coldplay’s "Viva La Vida" accompanying the official announcement of Lips: Number One Hits. Perhaps the Lips: Uno listing on the Royalty Network was merely a code name for Lips: Number One Hits, the second installment of the singing game, due in…

Xbox Live Is Not Here Right Now

No, it’s not just you. Xbox Live is down for everybody, but Microsoft is working feverishly to have service restored before the riots begin. Attempts to log in to Xbox Live this morning are meeting with failure across the board. A quick network test revealed that my network is working flawlessly…Xbox Live, not so much.…

360 To Link With Satellite TV Service [Update]

Later this week, Microsoft is due to host a big press conference in London. What’s on the table? Oh, full integration of satellite television with the Xbox 360. British site Rapid TV News claims that BSkyB (or Sky, as it’s more commonly known), the UK’s biggest pay TV provider, will announce tomorrow a deal linking…

Zune Marketplace Comes To Xbox Live [Update]

Speaking with The Guardian, Microsoft’s Chris Stevenson has announced that the Zune Marketplace – and everything available on it – is to be made available to Xbox 360 owners. The move is part of a growing effort by Microsoft to bring their two “entertainment” devices closer together, and is one which will no doubt heighten…

E3 ’08: Our Promise-Checking Round-Up

Big companies make big promises at big shows like E3. We recently rounded up the promises made by Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony from last year’s E3. Who can you trust going into E3 2009? Here are last year’s performances… Witness the future-predicting powers of Xbox 360 executives and game developers. Just ignore the 1 vs…