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Microsoft Comments On 360 Dash Advertisements
Following the revelation yesterday that the company would later this year be placing advertisements on Xbox Live, Microsoft have moved to assure users that the ads will “enhance, not interfere” with their experience. Posting on his blog, Microsoft’s Larry Hryb has said: I need to let you know that you don’t need to worry about…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2009 -
Microsoft Sued Over Xbox Live
In 1994, Peter Hochstein and Jeffrey Tenenbaum patented a method for “communicating live while playing the same video game in separate locations”. In 2004, they sued Microsoft, accusing Xbox Live of infringing on that patent. Now, five years later, the case is finally starting to heat up. See, unlike many other cases of this ilk…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2009 -
Celebrate Your Independence With Double Gears 2 XP
What better way to celebrate Independence Day weekend than sitting inside an air-conditioned house gathering twice the normal experience points in Gears of War 2? With Title Update 4 dropping just in time for America to celebrate its independence from British tyranny, which seems a bit silly now that we look back, now is the…
By Mike Fahey Published July 1, 2009 -
Band Of Bugs Thrusts Your Avatar Into Battle
Be a part of an elite insectoid military force next week, when NinjaBee introduces Xbox 360 avatar support for strategy title Band of Bugs, along with an entirely new game released as DLC. Developer NinjaBee delivered one of the earliest avatar-supporting Xbox Live Arcade titles in A Kingdom for Keflings, and now they’re putting your…
By Mike Fahey Published July 1, 2009 -
Some Last.fm 360 Pricing Details
Last.fm is coming to the Xbox 360, sticking another multimedia feather in the little beige box’s hat. But we’re left with two burning questions: how much will it cost, and can we stream the music in our games? The most important of those questions is the streaming one, and sadly, we don’t have an answer…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2009 -
Ads Coming To Xbox 360 Dashboard?
Sean Alexander, director at Microsoft’s Advertising Business Group, has suggested that you could soon be seeing advertisements every time you fire up your 360 dashboard. Apparently, Microsoft “plans to bring IAB specifications for rich media technologies, including Silverlight, to Xbox Live within the year”. With Silverlight being Microsoft’s version of/competitor to Flash, MediaPost say “Silverlight-powered…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2009 -
Gears Of War 2 Continues In Jacinto’s Remnant
New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss picks up the story of Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago where Gears of War 2 left off, with next month’s release of Gears of War: Jacinto’s Remnant. As this novel is a direct sequel to Gears 2, those of you who haven’t finished it yet might want to…
By Mike Fahey Published June 30, 2009 -
Forza 3 Races Through Japan
We’re well aware that Forza Motorsports 3 looks amazing, but where will it look amazing? Microsoft highlights the legendary racing tracks of Japan in their latest update, revealing a handful of new cars in the process. The latest Turn 10 update for Forza 3 reveals four new tracks across three classic Japanese racing venues for…
By Mike Fahey Published June 30, 2009 -
Halo ODST Features An Open World, “Reach” Could Use Natal Tech
Upcoming Bungie shooter Halo ODST won’t be a straight-forward linear shooter, rather blending elements of traditional shooters with the open world exploration of Grand Theft Auto, Bungie told he Seattle Times in a recent interview. “We’re doing a lot of pretty neat things in terms of mixing it up, introducing some non-linearity, some free exploration,”…
By Brian Crecente Published June 29, 2009 -
Licensed Avatar Clothing Starts Rolling Out
Over the weekend, Microsoft’s Larry Hryb confirmed that the mysterious “Xbox 360 Beta” that a bunch of Microsoft employees were “testing” wasn’t a game. Wasn’t Natal. It was…licensed avatar clothing. Here, we can see what he’s talking about, as MS employee “Randy No Arms” here is fully decked out in garish Halo threads, from his…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2009 -
Win Prizes in 1 vs. 100 Next Week? [Update]
Last night on 1 vs. 100, it sounds like host Chris Cashman let slip that this coming week the game show’s beta is over, and players can finally take home Microsoft points. The accidental leak came after The One, as many have been wont to do during the beta, either ignored or didn’t remember the…
By Owen Good Published June 28, 2009 -
THQ Has Natal Dev Kits But No Sony Wand Dev Kits
Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft both showed off new motion control at E3 2009 and both appear to have designs on launching those offerings in 2010. And some third party publishers already have Project Natal dev kits. THQ’s Brian Farrell tells G4’s The Feed that his company already has Natal development tools. They’ve had them…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 26, 2009 -
Halo 3 ODST Impressions: What Happened In Africa
The campaign of this fall’s Halo 3 ODST surfaced at an event in New York this week, right near a bowl of lime green jellybeans and a bunch of Zunes. Here’s what we learned. The demo being shown in New York was the same displayed behind closed doors at E3. We’ve previewed the game’s multiplayer…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 25, 2009 -
Ever Wanted To See Microsoft Buy A Motion-Sensing Tech Company?
Microsoft were in buyout talks with Israeli company 3DV systems earlier this year. Now, a few months later, for the first time it’s been officially announced that Microsoft owns the motion-sensing company. So what does this actually mean? It’s hard to tell. Logic points towards Microsoft’s Project Natal motion-control camera having been built using technology…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 23, 2009 -
360 Wireless Mic Stands Alone This Fall
Microsoft is taking the wireless microphone from their Lips and sending it packing, making its increased game support even more appealing by releasing it on its own this fall. With support recently introduced for both Guitar Hero: Metallica and Rock Band 2, the wireless microphone double-packed with copies of Microsoft’s karaoke game Lips are rather…
By Mike Fahey Published June 23, 2009 -
Colbert Mocks Project Natal, Debuts New Xbox
Microsoft’s Project Natal has been getting some of the best mainstream coverage to come out of E3, thanks to “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and, now, Stephen Colbert. He mocked the tech last night during his “Bears & Balls” schtick. But The Colbert Report’s teasing of the Xbox 360 motion-control camera tech wasn’t the most…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 19, 2009 -
Rare Shopping For Project Natal Designers With Twitter
Rare dropped us a line to let us know that they were now active on Twitter, posting haiku movie reviews, new game teases, and fishing for game designers who might be interested in Project Natal. It isn’t exactly rare for a game developer to show up on Twitter these days, so why is Rare so…
By Mike Fahey Published June 19, 2009 -
Microsoft: There Will Be “No New Console”
Today, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer indicated that the company would be releasing a new Xbox 360 in 2010, one featuring a built-in camera. That seemingly confirmed a new hardware configuration with the company’s Project Natal built-in. Microsoft’s official word? While Ballmer’s casual mention of a new Xbox 360 hardware iteration at the Executive’s Club of…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 18, 2009 -
Report: Microsoft CEO Says New Xbox Arriving In 2010
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke at the Executive’s Club of Chicago today, reportedly informing attendees that a new Xbox 360 will arrive in 2010, one equipped with a “natural interface” and built-in camera. Sound familiar? According to TG Daily‘s recount of Ballmer’s talk, in which he discussed “the role of innovation in changing economic times,”…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 18, 2009 -
Microsoft’s John Schappert Leaves Msoft For EA, Not Being Replaced
For the second time in three years, the man who led the E3 briefing for the Xbox 360 has left Microsoft to take a job at Electronic Arts. Microsoft’s John Schappert will once again become EA’s John Schappert when the founder of EA’s football giant Tiburon returns to the company as its Chief Operation Officer…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 18, 2009