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South Park Still Coming To XBLA, Now That You Mention It
Microsoft announced at E3 2008 that a South Park game was coming to Xbox Live Arcade. We couldn’t find it at E3 2009, but we did get an update. “South Park actually is coming,” John Schappert, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of interactive entertainment LIVE, software and services said in an interview with Kotaku yesterday. “I…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 3, 2009 -
From Stick Figure To Mind-Blowing Controls
My first real introduction to Microsoft’s motion-controlling Project Natal occurred in a brightly-lit hotel room in LA’s The Standard Hotel. Standing in front of a television with Burnout Paradise on it, I held my hands out as if holding steering wheel and acted as if I was driving a car. It was that simple and…
By Brian Crecente Published June 3, 2009 -
How Halo ODST’s Firefight Isn’t Like Gears of War
The new Firefight mode in Halo 3 ODST may seem like nothing more than Bungie’s version of Gears of War’s Horde mode, but the dots in the top left corner… they are what’s different. In Halo 3 ODST, the new Firefight mode will allow four players to fight against waves of Covenant enemies. Levels are…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 2, 2009 -
XBLA Getting Free, DLC-Supported Racing Game
Free Avatar racing game Joy Ride is coming to XBLA, in the fashion of a Korean MMO. One of the more unusual announcements for the Xbox 360 today was the release of Avatar-supported racing game Joy Ride. It would be easy to dismiss amid the flurry of Natal tech demos and Facebook upgrades to Xbox…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 1, 2009 -
Microsoft’s E3 Round-Up: Day One
Lots of new broke at today’s the Xbox E3 press conference. Here it is all in one place for easy reading — for you, for me and that guy over there. Arguably, the biggest news was the announcement of Natal, Microsoft’s motion controller interface. Thing about this post is that if you stand up, wave…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 1, 2009 -
Forza Motorsport 3 Screens Zoom Into View
If there’s one word that Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios thought best described Forza Motorsport 3 five separate times, it was “definitive.” As in Forza 3 will be the definitive racing game of this generation. Turn 10’s competition Polyphony Digital may take issue with that, should it ever get Gran Turismo 5 out the door,…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 1, 2009 -
Alan Wake Story Details, New Screens
Xbox 360 exclusive psychological action thriller Alan Wake is hitting Spring 2010, telling the story of a bestselling author’s battle with writer’s block. Obviously, that battle gets a little more interesting when shotguns are involved. Developer Remedy, responsible for the Max Payne series, is bringing “multilayered character interactions, unique problem-solving and intense combat against terrifying…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Brian Crecente Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Mike Fahey Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Mike Fahey Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Mike Fahey Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Mike Fahey Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Brian Crecente Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Mike Fahey Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Mike Fahey Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 1, 2009 -
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…
By Brian Crecente Published May 30, 2009