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The Xbox 360 Truck Travels Through Hong Kong
Hong Kong doesn’t only get an Xbox 360 truck, but a cosplay lady to go with it. Recently, an Xbox 360 truck outfitted with LCD TVs and demo games hit the streets of Hong Kong to promote the console. There was also a cosplayer dressed as Reimi from Star Ocean 4. See that Xbox 360…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 30, 2009 -
How Not To Address Homosexuality In Gaming
BioWare’s censoring of homosexual terms on the Star Wars: The Old Republic forums was not a wise move, but they certainly weren’t the first video game company to struggle with the issue of homosexuality. And they almost certainly won’t be the last. Homosexuality has long been a controversial issue amongst gamers, developers, and publishers alike.…
By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2009 -
Celebrate Grand Theft Auto IV’s 1-Year Anniversary With Bundles
Happy birthday, Grand Theft Auto IV. You’re one year old today. Microsoft got you an Xbox 360 Elite “Limited Anniversary Edition” bundle to promote the occasion. But brace for pack-in disappointment… While the latest Xbox 360 Elite package packs in a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, it doesn’t appear to offer a complimentary copy…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 29, 2009 -
Lionhead Teases Tomorrow’s Fable II News
Why put off announcing something until tomorrow when you can announce the impending announcement today? That’s the apparent philosophy of Sam Van Tilburgh over at Lionhead’s Fable II development blog, who promises some sort of announcement and new content to arrive on the morrow. I’m picking up through the grapevine that tomorrow there is going…
By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2009 -
Microsoft Calling For Year-Round Game Releases
Anybody outside the retail sector fans of the Christmas rush? You’re not. We’re not. And Microsoft may just be coming around to our way of thinking. Speaking with trade site MCV, Microsoft Europe’s David Gosen has questioned the gaming industry’s reliance on selling games at Christmas time, saying: We still have a very seasonally-focussed business.…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 28, 2009 -
Microsoft Surveys NXE Avatar Changes, Including Wearable Achievements
The addition of the Rare-designed Avatars in the New Xbox Experience hasn’t amounted to much beyond an increasingly expanding virtual wardrobe. But Microsoft may have grander plans for the little guys. While there are a handful of games that already support Avatars in-game—Scene It? Box Office Smash, Uno, etc.—as far as games are concerned, they’re…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 27, 2009 -
What Ails The World’s Biggest Gaming Platform?
It is the most powerful gaming platform in the world, and with more than 300 million users, the most widely owned as well, so why does computer gaming seem to be suffering from an inferiority complex? With retail chains increasingly limiting their shelf space for PC games, and most mainstream media coverage of gaming directed…
By Brian Crecente Published April 27, 2009 -
The Rules for 360 Achievements (Partially) Explained
Microsoft’s only on-the-record guidance on how Achievements are approved came more than two years ago, and the maximums it set then have been easily surpassed. Xbox360Achievements.org says it’s learned of new policies on Gamerscore ceilings. X360A’s Alan Pettit noted that the new batch of Fallout 3 achievements broke, once again, the stated maximum of 1250…
By Owen Good Published April 26, 2009 -
Director: “Microsoft/Xbox is the Most Dreadful, Non-Talent Friendly Company”
James Gunn, one of the directors signed on to last year’s “Horror Does Comedy” original content series on XBox Live, says Microsoft rejected his first film and “cut the living shit” out of the second. To be fair, Gunn calls “Humanzee” the “most balls-out, fucked-up thing I’ve ever shot.” But he says the XBL folks…
By Owen Good Published April 26, 2009 -
Microsoft Refunds Braid Overbill, Plus a Little Extra
If you bought Braid back in February when it was XBLM’s first “Deal of the Week,” check your points balance. Microsoft mistakenly overbilled for it, but they’ll be refunding the difference plus 100 points. We’ve gotten word through a few readers about the mistake, which Microsoft attributed to a “technical glitch.” The virtual money should…
By Owen Good Published April 25, 2009 -
What AJ Learned About Machinima Law Today
Today kicks off Stanford University‘s Play Machinima Law Conference with panels of machinima artists, copyright lawyers and legal representatives from Blizzard, EA and Microsoft. Machinima is one of those hazy areas of artistic expression not quite covered by copyright law and not quite insignificant given how many people have jumped on the bandwagon. Kotaku first…
By AJ Glasser Published April 24, 2009 -
Rumor: GTA IV Getting Xbox 360 Elite Bundle Treatment
Microsoft looks like it may be prepping yet another Xbox 360 Elite bundle for later this year, according to retail sources, bundling its higher-end console with Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto IV. Listings for the Xbox 360 Elite GTA IV Limited Edition bundle were sent to Kotaku earlier this week—alongside information on the recently revealed…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 24, 2009 -
Microsoft Has $13.65B Quarter, Sells 1.7 Million Xbox 360s
Software giant Microsoft announced its quarterly earnings today, boasting $13.65 billion in revenue, with $1.57 billion of that from the division responsible for the Xbox 360. That means some bad, some good. Revenue was down across the company by six percent on lowered software sales, but Microsoft’s net income for the quarter (roughly, the company’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 23, 2009 -
Xbox Japan Trailer Shows Off Its New Games
At its Tokyo press conference, Microsoft showed off upcoming titles for the Xbox 360. Some of the titles, like Mass Effect, are localized games that have already gotten released outside Japan. Other titles aren’t. Games like visual novel TimeLeap or Mamoru-kun Has Been Cursed! are very much Japan Only. See anything that grabs your fancy?…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 22, 2009 -
Halo Wars DLC Presents Strategic Options
Three new multiplayer modes are making their way to Halo Wars courtesy of the Strategic Options Game Add-On Pack. Available “in the coming weeks”, the Strategic Options pack adds several new ways to experience Halo from a top down perspective online against your friends. In Keepaway Mode, players struggle to capture a free-roaming Forerunner Sentinel…
By Mike Fahey Published April 21, 2009 -
Right Now, Microsoft Showing 31 Games For Japan
Today in Tokyo, Microsoft is holding its spring 2009 press conference. Xbox Japan boss Takashi Sensui announces that 31 titles for Japan will be covered. Before we get to them, Sensui confirms that a million Xbox 360s have been sold in Japan. To mark the occasion, a million Microsoft Points will be given out nationwide.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2009 -
Halo 3 And Fable II Bundled Together
It’s two great tastes that taste great together next month, as Microsoft introduces an Xbox 360 Elite with Halo 3 and Fable II bundled together inside. Arguably two of the console’s most defining game experiences come together in the Xbox 360 Game Of The Year Bundle, available in limited quantities beginning next month. You get…
By Mike Fahey Published April 20, 2009 -
What Does Peter Moore Know About The Xbox’s Motion Control Plans?
Now that former Xbox exec Peter Moore is well established at EA Sports, he’s probably going to be willing to spill the beans on the oft-rumored motion controller planned for the Xbox 360. Right? Well… Moore, when asked by GameTrailers TV‘s Geoff Keighley about his knowledge of Microsoft’s plans—plans that may have formed during Moore’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009 -
Microsoft Explains the E74 Code, Sorta
When Microsoft announced they were extending their warranty for Xbox 360s that received a E74 error, I was curious how different the code was from the red ring of death. Not very, it turns out. I contacted the company earlier this week to find out what a E74 code meant and whether it was possibly…
By Brian Crecente Published April 17, 2009 -
Microsoft Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased
While both Nintendo and Sony saw hardware sales slide for the month compared to March 2008, Microsoft’s sales were up, bucking the trend. Which has the company feeling, well, pleased. 360 sales were up 25% over the same time last year, with 330,000 sold in the US, while Microsoft were also beating their chests over…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 16, 2009