Microsoft

Gamestop Hopes Halo Wars Is Worth A Midnight Launch

It’s not very often that a real-time strategy title earns a midnight launch, but toss the word Halo in there and GameStop sits up and listens. GameStop is inviting Halo fans to “bring out their inner Warthog” during Halo Wars midnight launch events, held at more than 2,000 locations across the U.S. this coming Monday,…

Lost & Damned Sets Xbox Live Record

Being both popular and, for a piece of downloadable content, expensive, would it surprise you to learn that Grand Theft Auto IV expansion Lost & damned has set a new Xbox Live revenue record? It shouldn’t. Because it has. According to Microsoft, the expansion has “eclipsed first-day revenue for all previous downloadable content on Xbox…

Lost Planet 2’s Announcement Is Confusing

The announcement for Lost Planet 2 has been baffling! Here’s why: Rewind to last September when Capcom swore off console exclusives in its fiscal 2008 shareholder’s report: “All major titles launched during the next fiscal year or thereafter will be developed as multi-platform games.” Then in January, Mega-Man creator Keiji Inafune mentioned new Dead Rising…

Microsoft’s Retail Stores Will Sell Games, Hardware

Microsoft are opening dedicated retail stores. Like Apple Stores, only for…Microsoft. And while early pictures of a “concept” store suggested as such, we’ve today received confirmation that they’ll be selling Microsoft games and hardware. A Microsoft spokesperson has told MCV that the stores – which will be opened “in a few major cities around the…

Microsoft Looking To Change Xbox Live Sexual “Discrimination”

Been a bit of a fuss lately over Xbox Live and people’s sexual orientation. People being banned left and right for wearing said orientation on their sleeves (well, gamertag/profile). It’s a mess. But it’s a mess Microsoft are looking into, with Xbox Live Police Chief Stephen Toulouse saying: Expression of any sexual orientation (straight or…

Lips Getting Better Scoring, Leaderboards, and Coldplay

March brings a slew of fixes, features, and fan favorites to the Xbox 360 karaoke game Lips, with an early March title update delivering improved scoring and international leaderboards, just in time for Coldplay. As a proud owner of Lips, I’ve often felt the game has given me far too much credit for my vibrato.…

Capcom Won’t Say Lost Planet 2 Is An Xbox 360 Exclusive

This morning, Capcom officially announced Lost Planet 2 for the Xbox 360 with a very carefully worded press release. There were the words “Xbox 360” and the term “exclusive,” but not the phrase “Xbox 360 exclusive.” Capcom simply stated the game was “being developed for the Xbox 360.” Yet, the company was reluctant to state…

Xbox Live Sadly No Place For Lesbian Gamers

(Former) Xbox Live gamer Teresa found herself on the receiving end of a ban from the service for a surprising reason. She identified herself as a lesbian in her Live profile. That resulted in a ban from the service after her Xbox Live peers complained about her profile, according to a letter to the Consumerist.…

Frankenreview: Halo Wars

Twenty years before Halo: Combat Evolved the war between humanity and the Covenant was a much more strategic affair, as proven in Ensemble Studios’ swan song, Halo Wars. Halo Wars takes the familiar setting of the first-person shooter series Halo and translates into a console-based real-time strategy game, in which players build up and army,…

Microsoft Teams With Fashion Label For Designer Halo Wars Gear

You think Halo, you think…well, you don’t think designer clothing. But Microsoft Asia do, which explains why we’re now looking at a most unexpected (and unexpectedly tasteful) range of Halo Wars gear. Designed by giant ape specialists X-Large, the t-shirts will be available only at select Hong Kong stores between February 16 and March 15.…

Capcom Says Lost Planet 2 “Is Being Developed For The Xbox 360”

Our earlier suspicions are correct — for the time being. Capcom today announces that upcoming action title Lost Planet 2 is being developed for the Xbox 360. From the official statement: “Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced that Lost Planet 2 is being developed for the Xbox 360 video…

Is Lost Planet 2 Only On Xbox 360?

Earlier this week, Lost Planet 2 was announced on Xbox LIVE. The upcoming issue of Japanese game magazine lists the game as only “Xbox 360.” Guess that means it’s on the Xbox 360. But how does that fit into Capcom’s multi-platform strategy? Famitsu reports that the game’s development is 40 percent done, has online player…

Square Enix Invades Steam

Adding to their ever-expanding list of publishers, Valve today announced a deal with Square Enix to bring their PC games to download service Steam. Beginning April 9, The Last Remnant will be available for purchase via Steam. After the action role-playing game hits the service Square will continue to add to its roster of games…

Official Picture of Red-Colored Xbox 360

Microsoft has released pictures of the Exclusive Red Xbox 360 Resident Evil Limited Edition Console, which was confirmed earlier tonight and mentioned officially by Microsoft earlier this month. The Xbox 360 Elite console is bundled with a red wireless controller, black Xbox 360 headset, 120GB hard drive, via-LIVE-downloadable-Resident-Evil-theme, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix…

Star Ocean 4 Makes Strong Japanese Sales Debut (For Xbox 360 Game)

Square Enix role-playing-game Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope has given Japanese companies another glimmer of hope for the Xbox 360. While the Xbox 360 has been successful abroad, the console traditionally has had difficulty cracking the Japanese market. Recently, Microsoft has made in-roads with consumers in The Land of the Rising Sun thanks to…

Red Xbox 360 Pics Now On Xbox Live

While the appearance of the red Xbox 360 on Xbox Live doesn’t confirm the machine’s existence – we took care of that a while ago – it does end the wait for official pics. As you’d expect, the machine’s colour matches that of the existing red Xbox 360 controllers. As for what else comes in…

Fired, Overpaid Microsoft Employees Get To Keep Money

Due to “an inadvertent administrative error,” some of the 1,400 individuals Microsoft laid off recently received overpayments in their severance packages. That is, until Microsoft asked for them back. Twenty-five of the 1,400 people let go received checks that were off about US$4,000 to $5,000. Microsoft sent out a letter to those who accidentally received…

Microsoft: Windows 7 Great For Games

Do not fear Windows 7. Sure, the tests might show that Windows XP performs better, but Microsoft assures us all that the next version of their operation system will be “great for games”. So says Microsoft’s VP of the Interactive Entertainment Business for the EMEA region, Chris Lewis, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz about the future of…

Microsoft Overpaid Some Layoff Severances, Asks for It Back

“An inadvertent administrative error” meant that some of the 1,400 Microsoft laid off recently received overpayments in their severance packages. The company’s asked for the money back, making this a hat trick of HR Kops komedy. “We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you,” says the letter, which…

Microsoft Bankrolling “Games for Learning” Project

Microsoft has put $1.5 million into a “Games for Learning Institute,” to study links between video games and learning, and how to enhance them. The research wants to analyze the reactions and processes of avid gamers to see whether games develop learning skills that transfer to the classroom. Already the project has lined up middle…