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Microsoft Introduces New Xbox 360 Platinum Hits Packaging That Actually Looks Good
In a bold move to make “greatest hits” console game packaging that doesn’t make one want to stab oneself in the retina, Microsoft has apparently deployed new Platinum Hits box art to retail locations. Kotaku reader Justin spied the new Platinum Hits design, which may no longer induce vomiting, at an upstate New York Target…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 16, 2009 -
Microsoft Extends Warranty For “E74” Failures
For a few months now, Xbox 360 users have been quietly venting about a “new” hardware fault with the console, where instead of displaying three red rings, machines would show an “E74” error. Just because it didn’t flash the iconic red rings, though, doesn’t mean it wasn’t bad! If you got it, your console would…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 14, 2009 -
Microsoft In Talks With Gay Rights Group Over Xbox Live Policies
Microsoft took a lot of flak last year for the way they handled some gay-related stuff on Xbox Live. And rightly so. But time heals all wounds, and Microsoft are trying to make amends. In the latest “Major Nelson” podcast, Microsoft’s Larry Hryb and Xbox Live cop-on-the-beat Stephen Toulouse reveal that the company have been…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 14, 2009 -
Lost & Damned Sells 1 Million Copies
Microsoft have boasted that Grand Theft Auto IV expansion The Lost & Damned has broken Xbox Live revenue records. But what does that mean for unit sales? The Cut Scene reckon that, according to “a good source”, the add-on has sold “around one million units on Xbox Live”. Microsoft can’t confirm this number, but it…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2009 -
Catch Microsoft Points With The Deadliest Catch
Microsoft has teamed up with Discovery to deliver 2 million Microsoft points via the Deadliest Catch Text to Win Sweepstakes. Microsoft is doing up Discovery’s crap-fishing television series big across all of its various networks, including MSN, MSN Mobile, Hotmail, and of course, Xbox Live. The promotion, which started on April 10th and ends tomorrow…
By Mike Fahey Published April 13, 2009 -
New Halo Project To Span Console, Web & Mobile
The future of the Halo franchise may not be as straight-forward as you’d imagine, if a Microsoft job advertisement is anything to go by. The listing – for a software development engineer – suggests that Microsoft are working on a Halo project that transcends the idea of a single platform or genre, and suggests they…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2009 -
Online Game Corps Not Panicking Over Time Warner Pricing
A broadband tiered-pricing trial by Time-Warner Cable has rankled many, particularly gamers, who fear sock-it-to-me overages incurred by online gaming. Sony, Microsoft and OnLive have now weighed in, and they’re not too worried. The three companies, who manage three of the leading online gaming services (PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, OnLive), had the following to say…
By Owen Good Published April 11, 2009 -
Xbox Live Silver Members Get Free Halo 3 Multiplay This Weekend
Microsoft is giving Xbox Live members of the “Silver” class a chance to get out of the online gaming ghetto this weekend for a few rounds of Halo 3. They’re not just doing it out of the kindness of their hearts, mind you. Microsoft obviously wants you to experience the benefits of going Gold and…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 10, 2009 -
Report: New Xbox 360 Elite Bundles Up With Halo 3 & Fable II
Microsoft may be offering a much more valuable version of its Xbox 360 Elite package, one that packs in two of the console’s biggest games, all for the exact same price its charging now. Ars Technica‘s “mole” says that the Xbox 360 maker is planning to bundle Halo 3 and Fable II into a new…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 10, 2009 -
Nielsen Drops the Ball on Console Usage Numbers
Remember that study of video gamer habits Nielsen released earlier this week showing the Wii in third place and the Playstation 3 in seventh, last even after the GameCube and original Xbox? It was wrong. Fast Company reports that they’ve been told that the graph was mislabeled. The real graph, which now appears in the…
By Brian Crecente Published April 9, 2009 -
Tart Up Your Xbox Media Centre With Some Skins
Despite dying off as a viable games machine a few years back, the Xbox is still good for something: the Xbox Media Centre. Problem is, the thing looks really boring. Lucky for any of you using the setup, there are ways to spruce things up a bit. Make the Media Centre a little easier on…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2009 -
Halo Encyclopedia Shoots For Bookshelves This Fall
Halo fans with a thirst for referential material will be queuing up for the Barnes & Noble midnight launch of the Halo Encyclopedia, which has been announced for a fourth quarter release at book stores. DK Publishing, fine reference book publisher of things all things useful, historical, mundane and incredibly nerdy, will pack 350-plus pages…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 7, 2009 -
Gears Of War 2: Snowblind, As Narrated By Bender [Update]
There’s a new Gears of War 2 map pack available. It’s called Snowblind. And sure, you could let Microsoft, or Epic try and sell you on it, but how about Bender instead? Yes, sit back and allow John DiMaggio – who does the voice work for Futurama’s surly robot (and also some Marcus Fenix guy)…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 7, 2009 -
You Could Have Won $2,500 If You Were Better Than These Guys
The good thing about the second annual Bay Area Game Jam‘s make-a-game-in-4824-hours contest is you get free games the day after the contest ends. The grand prize of $2,500 went to Daniel Bryner, Bradley Johnson and Chris Webb who managed to create Lava Ball on Wild Pocket’s new 3D engine. How they did this with…
By AJ Glasser Published April 6, 2009 -
Xbox Live: 2,500,000,000 Achievements Unlocked
Xbox 360, PC, Wii, doesn’t matter, everybody loves online user statistics. Especially when, they get into the billions, as was revealed by Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg last week. Contributing to a Gamasutra piece on achievements, Greenberg revealed that, as of this month, there have been 2.5 billion achievements unlocked by the Xbox Live user base. They…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2009 -
Microsoft, Lionhead Settle Gay Discrimination Claim
Jamie Durrant, an ex-Lionhead employee suing Microsoft for £45,000 on the grounds he was harassed in the workplace for being gay, has settled the case out of court. Terms were agreed upon earlier this week in a court in London, but as is usually the case with these things, terms of the deal were not…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 3, 2009 -
Bay Area Game Jam Rocks My Weekend
This weekend, Wild Pockets, Crispy Gamer and Microsoft are teaming up to host Bay Area Game Jam – a 24-hour game development competition at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, California. Contestants have to use Wild Pockets’ 3D web-based game engine and the fine print on the contest rules specifies that this is…
By AJ Glasser Published April 3, 2009 -
Xbox Live’s April Deals Of Darkness
Microsoft has revealed the game and add-on discounts coming your way as part of the Xbox Live Deal of the Week program, and odds are you might find something worth spending points on. Heading up the deals for this month is Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, on sale next week for…
By Mike Fahey Published April 3, 2009 -
Lips Mics Will Work With Metallica, Rock Band 2
Microsoft’s nifty wireless microphones that were packed in with Lips just got a whole lot more useful, supporting Guitar Hero Metallica and soon Rock Band 2. Tethering a music game singing virtuoso to a console is a sad, sad thing, especially since the cords are never long enough to allow for the sort of microphone…
By Mike Fahey Published April 3, 2009 -
Japanese Game Industry Sales Dropped Last Year
Comparing 2007 to 2008, the Japanese game market is shrinking. Enterbrain, publisher of game magazine Famitsu, has released the hard data for last year’s domestic sales. The total market place (hardware and software sales) was worth ¥552.42 billion in 2008, compared to ¥676.95 billion the year before. Hardware sales were ¥231.52 billion in 2008 and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2009