Microsoft - Page 237 of 239

Gears Of War: Nine Million Served

You may hate its multiplayer modes. You may abhor the fact it’s characters are so testosterone-fuelled they border on self parody. That doesn’t matter. The Gears of War series has sold nine million copies. Speaking with GameDaily, Microsoft’s Guy Welch has revealed that since Gears of War 2 was released in November, it’s sold four…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 15, 2009

January Lips DLC Finds That Lovin’ Feelin’

With nine new songs from the likes of Fallout Boy, The Pussycat Dolls, and The Righteous Brothers due out in January, the Lips song catalog should exceed 70 songs by month’s end. Nine new songs are headed to Lips this month, beginning on January 16th when we’ll finally be able to recreate the bar scene…

By Mike Fahey Published January 15, 2009

Sumthing Else Releasing Halo Wars Soundtrack

Sumthing Else Music Works continues to release music for every big game Microsoft releases, with the announcement that the Halo Wars Soundtrack by Stephen Rippy will be available for purchase on February 17th. The entire Halo Wars soundtrack, composed by Stephen Rippy and performed by FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir Prague is represented in the upcoming…

By Mike Fahey Published January 15, 2009

Microsoft Considering Sizable Layoffs

According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is considering “significant” layoffs across various corporate divisions. Insiders close to the company did not disclose whether Microsoft’s Xbox division will be affected. Nothing has been set in stone reports The Wall Street Journal, and Microsoft could find alternatives to keep costs down. If Microsoft goes through with…

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2009

Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg Talks CES, Xbox 360 In ’09 And Beyond

We caught up with Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg, Director of Product Management for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE, to chat about the console’s presence at CES, the year ahead and the number 17 million. While Greenberg was appropriately coy about the Xbox 360’s upcoming line-up beyond what has been announced — yes, there are more games…

By Michael McWhertor Published January 14, 2009

Microsoft Gets Smart (Could Get Smarter)

Microsoft is teaming up with Best Buy to encourage parents and caregivers to talk about video game playing and ratings with their kids, Microsoft announced today. The Get Game Smart website is filled with glowing endorsements about family gaming, a break down of what exactly the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s ratings mean, and some neat…

By Brian Crecente Published January 14, 2009

Take A Tour Of Microsoft’s Fake Retail Store

There are Apple Stores. So why not Microsoft Stores? It’s a good question. Turns out there is a Microsoft store. Only…it’s at Microsoft HQ, isn’t open to the public and isn’t even a real store. Confused? Let’s take a tour. It’s called the Microsoft Retail Experience Center, and is apparently designed to show how “Microsoft…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2009

Fable 2 Gets A Halo Assault Rifle

So Fable II’s DLC is out. You got it yet? If so, head on over to the Box of Secrets and trade in some pure experience. Do that and you’ll get…a gun from Halo. Don’t believe us? Here she is. It’s called “Hal’s Rifle”. Basically a firearm that looks identical to Halo’s classic Assault Rifle,…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2009

The Maw Opens On XBLA Next Week, Castle Crashers DLC Tides Us Over

After a couple weeks of casual releases, Xbox Live Arcade heats up this month with this week’s release of the Castle Crashers: King Pack followed immediately by Twisted Pixel’s The Maw next week. The Castle Crashers: King Pack hits XBLA tomorrow, with it gobs of new content for all the good little boys and girls.…

By Mike Fahey Published January 13, 2009

New Fable 2 Screens Celebrate Knothole Island’s Release

The eagerly anticipated Knothole Island DLC for Fable 2 is now available via Xbox Live Marketplace, and to celebrate, Lionhead has released a set of six new screenshots showing off the new content. The new content will cost you 800 Microsoft Points and 500+ megs of hard disk space, but considering yesterday’s news there’s no…

By Mike Fahey Published January 13, 2009

So Who Won That Sony v Microsoft v Capcom Street Fighter Battle?

Most exciting thing about CES wasn’t the games on show. Wasn’t the TVs, wasn’t the phones, wasn’t even the virtual sex…thing. No, it was the epic Microsoft v Sony v Capcom Street Fighter IV battle! Well, the dust has settled on the fanboy apocalypse, and a clear winner has emerged. And that winner is… Capcom!…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 13, 2009

Robbie Bach: Next Xbox Still Quite A Ways Away

After the first-generation came and went in a relative blink of an eye, Microsoft’s Robbie Bach says that the company isn’t in quite as much of a hurry to upgrade the Xbox 360. Speaking to The Mercury News, Bach explains that in today’s economy especially, persuading consumers to upgrade is becoming more and more difficult,…

By Mike Fahey Published January 12, 2009

IPTV On The 360? It’s Still Up In The Air!

2007. CES. Microsoft get a few people excited with mention of an IPTV service for the 360. British Telecom will be the first to offer it. Years pass, however, and we hear nothing. Until now! The subject has again popped up, again at CES, and…things haven’t gotten very far. Microsoft are still saying squat (SQUAT!!)…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 12, 2009

Braid Theme Costs Money, Braid Developer Sorry

The Xbox 360 has “premium themes”, which will tart up your 360’s menu in exchange for money. A premium theme based on Braid has just been released, and costs money. And Braid’s creator is sorry. Sorry that it costs you money, anyway (it’s a nice enough looking theme). Writing on the game’s blog, creator Jonathan…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 12, 2009

Here’s a Baseball Bat. Oh, by the Way, You Won

We’ve gotten more than one note that Grand Theft Auto IV bats are arriving as prizes for a contest no one was ever told they’d won. At least, that’s what we think this is. Maybe it’s a message? Way back in the 1980s I saw this episode of Philip Marlowe: Private Eye on HBO and…

By Owen Good Published January 10, 2009

Fable II Bug Fix Patch Finally Live

Lionhead’s announced that a patch finally fixing a slew of bugs – including the infamous unresponsive abbott in Monk’s Quest – has gone live today. And good news! No one will assassinate your child anymore! Here’s the full list of what’s fixed: • The Ritual/Monk’s Quest – Fixed the issue with the Abbott becoming unresponsive…

By Owen Good Published January 10, 2009

Nintendo, Microsoft Sued Over Parental Control System

All three current generation consoles have a form of parental lock-out controls. They’re a good idea. A good idea that has, however, landed Nintendo and Microsoft in court. Around Christmas time, 36 companies – including Best Buy, Dell, DirecTV, Motorola, Tivo and Wal-Mart – were sued by Guardian Media Technologies, who hold a patent for…

By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009

CES 09: Microsoft Responds To Sony’s Console Add-On “Peddling” Claims

Earlier this week, Sony sent us an oddly timed media bulletin, trumpeting the PlayStation 3’s value versus the Wii and Xbox 360. It also accused Nintendo and Microsoft of “peddling add-ons.” What say you, Microsoft? “First, I would say we absolutely would not want to trade places with Sony,” said Aaron Greenberg, group product manager…

By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009

CES 09: What Did Microsoft And Sony Bring To Vegas?

Games! Or, I should say, games. Mostly older games, but games nonetheless. CES isn’t the place for four year-old tech like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But that doesn’t mean they’re totally absent. Killzone 2, for example, is playable in Sony’s big booth, as is Resistance: Retribution. Microsoft brought pre-release builds of Warhammer 40,000:…

By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009

Once Again, Microsoft Explains Why It Won’t Go Blu-ray

Blu-ray won the format war. One HD game console (the PS3) already uses the format. The other one (the Xbox 360) doesn’t. Microsoft says it plans to keep it that way. We’ve heard this before. Microsoft isn’t going Blu-ray. Still, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, lays out three years why the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009