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Tecmo Koei: Xbox 360 Is Doing “Well” In Japan
Remember when the Xbox 360 launched in Japan? Boy, that was embarrassing! Microsoft has turned things around of late and found a small degree of success in the region. “Xbox 360 as a business is doing better than the old Xbox,” Tecmo Koei boss Kenji Matsubara tells game site Kikizo. “They have a good opportunity…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 4, 2009 -
Band Of Bugs Thrusts Your Avatar Into Battle
Be a part of an elite insectoid military force next week, when NinjaBee introduces Xbox 360 avatar support for strategy title Band of Bugs, along with an entirely new game released as DLC. Developer NinjaBee delivered one of the earliest avatar-supporting Xbox Live Arcade titles in A Kingdom for Keflings, and now they’re putting your…
By Mike Fahey Published July 1, 2009 -
In Defense Of The Classic Controller
By Leigh Alexander. At the E3 debut of Project Natal, Microsoft’s Don Mattrick called the controllers we’ve known and loved “a barrier separating video game players from everyone else.” Wait. Isn’t that the point? Should video game controllers really disappear? We’ve heard a million times about how the cultural presence of games is growing exponentially…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 29, 2009 -
Rock Band Next Week: More Foreigner, More Warped Tour
Issue number 16 of the Official Rock Band Zine has hit fans’ inboxes today, bringing with it news of three more Foreigner songs and another bunch of Warped Tour songs hitting the store next week. Following up on last week’s Warped Tour song pack comes Vans Warped Tour 3-Pack, adding Dear and the Headlights’ “Sweet…
By Mike Fahey Published June 25, 2009 -
This Week In Live Arcade: Garou Marks And Droplitz
Puzzles and punches come to Xbox Live Arcade this week, with the release of SNK’s beloved fighter Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and Atlus’ Xbox Live Arcade debut, Droplitz. One of the best Dreamcast releases comes to the North American Xbox Live Arcade this week in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. The latest title in…
By Mike Fahey Published June 22, 2009 -
Microsoft Pulls Plug On Xbox Originals
First launched in 2007, Microsoft’s “Xbox Originals” scheme seemed an easy way to re-release old Xbox titles on the 360 as a digital download, and make a buck off them in the process. Hasn’t worked out that way. After an initial flurry of titles, releases for the service soon slowed to the point where most…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 17, 2009 -
Space Invaders Extreme Gets A Bit More Extreme Tomorrow
More levels, more bosses, more enemies, and two classic arcade emulators add even more extreme to Space Invaders Extreme as new DLC for the Xbox Live Arcade version drops from the sky tomorrow. A total of three new stages are being added to Space Invaders Extreme with tomorrow’s new downloadable content, along with the requisite…
By Mike Fahey Published June 16, 2009 -
Sam & Max Save The World Next Week
Telltale Games is releasing the first season of Sam & Max on Xbox Live June 17 as Sam & Max Save the World. The six-episode collection of Sam & Max’s 2006/2007 adventures features Achievements, tweaked gameplay controls and HD graphic support. The compilation used to be called Sam & Max: Season One, but I guess…
By AJ Glasser Published June 11, 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 -
How To Use Your 3G Phone To Connect To Xbox Live
If your house loses internet, or you’re taking your 360 on the road, connecting to Xbox Live can be a hassle. Oh, unless you have a 3G phone and follow this handy guide! It’ll show you how to configure your phone, a laptop and your 360, then use them to commandeer an AT&T 3G signal…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2009 -
Secret Of Monkey Island Special Edition Sails To 360?
Both a mysteriously disappearing German rating and sources close to Adventure Gamers seem to indicate that a special edition of The Secret of Monkey Island is on its way to the Xbox 360. We first caught wind of this via GamerBytes, who managed to snag a picture of the German listing before it was removed…
By Mike Fahey Published May 20, 2009 -
Game Controllers That Clean Your Filthy Hands
You know those shaped soaps at your mother’s house that no one is allowed to actually use? Here’s our version, courtesy of Etsy seller Digitalsoaps. Digitalsoaps offers our favorite video game weapons, lovingly recreated in the form of scented soap products. Take the green Xbox 360 controller above. Scented with Mountain Dew, it’s the most…
By Mike Fahey Published May 4, 2009 -
New Xbox App Helps Find Child Porn And Other “Illicit Hidden Materials”
A developer at Sam Houston State University has created XFT, a forensics tool designed to root out “illicit hidden materials,” including nefarious content like child pornography, buried on Xbox hard disks. According to a report from Discover, the forensics tool can unearth data stored on a modded Xbox, offering investigators “bit-for-bit information” similar to tools…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 1, 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 -
Microsoft Sued Over Gay Bashing
According to a former employee of Lionhead Studios, being openly gay at a Microsoft-owned development studio can be just as bad as having an openly gay Xbox Live gamertag. Gay video game designer Jamie Durrant is suing Microsoft for £45,000 in ‘hurt feelings’ and lost pay, claiming discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Durrant…
By Mike Fahey Published March 24, 2009 -
Fable Caused Burn Out, Game’s Developer Got Bad Ideas While Drinking
Making video games is no walk in the park. It’s hard. For those who worked in original Xbox role-playing-game Fable, it “destroyed lives”. In an interview with industry site Develop, Fable franchise designer Peter Molyneux explains just how bad it got during the creation of the first game: “If I’m honest, on Fable we just…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 17, 2009 -
Somebody Finally Made a 360 You Can Smoke Out Of
There it is. Somebody made a bong out of an Xbox 360. Not a PSP, not a DS, not a Wii, but a great, hulking 360. Let’s ignore the potential criminality of such a device and focus instead on the engineering. Something like this can’t have been easy. No, it’s taken planning, foresight, and a…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 12, 2009 -
US Xbox Service Ends A Calendar Day Before Japan’s
On March 3, Microsoft service repairs for the original Xbox ceases. The same happens for American users on March 2. While service repair ends, other technical support such as documents and content will be available to all customers. “If you have an original Xbox console that is in Warranty that requires a repair,” Microsoft stated,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 27, 2009