This isn’t the most creative or extensive modification one could conceivably do to the new Xbox 360, but it’s cool enough to post. Mainly because these things came out like two days ago, who the hell is this guy, the Flash?
Check out the video inside. → Read More
An experiment involving the HTC Droid Incredible’s internet tethered to an Xbox 360 has successfully shown you can kill alien avatars of children playing in their basement from across the world – on top of a bridge – over the Missouri River. → Read More
Rather than use E3 to pile on the mountains and mountains of hype of the big-bidget titles, I’ve elected to sprinkle through our coverage the small little gems that might otherwise go unnoticed. First on the docket is AAA: Héores del Ring a lucha libre (Mexican-style higly-flying pro-wrestling) game that’ll hit your Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PSP on August 10 of this year. I had some quality time with it this morning and I can say this: I left the booth absolutely shocked at how thorough the game is. → Read More
SteelSeries announced at E3 today three new peripherals for the XBox 360: the Spectrum 5xb premium headset, the Spectrum 4xb entry-level headset, and the Spectrum AudioMixer which “allows any headset with a microphone and 3.5mm jacks to function with Xbox 360 gameplay and Xbox LIVE chat”. The Spectrum AudioMixer is included in the box with both the 5xb and 4xb headsets. → Read More
Last night, as we waited to pre-order the new iPhone 4, Apple had a surprise for us: a new Mac mini. Never having owned a Mac mini, normally this wouldn’t get me excited. But this one is different. This time, Apple decided to include a HDMI port and is highlighting the fact that you can easily hook it up to your HD television. In other words, it’s like an Apple TV on steroids. And it looks like Apple knows it.
If you go to the Apple Store website right now, you’ll notice that every big piece of Apple hardware is highlighted except one: Apple TV. If you’re looking for it, you’ll either have to do a search, or you’ll want to look way over in the lower left hand corner under “For iPod.” Yes, Apple is now classifying the device they’ve famously belittled as a “hobby” for so long as an iPod accessory. Ouch. → Read More
When Google TV was announced at Google I/O there was a lot of excitement surrounding it. Unfortunately, there were also a lot of questions. And the glitchy demo they did on stage certainly didn’t help matters. Today, Google has released a simple two and a half minute video to explain the service and show exactly how it works.
This video makes the value proposition of Google TV much more clear. They probably should have just shown this at I/O. It’s really about having the Internet (and Android apps) in your living room alongside your existing television set-up. (Though unstated, it’s also obviously about ad-reach.) This differentiates it from competitors like Apple TV and Xbox 360 (though they all will battle for the living room). Watch the video below. → Read More
Microsoft has been touting its Kinect all morning, and it’s clearly being marketed as a family-oriented device. They demoed quite a few games, covering a lot of territory; gaming rags are already whispering that this is where much of the MS development muscle is going to be applied for the foreseeable future. Not everything is going to be a hit, but among the dozen or so launch titles, there are definitely a few worth checking out, though a lot depends on your gaming tendencies — and age. Here are our picks for which games will and will not impress buyers when November 4th comes around. → Read More
Although there was plenty of news coming out of Microsoft today, the most interesting move is their decision to begin shipping the brand new XBox – it’s basically the old XBox with 802.11n Wi-Fi, a 250GB hard drive, and Kinect support – the same week they announced it. It’s not quite same day, but it’s close.
However, another treat came when they announced all the media at their press event will be getting XBox 360s immediately and that they would be showing up at their domiciles and places of business posthaste.
These sort of giveaways are common at developer events (well, actually just Google IO) and I suspect they’ll become more popular in the coming months. Gear is so cheap to build and ship that it almost makes sense to blanket the evangelists with it. Whereas the old model of “selective releases” works for some products – Apple, in particular excels at this – the XBox team is dealing with an entrenched base of hardware users who will be loathe to swap out their old XBox, provided they’re not RRODed.
Update: Now with video! → Read More
In what amounts to the worst-kept secret of E3, Microsoft has just unveiled the Kinect motion controller. Originally called Project Natal, this is the final trade version of the Kinect controller and will be available in November. Pricing is currently unavailable but we will have more information shortly. → Read More
Everyone is busy talking about Microsoft Kinect (the project formerly known as Natal), but to me, some much bigger news just dropped at E3 from Microsoft: ESPN live sports access. Simply put: this was the only thing holding me back from completely canceling my cable subscription. As soon as this goes live, I’m done with cable forever.
No, this live sporting access won’t be entirely free, but it’s one hell of a deal. You simply have be an Xbox Live Gold member (about $50 a year), and you’ll get access to over 3,500 live events a year. In HD. Did I mention it was $50 a year? My cable bill is currently double that — a month. → Read More
From DVR to On-Demand, more and more TV viewers are choosing when they get to watch their favorite programs. The greater question has been how you’ll be able to get all the other content to your screen — stuff like Netflix and Hulu. If you have an Xbox, the latter problem may be a thing of the past. → Read More
I sure hope for Microsoft‘s sake this isn’t true. Word on the street is that Project Natal (which won’t be the final name) will cost $150 and will launch in October. Considering Microsoft is aiming Natal at so-called casual gamers, what are the odds these people are going to shell out $150 to be able to play that paint-slinging game we’ve seen demoed over and over again? → Read More
Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption came in the mail on Tuesday, and my first course of action was to call the Ron and Fez Show on Sirius XM. “Hey, guys, I see your names in the credits. You rock!” Calling the show and talking to East Side Dave (by the way, SAVE DAVE) and Ron was the highlight of my week. Well, it was the highlight of my week until I was able to pop the disc into my 360 (it’s also available for the PS3). As I told Ron on the air, Rockstar knows how to make a good video game. A really good video game, in fact. → Read More
Right about now you should start seeing the Xbox 360 Arcade Spring 2010 bundle online and at the local store. The $200 bundle includes two games, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and Viva Piñata, both of which aren’t too bad, actually. Banjo Kazooie is sorta weird, but weird doesn’t equal bad, you know? → Read More
I’ve spent 4 full days here in Israel meeting tons of entrepreneurs and startup folks, but if I had to pick one company that made the biggest impression on me it would definitely be Omek Interactive.
The company, which unveiled itself to the public for the first time at the Techonomy 2010 conference held in Tel Aviv earlier this week, was co-founded by a couple over 3.5 years ago. Nevertheless, chances are you’ve never heard that name before.
Chances are you’ve heard of Microsoft’s Project Natal though, the fascinating controller-free gaming and entertainment product Microsoft showcased at E3 2009 in June 2009 and is reportedly set to launch at the end of this year.
Well, Omek is a tiny startup that aims to take the Redmond software giant on, their product is ready to debut starting today, and they’re only now starting to talk to press about their strategy and demoing their amazing technology. → Read More
I spent a few hours last night playing the Halo: Reach multi-player beta. (Microsoft sent out a few early invites to writing-guys like me, but the beta opens to Halo: ODST owners today.) It’s been a while since I’ve played a Halo game for any real amount of time. I dabbled with Halo 3‘s multi-player for a little while there, but that was two years ago. First impression of the Reach beta: absence makes the heart grow fonder. CrunchGear: your home for old man idioms. → Read More
Looks like someone accidentally left Project Natal in a bar in Redwood City. An Italian site has what it claims to be photos of Microsoft’s motion-sensing controller thing “in the wild,” as these things go. → Read More
There’s a couple things going on today. One, of course, it’s some sort of smokers’ holiday—they’re celebrating on Ron and Fez on Sirius XM right now and I’m giggling like a fool. Two, Barcelona plays Inter in the Champions League. And, last but not least, Capcom officially revealed Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Raise your hand if you wasted a number of hours trying to pull off 100-hit combos in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for the DreamCast! → Read More
If you’re looking for a new accessory for your PS3 or Xbox 360, check out the Konnet Power Pyramid Supreme. This futuristic and stylishly designed charger allows you to charge up to two PS3 and two Xbox 360 controllers at once. It even has an LED status indicator that tells you when the charging is complete. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
