Microsoft’s been touting Windows Phone 7′s Xbox Live functionality since day one, but it’s always felt just a little lacking. You can look at your cute little avatar and play games that bump up your gamerscore, but where’s the connectivity with the Xbox experience we saw in demos like this one?
It would appear the folks in Redmond aren’t quite there yet, but a demo at their GamesFest in Seattle on Monday morning shows us that the idea hasn’t fallen by the wayside yet.
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A Web site that illegally generated Microsoft Points has been shut down, but not before costing Redmond a cool $1.2 million in the process. Hackers had discovered an algorithm that would, when called upon, generate Microsoft Points codes at 160 points a clip. → Read More
Now available on an Xbox 360 console near you: Quake Arena Arcade. It looks to be a fairly straightforward port of Quake Live (which is to say, a fairly straightforward port of Quake III), but this time you’ll have to pay 1,200 Microsoft Points for the privilege. Then you have to convince yourself that playing the game with a console controller isn’t anything to be ashamed of—easier said then done. → Read More
Microsoft certainly used a lot of words at some Credit Suisse technology conference yesterday, but only a few of them are worth relaying here. The main thing that its Interactive Entertainment Division CEO, Dennis Durkin, said that a whopping 50 percent of Xbox Live users actually pay the $60 per year for Xbox Live. There’s 25 million Xbox Live subscribers, so you’re looking at something like 12.5 million Xbox Live Gold subscribers. How many of these 12.5 million people aren’t jerks? That’s all I want to know. → Read More
I recently purchased Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on Xbox Live. My friend has it and we wanted to have a coop campaign marathon. It didn’t work and that’s not all of it. → Read More
If you were hoping to run a custom ROM on your shiny new WinPho7 device, then you should probably take a seat; I have some bad news for you.
Ex-WinMo hacker guru, Conflipper, told WP Central today that Windows Phone 7 ships with a “Genuine Software” checker, much like Windows 7 or Office. → Read More
The Xbox Live Web site will re-launch tomorrow. There will be new things, not least of which is the “massive facelift.” Highlights include: an avatar editor, a new message viewer, and a improved Marketplace browser. → Read More
Do you want to be a part of the new Xbox 360 System Update Preview program? You can! Well, provided you sign up and are selected. → Read More
Among companies I loathe, Comcast is right up there. Alongside Expedia and AT&T, they share the common thread of having typically poor service, and even worse customer service. But I’m a forgiving guy. I’m willing to give Comcast a second chance. Well, for 6 months at least.
I’ve been a Comcast customer a few different times at various points of my life. Each time I’ve had an awful experience. My favorite was two years ago when I was continually getting billed for services I didn’t have (nor had I ever had, actually). Each month I was told it was resolved, and each month it was right back on my bill. It took me bitching up a storm on Twitter to get it actually resolved by the higher-ups at the company. And I know my situation wasn’t unique — and sadly, many people have an even bigger nightmare resolving things. → Read More
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer revealed that Halo: Reach made over $200 million in Day 1 sales. This tops any other title so far this year, and also any other movie or “entertainment experience”. 1up reports that Halo: Reach also broke the total number of players on Xbox Live record previously held by Halo 3. → Read More
Short version: The SteelSeries Spectrum 5XB is a headset for your Xbox 360 (and PC) that lets you separate your online teammates’ voices from the sounds explosions, gunfire, and other assorted bits of mayhem. So, if your team leader is barking orders you can turn down the game’s audio and listen exclusively to the commands. → Read More
Yeah, after spending years building a buddy list and earning all those meaningless achievements, you’re probably going to pay Microsoft whatever they want for Xbox Live. Am I right? [Penny Arcade] → Read More
One of the best games from the Dreamcast is finally getting a proper sequel: Bangai-O! Those who played it remember it fondly; a version for Nintendo DS was released, but (despite being pretty good) it didn’t really have the same savor as the original. I have a feeling this new one is going to be the sequel I’ve been hoping for. It’s called Bangai-O HD Missile Fury, and the developers promise “sensory overload of thousands of missiles.” It should debut at PAX this weekend. Hell yes. → Read More
Hope you have some extra cash. Xbox Live is getting slightly more expensive starting November 1st in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The single month charge is increasing to $9.99 from $7.99, three months will cost $24.99 from $19.99 with the yearly plan increasing to $59.99 from $49.99. Why? Microsoft isn’t saying but we have some ideas. → Read More
Oh, what could have been. Rahul Sood, of Voodoo PC fame (now at HP), says he’s heard from people in the know that Microsoft was working on a project that would have integrated Xbox Live with a sort of Windows Live. The end goal was to have been console gamers and PC gamers playing against each other on a combined Xbox Live+Windows Live service. The reason why this project never saw the light of day? Because console gamers are rubbish. → Read More
Get ready for Xbox Live Arcade to become a bit more useful. Microsoft’s Major Nelson announced today that there is a significant update to Xbox Live Arcade, including a new recommendation engine and visual browser system. → 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
Microsoft had tried to shutdown the original Xbox Live servers, but a couple of Halo 2 stalwarts had refused to log off! I guess Microsoft couldn’t turn the servers off, or wouldn’t, while people were still connected? No matter: the last Halo 2 Xbox Live player has signed off. We wish him well in his future endeavors. → Read More
Would you be willing to pay an extra dollar or two per month for Xbox Live if you were able to watch live TV on it? That’s what Microsoft and News Corp. execs are currently contemplating, with the two companies in talks over bringing a “young, male” channel to XBL. Now, this is all rumor and speculation, so no need to freak out if you’re diametrically opposed to the idea. → Read More
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