Microsoft’s Don Mattrick announced at the Microsoft media event at E3 that the Microsoft Xbox 360 has moved from the top console in North America to the top console worldwide, beating out the PS3 and Nintendo Wii.
Microsoft has not yet announced a successor to their popular 360 console but the success is attributed to high Kinect sales as well as improved media offerings for the console. → Read More
Amazon just announced that its Instant Video service is now available on Microsoft’s Xbox 360. With the Amazon Instant Video app for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, Xbox users can now access the roughly 120,000 movies and TV episodes available for renting and purchasing on Amazon’s streaming video service. The app also offers access to the more limited Prime Instant video selection, Amazon’s video… → Read More
Our good buddy Farhad Manjoo writes over at Slate that he believes Microsoft has already beaten Apple at the living room game. Why buy an Apple TV – either in its current form or in some sort of Siri-powered large-screen LCD form (which we’ll call ATV) – when your Xbox 360 does everything you want it to right now.
Sadly, he’s wrong. While Microsoft has improved their offering considerably and… → Read More
Japan’s video game industry is the world’s second biggest (after the US), but it’s on a downward streak for the fifth consecutive year. Based on sales, the country’s video game industry has contracted by as much as 8% year-on-year, Japan’s biggest gaming magazine Famitsu is reporting [JP].
Between December 27, 2010 and December 25, 2011, Japanese game companies generated US$5.9 billion in… → Read More
Microsoft has ported Kinectimals, the Xbox 360 game that involves the care and feeding of dangerous animals in the wild, to the iPhone, suggesting that (at least in the short term) even Microsoft sees the value of releasing on iOS.
The $2.99 game recreates the Xbox version fairly faithfully but without the Kinect motion controls. Interestingly, the app also allows you to “unlock” new cubs on… → Read More
Microsoft’s wonderfully shiny new Xbox 360 dashboard is now available to most, and, while it’s a bit of a letdown in some ways (more on that later, probably), it has plenty of very, very cool new features. Cloud storage for game saves! New Netflix! HBOGO (Eventually!)
One of the niftier features, however, is being saved solely for those rockin’ Windows Phone 7 phones. Called Xbox Companion, it… → Read More
The upcoming Metro update to Microsoft’s Xbox, shipping tonight and arriving on your console some time this week, pushes Microsoft’s gaming product away from the traditional run-and-gun of gaming consoles and into a new realm: that of the home media center.
While the Xbox existed as a media center before, allowing you to download video and music content and stream content from your home… → Read More
Microsoft just posted some impressive sales stats: this week they sold 980,000 Xbox 360 consoles and 750,000 Kinect sensors, both “standalone and bundled.” The sales week is probably due in part to the perfect storm of titles hitting the platform, including Skyrim, as well as Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. → Read More
Yesterday morning, we reported that Microsoft had acquired Israeli video startup, VideoSurf, for approximately $70 million. The deal indeed has been greenlighted, as Microsoft confirmed in its blog post yesterday. However, at the time, the price of the acquisition was unclear; several sources (who wished to remain anonymous) pegged the number at $70 million. But, today we’ve heard from a solid… → Read More
You already know about Verizon bringing live TV to the Xbox 360, but it turns out that was just the tip of Microsoft’s great big television-related iceberg.
In an effort to transform the television experience, Microsoft has struck deals with nearly 40 entertainment providers to start injecting more media into their gaming platform. → Read More
Good news, FiOS fans! Verizon and Microsoft have announced today that they have struck an agreement to bring live HD television channels to your Xbox 360 without any additional hardware.
Now, don’t expect to get Verizon’s full channel lineup on your console just yet — according to their just-released statement, Verizon will only be bringing “a selection of popular live TV channels to the Xbox… → Read More
Windows Phone Mango is already primed and ready to compete with iOS and Android, but that doesn’t mean Microsoft is resting on its laurels. Quite the opposite actually.
As anticipation builds, Microsoft continues to add features to make this platform even better than what was expected. Today, the company added a handful of new features to the Games Hub, along with the announcement of 14 new… → Read More
The Kinetic Space project uses almost any type of 3D spatial scanner – including the Xbox Kinect – to register and read gestures. How does it work? Well, first you register your body and then record a set of gestures. The system can read those gestures and trigger events based on the speed and repetition of the gestures. The best part is the granularity: you can even scan hand motions for an… → Read More
The old, white Xbox media remote was often a godsend. Instead of pressing odd buttons on the controller, the media remote let you control Netflix and DVD videos with ease and it was big and unique enough not to get lost. This new media remote, however, looks less like a bar of Dove soap and more like a traditional remote control. → Read More
Last week, Microsoft filed for an interesting U.S. trademark for ‘NUADS’, describing it as:
Advertising services, namely, promoting and marketing the goods and services of others through online interactive video games by enabling consumers to interact with third-party advertising content through voice or body gestures via computer game console and sensor devices. → Read More
Alright, finally. Microsoft released the Kinect last year with games that turned out to be to nothing more than virtual parlor games. But today at the company’s E3 2011 presser, they took the wraps off the first round of games that finally seem to be meant for gamers — you know, gamers as in people that enjoy virtual killing and such. The headliner? Oh it must be Star Wars Kinect. → Read More
This one-of-a-kind Xbox “Slim Laptop” is ready to ship if you have $1,600 and a need to play 360 games on the road. Built by a blogger named [Ed], it’s basically a fully-functional Xbox 360 inside a laptop case with 17″ 720p HD screen, multiple outputs, four USB ports, and a built-in power brick. Essentially, except for the controller, this is a self-contained Xbox in a clever… → Read More
You’ve waited for it. You’ve prayed for it. You’ve spilled the blood of countless sacrificial chickens for it. And now it’s here: Hulu Plus for Xbox 360. The service is launching tomorrow and you’re basically getting the Hulu interface with which you’re familiar plus a few Kinect add-ons including voice control and gestures. With sufficient bandwidth you also… → Read More
As a fairly regular player of XBox 360 media (called “video games” by those in the know) I have found that the console often becomes hot enough to melt a DVD placed on top of it resulting in, say, a copy of Mario Kart Wii (another “video game” for a game console called the Wii) that is rendered unusable by said heat. This causes, in turn, our toddlers to melt-down and the end result is something… → Read More
Gamasutra had a good interview with Sony’s head of R&D, Dr. Richard Marks — it’s well worth the read. They talk about how he got his start in high school at a game shop his pop owned playing loads of old school games. He then moved on to study aerospace engineering in college where he found his love for robotics. Something he says is very similar to video gaming. → Read More
We haven’t heard about too many heat issues with the new slim Xbox 360, but for those who run the console 24/7 it may be worth looking into a cooling system. Nyko just recently announced their Intercooler STS system made exclusively for the slim Xbox. Thankfully, the system is smart and only runs when it needs to, keeping noise levels down. Power comes from USB and it looks like the unit blends… → Read More
The first hints of a next-generation Xbox have appeared online, and it’s about darn time. A listing on the LinkedIn social network—for those unfamiliar of LinkedIn, it’s sorta like Facebook but primarily used to maintain professional contacts—shows that Microsoft is looking to fill several positions related to “next-generation console architectures from conception through… → Read More
If you’ve ever wanted a different Xbox wireless headset other than the offering from Microsoft, you’ve been out of luck. You see, Microsoft uses proprietary wireless to connect to their headsets, which means no one else is getting a piece of that pie. While that’s nice and all for Microsoft, it hasn’t really offered much for people wanting something more. That notion isn’t likely to change… → Read More
The band Echo Lake plays music that sounds like dreamy indie rock with their combination of up-tempo, feel good and aural noise. Their latest music video isn’t too far off from that same descriptor. But, you’d be surprised to learn that this video wasn’t shot with normal video cameras. Nope, it was shot with an XBox Kinect. Sort of a modern day Money for Nothing. → Read More
Remember that kinda creepy Kinect sex game that we told you about a few days back? Well, Microsoft has issued an official response regarding it, and they are essentially denying any involvement or approval of the product. → 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
Goldman Sachs, the giant organization that practically runs Planet Earth, wants Microsoft to spin off its Xbox division. In fact, it wants it so bad that it has downgraded M$ (get it, lol!) stock from “buy” to “neutral” in an attempt to encourage the move. So what’s going on here? → Read More
If you haven’t powered up the ol’ Xbox 360 yet this evening, and you signed up for the Xbox 360 System Software Beta, you might want to go do that now. It’s live, and apparently has some very tasty updates to the UI, Avatars, the ESPN app, Netflix search capabilities, and something to do with that music player that no one bought. [via Joystiq] → Read More
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Let’s face it, you’re not going to spend all your time at school in class or studying and as a result, it’s a good idea to have some gear for gaming. We’ll hit the usual suspects here. → 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
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