Microsoft claims Kinect will outsell the iPad
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox 360,
In an interview with Gamasutra Kudo Tsunoda stated that pre-orders of Kinect have put it on track to sell millions this holiday season.
“The preorders have been really strong. As far as what we’re looking at for Holiday, this is going to be stuff that’ll blow away any of the sales you’ve seen with iPad,” said Tsunoda.
The iPad broke the one million mark on its 28th day of sale, and shattered 3 million after just three months. With Tsunoda’s claims, it seems that Kinect will even surpass the launch sales of even their own Xbox and Xbox 360. We’ll see.
Read More 
| Gamasutra
Gallery: Microsoft claims Kinect will outsell the iPad
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Halo: Reach easter egg for the stoners
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Bungie, First Person Shooters, Xbox 360,
A look at the majority of vegetation growing in the Halo: Reach world will look like any other tree. That is, until you get up close and examine it for yourself. It seems that something else was going on on planet Reach…Something the Covenant might deem worthy enough to invade for? Hmm….
Gallery: Halo: Reach easter egg for the stoners
40% off full year Xbox Live membership plus free Halo: Reach avatar helmet
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Hot Deals, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Microsoft is helping to promote Halo: Reach and their online service by enticing gamers with an offer they cannot refuse - a whopping 40% off a full year Gold member ship, in addition to avatar swag. This brings the price of Gold down from $49.99 (and increasing to $59.99 starting November 1) to $29.99. With Gold member privileges you will have access to features such as: the deal of the week, Twitter, Netflix, Facebook, online multiplayer, and last.fm.
Gallery: 40% off full year Xbox Live membership plus free Halo: Reach avatar helmet
Xbox LIVE membership fee increasing $10 per year—lock in lower price now
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox Live,
If you haven’t heard by now, Microsoft is going to be increasing the yearly cost of Xbox LIVE membership by $10 per year starting on November 1. This comes after 8 years of the service remaining at a steady $50 per year, and kills rumors that the service would actually go free sometime soon. On November 1, a year of Xbox LIVE Gold will cost you $59.99, one month will cost $9.99 (up from $7.99,) and the three-month subscriptions will go from $19.99 to $24.99. They say it’s to support new features like Kinect, ESPN, and Hulu Plus coming to Xbox LIVE (despite the fact that Hulu Plus costs $10 a month in the first place.)
The one silver lining here is that you can currently buy yourself a one-year Xbox LIVE subscription for just $39.99, locking in that $20 savings for a year. It will just get tacked on to your current subscription if you already have one. If you want multiple years of savings, you can always find Xbox LIVE discounts on Amazon.
Read More | Xbox LIVE Price Lock
Gallery: Xbox LIVE membership fee increasing $10 per year—lock in lower price now
Microsoft prepares ban hammer for Halo: Reach pirates
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Bungie, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Though the temptation may be great to jump online early, perpetrators of downloading early copies of Halo: Reach better think twice before firing up their illegally attained games online. Microsoft is no stranger to banning as many users as they see fit suspected of playing pirated copies of their games. A representative for Microsoft had this to say:
“We are aware that an unauthorized copy of “Halo: Reach” has leaked. We are aggressively investigating the matter. We have no further details to share at this time.”
Sounds like Microsoft is pretty pissed at the whole situation, and we all know what happens when Microsoft feels slighted. Last fall, gamers playing pirated copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 prompted Microsoft to ban up to a million players to get their message across. And that message is that pirating will not be tolerated.
“We are aggressively pursuing the violators. Microsoft’s commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the 25 million members of the Xbox LIVE community remains a top priority. All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and modifying their Xbox 360 console violates the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE.”
Read More | Kotaku
Gallery: Microsoft prepares ban hammer for Halo: Reach pirates
Halo 2600 Takes Master Chief Back In Time
While the original Halo: Combat Evolved may look as ancient as they come to some of today’s gamers, the former VP of Microsoft’s game publishing division was curious to how Halo would fare in the retro days of Atari 2600. The result? Halo: 2600! Halo 2600 began as a way for Ed to get his hands dirty in some 2600 code work, but the resulting experience transformed into a complete retro classic showcased at the Classic Gaming Expo. To solidify the retro experience, Halo 2600 even sports a cartridge modeled in true 2600 fashion. Below, Ed discusses his experience making Halo 2600, and a bug that seems to fit into the Halo experience:
“It’s around this time that I discovered the existence of what I call “Magic Land”. I was working on a bug with the boss encounter and accidentally found myself completely outside the 64 room map. I was wandering through memory that was never intended to be interpreted as part of the map but the code was doing the best it could to interpret what was being thrown at it. Strange, misshapen monsters attacked me in even stranger ways as I wandered through this bizarre land that I had unintentionally created. I left a bug or two in the final game to allow others to find and explore this strange landscape as I did.”
While waiting for Halo: Reach to hit stores, get your Master Chief fix here.
Read More | Halo 2600
Gallery: Halo 2600 Takes Master Chief Back In Time
E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Editorial, Features, Music, Simulation, Xbox 360,
If you didn’t go to E3 this year, well, you didn’t miss much. I mean, well, you missed dancing. And space marines. And Skittles.
You missed Skittles the Dancing Space Marine, the unofficial mascot of E3 2010.
Microsoft hatef*cked their audience with scripted hilarity and dated motion control games. Sony pimped a new 3D TV technology that costs thousands and can only be watched by a few people at a time. Nintendo was the show’s net positive with a bunch of new, awesome games and the 3DS’s grand appearance.
Some commentators looked at this year’s presentation and predicted the fall of the game industry. Others sighed and walked away. Some of us were unable to post because we were caught somewhere inbetween the NBA Finals riots and my third vodka and red bull, which was weak, and I took notice of that.
I’m here to tell you that things aren’t quite as grim as some would have you believe. This time around, I want to talk about Kinect. Hit the jump for some ill-informed musings.
Click to continue reading E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Gallery: E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Release Dates, Xbox 360,
Even with companies like Amazon, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart all listing Kinect at $150, Microsoft decided they’d wait it out on naming the price officially, for whatever reason. Today, however, they’ve announced that Kinect for Xbox 360 will launch on November 4th at $149.99, and it’ll come bundled with Kinect Adventures. Adventures is gonna be like their Wii Sports, a collection of minigames that are fun and highlight what Kinect can do.
For buyers who want to get Kinect with an Xbox 360 console, there will be a $300 bundle that will include one of the new Xbox 360 consoles (with 4GB built-in storage,) the Kinect sensor, and Kinect Adventures.
Aside from Kinect hardware pricing, Microsoft has also said that Kinect games will sell for $50 each, which is $10 less than the normal $60 price. However, Microsoft sold all their first-party Xbox 360 titles for $50 before, and quickly stopped that practice. Also, it’s a shame to see that Joy Ride will now sell for $50, when originally it was supposed to be free.
You can pre-order Kinect on Amazon.
Gallery: Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Summer of Arcade 2010 Xbox Live Arcade lineup
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Adventure, Driving, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Release Dates, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,
The third-annual Xbox Live Arcade Summer of Arcade kicks off on Wednesday, and goes through August 18th with a block of five titles that Microsoft thinks are worthy of knocking your socks off. Things start off with the release of Limbo on July 21, which is the black and white mystery game where a boy sets out to discover the fate of his sister. On July 28th, Hydro Thunder Hurricane drops, with Castlevania Harmony of Despair coming the week after, bringing the 2D side-scrolling goodness of Castlevania back to the forefront. On August 11th, Monday Night Combat, a fresh take on the multiplayer shooter comes out, and things wrap up on August 18th with the return of Lara Croft. Nope, this one isn’t a Tomb Raider game. Instead, it’s Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, a fun mix of exploration and combat.
The Summer of Arcade is generally when Microsoft looks to release a back-to-back string of amazing titles. This year, they’ve upped the ante a bit with a special promo. If you buy any three of the five Summer of Arcade titles listed above by the end of August, you’ll receive 400 Microsoft Points back. If you decide to spring for all five, you’ll get 1200 Microsoft Points. How’s that for putting their money where their mouth is?
Gallery: Summer of Arcade 2010 Xbox Live Arcade lineup
Microsoft pulls plug on 1 vs 100 for Xbox Live
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Well, it was definitely fun while it lasted, but Microsoft has decided that their 1 vs 100 Live game show was not worth continuing, and we won’t be seeing a season three. The whole 1 vs 100 Live experience was completely new and different from anything else ever tried on a game console, bringing thousands together at the same time to take part in a game show with a live host (Chris Cashman.) Our take? Sure, Chris Cashman may have been overbearing, but we aren’t gonna pin this on him. We think Microsoft has realized that the 1 vs 100 concept has run its course—we’re guessing we see something new (and better) step in and take its place soon enough. For now, the Sprint Theater is closing up shop.
Read More | Xbox
Gallery: Microsoft pulls plug on 1 vs 100 for Xbox Live
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