This May Be the Best Xbox 360 Modification to Date—Or a Honest Scam In Plain Sight [Xbox]

I wonder if this "Modded Xbox 360 with red LED lights" is actually a fully working Xbox—with modified LEDs permanently displaying the Red Ring of Death—or just a dead Xbox. Either way, this eBay auction is a winner. More »

HP’s gaming guy says Microsoft killed cross-platform play due to keyboard-mouse superiority

Once upon a time in 2007, there was a little-known game called Shadowrun, that let gamers on both Xbox 360 and PC destroy one another for sport. Such is the environment that Microsoft facilitated, but alas, it wasn't for long, as the moment Shadowrun flopped the cross-platform feature was dropped, though it resurfaced once or twice in third-party titles as the years shot by. Outspoken HP CTO Rahul Sood, however, spins a slightly more complex yarn -- he says Microsoft killed the project when it found that "mediocre" PC gamers could wipe the floors with the very best players on Xbox. Now, we're not confirming his story, and there are plenty of other possible explanations if you follow the money, of course, but we can't help but feel a hint of admiration for the longevity of gaming mouse and keyboard. Here's hoping we can all leave our predilections at the door as developers pit Android vs. iPhone.

HP's gaming guy says Microsoft killed cross-platform play due to keyboard-mouse superiority originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Gamer’s Alphabet, on a T-Shirt [Gaming]

I'd have learned the alphabet so much faster this way. The Console Font is now in excellent t-shirt form for $9. [Tee Fury] More »

Xbox Remembers Where It Came From [Games]

As stylish as the new, slimmer Xbox 360 is, all Xbox 360 fans really want is something to play Halo on. And if it looks like Halo, all the better. More »

Xbox Halo Reach Edition breaks cover

Microsoft has just outed a special-edition Xbox 360 to celebrate the release of Halo Reach – and its shiny livery has us salivating already.

The Halo Reach special edition Xbox comes clad in a silver armour-like housing. The pack also contains etched controllers to match, and you get two instead of the usual one.

There’s a new wireless headset too, in the same shiny new colour scheme, although that’s not included with the bundle.

Inside the console, the Halo Reach Xbox special edition is the new Xbox 360 we already, with the same built-in Wi-Fi and a 250GB hard drive.

The Halo Reach special edition Xbox is available for pre-order at Amazon now for $399.
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New Xbox 360 250GB Limited Edition Halo: Reach bundle revealed

The Halo series is no stranger to special edition Xbox 360 hardware, so it should come as no surprise that the latest entry, Halo: Reach, is also privy to such treatment. What makes it special, however, is that it's the first special edition based on the new model -- 250GB HDD, built-in 802.11n WiFi, a silver (presumably matte, based on the picture) finish, and custom, Halo-inspired sounds. The $399 price tag also nets you two special edition wireless controllers and, naturally, a copy of the game itself. Look for this September 14th, and really, if you're not into glossy black (and we feel ya, brother), this might be in your best interest to pick up.

New Xbox 360 250GB Limited Edition Halo: Reach bundle revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft reports $4.5b in profit, a record $16.04b in revenue

This time last year, almost to the day, Microsoft saw its first annual sales decline in history. Things are looking much better now, with the company reporting a record $16.04 billion in revenue, a 22 percent year-over-year increase for its Q4 revenue ending June 30th. In fact, revenue is up across all divisions, with Windows and Windows Live seeing the biggest uptick (43.5 percent to $4.55 billion) followed by Entertainment and Devices (27.3 percent to $1.6 billion). Operating income, on the other hand, paints a different picture of E&D, showing a $172 million loss for this quarter (compared to $141 loss in Q4 last year), but looking over the entire fiscal year, the home of Xbox and Zune this year did $679 million in operating income -- a sizable jump to the $108 million from 2009. The overall operating income for the company is $5.93 billion this quarter (net income $4.52 billion), a 49 percent increase over last Q4, and $20.36 billion for the year (18 percent compared with fiscal 2009).

We know you're interested in comparisons, so we'll just go ahead and break it down for ya: the gang in Redmond is still beating Apple in both revenue ($16.04 billion vs. $15.7 billion) and profit ($4.52 billion vs. $3.25), but that margin feels smaller than it used to. Enough to keep the rumored pressure off Ballmer? Frankly, we don't even think biplanes could knock the man off the top of a tower, but Windows Phone 7 has a lot to prove, and fast. Microsoft is hosting a webcast of its report later today -- usually much ado about nothing, as far as we're concerned, but we'll listen in and let ya know if anything interesting pops up.

Microsoft reports $4.5b in profit, a record $16.04b in revenue originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft says to expect non-casual, ‘hybrid’ Kinect games ‘over the coming 18 months’

Excited by some of the possibilities Kinect offers for non-casual games? Then it looks like you might have a bit of a wait in store. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft's VP for Interactive Entertainment in Europe, Chris Lewis, went to some length to point out that Microsoft isn't ignoring core gamers, but would only go as far as to say that non-casual, "hybrid" games that use both Kinect and a standard controller would likely become available "over the coming 18 months or so." Not many more details beyond that, unfortunately, but Lewis did divulge a bit of UK news, saying that sales went up "1,000 percent week-over-week with an 84 per cent market share" following the release of the new, redesigned Xbox 360.

Microsoft says to expect non-casual, 'hybrid' Kinect games 'over the coming 18 months' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PC World  |  GamesIndustry.biz  | Email this | Comments

Homefront Preview

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Microsoft Kinect gets UK price, 4GB Xbox announced

Microsoft Kinect, the motion-sensing peripheral for the Xbox 360 has been given a UK price. And the news comes in conjunction with an announcement of a new 4GB Xbox 360 – all of which shapes up to a very tasty console.

If you want a standalone Kinect sensor with the Kinect Adventures gaming title to accompany your existing console, you’ll have to shell out £129.99.

But if you’re in the market for a new console, the 4GB Xbox 360 that comes toting Wi-Fi, plus Kinect and the game will set you back £249.99. And if you’re just after the new console, that’s going to cost you £149.99.

Microsoft claims that there will be “more than 15 games are set to be available at launch” for Kinect, including Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride. Each of those Kinect games will sell for £39.99.

There’s still no exact date for Kinect’s release in the UK, but the new 4GB 360 console will land in the UK on 20 August as a standalone device.

Read Microsoft Kinect gets UK price, 4GB Xbox announced on FiveFWD

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