Today marks the 10th birthday of the Xbox. VentureBeat takes an in-depth
look back at its history, from its rocky inception to the Kinect.
Part 2.
[more inside]
posted by kyp
on Nov 15, 2011 -
24 comments
Contrary to a lot of idle criticism, Bungie's
Halo series of video games has
a surprisingly rich backstory -- a universe complex enough to support
seven bestselling novels,
a wiki with over 7,000 articles, and
one of the most successful ARGs in history (including
a full-fledged radio drama). The series has also turned out sweeping audiovisual work, from the games'
cinematic cutscenes and
epic music (lots of free previews) to
top-shelf anime and the Hollywood-quality short films --
ODST,
Believe,
Deliver Hope,
Landfall -- that were made to promote the games (the latter of which, produced by Neil Blomkamp,
inspired District 9). And that's apart from all the material produced by Bungie's dedicated fan base:
genuinely hilarious machinima from
Red vs. Blue,
professional-level graphic novels (table of contents at the top),
gorgeous artwork,
hours of recorded dialogue,
complete transcripts of
hidden apocrypha, and more
factual analysis,
story speculation, and
casual discussion than you can shake an energy sword at. But most of these pale in comparison to the latest and greatest exercise in Halo beanplating: the
Svmma Canonica, a 40-page, 17,000-word formal treatise on the nature of canon in the world that Bungie built, and how it will fare once Bungie moves on and the franchise is managed by 343 Industries. Discussion
over at Bungie's official site, or at decade-old fan forum
Halo.Bungie.Org.
posted by Rhaomi
on Jan 31, 2011 -
71 comments
Andrew Shane Huang is a 35 year old hardware hacker, known to some as
bunnie, and others as that guy who
hacked the Xbox and went on to
write a book about it.
Finding the hidden key to the Xbox was
an enjoyable distraction while he worked on getting his PhD in Electrical Engineering from MIT as
part of
Project Aries. Since then, he has
written for (and
been written about) in
Make Magazine, has
giving talks on the strategy of hardware openness and
manufacturing practices in China, as experienced with the development of the opensource
ambient "
internet-based TV" called
Chumby. When he's not busy on such excursions, bunnie writes about
hacking (and more specifically,
Chumby hacking),
technology in China, and even
biology in exquisite detail on
the bunnie studios blog (
previously).
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jun 17, 2010 -
36 comments
Platypus Comix has compiled images from around the Internet of
prototype game consoles and peripherals spanning from the original NES all the way to the Sony PlayStation 3. You'll see the NES's tape recorder, a touch pad for the Sega Genesis, the infamous Nintendo PlayStation, a PlayStation Portable you can clip to your backpack ("...or whatever reckless thing they thought you'd try."), a Wii controller with just one large button, and the embarrassing PS3 "serect" button.
[more inside]
posted by Servo5678
on Apr 14, 2010 -
38 comments
Reinier van der Ende, an x-ray technician at the largest hospital in the northern part of the Netherlands, decided to combine his work with one of his hobbies and proceeded to x-ray his collection of video game consoles, peripherals and game cartridges.
Here are the fruits of his labour.
[more inside]
posted by Effigy2000
on May 2, 2009 -
20 comments
"Because of the digital chip age in which we live -
"Mass Effect" can be customized to sodomize whatever, whoever, however, the game player wishes. With it's
"over the net" capabilities virtual orgasmic rape is just the push of a button away."
[more inside]
posted by prostyle
on Jan 15, 2008 -
82 comments
An Open Letter to Devs: "Minigame compilations. How many of these games can we possibly be expected to buy? On my Wii alone, I've already gone through Rayman Raving Rabbids, Super Monkey Ball, Warioware and Sonic, with Mario Party and who knows what else on the horizon. As for the DS, just about every other game I own has some kind of mini-game compilation."
posted by SansPoint
on Apr 6, 2007 -
51 comments
Having trouble with that new videogame you got for Christmas?
Text-only walkthroughs don't do it for you? Then try Stuck Gamer. Video walkthroughs for a pretty good number of games. Including, thanks the Lords of Kobol,
Ninja Gaiden.
posted by WolfDaddy
on Dec 26, 2005 -
16 comments
Have a spare $199 lying around? Steel Battalion Central is your one-stop
Steel Battalion source. For those of you not in the know, SB is the $199 Xbox game with it's own custom 40-Button controller. It's also one of the most intense hardcore Video Game experiances of the last few years.
posted by hughbot
on Mar 4, 2004 -
15 comments
Fable ...There once was a boy with a mind of his own. Alone in a dangerous world, his destiny, the paths of good and evil... Built like a children's book with tabs that you toggle, choose your path in this gothic tale. The site is a beautifully designed promo for the upcoming xbox game release, but worth a visit for the illustrations and execution alone.
(caveats: flash site that opens in a pop-up window, contains sound.)
posted by madamjujujive
on Aug 3, 2003 -
11 comments
"By Christmas, Microsoft could become the nation's fourth-largest phone company." So ends an article in the NYT about the upcoming online gaming service for X-Box. What does this have to do with phone service? "A critical component of the social experience planned for Xbox Live will be the audio headset, enabling players to cheer and jeer one another. The technology includes a "voice masking" feature that will conceal the identities and even ages of the contestants — a Disneyland safeguard meant to deter adult exploitation of children online."
posted by gwint
on May 21, 2002 -
13 comments
Now what? MS is following Sony's lead by dropping the XBox's price to $199 USD. I don't know about you, but I -was- going to get a PS2. Now I'm not so sure.
posted by shadow45
on May 15, 2002 -
38 comments
Under 5,000 Xboxes sold in Japan last week. This is compared to 100k Playstation2s and 25k Gamecubes. Since its launch, the Xbox has sold 190k units in Japan versus the Playstation's 980k units sold in the first 3 days.
Is the Xbox doomed in the notoriously tough Japan gaming market, or does the Xbox just need a price cut to stay competitive?
posted by jragon
on Apr 8, 2002 -
51 comments
NYT is realizing that computer games can be relevent, and not just a silly fad that only kids and the uneducated can enjoy. In this review (albeit
very belated), Thursday's 'Circuits' section reviews both
Operation Flashpoint, the widely acclaimed, disturbingly realistic combat simulation, and Halo, the shooter du jour on the XBox.
posted by GriffX
on Mar 22, 2002 -
9 comments
