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

When the Xbox Kinect (previously) was released a month ago, it promised a new era of controller-less gaming. The system is certainly selling well heading into the holidays, but reviews so far are mixed. The minor injuries are expected, but with some less than impressive early game releases, some think that the system is only partially living up to its pre-release hype. But what happens when open source software fanatics get their hands on this new technology? [more inside]
posted by auto-correct on Dec 9, 2010 - 38 comments

Microsoft Kinect (née Project Natal) is sure to be a monster hit this season, and no surprise: Microsoft hopes to disthrone Nintendo's Wii and are supporting the platform with a $500 million marketing budget, larger than the marketing budget for the launch of the original Xbox. However, privacy experts are raising concerns over recent comments made by Xbox CFO Dennis Durkin at at an investors' conference:

“We can cater which content we present to you based on who you are,” Durkin said. “How many people are in the room when an ad is shown? How many people are in the room when a game is being played? When you add this sort of device to a living room, there’s a bunch of business opportunities that come with that.”

One example given was that the Kinect could identify sports jersey worn by players and deliver ads specific to their team. The Kinect platform works with its array of video- and infrared cameras, 3D depth sensors, and stereo microphones, all attached to a motorized platform which can follow players' movements. [more inside]
posted by 2bucksplus on Nov 15, 2010 - 116 comments

Microsoft Corp. and Xbox Live are apologizing to a 26-year old gamer for suspending his Xbox Live account because of information in his profile. The offending text? Fort Gay, the town he lives in. [more inside]
posted by xedrik on Sep 8, 2010 - 57 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

Playing Dirty: Greenpeace vs Nintendo, Microsoft, et al. "The Greenpeace scientific report Playing Dirty states that video games consoles have tested positive for hazardous chemicals and materials such as polyvinyl chloride, phthalates, beryllium and bromine." [more inside]
posted by chuckdarwin on May 21, 2008 - 31 comments

You know who else liked Xbox Live?
posted by EarBucket on Jul 14, 2007 - 49 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

Dan Hsu's interview of Microsoft's Home Entertainment VP about the XBox 360 is far from the usual "Tell us how great everything is" found in games journalism. Hsu hammers the startled marketing exec with serious questions about the 360's build quality and heat issues, lack of quality launch games and backwards compatibility, questionable "next generation content," and more. Good to see at least ONE journalist with a little hair on his chest, even if it is just regarding games. Via Penny Arcade (today's comic... and yesterday's cause it was funny)
posted by BlackLeotardFront on Jan 20, 2006 - 40 comments

MikeRoweSoft Settles with Microsoft for an XBox
Mike Rowe had a website named after himself that was alot like the mega-corp.
MS wanted to give him $10 to change the domain, he wanted $10k. They settled on a trip to Redmond, some traffic redirection and an XBox.

Followup to this thread.
posted by fenriq on Jan 26, 2004 - 20 comments

"Microsoft's Xbox console may not be overpopular with computer game players but it is rapidly winning fans in the hardware hacking world." Get your Xbox mod chips here.
posted by aLienated on Jun 26, 2002 - 12 comments

The real challenge to Microsoft in the 21st Century? Wonder what the techies out there think of this - is it yet another pc false dawn, or - if and when Red Hat get on board - the beginning of the end for Windows? Checkout the heavyweight 'partners'... What with the developments in the pipeline for PlayStation Linux - and maybe even the XBox! - , and Linux making tentative inroads in China, how's Bill gonna embrace and extend this one? Please elucidate for the ignorant! Link courtesy of BBC Sci/Tech
posted by dash_slot- on May 30, 2002 - 25 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

Bill & Will & Grace? The Microsoft Xbox was featured visably (the console and its output a big plasma screen --complete with sickly green logo) and mentioned by name three times in tonight's episode. I was almost expecting Karen and Jack's son to settle their differences through head-to-head football action. And to think... the Xbox was just released today.... Coincidence?
posted by grabbingsand on Nov 15, 2001 - 31 comments

Microsoft gets Xbox tunes for a song. "We said, `Hey, we really want to promote these artists and promote who they are and what they stand for.'" All Your Bass Are Belong To M$ (for free). [nytimes]
posted by gazingus on Nov 15, 2001 - 7 comments

Microsoft Delays X-Box Release Sure it's only by a week, but the article also hints at anticipated availability problems. Why does this seem so familiar?
posted by ttrendel on Sep 22, 2001 - 21 comments

OK if Microsoft is putting this kind of development effort into the Xbox I don't think Sony has anything to worry about. Sheesh, the world's largest software company can't write a bug-free TV listing program. Have TiVo and ReplayTV had these kind of problems too? (And not received as much press because they aren't MS?)
posted by redleaf on Apr 13, 2001 - 4 comments