Start Press: Project Natal Better Get Ready To Rumble
As I press the electric razor to my face, it vibrates in my hand, emitting that familiar shrill hum. I finish mowing the overnight stubble from my chin and shut off the razor. For a second afterward, my hand courses with a dull ghost vibration. As I turn the key in the ignition of my old beater ride, I feel the engine buck and settle into a low idle before I shift into gear. In a confrontation with a knife-wielding assailant, I feel the thud of his rushing body as it collides with mine. Quantic Dream’s new interactive thriller Heavy... read more
Found in: Games, ColumnsStart Press: A Whore No More
You’ve gotta give Microsoft credit. Their invention of the Xbox Live system of achievement points and gamerscore was a stroke of mega genius. It lifted a playbook page from the videogame medium itself—the compulsive quest for nudging high scores ever higher—and applied it to the larger experience of gaming. How do you boost your gamerscore? Simple: play more games (or, put a different way, buy more games). But not just any games—only Xbox 360 games will do the trick. Also, for gamers who have both an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3 in their living room, which console do you... read more
Found in: Games, ColumnsMicrosoft Bows Out as Sponsor for Family Guy Television Special
Microsoft is now the latest to call foul on Seth MacFarlane, as the company relinquished sole sponsorship of the upcoming Family Guy television special.... read more
Found in: TV, NewsYahoo! and Microsoft Partner on Search Engine
It was announced today that Yahoo! will team up with Microsoft's Bing to form a search engine dream team of sorts, and while Google may not yet be quivering in its steel-toed boots, the partnership is still literally a big deal. Big, as in the 10-year planned partnership is expected to boost Yahoo!'s annual profits by $500 million.... read more
Found in: Culture, NewsNew Xbox Console Rumor Stirred Up by Natal Hype
With the introduction of Microsoft's Project Natal, a camera that tracks motion and recognizes voice and facial expressions, comes the obligatory gossip and hype that sets in whenever a technology giant makes a giant leap in technology. The latest talk toys with a rumored new, refined Xbox 360 console that might be released along with the Natal camera system.... read more
Found in: Games, NewsBing: The Next Big Search Engine?
In an attempt to divert cursors away from Google's search engine and onto Microsoft-owned territory, Bill Gates' empire pulled out a big gun called Bing. The replacement for Microsoft's Live Search product was unveiled two weeks ago after investing about $100 million in ad campaign dollars, and it's generating quite a buzz.... read more
Found in: Culture, NewsMicrosoft Wows E3 Conference With Myriad XBox 360 Plans
If you've ever felt the urge to update your Twitter or stream radio while playing your favorite video game, now you're in luck. On Monday, Microsoft announced at the E3 conference that XBox 360 will now offer gamers the ability to stream music from Last.fm, check and update their Twitter and Facebook accounts and stream more movies and television shows faster from Netflix. Finally, we can stalk our friends on Facebook while waiting for Madden to load.... read more
Found in: Culture, NewsMicrosoft Sells Bonds, Raises Billions of Dollars, Now What?
This week, Microsoft began selling bonds and raked in the tidy sum of 3.75 billion dollars. Although some analysts claim that they'll be using the money to buy up cheap stock, Gizmodo.com, Nick Denton's tech blog, is speculating that they'll use the money to buy something "HUGE." Blogger John Herrman wrote, "Today is a great day for wild speculation about Microsoft, so have at it."... read more
Found in: Culture, NewsWikipedia trounces Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia to death
"F*%$! accuracy!" So seems to say the world in our high-speed, internet-crazed culture where the free, web-based, cooperative encyclopedia Wikipedia has just dealt the death blow to Encarta Encyclopedia. Maybe you recall your professors telling you that Wikipedia is not an official source? Or maybe you work for a magazine that does not verify its facts based on Wiki's word? ... read more
Found in: Books, NewsHalo Trilogy soundtrack previews Halo Wars
With Halo 3 having been released last fall and Halo: Wars... read more
Found in: Music, News
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