May 05

Microsoft’s motion-sensing Xbox 360 add-on a result of 3DV acquisition?

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

We’ve already gotten a pretty thorough rundown of the motion-sensing Xbox 360 add-on that Microsoft supposedly has in store for this year’s E3, and it looks like the folks at Ars Technica have now pieced together a few more of the pieces and figured out exactly where the device might have came from. Apparently, the device has been around in some form as far back as CES 2008, where little-known upstart 3DV was showing off its own ZCam system which, according to Ars, was able to perform just about all of the functions that Microsoft’s device is able to. That didn’t exactly cause a huge stir at the time, but it was apparently enough to attract the interest of Microsoft, which reportedly went after the company shortly thereafter and seems to have finally gone through with the acquisition earlier this year. Coincidence? Maybe. But Microsoft’s history is certainly pushing this one into the more-likely-than-not column.

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Microsoft’s motion-sensing Xbox 360 add-on a result of 3DV acquisition? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 May 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 01

Is This Video of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Motion Controls?

Posted in: controller, gaming, Today's Chili, top, xbox, xbox 360

The first meaty rumors of the Xbox 360 using full-body motion controls—without a controller—are pretty interesting, since Microsoft showed us their “write in the air” tech a couple months ago, complete with Xbox logo:

Microsoft showed off a “Write in the Air” system developed in China. You can write with a gyro controller or in thin air, using a camera. Is it next for the Xbox?

You can’t help but notice the giant Xbox logo there on the screen, and the researcher I talked to said that it would be a great system for the Xbox or for Microsoft interactive TV. Still, when I pressed him, he said he didn’t know of any immediate plans. Whatever, it makes sense, except maybe the part where he grabs an orange and uses it as a stylus.

If the rumors are true, the orange makes a lot more sense now, don’t it? Not that I’m any less skeptical of these kind of controls actually working for gamers in the real world. PSEye, anyone? [Giz@Microsoft TechFest]

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May 01

Xbox 360 to get motion-sensing add-on with full body game control?

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, leak, rumor, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Here’s a wild one. We just got a tip from someone who purports to be in the know on Microsoft’s efforts to beat the Wii at its own motion-sensing game, with some of the details lining up with what we were hearing last year along these lines. The word is that Microsoft is building a “sensor bar” of sorts, but instead of detecting the waggles of Wiimote-like controllers, it detects full body movement and sound, sans controllers. There are two sensors on the bar, along with a mic and a camera, and while our tipster has “no idea” how it actually works, it sounds pretty impressive. Here’s a quick rundown of capabilities mentioned:

  • Full body and hand gesture control of games / characters.
  • In fighting games you kick, punch, duck, dive, jump and so forth with your body.
  • It also picks up small hand gestures like pinching, grabbing and scrolling.
  • There will also be video conferencing and games with video.
  • Trivia game over the internet with live images of each person playing. When a question pops up, they can clap to buzz in.
  • You can “move objects on your screen” and the other party can see what you’re doing in real time.
  • Sensor detects only the person playing, not folks observing on the couch.

We’re rather curious as to what those two mystery sensors on the bar are doing, since there’s specific mention of a lack of controllers. Perhaps they add depth perception to whatever the camera is picking up on video, but we guess we’ll have to wait and find out. Of course, this could all be an elaborate hoax, but for what it’s worth the picture appears undoctored, and the story is plausible. Either way, it’s only natural for Microsoft to be looking to duplicate — and expand upon — the wild success Nintendo has enjoyed with motion-controlled gaming. And if they don’t, Sony sure will.

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Xbox 360 to get motion-sensing add-on with full body game control? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 May 2009 13:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 30

Apple Hires Xbox Exec

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, Today's Chili, xbox

Apple’s wants the iPhone to be the next major gaming platform, a fact the company isn’t making any bones about. This mission is reflected in the company’s latest hire–one Richard Teversham, the senior director of business, insights and strategy for Xbox’s European division.

Apple has never been known for gaming devices, a fact to which the mid-90s Pippin can sadly attest. With more than 9,000 games now available for download via the iTunes App store, however, such stigmas may become a thing of the past.

The real question here, I think is whether this hire also signals an improvement in the gaming capabilities of the company’s computers. The last couple of Macbook refreshes have seen a push toward increased graphic capabilities, but when it comes to titles, the Mac OS is still far behind the PC.

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Apr 27

Entelligence: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

Posted in: column, Features, Microsoft, Today's Chili, Windows, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Today we reintroduce Entelligence as a new column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

Here’s a riddle. Why was a $300 PC with a Pentium III CPU, an 8GB hard drive, 64MB of RAM, 10/100 Ethernet, a DVD player, and an NVIDIA graphics chip considered a killer PC system in late 2001? The answer is because it wasn’t a PC — it was the original Xbox. In recent years, Microsoft has evolved the Xbox quite a bit. No longer is it a PC system with N-1 technology — it is now a targeted and focused piece of engineering that is state of the art and optimized for games — but importantly, a lot more than games. It’s the Xbox that will likely be Microsoft’s beachfront into the digital home, and it will be the Xbox which furthers Microsoft’s role in the digital home beyond the PC.

Continue reading Entelligence: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

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Entelligence: Beware of geeks bearing gifts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

Modder brings Virtual On’s dual sticks to the Xbox 360 on the cheap

Posted in: mod, modding, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360
Modder brings Virtual On's dual sticks to the Xbox 360 on the cheap

Most fighting games are pretty badass, but fighting games that feature giant robots? Overwhelmingly badass. Such was Virtual On, one of Sega’s most beloved (and seemingly most quickly forgotten) franchises, where two anime-themed (and frequently Saturn-wearing) virtualroids duked it out in full 3-D and blew our minds with great graphics and a humbling dual-stick control scheme (push both forward to run ahead, apart to jump, together to crouch, etc.). With the game making its triumphant return to action on the Xbox 360, a Japanese gamer has created the above monstrosity by wedging a couple of candy packages onto the controller’s analog sticks, then wiring up weapons buttons. With a little paint they’d almost pass for the arcade’s controller, but we’re not entirely sure that thin plastic would hold up to repeated deploys of Grys-vok’s ICBM attack.

[Via Joystiq]

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Modder brings Virtual On’s dual sticks to the Xbox 360 on the cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 21

Video: NES Advantage controller mod for Xbox 360

Posted in: hack, mod, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Sometimes you can’t beat the classics. The gentleman who brought his old NES Advantage to bear on his Xbox 360 is back, this time working his magic on the Super Advantage joystick. This bad boy is wireless, runs off an internal battery (charged via standard USB), and sports an LED player indicator. If you’ve never been able to get used to the standard Xbox controller, keep an eye out for this bad boy on eBay. The modster in question has stated his intention to let this one go to the right bidder, but not before he makes another one for himself. The next trick, he says, is to add cross-platform compatibility with the Wii and SNES. Video after the break.

[Via Nowhere Else]

Continue reading Video: NES Advantage controller mod for Xbox 360

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Video: NES Advantage controller mod for Xbox 360 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 20

$400 Xbox 360 Elite Games of the Year bundle with Halo 3 and Fable 2 gets official

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Those of you guessing that our mystery Xbox 360 birthday prize was that rumored new Elite bundle with Halo 3 and Fable 2 were exactly right — and now that Microsoft’s gotten official with it we can share the full details. $400 gets you a 120GB Elite 360 with the two games, a free Netflix trial, a 12-month Live Gold subscription and tokens for the Halo 3 “Mythic Map” and Fable 2 “Knothole Island” downloads. Not a bad deal at all, especially if you’re looking to upgrade to a Jasper unit — anyone going to pony up?

Update: Microsoft pinged us to let us know that the free Live subscription and DLC tokens were just for the giveaway bundles they made up for us — the regular GOTY bundles just have the games and the Netflix trial. Lame, we know.

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$400 Xbox 360 Elite Games of the Year bundle with Halo 3 and Fable 2 gets official originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 10

Xbox 360 Elite bundle rumored to include Halo 3 and Fable 2 for $400

Posted in: console, gaming, Microsoft, price, pricing, rumor, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Don’t get all loony just yet — this one’s still a long, long way from panning out — but ArsTechnica has it from a reliable mole that Microsoft is gearing up to ship an even more attractive Xbox 360 Elite. One that comes bundled with hits Halo 3 and Fable 2 for the same $400 that the console alone runs you now. We already heard last month that Microsoft was considering phasing out the standard Elite in favor of bundled “limited edition” models, so that certainly jibes. Though, we will caution you that the last time Ars‘s mole spoke of console price drops, he / she didn’t completely nail it. While said mole did accurately suggest that a $400 PS3 would hit America before the 2007 holiday rush (it happened in late October of that year), the whole “$100 PS2” thing took a full two years to come to fruition. Then again, E3 is just around the bend…

[Via Joystiq]

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Xbox 360 Elite bundle rumored to include Halo 3 and Fable 2 for $400 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 08

Amazon now selling Xbox Live Arcade games

Posted in: amazon, Microsoft, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, xbox live, Xbox360, XboxLive

Amazon might still make most of its money by shipping physical items to your door, but it’s clear that the retail giant knows the future of media is digital — not only is it pushing the Kindle and services like Amazon Video On Demand, it’s expanding its downloadable video game catalog to include Xbox Live Arcade games today. The process seems a little clunky at the moment — you buy a code from Amazon that you have enter into your Xbox — and it’s not exactly easy to compare prices, since Amazon charges you real money instead of Xbox Live points, but we’re not going to complain too much about anything that increases gamer choice. (Using real money actually seems like a benefit to us — we’ve never really loved the idea of points.) The service is live now, anyone going to do a little shopping?

[Via Joystiq]

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Amazon now selling Xbox Live Arcade games originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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