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Jun 17

Kinect guide: a preview and explanation of Microsoft’s new full body motion sensor

Posted in: e3, kinect, Microsoft, Today's Chili, video, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

We’ve become so familiar with the “Project Natal” codename over the years that our tongues are still having a little trouble wrapping around Microsoft’s new Kinect moniker for it. Still, what’s in a name? Microsoft has finally shown us what matters with real games, real gameplay, and real hardware, and after spending some time with it using our very own human flesh to control the on-screen action, we feel like we’re starting to get a pretty good grip on the experience. Follow after the break as we break down the complicated workings and emergent gameplay of Kinect.

Continue reading Kinect guide: a preview and explanation of Microsoft’s new full body motion sensor

Kinect guide: a preview and explanation of Microsoft’s new full body motion sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 17

Nox Audio Specialist review

Posted in: headphones, headset, ps3, review, Today's Chili, xbox 360, Xbox360

For the debut of their company Nox Audio, some creative headphone designers went all-out, crafting a feature-packed folding headset ready to rock PC chat, console gaming and even iPhone use. Priced at $80, the Specialist isn’t going to do all that without some compromises, of course — join us after the break to find out which uses these cans were best suited for.

Gallery: Nox Audio Specialist unboxing and hands-on

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Nox Audio Specialist review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 16

New Xbox 360 loses ability to flash a red ring, can still probably die a fiery death

Posted in: e3, Microsoft, Today's Chili, xbox 360, Xbox360

It’s a color we know so well, but it looks like Microsoft would like to dissociate itself from its RROD heritage, or perhaps just ran out of red LEDs: the new Xbox 360 only has a green ring around its power button, so even if you wrap the thing in a blanket and set it on fire, it won’t be flashing red to tell you how it feels. This was unearthed in a spec sheet that Joystiq received from a tipster, along with all the other fancy specs you can see above. Overall the console is 17% smaller, which really goes to show that Microsoft was much more interested in noise and heat reduction than sliding the new 360 into a smaller crevice of your home entertainment center.

New Xbox 360 loses ability to flash a red ring, can still probably die a fiery death originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 16

Check out our new Xbox 360 hub!

Posted in: e3, Microsoft, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Did you hear? Microsoft just unleashed a new Xbox 360! You can get all the info we have on it at our new Xbox 360 hub!

Check out our new Xbox 360 hub! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 16

Xbox 360 Arcade reduced to $99** during Walmart Father’s Day sale

Posted in: deal, sale, Today's Chili, walmart, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

We already heard that the legacy Xbox 360 consoles would see a price cut with the introduction of the new Xbox 360 slimster. Now Walmart has sweetened the deal with a tempting Father’s Day bundle. Up through June 20th, purchasing a newly priced $149 Xbox 360 Arcade gets you a $50 Walmart eGift card (usable only on Walmart.com and Samsclub.com) on top of the two free games (Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Viva Piñata), wireless controller, and 256MB of memory already included in Microsoft’s Spring Bundle. So really, a console that cost $199 just a few days ago is now selling for $99. Not bad.

** after using your $50 eGift card on crap you’d buy anyway, like Xbox 360 games and accessories.

Xbox 360 Arcade reduced to $99** during Walmart Father’s Day sale originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

New Xbox 360 priced at €249.99 in Europe

Posted in: console, europe, gaming, Microsoft, on sale, OnSale, price, pricing, Today's Chili, uk, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

While those lucky enough to find themselves in America can start hoarding new Xbox 360 consoles this week, folks in Europe are being forced to wait until July 16th. But hey, at least you now know how much it’ll cost you when that fateful day arrives, right? Microsoft has just fessed up to a €249.99 ($305) MSRP for the Xbox 360 250GB, complete with WiFi and one of those Kinect-friendly auxiliary ports. In related news, Wired.co.uk is also reporting that the console will sell for £200 ($294) when it lands in Britain, but we’re still waiting on the Big M to confirm that one.

New Xbox 360 priced at €249.99 in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

New Xbox 360 guide: Microsoft’s slim console explained

Posted in: e3, feature, Features, Microsoft, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

It may not have a new name, but the Xbox 360 certainly has received quite a facelift on this the fifth anniversary of its unveiling. The new Xbox 360 (aka the “Xbox 360 250GB”) makes up for its familiar name by offering a starkly refreshed and, in our eyes, significantly sexier design than its predecessor — which honestly was quite the looker in its day. Despite only just being made official, we’ve already had time to unbox and play with one, a dizzyingly fast-paced unveil that might have left you with some questions about just what here is new and what here is old. Click on through, dear reader, and we’ll tell you everything you need to know.

Gallery: New Xbox 360 press shots

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New Xbox 360 guide: Microsoft’s slim console explained originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

Kinect-optimized Xbox 360 Dashboard preview

Posted in: e3, impressions, kinect, preview, Today's Chili, ui, video, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360, zune

We just got a look at the new Kinect Dashboard-lite for the Xbox 360. In some ways, it’s pretty charming, with fun, jazzed up icons (when you hover over them they tilt and show off depth), a simplistic layout, and some great voice controls. The downside is this all comes at the cost of a brand new, fairly redundant interface for accessing functions that are already available with your Xbox 360 controller in the regular Dashboard. Still, there’s no denying the joy of waving a hand to log in, hovering over icons to select channels (though the wait-to-click mechanism strikes us as eventually frustrating), and scrubbing through media with very intuitive gestures.

The best part is the voice control, however, allowing you to speak “Xbox” and then a command like play, pause, back, forward, stop, Zune, etc. It’s ripe for abuse (pausing your S.O.’s seventh Netflix screening of The Constant Gardner ad nauseam), but Microsoft says it’s working on eliminating random commands that might seep into conversation. Our biggest worry is that we’re going to see confusion and fragmentation of functionality with the divergent UI requirements that Kinect apps and regular Dashboard apps require — we can’t imagine the Facebook or Last.fm folks being super thrilled at creating an all-new app just to support Microsoft’s whims, but we’re told just such apps are in the works. Is the existing Dashboard really so complicated that Kinect couldn’t control it? Check out a video of this puzzling Kinectasticness after the break.

Gallery: E3 2010 – Kinect Interface preview

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Kinect-optimized Xbox 360 Dashboard preview originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

Kinect Sports and Joy Ride previewed, in brief (video)

Posted in: car, e3, impressions, preview, Sports, Today's Chili, video, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

We’ve already gone a bit more in-depth with the likes of Kinect Adventures, Dance Galaxy, and Your Shape, but we also had a couple brief thoughts on Microsoft’s motion-centric sports pack and cartoon racer. With Joy Ride, you’d think holding your arms out pantomiming steering would be burdensome, but in our time with Joy Ride, it really never became an issue. In fact, the one control aspect we were hesitant about going into the race — power sliding — turned out to be quite effortless. It made perfect sense tilting our bodies around sharp corners. It’s during the windows where stunts were allowed that we discovered the full-bodied parallel to button mashing. Seriously, people were instinctively ducking jumping, twisting, and flailing hoping for some bonus points.

As for Kinect Sports, Microsoft wasn’t showing much of its track-and-field centered Kinect Sports title, but what we saw didn’t fill us with confidence. The bowling game was particularly troubling, with numerous very random throws (that ended up in the gutter a lane over) and a very finicky depth-perception that wouldn’t let us really wind up or step forward very effectively. Meanwhile, the 200 meter hurdles worked just fine, but it was also a pretty simplistic running-in-place experience that was possible a couple decades ago with the NES’s Power Pad — although Kinect makes it a lot harder to cheat. Miller vs. Miller video after the break.

Gallery: E3 2010 – Kinect Sports preview

Gallery: E3 2010 – Joy Ride preview

Continue reading Kinect Sports and Joy Ride previewed, in brief (video)

Kinect Sports and Joy Ride previewed, in brief (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

Your Shape for Kinect preview: the path to enlightenment, one virtual step at a time (video)

Posted in: e3, impressions, kinect, Microsoft, preview, Today's Chili, video, xbox 360, Xbox360

Even as the Kinect-exclusive Dance Central got certain Engadget editors into the groove, it didn’t resonate with all of us, so we headed downstairs for a peek at Your Shape, to get in touch with our inner Zen — and beat things up, of course. We had a blast punching blocks, though the system only recognized strikes that crossed our own body, and some editors were tripped up by the mirrored virtual doubles the game generates. Actual yoga poses were far better done, with Kinect accurately tracking our moves with little perceptible delay. Unlike in Wii Fit, which merely measures center of balance, a joint gauge of sorts (you can see the angle of your bones) let us readily tell when we were slouching or off-kilter, and adjust our posture respectively. We broke a sweat, looked like doofuses and had fun doing it — what more could you want? Video after the break.

Gallery: E3 2010 – Your Shape for Kinect preview