Readers of this site know that Microsoft's Xbox Music and Video are good services at their core, but many speed bumps keep them from reaching their potential. Whether it is stiff competition from Amazon and Apple or an awkward software experience, the Microsoft teams behind both services have their work cutout for them. Toss in the rebuilding attempts at the Xbox Music app for Windows...
Microsoft announced last week they will slowly shut down their Xbox Entertainment Studios division, but at the moment it's still in operation. Now a employee at XES, Shane Small, has revealed hints about what the group is doing to add interactive elements to its now original television shows. Small is the latest guest for the Pointless podcast, a show hosted by Kevin Pereira, the...
Dance Central Spotlight, the first game in the popular dance series made exclusively for the Xbox One, will be released as a digital download on September 2 for the price of $9.99 by developer Harmonix and publisher Microsoft. Like the three previous Dance Central games made for the Xbox 360 console, Dance Central Spotlight will require the use of the Xbox One's Kinect motion gesture...
Microsoft has yet another new TV commercial for the Xbox One posted on their YouTube channel, with the claim that their latest console has the best games, combined with an inspiring speech from Rocky himself. The video shows clips of four games that are due for release on the console sometime in the fall of this year. Two are exclusive to the console: Halo The Master Chief Collection...
Yesterday your friendly neighborhood gaming editor travelled through the rain to Dallas, TX for QuakeCon. It was a totally uneventful trip and nothing dangerous or life shattering happened long the way, no sir. QuakeCon is Bethesda's annual fan convention, where visitors can compete in gaming tournaments, show off their PC case mods, and get some playtime with Bethesda games like The...
Updates are coming and improving the Xbox One at a breakneck pace. Just this morning we learned that update 1408 was rolling out to consoles over the new few days for those in the preview program. It will then come to others sometime in the month of August. But we didn't know exactly what was new in this update. At least we didn't have the full changelog. Now we do thanks to Xbox Live's...
Are you lucky enough to be at Comic-Con this year in San Diego? Then you're about to get even more stoked now that Xbox will be there. Microsoft is sending team Xbox down to San Diego to set up an Xbox lounge and booth. Games will be playable, you'll get your first look at the television series Halo: Nightfall and celebrities will be around all weekend. Games The Xbox Lounge at the...
Microsoft is reviving its $100 trade-in promotion so users get to take $100 off the price of the Xbox One if they bring in their old Sony Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 consoles. With the promotion, the Xbox One with Kinext comes in at just $400 and the value Xbox One without Kinect camera will come in at just $300. The promotion is available at Microsoft retail stores. Interested...
A leaked memo written by Microsoft's Xbox leader Phil Spencer has confirmed that the company will indeed cancel most of its earlier plans to fund and produce original TV shows, although some of them currently in production, such as the Halo live action projects, will continue to go forward. The memo, as first posted on The Verge, has Spencer offering the specifics of their plans to...
A new report from Variety claims that Microsoft's Xbox division could cut back on its plans to fund and produce a series of original TV shows and specials. The changes could be made as part of the company's restructuring plans that will cause 18,000 employees to lose their jobs. The report, which uses unnamed sources, claims Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is now questioning the company'...
A long time ago there was this Adolf Hitler guy, and it turns out he was history's biggest jerk. As a result, many people have fantasized about going back in time and killing the punk off before he got into everybody's business. Lots of videogames take place during World War II, but they don't let players kill little Adolf due to some notion called historical accuracy. Still, the...
Pinball FX2 is a bittersweet game for many Windows Phone gamers. A Windows Phone version of the popular Xbox 360 game was supposed to come along in 2012 (see our interview), but it turned into vaporware (unofficial cancellation) instead. At least it did come out on Windows 8, giving tablet and PC gamers plenty of pinball goodness to enjoy. The Xbox One is still a new console and doesn'...
I feel so embarrassed right now. I've had the Xbox One for about 3 months, and I just learned that the Kinect microphone has been on while playing multiplayer games. I assumed that no one could hear me when the headset isn't connected. This means other people may have heard things that I didn't want them to hear. Don't make the same mistake. Turn off that Kinect microphone. Here's how...
Microsoft has revealed that it will end support for its Halo Waypoint apps for Windows Phone, iOS and Android on August 1, including its ATLAS multiplayer map features that are used in combination with the 2010 Xbox 360 game Halo: Reach. In a post on the Windows Phone Store page for the app, Microsoft states: It is a difficult decision to end support for any element of the Halo...
Before the formal debut which is planned for September this year, Microsoft and its Chinese joint-venture partner BesTV just brought the Chinese version of Xbox One to China International Cartoon & Game Expo (July 10 - 14, in Shanghai), for a brief demonstration. A quite lengthy commercial for the console was revealed, highlighting the Chinese Xbox One's, um, for lack of better...
Microsoft has quietly added a way for Xbox One game developers to add unlocking the full version of their games after owners of the console download and play a free trial version, which is something that the Xbox 360 has supported since its launch nearly nine years ago. Microsoft's ID@Xbox boss Chris Charla revealed to Eurogamer that the free trial option is now available for Xbox...
Update: Looks like Fuller might have been mistaken. According to a statement sent to Polygon by a Microsoft spokesperson, "The comments today were inaccurate. We remain committed to ensuring the best possible solutions for developers and hobbyists to create games for Xbox One. We will share more details at a later date." Original story: Microsoft's previously announced plans to allow...
Xbox Live services are facing connectivity issues that are affecting users on both the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One. The latest update on the Xbox Live status page indicates that services like Netflix and Twitch are currently experiencing issues, and that the Xbox team was working on a fix. The status page mentions that users from all regions may run into issues while buying or...
Today more information was revealed about Halo 2: Anniversary, the graphically enhanced version of the 2004 Xbox first person shooter that will be included as part of the Halo: Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One console. As part of the annual Rooster Teeth Expo in Austin, Texas, Microsoft's 343 Industries and developer Certain Affinity revealed that Coagulation will be one of...
People who tried to download the normally free demos of EA Sports UFC and FIFA 14 on Microsoft's Xbox One console got a rude awakening on Thursday and early Friday when they discovered that those demos had price tags. The prices were first spotted by a member of the NeoGAF forums and extended to the US, UK and Australian markets for the Xbox One. The demos for the two EA Sports games...