by Rainier on Feb. 3, 2009 @ 1:51 a.m. PST | Filed under
News
The Get Game Smart Video Contest is a search for parents and teens to serve as Get Game Smart Ambassadors -- a new set of messengers that will help educate their peers on making smart media choices.
by Rainier on Jan. 23, 2009 @ 12:30 p.m. PST | Filed under
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Yesterday Microsoft's latest financial results revealed that the software giant would be laying off 5,000 people over the next 18 months, starting with 1,400 immediate dismissals. While rumors are that the entertainment division will be hit hard (Zune and Xbox) it has been confirmed that ACES, the internal studio responsible for the long-running Flight Simulator series, will be shut down. However, Microsoft also said that this does not mean the end of the franchise; it will continue, but no specific details were disclosed.
by Rainier on Jan. 22, 2009 @ 3:42 p.m. PST | Filed under
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Late last year, Microsoft revealed that in light of the weakened economy it would be laying off up to 17% of its workforce (15,000 employees), and now that the numbers are in (2% increase in revenue, but an 11% decrease in net income) the Redmond powerhouse announced that in order to reduce the company’s annual operating expense run rate by approximately $1.5 billion it will be laying off 5,000 jobs in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months.
by Rainier on Jan. 16, 2009 @ 3:31 a.m. PST | Filed under
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According to the NPD Group's December sales numbers, the industry grew 9%, making for an overall 19% growth in 2008 (amounting to $21.3 billion). Not surprisingly 2008's big winners are Nintendo's Wii (10.2 million units) and NDS (9.9 mill. units), followed by Microsoft's X360 (4.7 mill. units) and Sony's PS3 (3.6 mill. units). Software-wise, Wii Play took the crown with over 5 million copies sold in 2008, followed by Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, all selling more than 4 million copies. GTA IV (X360, 4.2 mill. copies), Call of Duty: World at War (X360, 2.7 mill. copies) and Gears of War 2 (X360, 2.3 mill. units) are next, with the only PS3 title in the top 10 being GTA IV with 1.8 mill. copies sold.
by Rainier on Jan. 14, 2009 @ 9:11 a.m. PST | Filed under
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Microsoft's Get Game Smart Campaign is public service campaign takes a first-of-its-kind approach to educating and engaging American families by helping parents and kids maintain an ongoing dialogue around balanced and age-appropriate media use and, more specifically, video games, in their homes.
by Rainier on Jan. 5, 2009 @ 9:26 a.m. PST | Filed under
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Xbox revealed sales data showing Christmas 2008 was the biggest sales period ever in the brand’s six-year European history, with sales of Xbox 360 almost double those of Christmas 2007. Eight million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa up to the end of 2008.
by Rainier on Dec. 31, 2008 @ 3:25 a.m. PST | Filed under
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The games industry has weathered the bad economy for quite a bit now, and while games are still selling well the past few months have shown that developers and publishers a like are bracing for the inevitable impact. A few weeks back Sony announced big layoffs, as did EA, various developers have merged or shut down, and now Microsoft announced that it will be laying off 17% of its workforce, a total of 15,000 employees will get the pink slip in the new year.
by Adam Pavlacka on Dec. 17, 2008 @ 4:37 a.m. PST | Filed under
News
Resident Evil 5 is the forthcoming installment in Capcom's survival/horror series, promising to revolutionize the series by delivering an unbelievable level of detail, realism and control.
Last week we reported that the Japanese
RE5 demo suddenly became inaccessible and corrupted, and while Capcom US claimed innocence, Microsoft did not provide us with a statement until today ...
by Rainier on Dec. 11, 2008 @ 6:05 p.m. PST | Filed under
News
NPD has released its sales numbers for the month of Nov. and it comes as no surprise that the NDS and Wii wiped everybody off the map with 1.57 and 2.04 million units, respectively. As mentioned, Microsoft outsold the PS3 2 to 1, moving 836k units compared to Sony's 378k. Software-wise, it was all about Gears of War 2 with 1.56 million copies, with Call of Duty: World at War hot on its heels with 1.41 million, although if you add both the PS3 and X360 platforms together, it sold a combined 1.88 million copies.
by Adam Pavlacka on Dec. 11, 2008 @ 12:49 p.m. PST | Filed under
News
Resident Evil 5 is the forthcoming installment in Capcom's survival/horror series, promising to revolutionize the series by delivering an unbelievable level of detail, realism and control. Last week, Capcom Japan released
a RE5 demo, and handy gamers could easily download it by signing into a Japanese XBL account. But a week after its release, non-Japanese gamertags were suddenly forced out of XBL when running the demo, and then upon return, the demo magically became corrupted.
by Rainier on Dec. 4, 2008 @ 10:16 a.m. PST | Filed under
News
This week Xbox 360 is kicking off two global 30-day specials to bring great deals on select Xbox Live content (every monday a deal on either a movie rental, a map pack or even an XBLA game) and even free multiplayer for a list of great XBLA titles.
by Rainier on Dec. 2, 2008 @ 11:41 a.m. PST | Filed under
News
Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, Microsoft is quick to tout its victory over Sony, claiming the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 by a 3-to-1 ratio. Compared to last year, sales are up 25% in North America, and since the price reduction in September, European sales have skyrocketed as much as 400%. Microsoft VP Don Mattrick claims the Xbox 360 now has a global install base of 25 million and an online community of more than 14 million Xbox Live members.
by Rainier on Dec. 2, 2008 @ 2:25 a.m. PST | Filed under
News
Announced way
back in 2003, Microsoft Train Simulator 2 provides the opportunity to command a 200-ton modern diesel locomotive or operate a steam-breathing behemoth from the past.
by Rainier on Dec. 1, 2008 @ 4:43 p.m. PST | Filed under
News
The New Xbox Experience will give X360 owners a new experience that is fun, social and simple to use, and puts more entertainment at their fingertips than any other device connected to the TV. Last month Microsoft rolled out its new dashboard update/revamp but a limited amount of users have since
experienced issues with sound output, mainly on older devices. A short statement was issued basically saying, "we are aware that a handful of Xbox Live users are experiencing audio issues, and are diligently monitoring this issue and working towards a solution."
by Rainier on Nov. 12, 2008 @ 4:44 p.m. PST | Filed under
News
Xbox Live Arcade is providing an even greater incentive to log-on and load-up: discounted best-selling titles! Download a trio of hit Xbox LIVE Arcade games, including Feeding Frenzy, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Worms for only 400 Microsoft Points each.
by Rainier on Oct. 9, 2008 @ 2:07 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Check out the following new screens and trailers from Microsoft's Tokyo Game Show 2008 lineup:
by Rainier on Oct. 7, 2008 @ 11:22 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft unveiled details about a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional gaming research alliance that will provide the fundamental scientific evidence to support games as learning tools for math and science subjects among middle-school students.
by Rainier on Oct. 1, 2008 @ 4:58 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft has created a Children’s Miracle Network Family Game pack for X360 that will be available by Oct. 15. The $29.99 pack includes Viva Piñata Party Animals, Sonic The Hedgehog and Shrek The Third, of which all the proceeds will go to support one of the 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.
by Rainier on Sept. 16, 2008 @ 12:39 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
In the last few weeks Microsoft has been ramping up its internal development teams, even though it will be closing Ensemble Studio soon, as not only did it recently recruit Bungie's Frank O'Connor, and Gearbox's tech programmer Corrinne Yu, but also former MGS 4 producer Ryan Payton. In
a recent interview MGS head Phil Spencer revealed that all this is not just for one particular title or other, but that MGS has "more than two or three teams building Halo things right now."
by Rainier on Sept. 16, 2008 @ 2:21 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft announced the new lower ERP for its Xbox 360 family of consoles in Europe. From Friday, 19th September, the 60Gb Xbox 360 model will have an ERP of £169.99/€239.99, while the 120GB Elite version will have an ERP of £229.99/€299.99, and the HD-less will have an ERP of £129.99/€179.99.
by Rainier on Sept. 9, 2008 @ 6:51 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Following rumors from
earlier today, Microsoft confirmed it has decided to close Ensemble Studios following the completion of Halo Wars. After the closure, the Ensemble leadership team will form a new studio and has agreed to provide ongoing support for Halo Wars as well as work on other projects with Microsoft Game Studios.
by Rainier on Sept. 3, 2008 @ 3:41 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
It has been rumored for months, retail chains have been hinting at it the past few weeks, a few days ago Microsoft Japan confirmed it would be slashing its price, and now Microsoft finally confirmation that as of Sept. 5 it will reduce the HD-less Arcade edition to $199, the 60GB edition to $299, and the 120GB Elite model will cost $399.
by Rainier on Sept. 1, 2008 @ 1:34 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
While the weekend is being dominated by PAX, Microsoft Japan held its 4th annual press conference in Tokyo, where it ran through its fall lineup of titles. Starting off with showing that hardware sales have spiked, especially since the Tales of Vesperia launch last month, Microsoft revealed it is bringing over Fable 2, Fallout 3, HAWX, Mass Effect, Oblivion and Winning Eleven. New titles revealed are Namco-Bandai/KOEI's mecha game Dynasty Warriors GUNDAM 2 and From Software's cinematic action game Ninja Blade, produced by Lost Planet's designer Keiji Nakoka. Microsoft also announced it is cutting the price of the Xbox 360 Arcade model by 8,000 yen ($73.92) to 19,800 yen (making it cheaper than the Wii), as well as the 2 hard drive-enabled models by 5,000-8,000 yen.
by Rainier on Aug. 27, 2008 @ 3:06 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Announced way
back in 2003, Microsoft Train Simulator 2 provides the opportunity to command a 200-ton modern diesel locomotive or operate a steam-breathing behemoth from the past.
by Rainier on Aug. 26, 2008 @ 6:47 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Remember that rumble lawsuit that went on between Sony and Immersion? Everybody wondered why Microsoft did not get sued as well, but the software giant cleverly and quietly settled. There was more to it than met the eye: In the 2003 settlement, an odd clause offered Microsoft $15 million if Immersion sued Sony and obtained a settlement, which, they did in 2007. However, Immersion never paid Microsoft, which led to another lawsuit; Immersion agreed to pay Microsoft $20.75 million and enroll in Microsoft's Certified Partner Program.