Could Hulu and Microsoft be planning to announce integration of the former’s streaming media service with the Xbox 360? That’s one interpretation of Attack of the Show host Olivia Munn’s teasing Twitter message yesterday evening: “Just finished promos for hulu/microsoft event I’m doing on june 8!”
Microsoft has something to be happy about today. They just announced that their Xbox 360 video game console has sold over 30 million units since the device was released several years go.
Sales of the Xbox 360 have actually increased 28 percent this year, and over 20 million people are signed up to the Xbox Live network. Supposedly, an announcement will be made about Xbox Live on June 1st at a press event, so we’ll just have to wait and see what that’s all about.
It seems the announcement will have something to do with integrating further entertainment means into the system. Currently, the Xbox 360 is the second-best selling console in the U.S. though it’s often surpassed by the Wii.
Numark have released details on their SCRATCH DECK controller for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ on Xbox 360 and PS3. The controller – which can be flipped around to suit left- and right-handed gamers – comprises of a free-spinning, touch-sensitive turntable and five drum pads, used for triggering either in-game samples or those recorded using a USB microphone.
Tony Hawk: RIDE has finally been priced, and that clever skateboard controller isn’t doing gamers on a budget any favors. The game plus the controller comes in at a not-inconsiderable $119.99, according to Gamestop.
The Zune HD is actually a “digital entertainment handheld” that will allow Microsoft to take on Apple, Sony, Nintendo and Google, claim the latest leaks. In fact, according to TeamXbox.com, rumors regarding the Zune HD actually started filtering in all the way back in August 2008; their sources tell them that the Microsoft device – codenamed “xYz”, to suggest the bridge between Xbox and Zune – will be a converged device but not a phone, and have a large WVGA touchscreen display together with “hardware features not found on any handheld on the market”.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 webcam could be announced as early as at E3 next month, according to the latest sources talking to the WSJ, using 3D camera technology believed to have been acquired when the company bought start-up 3DV Systems. 3DV developed the ZCam, a 60fps 3D-capable camera that is reportedly low-cost, and which can track a gamers movements and gestures.
Well, not exactly Wii-like. If a leaked image is to be believed, Microsoft has a new motion controlling system in the works to compete against what the Nintendo Wii is offering. However, this isn’t set up like the Wii in that you can wave around a remote and the sensor will pick up the motion. Rather, the Xbox system simply detects your body’s movements and interprets them on the screen.
Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE team are getting strict against those who cheat in Gears of War 2, going as far as to wipe out a player’s gamerscore if they are found to have falsified their achievements. The wipe will affect not only Gears of War 2 points but all gaming achievements, and be accompanied by a message on the user’s profile explaining that they lost their gamerscore because of cheating.
It’s not pretty but it’s certainly clever: tired of trying to play Virtual On on the Xbox 360’s standard controller, one nifty modder crafted his own dual-joystick interface out of candy packaging. Of course, there’s more to the controls than just upright ’sticks, so a spot of wiring moved the control buttons too.
If you love LEGO and you love Rock Band, then prepare to whoop in unadorned rapture at the news that LEGO Rock Band has been officially announced. Available for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and DS, LEGO Rock Band will allow gamers to build their own minifig avatars, band and entourage, and play tracks including Blur’s Song 2, Europe’s The Final Countdown and Carl Douglas’ Kung Fu Fighting.
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