Xbox 360 News

Microsoft Launches Hardcore Kinect Site With Some Interesting Choices

The Kinect isn’t exactly what you’d call a hardcore gaming device. It has so far only captured the imaginations of those hungry for crazy new tech that makes them feel like they live in the future and, strangely enough, roboticists. The library so far has mainly been the usual casual fare and a long string of titles serving as weak justifications for a Kinect purchase. Microsoft, ambitious and motivated as they are, still persist in bringing the Kinect to the hardcore masses.

To reflect this, they have launched a new site for ‘Kinect-Core’ games. Launching a site, at least compared to the actual development of a video game, is a relatively small task, but rather than just being a side-note in the gaming peripheral’s history, it makes the occasion of Microsoft acknowledging the gap between Hardcore and Casual gamers, especially with the schism between them that the Kinect has created.

Soul Calibur V Goes Gold

The
fifth tale of souls and swords has officially gone gold. Namco Bandai announced
that development for Soul Calibur V is
complete and will begin mass production in time for its release on Jan. 31.

Capcom Responds To Death Threats Over Devil May Cry

Recently,
Capcom, and by extension Ninja Theory, have been receiving death
threats for the treatment of cult-classic character Dante in the new
Devil May Cry game. By trailers, the game seems to be elevating the
formula and taking it to sick new heights. The character design,
however, can charitably be described as controversial. Dante’s new look
seems to be embracing hipster culture, or at least some sort of hipster
sub-culture that sticks to darker shades of red.

Pachter: “Zero Chance” of New Consoles at E3

Industry analyst Michael
Pachter has spoken out to debunk rumours that the next generation of home
consoles will be previewed at this year’s E3. Speculation
began after an article appeared on website MCV, which claimed that “third party
publishing sources” had been in discussion with Microsoft over an upcoming
successor to the Xbox 360.

Digital High Episode 22

It seems like there is a new “next gen consoles will release in
2012” story every month, doesn’t there? That and more this week on Digital High
such as Mass Effect 3 pre-order bonuses detailed and some information about the
possibility of a God of War 4 that actually seems reasonable. This causes a
pretty long talk about the future of that series, as well as what we’ve been
playing this past week, including Resistance 3, Renegade Ops and Bastion.

Lego Batman 2 Confirmed

The adorable Dark Knight is back to defend Gotham City from blocky, plastic ne’er do-wells.  But this time he’s brought a few pals from the Justice League to help with his war on the stackable building blocks of evil.  He’ll be joined by several of DC Comic’s top-tier characters in Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes.  

Guns Are Bad, But Tattoos Are OK On Xbox Avatars

Xbox Live won’t let your avatar have a gun, but as of today you can get your virtual self inked with your choice of twenty three different tattoos.  One can only hope that nipple rings and tongue-studs hit the market in the near future as well.

Old Xbox 360 Patent Indicates Microsoft’s Plans for DVR

An old patent for a version of the console we now know as the Xbox 360 was discovered by tomsguide.com recently about a year after the release of the console in 2005.  This patent seems to hint that Microsoft originally was looking at DVR capabilities for the 360, but ultimately scrapped them. 

Microsoft has always been ahead of the game when it comes to streaming content, whether live TV or movies, but this newly unearthed piece of video game history unveils their plans to allow owners of their console to record live television WHILE they were playing a game, watching a video, or even when their console was powered off.

Toys R Us Offering $45 Pre-orders for Final Fantasy XIII-2

Toys R Us is doing something that I’ve rarely seen for a major release.  Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be hitting store shelves in North America on January 31^st, and the major toys retailer is currently offering $45(!) pre-orders for the $59.99 retail sequel.  You can even get free shipping since it’s a special order!

Multiplatform Epic Mickey 2 on the Way

In
a recent Disney newsletter, Epic Mickey 2
was seemingly confirmed, but the announcement was quickly removed. According to the
newsletter, Epic Mickey 2 will be
released in the fall of 2012, and will be released across all platforms, not
just the Wii, like the first game was.