Microsoft Xbox 360

WoW, Wii, and Xbox 360

Testing Video Games Can't Possibly Be Harder Than an Afternoon With Xbox, Right?

If the main qualification for this job is a love of games, there will never be a shortage of readily available workers.

From Hell's Heart, I Litigate at Thee!

A sci-fi legend declares war on scrappy local publisher Fantagraphics. But in the battle of comix versus futurists, who's the bigger bully?

Film Calendar

A sci-fi legend declares war on scrappy local publisher Fantagraphics. But in the battle of comix versus futurists, who's the bigger bully?

Frog March 2005!

Election messes; secret gulags; monorail meltdowns; flaming hair; Bill, Melinda, and Bono; horse sex; Deep Throat; FEMA failures: It's been a heckuva year.

King of Hearts

Love conquers CGI in Peter Jackson's retelling of the great ape story.

Monkey Business

New book and DVDs tell the larger-than-life stories behind King Kong.

Experience Art Project

New book and DVDs tell the larger-than-life stories behind King Kong.

Observations on a Sounders Game From a Novice Fan

Here's looking at you, Kasey KellerYesterday, the Sounders broke out of a month-long funk with a 3-0 spanking of the Colorado Rapids. Nate Jaqua and Freddy Montero teamed up for all three goals, and Jaqua narrowly missed a fourth near the end of the game. Having been to only one Sounders game previo ... More >>

Console Flame Wars! Sony Beats Microsoft for First Time, Trolls React

This man will use all the powers of his massive intellect to utterly eviscerate your purchase of a PS3. So long as it's online.​While gearing up for tomorrow's release of Windows 7, Microsoft got a bit of bad news. For the first time in...ever, more people in the U.S. bought Sony's Playstation ... More >>

Consumer Frugality Reaches Disturbing New Extreme: Now They're Cutting Back on Video Games

​Limiting food purchases for your family is one thing. But you know Americans are feeling the pinch when sales of videogames start to suffer. Data just released from industry analysts NPD Group indicates that sales of video games plunged several levels last month--down more than 16% from Sep ... More >>

OMG! Jonas Brothers to Endorse Microsoft Xbox360!

The Jonas Brothers want...more brains!​You know what? Let Apple have its annoying Justin Long and nerdy John Hodgman for those Mac versus PC commercials. Microsoft just upped the celebrity stakes by announcing that teen rockers the Jonas Brothers will be endorsing its Xbox360 videogame console ... More >>

Microsoft Allegedly Refuses to Sell Xbox to U.S. Army

The ladies of Grand Theft Auto can help provide invaluable military training.​In a time of war, with our soldiers spread thin on two fronts, is there some reason they shouldn't be able to spend their precious R&R back on base killing zombies, bitch-slapping hos, and battling flying dragons in ... More >>

Microsoft Beats Google in Critical WNBA Branding Battle

Microsoft and the Storm--partners in decision engineering!​Just like in Europe, corporate logos are increasingly common on the jerseys of our pro athletes. Xbox360 Live has been slapped on the chests of the Sounders for several seasons, and now our WNBA franchise is joining the Microsoft famil ... More >>

Google Strikes Back?

How might the search giant retaliate for the Seattle Storm's alliance with Bing?

Did Microsoft Bribe Gaming Journalists?

​The biggest annual event in the videogame world -- E3, otherwise known as Geek Woodstock -- ends today. Earlier in the week, Microsoft announced a new version of its XBox 360. Writing for True/Slant, Stephen Brewster says the introduction of the slimmed-down machine was "one of the most epic ... More >>

Wild Rose Trivia Offers Cheap Microbrews and Great Prizes

​ The Bar: The Wild Rose (Capitol Hill, 1021 East Pike Street) is a Pike/Pine Corridor staple right alongside The Cha Cha Lounge and The Comet Tavern. It's an LGBT-centric bar -- The Wild Rose usually goes all out every year for Seattle's Pride festival, with 2010 being no exception -- but fri ... More >>

Oprah Gives Away Microsoft's Kinect to Room Full of People Who Won't Play It (VIDEO)

​Listen, I don't want to traffic too heavily in stereotypes here, but when you think of the target audience for Xbox 360's Kinect, Microsoft's new controller-free gaming system, you probably don't think of a bunch of middle-aged moms. Nevertheless, after the jump, check out video of Oprah's au ... More >>

Microsoft Kinect Has Trouble Recognizing Dark Skinned Faces

​ UPDATE: Consumer Reports now says the Kinect is not racist. Product testers with the company say its difficulty in recognizing certain faces is related to low lighting, not skin color. Of all the headlines to avoid on the day a company launches a brand new, signature product, "New Inventio ... More >>

What Does Microsoft Kinect Look Like In Infrared? Awesome, That's What

​Kinect, Microsoft's new motion capture gaming system for the Xbox 360 launched yesterday. And, as if on cue, a couple geeky dudes have already taken it upon themselves to watch the gadget do its thing through infrared goggles. Kinect uses a special camera that bathes the room in thousands of ... More >>

Xbox Toaster Mod Is Part of a Complete Breakfast and Yours on eBay Starting at $150

​The Xbox Kinect hackers have been hogging up all the spotlight--what with their flying robots, remote avatars and manboob simulators. But what about the folks working with hardware, not software--the blue-collar nerds of the gaming world? It seems that at least one of them has been busy; and ... More >>

UW Students Hack Kinect to Perform Robotic Surgery

​Manboob simulator? Check. Flying robots? Check. World of Warcraft interface? Check. Robotic surgery scanner? Ch-wait . . . robotic surgery wtf?

Video Game Ambassador Tommy Tallarico Brings Geeky Symphonies to the Masses

Dave Lake​Review By Dave Lake Video Games Live! The Paramount Saturday, Jan. 22 Tommy Tallarico is the P.T. Barnum of video games. The 42-year-old musician and TV host is perhaps the medium's most passionate promoter. He's a big personality with big ambitions, which fueled his co-creation of ... More >>

Joshua Seal and Bradley Marshall Arrested for Kidnapping Man, Then Freeing Him for Xbox 360

​Kingsport, Tennessee, police say Allen Begley already had bruises and a black eye when he called his mom to tell her he needed money. Earlier in the day his stepfather, Joshua Seal, and another man, Bradley Marshall, had locked him in a room, accused him of stealing, beat him profusely, and t ... More >>

Cable-TV Marketing Company Has Sneaky Way to Get You to Not Use Xbox 360 as Your TV

​Watching the "Experiment in Cord Cutting" video put out by Hill Holliday and picked up by tech blog Kotaku, it's easy to come to the conclusion that the Internet TV available on Xbox 360, Apple TV, Google TV, Boxee Box, and Roku is a sad excuse for cable. But that's assuming you can look past ... More >>

Comment of the Week: Everyone Who Wrote on the Autistic Xbox Cheater Boy Story

​Earlier this week we posted a story about 11-year-old Julius Zdenek, an autistic boy from Edgewood who loves to play Xbox 360, but was recently labeled a "cheater" by Microsoft and stripped of his online "achievements." Turns out he really did cheat by giving his account info to a third party ... More >>

Top Four Failed Attempts at Early Motion-Capture Gaming

​Microsoft's Kinect gaming system for the Xbox 360 has single-handedly put the video-game world on its head. But while the Kinect might be the best and the most successful of the motion-capture systems to debut, it's far from the first. Here are four others that failed miserably.

Dog Breaks Xbox Game, Girls Tweets Sadness, Game Company Sends Replacement Bonus

​Here's a feel-good story for your Thursday morning. It involves a cute dog, a cute girl, a terrible tragedy and an unexpected act of awesomeness.

No One Wants Sarah Palin's Autographed Xbox 360

​For two years now David Morrill has been trying to hawk the Xbox 360 console he had signed by perpetually-grieved half-term Governor Sarah Palin at a picnic. No one wanted it when it was $1,000,000. No one wants it now that its $25,000. And now eBay doesn't even want it mentioning Palin's nam ... More >>

Rocky Donadio, Oklahoma Ex-Soldier, Gets 75 Years in Prison for Stomping 8-Year-Old Boy Into Coma Over Xbox Game

​The Comanche County, Okla., jury took all of 30 minutes to find ex-soldier Rocky Donadio guilty of punching and stomping his girlfriend's 8-year-old son so bad that his intestines burst. The reason: The boy deleted his Grand Theft Auto IV profile.

The Horror! Aussie Turns Dead Xbox 360 Into Working Joystick for Playstation 3

​As if Vegemite weren't enough, an Australian has unleashed a new horror unto the world. It involves two popular gaming systems (one of which was not conceived in the Seattle area) and a shameless reanimation that would make Dr. Frankenstein blush.

Guinness Book of World Records Names Microsoft Kinect the Fastest Selling Electronic Device Ever

​Definitive guide for honeybee beards and long, gross fingernails, the Guinness Book of World Records, has just handed quite the distinction to Microsoft. The record-keepers have declared the Kinect for Xbox 360 to be the fastest selling electronic device of all time--beating out the iPad and ... More >>

Microsoft Kills the Zune

​When we published a story last week about rumors that Microsoft would finally pull the plug on its $100 skipping stone, the Zune, a strange thing happened: No one from the Redmond company's public-affairs office called to say "Those rumors are false! Zune rules!" Today's leaked announcement r ... More >>

Rumor: Microsoft Starts Work on New Xbox Model for 2015

​Stephen Chapman over at ZDNet did some sleuthing today and found a "morsel" noted on software/gadget engineer Ben Peterson's portfolio page. It's a teaser for a brand new Microsoft project having to do with the Xbox 360. And with a completion date of 2015, Chapman surmises that it's likely fo ... More >>

Brandon Barrett's War

The Army didn't tell anyone about a disturbed AWOL soldier until it was too late.

Microsoft Releases Kinect Support for Netflix--Too Bad It Sucks

​With great fanfare today Microsoft and Netflix announced that subscribers can now use their Kinect systems to control their Netflix movie accounts with hand gestures and voice commands. How exciting! If it actually worked...

All Signs Point to New Nintendo Wii On Its Way Next Year

​Looking through Nintendo's schedule of upcoming games for the Wii is something one can do rather quickly. There simply aren't many to look at. Now we hear the company is slashing prices on the gaming system itself, from $200 down to $150. So either Nintendo is looking to get out of the consol ... More >>

Microsoft Continues the Dead-Playstation 3 Party With Rumored Launch of Hulu for Xbox Live

​If two weeks ago someone had told Microsoft's Xbox Live team that their biggest competitor would be hacked and its entire online network taken down for more than a week, they probably would given an appreciative wink and told said jokester to scram so they could get some real work done. Well, ... More >>

Survey: One in Five PlayStation Gamers Considering Switching to Xbox Over PSN Outage.

​Besides the estimated $20 billion in revenue that Sony is expected to lose from the hack attack that took down the PlayStation Network two weeks ago. And besides the 2.2 million credit card numbers that were supposedly stolen and are now being peddled online by thieves. There's this.

Teen Arrested for Murder After Confessing Via Xbox Game

​Police in Saskatoon, Canada had a problem. They had a suspect fingered for the 2009 murder of 16-year-old Charlotte Jolly, but they needed the perp to admit his role on tape. Fortunately for the cops, their suspect's uncle also had a problem. He had an outstanding DUI arrest that he wanted to ... More >>

Nintendo Used Xbox, Playstation and PC Footage to Tout the New Wii U

​Yesterday was a big day for Nintendo. The Redmond-based company rolled out its brand new console, the Wii U. And to do so, the company bigs used a whole bunch of snappy videos showing game footage that it said was from its new hardware. Turns out that wasn't the case at all.

The 10 Best Video Game Songs of All Time (Other Than Your 10 Favorite)

​As much as we love simulated drive-by shootings, building amusement parks from scratch, or trying endless button combinations to see if the "nude glitch" in Tomb Raider 3 is real ( . . . it isn't), video games just aren't as memorable without a solid soundtrack to amp up the fun. Two weeks ag ... More >>

Arranging a Holiday Toast for the 99 Percent

​In addition to the general calls for help that food banks issue every Christmas season, the December charitable calendar is chockablock with targeted food drives collecting gluten-free staples, kosher products and pet food. But the stigma that clings to providing alcohol to the poor has preve ... More >>

Chinese Foxconn Workers Threaten Mass Suicide at XBox Plant

​Employees at the Foxconn factory in Wuhan, China, threatened mass suicide during a protest last week and were finally talked down from plant's roof by the Mayor of Wuhan. The 300 workers involved in what has been described as a pay dispute manufacture XBox consoles for Foxconn, which makes a ... More >>