Microsoft Xbox

Rape and Pillage in 30 Minute Intervals

SeattleWeekly.com's 10 Most Popular Stories of 2007

Starr is on The Beat

Afternoon Edition: Fat Mexicans, Gangsta Microsofties and Loser Tigers

Afternoon Edition: Xbox Weddings, Georgetown Dear Johns and Microsoft Fixes

Afternoon Edition: X-Box, the Boz and Soup

Mom! Who Put "Beaches" on My Xbox?

Afternoon Edition: The Perfect Storm

Amazon Up, M'soft Executive Out

The Secret Game Masters

The industry's brightest minds are here, but they don't all work at Microsoft

Should MSFT Get Into Smartphones?

Here's an interesting theory from Slate and Cnet, which is timely given Microsoft's layoffs and miserable stock performance (down to about $18 per share from $32 a year ago). Writing for Slate, Farhad Manjoo suggests MSFT should buy Palm, maker of the very hot, very hyped Palm Pre (above). That woul ... More >>

Amazon Embraces "Casual Gaming"

Will you call me, Pong? I thought our game meant something.Amazon.com here announces it entry into what's generally called the "casual gaming" market. (See our Jesse Froehling's excellent story here.) Its new Amazon Game Downloads store (currently a beta site) allows users to download games for betw ... More >>

Getting Schoolkids Back on Bikes

There's been much discussion of late about getting children out of their parents' cars in the morning and onto their feet. Or wheels. We all know about the rising incidence of obesity among children, and one way to combat Xbox and junk food is to have them commute under their own power--be it foot o ... More >>

Peter Yarrow

There's been much discussion of late about getting children out of their parents' cars in the morning and onto their feet. Or wheels. We all know about the rising incidence of obesity among children, and one way to combat Xbox and junk food is to have them commute under their own power--be it foot o ... More >>

Monster Camp: Local D&D Enthusiasts Crawl out of the Basement

There's been much discussion of late about getting children out of their parents' cars in the morning and onto their feet. Or wheels. We all know about the rising incidence of obesity among children, and one way to combat Xbox and junk food is to have them commute under their own power--be it foot o ... More >>

The New Opera

Thanks to Seattle's game composers, avant-garde techniques are being put to some good commercial use.

Keep It Down!

A new food column about the foods you're afraid to eat.

Seattle Weekly Goes to Hollywood

We’d like to thank the Academy…

Duck Season

Opens at Varsity, Fri., March 24. Rated R. 85 minutes.

Too Much, Not Enough

Opens at Varsity, Fri., March 24. Rated R. 85 minutes.

Hard Hats and Ice Skates

Opens at Varsity, Fri., March 24. Rated R. 85 minutes.

The Lame Game

It's a so-so year for video-game releases.

Rule of the gamers

While other tech sectors flail, the gaming industry thrives—and still strives to innovate.

Microsoft's Next Frontier in Video Game Realism: Commercial Breaks

Never mind that real game show contestants don't watch commercials during commercial breaks, virtual game show contestants on Microsoft's recently beta-released Xbox game "1 vs. 100" will be forced to watch ads. Honda, Sprint, 7-11, and Doritos are already running ads. The ads "add to the realism, ... More >>

Mamma Mia! Sing-a-Long

Never mind that real game show contestants don't watch commercials during commercial breaks, virtual game show contestants on Microsoft's recently beta-released Xbox game "1 vs. 100" will be forced to watch ads. Honda, Sprint, 7-11, and Doritos are already running ads. The ads "add to the realism, ... 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 >>

11-Year-Old Boy Charged With Robbing Gas Station With A Pellet Gun

Microsoft claimed another child's innocence this week, this one an 11-year-old boy who along with his 15-year-old brother has been charged with robbing a gas station. And why would they do such a thing? For the money to buy an Xbox of course.

Gamecrush.com Pays Girls to Play Xbox With You

Rejected Gamecrush slogans: "Join...your joystick will thank you for it."​You will never go broke conceiving new ways of separating lonely tech geeks from their money. Case in point: Gamecrush.com, the soon-to-be-launched online social utility that gives Xbox users a respite from the sausage ... More >>

Sean M. Johnson

Rejected Gamecrush slogans: "Join...your joystick will thank you for it."​You will never go broke conceiving new ways of separating lonely tech geeks from their money. Case in point: Gamecrush.com, the soon-to-be-launched online social utility that gives Xbox users a respite from the sausage ... More >>

The Fussy Eye: Auto Ego

Rejected Gamecrush slogans: "Join...your joystick will thank you for it."​You will never go broke conceiving new ways of separating lonely tech geeks from their money. Case in point: Gamecrush.com, the soon-to-be-launched online social utility that gives Xbox users a respite from the sausage ... More >>

Owl 'n Thistle Offers Free Hot Dogs For Sounders Fans

Hoo...Hoo...can pretend to be a Sounders fan for the right to eat a free, hot version of the four-legged creature to my right?​Are you a Soundnerd? Can you pretend to be one, on game day, anyway? Do you like hot dogs? Do you like not paying money for hot dogs? Are you willing to suck down an o ... More >>

Mystery of Why Downtown Seattle Is So Popular Among Street Denizens Finally Solved

More than just tobacco.​The apparent answer: They're being kept gainfully employed by local fencing operations. You may recall the bust a few years ago of downtown's Liberty pawn shop, whose owners enlisted a cadre of street addicts to steal items from neighboring retailers, then resold them ... More >>

James Pridgeon

More than just tobacco.​The apparent answer: They're being kept gainfully employed by local fencing operations. You may recall the bust a few years ago of downtown's Liberty pawn shop, whose owners enlisted a cadre of street addicts to steal items from neighboring retailers, then resold them ... More >>

Xbox Suspends Gamer Because He Lives in Fort Gay

​Josh Moore had a problem. The 26-year-old unemployed factory worker wanted to play Xbox Live but couldn't because Microsoft had flagged his account, all because he had bothered to list the town in which he lived: Fort Gay, West Virginia.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Says He Won't Buy His Kids an Xbox

​In an interview with The New York Times Magazine, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had this to say when queried what he'll do if his kids ask for an Xbox: "Not a fan. No, absolutely not." There's an unfortunate lack of follow-up to the question. Especially since it's the only time in t ... More >>

Nintendo To Bring Old Trailer Full Of New Tricks To Seattle

​For months, all video gamers have heard in the way of news is "Playstation Move this" and "Microsoft Xbox Kinect that." It's no wonder that little old Nintendo--which was, after all, the first to dip into motion sensitive gaming with the Wii--might start to feel left out. The company today an ... More >>

50 Reasons We're Thankful To Live in Seattle

​When you've just spent three hours of the previous night stuck on an icy I-5, it can be hard to focus on the positive. But that's exactly why we thought it's time for a little gratitude. Because let's face it, when there isn't a winter storm (and most years, there isn't), this is a hell of a ... More >>

Researchers Hack Microsoft Kinect to Control Robot: Humankind One Step Closer to Enslavement by Machines (VIDEO)

​Anyone who still thinks that Microsoft will in no way contribute to the day when machines finally become self-aware and enslave humankind needs to see this video.

Manboobs, Avatar Robots and Flying Nightmare Machines: Our Top 5 Kinect Hacks

​It's now been a month since Microsoft released its long awaited Kinect motion capture gaming system for the Xbox, and, by all intents and purposes, it's been a massive success. But as awesome as the official games are, what's even better are the hacks that random geeks and professional coders ... 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 >>

FPS Russia, Crazy Russian Gun Freak, Shoots and Blows Up His Xbox 360 (VIDEO)

​If you've ever loved a firearm, hated an Xbox, or lusted after a Russian, you'll be wanting to see this video.

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...

Microsoft Celebrates Playstation Network Outage With Free Xbox Live Play All Weekend

​By now anyone who owns a Playstation 3 will have noticed that their machine has been turned into an oversized paperweight ever since a hack attack took out the Playstation Network six days ago. Microsoft certainly noticed. And to celebrate, the company launched a free Xbox Live play event all ... 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 >>

Anomie Belle

​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 >>

Today Reverb Recommends Experiencing Anomie Belle's Trip-Hop at Chop Suey

Just because Sasquatch! is just around the bend doesn't mean there's any shortage of local music to catch in town. From this week's Short List: Piecing her name together from words meaning social unrest and a beautiful and charming woman, Seattle trip-hopper Anomie Belle has lofty aims echoing her ... More >>

Microsoft Plans to Finally Ruin Kinect with Motion-Controlled Advertisements

​Maybe "ruin" is too strong a word. It was probably only a matter of time before Microsoft attempted to shamelessly cash in on what's easily been the company's best creation in years.

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 >>

Parents to World: Xbox Killed Our Son, Can Kill Yours Too

​Chris Staniforth, a 20-year-old British student, dropped dead in May. His parents say what killed their son was a small piece of competitively-priced gaming equipment currently in the homes of millions of people worldwide. . . That and sitting on the couch for a half day at a time.

Mom of Child Banned From Xbox Live: 'Microsoft Has Robbed My Child of a Voice'

​For players on the Xbox Live network, Microsoft is judge, jury, and executioner. Users of the service who run afoul of the its policies continually complain about being banned from the site for myriad reasons, some understandable (their gamertag was: "White Power"); some just plain weird (the ... More >>