Gawker: xbox

New Yorker Cartoons Now on XBox, For Some Reason

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:13 EST

A tipster points out that fancy Xbox Live "Gold" subscribers are offered an amazing selection of animated New Yorker cartoons. Animated! What better target audience that Xbox Live addicts? Click to watch this completely inexplicable media crossover in action.

Yalie Demands $1 Million for Lost (Magic) Xbox

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:46:15 EDT

Yale junior Jesse Maiman is suing US Airways for $1 million because his Xbox came up missing from his checked baggage. Excessive? Not when you consider that Xbox saved his friend's very sanity.

Jesse told the US Air people his Xbox was gone after his flight last December, but got only "weeks of 'an unconscionable 'run-around.'" Now he wants "non-economic distress" damages of up to $1 million. I mean, it wasn't just the video games, okay:

"That thing was my DVD player," Maiman, a junior film studies major, said. He was the 2006 Madeira High co-valedictorian.

Even more importantly, that console was a protector of his classmate's mental health. Yale student Noah Ziggy Gentele wrote an essay for the 2007 New York Times College Essay Contest noting that after he arrived at college, he suffered "an existential crisis once a month." But his friends saved him. Including Jesse Maiman!

Jesse Maiman, a brilliant young man with whom I will be living next semester, took it upon himself to become a master of all things Nintendo Wii since buying one on a drunken Saturday evening last spring. (You may laugh, but the conversations that have transpired in that room–sober and otherwise–rank among the best of the last year).

The Wii paved the way for the Xbox, which doubtless continues its invaluable contribution to ending existential crises. One million dollars shall be the barest minimum necessary to salve the scholars' psychic wounds. Pay up.

Microsoft makes logical business move

Owen Thomas — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:40:00 EDT

Microsoft's Department of Losing Money — the Xbox and Zune division — has reportedly frozen hiring. [Silicon Alley Insider]

Microsoft cans whistleblowing game tester

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

So much for radical transparency. Microsoft's embrace of honest online criticism stopped at VentureBeat blogger Dean Takahashi's insanely long story about how the software giant launched its Xbox 360 game console despite production flaws. The story had one source brave enough to go on the record: Robert Delaware, a contract game tester, who talked about a bug he encountered during testing phases persisting as the Xbox went into production. Now he's out of a job and faces a civil suit from Microsoft for violating a nondisclosure agreement.

“I don’t regret it,” he told VentureBeat in a phone call on Thursday. “I’ll fight it. If they want to come after me, bring it on."

"This kind of witch-hunt mentality is wrongheaded," writes Takahashi. "When I was thinking about making a difference with our story this isn’t what I had in mind." We're just amazed that Microsoft's legal team made it through all six pages of Takahashi's story.

Xbox users can register to vote from the couch

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Microsoft and Rock The Vote today announced a partnership to allow Xbox 360 owners to register to vote via Xbox Live, which I'm sure sounds almost as fun to gamers as learning how to get girls drunk so they'll go to strip clubs in Grand Theft Auto IV. There's also going to be some polls and a chance for users to "voice their opinions," says the press release, which also handily points out that because it claims 12 million users, "if Xbox Live were a state, it would rank as the country’s seventh largest, giving it approximately 20 electoral votes." (Photo by Sebastian Fritzon)

Jeff Zucker's Zune revenge

Owen Thomas — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Having dropped Apple's iTunes store in a dispute over pricing, NBC Universal will soon start selling downloads of TV shows like The Office and 30 Rock for its Zune media player. If NBC chief Jeff Zucker manages to scrape some sales out of Microsoft's handheld also-ran, it will be a miracle — and the surest proof yet that content, not hardware, is king. Don't hold your breath. Microsoft's Zune has always seemed like a parody of Apple's iPod. Want to buy songs? Well, first you buy "points" from Microsoft, which you can then exchange for music at some bizarre exchange rate. Nothing about its user interface seems quite right compared to Apple's polish. The system for TV shows is no better. Though Microsoft also makes the Xbox, shows downloaded to a Zune won't play on the videogame console unless you're adept at fiddling with cables. By going with Microsoft, Zucker is betting that technology doesn't matter, design doesn't matter, and market share doesn't matter. He must really believe in his prime-time lineup. (Photo via Fake Steve Ballmer)

Microsoft and Netflix may partner to offer...

Jordan Golson — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:30:12 EST

Microsoft and Netflix may partner to offer movie downloads over Xbox Live. An announcement would likely come tomorrow, at the Game Developer's Conference. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is a member of Microsoft's board of directors. [MSNBC]

Sneaky Marketers Use Strippers Against You

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:54:32 EST

When the concept of viral marketing first began circulating in the tech-boom '90s, it was, while still deceitful and annoying, at least more creative than it is today. You got the feeling that all those young web-friendly ad rats really put some thought into the funny little videos and games and stuff that they were using to conceal their unwanted sales pitch. Now, though, the standards for what's "viral" have, like most other things on the interweb, come down to one thing: boobs. This promotion for Xbox 360 [via Adrants] has just a cursory nod to humor, wit, and plot, before going right to the stripper taking off her top. Aaaaaaaand... then throw in the ad at the end! Bonus lameness: It was emailed with the message "Please find the attached viral." Geez, that's totally blowing the big secret, guys. Full NSFW video, which you must forward to all your contacts, after the jump.

Bill Gates on Playing Both Underdog and Corporate Villain

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 08:35:38 EST

In our second Bill Gates interview segment, we are surprised that the question about Bill's changing image leads to a brief amusing history of Microsoft. Note the none-too-subtle hint that the Google boys should take a bit of perspective from his tale. Don't miss Part 1 of the Bill Gates Gizmodo Interview: Bill on the Difference Between Microsoft and Apple [Bill Gates CES Interview]

Bill Gates Explains the Difference Between Microsoft and Apple

Wilson Rothman — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:17:22 EST

In the first segment of our Bill Gates CES 2008 interview, we asked the difference between Apple's approach and Microsoft's approach when it comes to product releases. Apple steers clear of products that might be iffy in their first iteration—portable music rentals; DVR—whereas Microsoft rolls out stuff that may not be quite ready. Bill's response is illuminating, direct and humble. Jump to Part 2, where Bill describes his changing public image, as an underdog and a corporate bully. [Bill Gates CES Interview]

Sony wins Blu-ray, loses online-video war

Owen Thomas — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:19:25 EST

I'm as ready as anyone to declare Sony the victor in the epic high-definition disc battle. Its Blu-ray, now supported by Warner Bros., looks set to best Toshiba's HD-DVD. In Hollywood, where they still care about the industrial process of shipping plastic discs by the millions to retail stores, this matters. In the Valley, we've long since moved on. Sony executives still dream of formats, hardware, and an empire of lock-in. To them, "software" means the creative content screened in theaters, dropped into CD players, or played on a videogame console. That's why they're doomed to lose the real war.

Here we know better. Software is the ingredient that turns content into quicksilver, shifting in time and place to the device we desire, at the moment we choose. Apple has mastered this alchemy, and others like Microsoft and Amazon.com are studying the fast; but to Sony it remains a dark art.

Online video remains immensely fragmented. Should you download a video on Xbox Live? Buy it on Amazon.com's Unbox via your TiVo set-top? Rent it on iTunes, and broadcast it to your flat-screen display with an Apple TV? The choices seem endless, and endlessly confusing. But none of them, I'd note, market themselves based on a format. The format, if any, is broadband, and a set of standardized audio/video connectors. The rest is fungible.

There will no doubt be a shakeout among online-video stores. If nothing else kills off the weaker players, consumers will rapidly tire of purchasing the same movies again and again. A rack of DVDs on the shelf provides a reassuring sense of permanence. Perhaps physical media will make a comeback. Warren Lieberfarb, who helped invent the DVD at Warner Bros. and now consults for Toshiba on HD-DVD, predicts that flash-memory devices might be sold in stores preloaded with video.

Sony actually had that idea, I believe, with its MagicGate memory sticks. Another nonstandard format, tied to hardware, with buggy software. The same complaints are being made about Blu-ray, with its ever-shifting specification requiring firmware updates. Sony, drenched in blood, stands victorious in the optical-disc format battle. Too bad the war is now being waged in another theater.

Xbox mastermind wants to own Hollywood

Mary Jane Irwin — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:42:29 EST

J Allard, VP of Microsoft's entertainment and devices devision and one of the gurus behind the Xbox and the Zune, has some crazy plans that he hopes will put Microsoft on top of entertainment — and it has nothing to do with discontinuing the brown Zune. In his ramblings to Saul Hansell of the New York Times Bits blog, he revealed he's looking to create an entertainment-distribution service that will do all the heavy lifting for content providers. Microsoft's online gaming service and the Zune's Internet interface are built on the same platform. The implication?

When it ties that same back-end service into cell phones — maybe those running Windows Mobile? — it would be capable of serving media to basically any device. With this distribution network, content providers would simply hand over Microsoft the source material, the way they send film reels to theaters, and Allard's division would be responsible for distributing it. The one problem with this idea? Hollywood trusts Microsoft about as far as it can throw it.

If you're making money, you're not worth a damn

Mary Jane Irwin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:35:58 EST

Microsoft remains in high spirits after its Entertainment and Devices division, responsible for the Xbox and Zune, posted a profit last quarter. This division hasn't made it into the black in years. Papa Steve Ballmer is so proud, he's planning "an upscale campus" for the product group. No doubt Redmond hopes to spur these slackers' performance by making corporate rock stars like J Allard and Robbie Bach feel drunk with power. (Note to Ballmer: Don't take that literally. Actually including a bar may not boost productivity.) What message is Microsoft sending to its less troubled children? If you want nice things, start losing money.

World, tell us why Google is better than us?

Mary Jane Irwin — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:50:10 EDT

At least Microsoft owns up to its inferiority. Early next week a band of dejected Microserfs from across the company, from chief software architect Ray Ozzie on down, are meeting to discuss the company's floundering Web services like Windows Live Search and Hotmail. During the two-day powwow, they'll be discussing strategy and trying to figure out how to get Google addicts excited about the Microsoft's Live offerings. To help fuel discussion, Larry Hyrb, director of Xbox Live programming and official videogame-community spokesperson (who posts under the alias Major Nelson) asks Xbox users, "What do you think we don't get? I know Google may be better in some areas, but what makes them better? What makes us not as good?" I'm sure the minds at the Googleplex are resting easy to learn that Microsoft is still trying to figure out how to even copy Google well, let alone out-innovate it.

Halo 3 developer gains independence

Mary Jane Irwin — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:45:52 EDT

Having finished the fight to bring out hot new shoot-'em-up videogame Halo 3, and in the process helping Microsoft rake in $300 million in sales, Bungie has, as rumored, reclaimed its independence from Microsoft, which acquired the studio in 2000. As part of the deal, Microsoft is holding onto a small equity stake and will continue to churn out Halo titles with the aid of Bungie. Meanwhile, the studio will be free to develop new titles and publish games with Microsoft Games Studio — so there's really no need to overreact. Sure, Bungie put Microsoft's Xbox videogame console on the map — but as the Xbox morphs into a set-top box for the living room, bringing Internet music and video downloads straight to your flat-screen TV, it's not clear that hot videogame titles are what's going to drive sales in the future.

When the doorbell rings, pray it's Master Chief

Mary Jane Irwin — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:58:56 EDT

MISSION DISTRICT, SAN FRANCISCO — Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that the world's most anticipated game of all time, Halo 3, launched Monday at midnight. The New York Times wrote about it, ferchrissakes. I was forced to spend an entire evening listening to my roommate disintegrate friends and foes with the Spartan laser through our shared wall. TORTURE! I hate standing in line at launch events, so like an idiot, preordered the game through Amazon.com. It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow. All I can think about is finishing the fight. Honestly, who actually cares about tawdry Valley business matters at a time like this? And then ... then visitors arrived. And my life, unbelievably, got worse.

The doorbell rings.
Me: Thinks: Sweet! The UPS man brought Halo 3 a day early.

Standing at the door is a gaggle of old ladies.

Me: Thinks: Fuck.

Old Lady: I'm with a group of volunteers in your neighborhood...

Me: Thinks: WTF do you want!? You're not the UPS man, nor are you Master Chief.

Old Lady: Do you think that God is the cause of all suffering the world?

Me: Um. Now's not really a good time. I write for this blog ... work from home ...

Old Lady: Well, can I come back later at a better time?

Me: Only if God has sent you as his divine messenger to punish me for believing that he only exists as some sort of metaphilosophical crutch to explain the Big Bang.

And that pretty much ended the conversation. Although I suppose I'd invite the whole flock in for a cup of tea if she returned bearing Halo 3.

Microsoft's gaming division has struggled...

Mary Jane Irwin — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:19:31 EDT

Microsoft's gaming division has struggled to pull itself out of the red since its inception back in 2001. Its current console, the Xbox 360, has been plagued with manufacturing defects that could cost the company up to $1 billion to fix. But Microsoft expects its blockbuster Halo 3 to end its financial woes by tallying an estimated $140 million upon its release today — a blockbuster some will no doubt tiresomely liken to first-day box-office figures. [BBC News]

The Beeb to team up with Xbox 360?

Mary Jane Irwin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:15:03 EDT

There's a new battleground for digitally ditributed content brewing in the most unlikeliest of places — home videogame consoles. Last week there was the rather shocking announcement that Sony's PlayStation 3 would soon be home to movie and television content. Not to be outdone, Microsoft's Xbox 360, which has had video content downloads since last November, is now courting the BBC and all of its TV shows and HD programming. While the soothing tones of the BBC are not usually what we associate with xBox, the deal, which Microsoft is "working diligently on," would add some much needed gravitas to a portfolio currently dominated by South Park and UFC Fights.

Imitation is not always flattery

Mary Jane Irwin — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:34:53 EDT

Social news filter Digg has spawned imitators, including Reddit and Slashdot's Firehose. Oh, and the late, unlamented Netscape. "Ripping off" is practically a core tenet of Web 2.0, though we suppose it sounds nicer if you call it "iteratively evolving industrywide best practices." One creative Web designer and Xbox fanboy, though, decided the Internet needed a Digg dedicated to Microsoft's Xbox consoles, so he created Diggxbox. As you might imagine, it uses its own version of Digg's user-driven filtering to sort the day's Xbox-related news. It's even adopted cute videogame touches like the Xbox's "red ring of death" as the "bury" button (as Digg's mechanism for voting "no" on a story is known). Cloning Digg is easy, but attracting a fanatical userbase like Digg's is another thing altogether.

Digg, of course, has its own thriving videogames subsection — so Diggxbox's creator posted an advertisement for his site on Digg. His Digg account was subsequently banned. Apparently founder Kevin Rose doesn't view amateur imitation as flattery. On the other hand, this diggxbox chap should be pleased he escaped with a mere banning instead of say, a trademark-infringement lawsuit.

On the Xbox, Linux is a dirty word

Mary Jane Irwin — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:04:48 EDT

Microsoft, apparently sick of taking guff from Windows haters, has banned users of Xbox Live, the Xbox 360 videogame console's online service, from setting their motto to "Linux." Apparently the company views competing operating systems — especially dreaded open-source ones — as "inappropriate" words. Unix is also considered too naughty for public display. Mentions of Apple, iPod, or variations of Mac OS X are, however, permissible. (Photo by zarcx)