Microsoft

In today's show we're gaming with multiple screens, dodging Flame attacks and looking for a new direction from Apple:

The video game conference E3 rolls on and Nintendo has shown off the new gaming capabilities of the Wii U console, which will be coming out in time for the holidays -- but no price announced yet. Players will have to use the second screen in the GamePad controller to activate different game controls, camera views and features. In some games you might hold it up to the television screen to scan for enemies. But if you're playing … Read more

LOS ANGELES--Xbox SmartGlass was one of the lone new technologies unveiled by Microsoft at this year's E3, but its potential as a second screen -- using your own smartphone or tablet running Windows 8, Android, or iOS -- is fascinating.

Xbox SmartGlass was demonstrated in more detail in a breakout session this evening, showing off video, gaming, and remote control possibilities as well as running through future concepts. I got as close as I could and took a few photos.… Read more

Get ready to get your game on. E3 has begun:

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, called E3 for short, has kicked off. It's the big video game conference of the year, and even though the show has just begun, it looks like this is the year of the second screen. Both the Wii U and the Xbox 360 are showing off ways to tie tablet screen interaction with what's on the television, creating a richer game and entertainment experience. You can catch all our continuing coverage of the show at cnet.com/e3.

Nintendo's press conference isn't … Read more

As many of my readers know, I'm not a video game fan, nor I am I a big TV fan. So sitting virtually through a two-hour E3 keynote address, chock-full of video game first-person-shooter previews...kill me now (pun intended).

But there were a couple of interesting bits from Microsoft at its E3 unveiling. One of these -- about which there had been conflicting earlier leaks -- was something called SmartGlass technology. But despite a few mentions and demos, I still felt as if I had no idea what SmartGlass is after watching the keynote. And it looks like … Read more

LOS ANGELES--You can forget about your dreams of an Xbox 360 Portable. That's so 2006. No, at this year's E3, Microsoft did something much more surprising: instead of getting proprietary, it hopped on everyone else's platform instead.

Xbox SmartGlass was the touted application, service, technology -- whatever you want to call it -- that stood for a new product at Microsoft's E3 press conference this morning in Los Angeles. It needed some jolt of new produce excitement, arguably, and SmartGlass can stand in as this year's "what is that?" buzzword, a second-screen concept for turning seemingly any smartphone or tablet into an additional display when watching movies, playing games, or browsing online. … Read more

LOS ANGELES--An earth-shaking and in-depth demo of Halo 4 opened up Microsoft's annual E3 Xbox 360 media briefing today, getting the thousands on hand worked up about the upcoming blockbuster. But beyond that, Microsoft had little to sustain the excitement.

For years, the video game press has flocked dutifully to Microsoft's shindig, which traditionally gets the honor of kicking off E3 week here, and setting the bar that rivals Sony and Nintendo have to try to jump at their own mega-briefings. This year those companies shouldn't be too worried about whether they can measure up.

While there … Read more

LOS ANGELES--If you thought Microsoft's motion-sensing controllerless technology Kinect was going to take a back seat this year, you were wrong. In the minutes leading up to the press conference's start, I first noticed a trio of Kinect sensors slyly facing the stage. It would be a telling premonition of what was in store for the world's fastest-selling electronic gadget.

But while Kinect has garnered more groans than praise in recent months, Microsoft's press conference demonstrated somewhat of a maturation for the motion-control initiative. Whereas Kinect functionality initially seemed forced upon software that didn't necessarily need it, a few interesting implementations may have skeptics turning into believers.… Read more

LOS ANGELES--Aside from Halo 4, the most interesting thing at Microsoft's E3 press conference was SmartGlass, the multidevice sharing app for games, videos, and Web surfing. But SmartGlass was only sketched out in the broadest of terms (and probably very carefully chosen ones at that), so we're left with several burning questions, especially about how it will work with Windows 8.

What devices will it actually work on? Microsoft says "all your devices." Does that mean all your Windows devices, or are Android and iOS included? (Update: We're hearing now that iOS and Android are included.)

Is it a downloaded app or Web-based? Will SmartGlass be a standalone app or an HTML 5-based Web service? Or some combination of the two depending on what platform you're on? Windows 8 tablets seem to be included, but are Windows RT tablets?… Read more

The wildly anticipated Halo 4 will be launching on November 6, and Microsoft today showed off the title during its E3 keynote address.

Microsoft kicked off its E3 keynote today with a trailer and gameplay footage of the new title. The official Halo 4 homepage shows the game's logo, and a date that reads "November 6 2012."

Unlike the first Halo trilogy, which was created and developed by Bungie Studios, Halo 4 has been developed by Microsoft-owned 343 Industries. As one might expect, the studio is facing considerable pressure to fill Bungie's shoes.

Halo 4, which … Read more