xbox

Xbox and Rock the Vote partner to get gamers to the polls

Microsoft wants Xbox 360 owners to get up off their couches, put down the controllers, shut off Halo 3, and vote in this November's election.

Redmond's video game console division has partnered with activist organization Rock the Vote as a way to get more young people to register to vote. Promotions will start hitting its Xbox Live online service starting on August 25, the first day of the Democratic National Convention. Xbox Live owners will be able to register to vote as well as participate in presidential polls and opinion surveys.

Microsoft will be promoting the Rock the … Read more

Xbox 360 price cuts imminent?

According to gaming blog Joystiq, all three Xbox 360 models will be getting a price cut in the next three weeks. According to the AOL gaming blog:

A few of our retail contacts, some of whom have given us good intel in the past--and who all work for separate corporations--have sent us identical information regarding a price drop.

Adding significant gravitas to the claim is the inclusion of an authentic-looking Radio Shack newspaper circular dated September 7. The ad shows price cuts across the board for all three Xbox 360 models: the 120GB Elite for $399 (down from $449); the … Read more

Get a Logitech Harmony Universal Remote for Xbox 360 for $49.99

If you decided to take advantage of Tuesday's mention of an Xbox 360 deal and plan to utilize the console's media-center features, you'll want a good remote to go with it. Look no further than the Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360, which eCost has on sale for $49.99 (plus shipping).

In case you're not familiar with the Harmony line of remotes, their claim to fame is browser-based programming, which makes for relatively easy setup of devices, activities, and so on. Plus, they have built-in onscreen help, which is great for visiting babysitters, … Read more

PS3 'Rock Band 2', 'Guitar Hero: World Tour' instruments interchangeable

CNET sister-site Gamespot is reporting that instruments for the games Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour will work universally with either title on PlayStation 3. In addition, the peripherals will also work with games like Rock Revolution and SingStar. SCEA director of publisher relations Michael Shorrock was quoted saying, "For the past several months, we have been working closely with Neversoft and Activision, Harmonix, and Konami to ensure that PlayStation 3 guitars and drum sets will all feature a basic level of gameplay compatibility."

While this interchangeable functionality was already confirmed for the games on Xbox … Read more

Stream Hulu, YouTube, and more to 360 or PS3 with PlayOn

Continuing the trend of media servers that play nice with home video game consoles, PlayOn! has apparently raised the bar. With the new beta software released to the public yesterday, Windows XP and Vista users can now stream video from sites like Hulu and YouTube directly to their Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and HP MediaSmart TVs.

The technology is fairly simple; the software grabs RSS feeds from video content providers and pushes them through over your home network. With support already encompassing ESPN and CBS, it would appear that PlayOn! brings us a few steps closer to officially ditching our … Read more

Buy a media-center extender for $169.99, get a free Xbox 360

I admit it: That headline is a bit misleading. But let me 'splain. Not many people know that the Xbox 360 can double as a media-center extender, meaning it can stream to your TV all the videos, photos, music, and whatnot stored on your PC. To my thinking, it's superior to all the standalone extender products because a) It's cheaper; and b) It's an Xbox! (As you might have heard, they're not bad with the games.)

All of which brings us to my bit of headline trickery: CompUSA has refurbished Xbox 360 Core systems on sale for $169.99 (… Read more

Why Xbox Live gaming should be free for all

Over the weekend, I spent some time playing online. I did so on Xbox Live and through games on both my PS3 and Wii. All the while, I was thinking about the one simple fact that kept sticking out in my head: for now at least, I can play online with my Wii and Playstation 3 and the experience is basically the same.

And considering Microsoft keeps losing ground to both Sony and Nintendo, why not find a new way to offer a more compelling alternative out of the company's most popular service?

Sure, it sounds radical and losing $50 per year from the millions of Xbox Live subscribers may be a major sticking point here, but it needs to be done. Microsoft's latest NPD numbers have been less than stellar and the Wii, DS, Playstation 3, and the PSP all sold better than the company's console in July. And if you want to compete in the hardware business, that's simply unacceptable.

To make matters worse, the big lead Microsoft had over Sony in the third-party sphere is practically eliminated and it doesn't look like Nintendo will slow down anytime soon, nor will the Xbox 360 become a force in Asia.

So what does Microsoft need to do to right the ship and really turn things around? Announce that all Xbox Live memberships will be free and all gamers can play online without a hitch. It's radical, for sure, but it's the best move Microsoft can make right now.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 789: We like the Moon, don't break it

Veronica's back with us today as we record from the New Media Expo in Las Vegas. We talk about the woes of the modern Web, and specifically Netflix's problems on the back-end. Also there's some news about Windows 7, or at least news about when more news will be coming. And thankfully the IOC backed down on the DMCA takedown notice. That and some more hilarious e-mails.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 789

Netflix may lose $1.8M to $3.6M in revenue per day over outage http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=9676

10 … Read more

Nintendo dominates video game hardware sales in July

As always, when video game industry research firm The NPD Group puts out its monthly numbers, each of the big hardware companies--Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony--find their own unique positive spin, regardless what the numbers show.

But with the July numbers, which were released Thursday, there's little question that Nintendo gets the biggest bragging rights.

That's because, according to NPD, Nintendo's DS handheld gaming machine and its Wii console far outsold any competition from Sony or Microsoft.

NPD reported that the DS sold 608,400 units in July, while the Wii moved 555,000 machines. No other gaming … Read more