xbox

Microsoft is going to be pretty busy on October 26.

Along with the release of its latest Windows operating system, the software giant is also planning to launch its new game console music service, Xbox Music, that day, according to the Verge.

The site reports that Xbox Music will include a subscription offering and a free streaming service supported by ads. It will be available on Windows-powered phones, tablets, PCs, and the Xbox 360.

Microsoft announced the service in June, revamping its Zune Music service to better compete against Apple's iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify. The company, like rival Sony, … Read more

2K Sports' critically acclaimed NBA 2K franchise is no stranger to best sports video game lists. The CNET TV team recently went behind the scenes at 2K Sports' headquarters in Novato, Calif., just days before NBA 2K13 hits store shelves. The goal: to find out what's in their secret sauce.

I had the opportunity to jump into the company's motion capture studio, and suited up with markers placed strategically on my body. Lights surrounding the perimeter of the studio hit the markers, and the reflections allow them to be identified and processed by computers to capture wireframe animations … Read more

It's been nearly three years since the team at Gearbox Software released a new open-world RPG franchise with a unique art style and curiously addictive gameplay. Borderlands went from a sleeper hit to blockbuster seemingly overnight; since its release, it has seen sales in the range of 5 million copies.

Borderlands' looting-focused formula encouraged and rewarded exploration, which helped ease the otherwise intimidating undertaking that some RPG titles can endure.

With Borderlands 2, Gearbox Software has tweaked and refined the genre -- mind you, a hybrid that it seems to have invented -- and has unquestionably topped itself.… Read more

Game consoles aren't dying anytime soon, the original Xbox's co-creator claims.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz in an interview published yesterday, former Microsoft employee and current head of mobile startup Innovative Leisure, Seamus Blackley, says he's had enough of the "histrionic articles" suggesting the death of game consoles. Today's consumers, he says, still want the high-end experiences made available in console titles.

"You have to remember that people want to play console games because they want to have a super premium high-end experience -- it doesn't really have to do with anything else,&… Read more

Game developer Majesco's newly released NBA Baller Beats attempts to revive the nearly extinct rhythm video game genre -- and it doesn't involve playing a mock musical instrument, but rather bouncing a ball in front of your television.

To play Baller Beats, you merely need to bounce a basketball (or any similar-shaped ball) to the rhythm of a chosen song. A crescendo of icons float down a virtual track, instructing you to perform up to 20 different moves, such as dribbling the ball with a certain hand, or between legs, or performing a pass fake.

The game also features an eight-player multiplayer mode, as well as various difficulty settings and unlocks. The $59 Baller Beats also includes a real full-size Spalding replica NBA basketball, perfect for losing control of and destroying something breakable in the living room. … Read more

It's not easy being a hockey fan these days. But honestly, has it ever been? With an all-but-official lockout looming over the NHL like a dark cloud, there's not much to be excited about. Sure, the optimistic puck-faithful seem to agree a deal will be reached before Christmas, but what's there to do in the meantime?

As luck would have it, NHL 13 hits the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles just a few days before the NHL's collective bargaining agreement is set to expire. Whether or not the team owners and players association decide to … Read more

Consumers bought 193,000 Xbox 360 consoles last month, making it the best-selling console for the 20th month in a row, according to Microsoft.

The company cites numbers from research firm The NPD Group. The units sold make up 48 percent of the U.S. market for current generation console sales. The research firm also found that consumers spent $196 million on the Xbox 360 platform, including hardware, software, and accessories.

"Consumers spent more on Xbox 360 products in August than they spent on the other two current-generation consoles combined," according to a blog post from Microsoft's … Read more

It's easy to go over the top when it comes to outfitting your dream home theater system. One minute you're checking out HD projectors, and the next minute you're trying to figure out how to convert your entire basement into a giant subwoofer.

But it never hurts to start with the basics. In this CNET Top 5, I asked CNET Associate Editor Matthew Moskovciak for the essential ingredients in today's modern home theater system.