by Rainier on July 20, 2007 @ 8:05 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft revealed its latest financial results and announced revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, a 13% increase over the same period last year. On the flip side, the games division recorded a $2 billion loss, mainly due to the Xbox 360 warranty policies and refunds.
by Rainier on July 18, 2007 @ 6:43 p.m. PDT | Filed under
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It's unknown whether it has something to do with Peter Moore's departure or is simply a change in policy, but
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg revealed that its annual European "X"box press event will not be taking place this year. The X press events have taken place every year since the original Xbox, where Microsoft unveils some of its key titles, like the Halo Wars announcement at X06. However Microsoft did state that it would explore other ways to make its announcements...
by Rainier on July 17, 2007 @ 1:25 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
EA announced that Peter Moore has joined EA as President of EA Sports. Moore joins EA from Microsoft where he served as corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division, leading both the Xbox and Games for Windows businesses.
by Judy on July 12, 2007 @ 2:05 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft released screens and trailers for its upcoming titles:
by Alicia on July 11, 2007 @ 2:24 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft got to kick off the festivities of the new, slimmer E3. Announcements included Gears of War and Viva Piñata coming to the PC, exclusive online expansions for GTA IV, and details for Call of Duty 4, Resident Evil 5, and Assassin's Creed. There was even an on-stage demonstration of Harmonix's upcoming Rock Band.
by Rainier on July 9, 2007 @ 8:06 a.m. PDT | Filed under
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Now that Sony has officially announced its PS3 price reduction, Microsoft is expected to make its next move shortly. By switching from a 90 to 65-nanometer IBM CPU and AMD/ATI graphics chip, Microsoft will be able to reduce the x360's cost, size and heat, according to
Mercury News' Dean Takahashi. Codenamed Falcon, the revised X360 is expected later this fall, and could include an internal power supply, or make use of the new space to add more costly things like it did with the Elite's HDMI.
by Rainier on July 6, 2007 @ 12:22 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
GarageGames announced the release of its next-gen XNA game engine technology Torque X, free for all XNA Creators Club subscribers. Torque X Builder is the drag-and-drop visual 2D editor and toolset which simplifies building games in Torque X.
by Rainier on July 5, 2007 @ 2:06 p.m. PDT | Filed under
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Microsoft announced that it will expand its global Xbox 360 warranty coverage. Any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights will now be covered by a three year warranty from date of purchase. All other existing Xbox 360 warranty policies remain in place.
by Rainier on May 30, 2007 @ 2:02 a.m. PDT | Filed under
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Microsoft unveiled Microsoft Surface, a new category of surface computing products from Microsoft that turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, dynamic surface that provides effortless interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects.
by Rainier on May 7, 2007 @ 12:38 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
In an
interview with eWeek, Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach predicted that the Xbox will become profitable during the course of 2008, "It's a business that will be profitable next year—we'll make money next year and that will be the first time, which is pretty exciting." In the subsequent years Microsoft then expect to actually make money off their console endeavor.
by Rainier on May 4, 2007 @ 1:55 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
While Yahoo and Microsoft declined to comment, the
New York Post claims to have received info from inside sources that Microsoft is once again looking to acquire Yahoo. Last year both companies were in prolonged talks, but nothing materialized. But the NYP says Microsoft has intensified its pursuit of a deal with Yahoo!, especially with Google breathing down its neck, and being outbid on recent prospects like DoubleClick and AOL.
by Rainier on May 4, 2007 @ 3:08 a.m. PDT | Filed under
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Microsoft today announced it will be establishing a European office of Microsoft Game Studios. The European arm will focus on continuing and growing the success of MGS-published content in Europe and in building ever-deeper relationships with European development talent.
by Rainier on April 27, 2007 @ 11:26 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft announced revenue of $14.40 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, a 32% compared to same period last year, driving record profits with operating income of $6.59 billion and net income of $4.93 billion. However the game division posted a drop in revenue (from $1.182 billion to $929 million), but also lost less money ($402 million to $315 million).
by Rainier on April 7, 2007 @ 4:47 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
A recent 1UP podcast with editor Shawn Elliot included an
interview with Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney, revealing that Microsoft is not letting them release free Gears of War maps. "We already released two (maps) and we have four more maps that we've built. We've been wanting to give them but actually Microsoft has been pushing back on us. They're trying to build this business model around selling additional content for games and that's a valid idea, but we would definitely like to release more stuff for free, and we haven't been able to do so yet."
UPDATE: According to Epic's Mark Rein, both parties have
made a compromise. The maps will be sold at first, then made free after a few months, much like the previous Halo 2 map pack.
by Rainier on April 3, 2007 @ 11:41 a.m. PDT | Filed under
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Microsoft recently announced that it had changed the Xbox 360 warranty in the United States and Canada from 90 days to one year from the date of purchase, and now it's adding additional service enhancements.
by Rainier on March 28, 2007 @ 12:49 a.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft announced that TV series and movies from A&E Network, ADV Films, National Geographic and TotalVid.com will add to the more than 1,500 hours of downloadable entertainment content already available on Xbox LIVE in the U.S.
by Rainier on March 27, 2007 @ 9:41 p.m. PDT | Filed under
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Microsoft announced the upcoming availability of Xbox 360 Elite, a new model of the video game and entertainment system that will include a 120GB hard drive, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a high-definition cable, and a premium black finish for the console, wireless controller and Xbox LIVE headset.
by Rainier on March 21, 2007 @ 3:54 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Microsoft announced that it is actively
investigating "reports of fraudulent activity and account theft taking place on the Xbox Live network," after at least one Xbox Live user, over a month ago, complained about a hacked account and stolen credit card information, which the perpetrators then used to buy Microsoft Points, the virtual currency on Xbox Live.
by Rainier on March 20, 2007 @ 1:42 p.m. PDT | Filed under
News
Yesterday Take-Two revealed it was postponing the previously scheduled annual shareholders meeting to explore its options, one being a possible sale of the entire company. Today word has reached us through the grapevine by means of an inside source at Rockstar Vancouver, that "the buzz" in the hallways is that Microsoft might have put in a bid or expressed interest in purchasing the ailing publisher/developer. While this is a mere rumor, albeit from a reliable source, it is to be taken with a grain of salt. Just imagine the ramifications....
UPDATE: As rumors go,
debunked by MGS' Vice President Shane Kim...
by Rainier on March 6, 2007 @ 7:43 p.m. PST | Filed under
News
Check out the following new screens from Microsoft's GDC 2007 lineup:
by Rainier on March 5, 2007 @ 7:09 p.m. PST | Filed under
News
Microsoft has rolled out another patch for its Xbox 360, but without prior announcement. Calling it an operating system update instead of a firmware update or security fix, the new download addresses an issue where hackerz found an exploit allowing you to run your own software applications, such as Linux operating system. The vulnerability was discovered late last year and fixed last month. The update was distributed through Xbox Live but will also be included with every game after February 20.
by Rainier on March 5, 2007 @ 12:44 a.m. PST | Filed under
News
Giving game developers the opportunity to create visions in a world where they make the rules, shape the characters and create the evolution of the story, Microsoft kicked off the Dream-Build-Play game development contest, offering a $10,000 USD grand prize and the opportunity for a winner’s game to be published on Xbox LIVE Arcade.
by Rainier on Feb. 22, 2007 @ 4:09 p.m. PST | Filed under
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A dispute between Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent over an MP3 audio technology patent issues relating to Windows has just turned ugly. A federal jury in San Diego has ordered Microsoft to
pay $1.5 billion to Alcatel-Lucent, which might be emboldened by the outcome and file additional claims against other companies. Microsoft, who claims it rightfully licensed the technology from Fraunhofer, will seek relief or appeal.
by Rainier on Jan. 25, 2007 @ 8:05 p.m. PST | Filed under
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Microsoft announced that Lionsgate Studio is now a Video Marketplace partner, and the downloadable content has been expanded with various new HD movies, TV series, including a FREE episode of ‘Skyland.’ Xbox 360 will digitally deliver TV shows and movies to gamers in the U.S. via Xbox Live.
by Rainier on Jan. 25, 2007 @ 3:54 p.m. PST | Filed under
News
Microsoft announced record revenue of $12.54 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006, a 6% increase compared to last year, driven by Zune, X360 and its server applications. Despite increase in sales (from $1.69 billion to $2.96 billion) for the Entertainment and Devices Division, the Xbox has yet to make a profit as it currently has an operating loss of $289 million, slightly higher than last year ($286 million). With 10.4 million consoles sold Microsoft Games Division expects to turn a profit fiscal 2008 (second half of 2007).