Video Games

Prepare to be confused: Despite everything we’ve heard about the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor containing its own onboard processor, so that it doesn’t weigh down the main console with voice- and image-recognition tasks, it’s now clear that the add-on imposes quite a significant burden. Microsoft has confirmed to Eurogamer that after this month’s update (timed Continue Reading →

Microsoft on Wednesday announced 46 new apps coming to its Xbox platform. The company says this will increase apps on its gaming platform by 25 percent, bringing the total to over 225 apps around the world. The timing of the news should surprise no one: the June update started rolling out last night, and it Continue Reading →

Ready for an update from the no-surprise department? Microsoft isn’t keen to sell either its Xbox or search businesses. On Tuesday at the CODE Conference Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella indicated that he has no intention to divest Bing, the company’s search property, or Xbox, its gaming and living-room play. This should come as precisely no Continue Reading →

The Xbox One has only been on store shelves for six months, but Microsoft is already taking action to try to close the sales gap held by Sony’s PlayStation 4. Microsoft recently announced that the Xbox One will soon be available without the Kinect camera for $399 – the same price as the PlayStation 4. Continue Reading →

Google’s YouTube has reached a deal to buy Twitch, a popular videogame-streaming company, for more than $1 billion, according to sources familiar with the pact. The deal, in an all-cash offer, is expected to be announced imminently, sources said. If completed the acquisition would be the most significant in the history of YouTube, which Google Continue Reading →

It’s Episode XVII of the Flappy Bird Saga, and this time the formerly recalcitrant (he’s on a media tour at the moment) creator of the addictive game is promising the game’s return, eventually, complete with multiplayer. Nguyen told CNBC’s Kelly Evans the news on the network’s Closing Bell program on Wednesday, albeit with the caveat Continue Reading →

If you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription only to access media apps such as Netflix and Hulu, Microsoft’s recent decision to remove the digital requirement may have left you feeling short-changed. After all, many consumers buy an upfront 12-month subscription to get a discount on the standard monthly fee. To make amends, Microsoft is Continue Reading →

It’s official: Microsoft is scared of the PlayStation 4. Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it will sell the Xbox One without the Kinect for $399, starting on June 9. The price cut levels the playing field and drops the Xbox One’s sticker price to the same level as Sony’s PS4. It also eliminates one of Continue Reading →

Xbox Live is going the way of PlayStation Plus—starting in June, when the ‘Games with Gold’ program launches on Xbox One, free games downloaded with the program will not stay on your account if you deactivate Xbox Live Gold. So if you’re an Xbox Live Gold member, you’ll be able to get free Xbox One Continue Reading →

In a move that bucks the standard set by Microsoft itself back in 2005, both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 will drop the requirement for an Xbox Live paid membership to access services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. Microsoft announced this morning that it would be streamlining its offerings and bringing its prices and Continue Reading →