News

• Report: Video games industry sales hit $1.5b, down by 12.8 per cent

  By Spandas Lui | 06 February, 2012 11:15

  Second consecutive year decline in revenue does not reflect the rising popularity of digital game downloads, according to the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association.

• APP OF THE DAY: My Xbox LIVE

  By Patrick Budmar | 08 December, 2011 10:52

  Xbox Live users now have a way to keep track of their account on iOS

• McLean appointed as Microsoft Australia director of consumer channels group

  By Hafizah Osman | 02 August, 2011 12:05

  David McLean has been appointed director of Microsoft Australia's newly created consumer channels group.

• Xbox to allow TV voice control

  By AAP | 07 June, 2011 15:15

  Bill Gates' Microsoft unveiled a new world in Los Angeles on Monday where couch potatoes with an Xbox gaming-entertainment console can sit back on the couch, put their feet up and change live TV channels, search the internet, choose movies or music, play games, go on YouTube, interact in live sporting telecasts and many other pursuits without a remote control.

• Foxtel announces bid to acquire Austar

  By Patrick Budmar | 26 May, 2011 12:02

  Foxtel has announced its intentions to acquire Austar at a price of $1.52 per share in a condition proposal to the subscription TV service provider.

• Microsoft makes a bid for your living room

  By Matt Egan | 19 January, 2011 02:35

  In an otherwise underwhelming keynote speech at this year's CES tradeshow, Microsoft made a play to control the biggest screen in the house.

• Kinect, Wii used to play Call of Duty in gadget mashup hack

  By Chris Brandrick | 12 January, 2011 12:23

  So, you want to play some Call Of Duty on your PC? You could do that the old fashioned way, or you could spice things up a little by hooking your PC up to Microsoft's Kinect and Nintendo's Wii Remote for some added FPS awesomeness, One avid gamer has done just that, sharing the impressive results on YouTube for all to see.

• Review: Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 - something's not quite right

  By Matt Peckham | 05 November, 2010 15:42

  "You are the controller." It sounds so simple, so friendly, so patently cool. Take an Xbox 360, plug in the new $150 Kinect motion-sensing camera, devote a few minutes to waving your arms around like a traffic controller, and you're gaming without a gamepad. It's a little disorienting at first, like stepping onto a balance beam for the first time, and Kinect's imprecise, casual approach won't be for everyone, least of all Wii and PlayStation Move fans used to tactile wands and accurate controls. But as a second shot at bringing full body interactivity to the masses (the first was Sony's EyeToy, unless we're counting The Clapper) Kinect gets more right than wrong.

• Will Kinect support sign language? No. But maybe.

  By Matt Peckham | 19 August, 2010 04:21

  The gossip blogs had a field day a few weeks ago, homing in on a patent filing unearthed by GoRumors that implied Microsoft's Kinect motion-control camera for the Xbox 360 might recognize sign language.

• 3D audio to serenade gamers

  By Spandas Lui | 15 July, 2010 14:52

  Newly established independent software vendor (ISV), Personal Audio, is targeting hardcore gamers with its surround sound audio software.

• Microsoft personal clouds to invade consumer markets

  By Matthew Sainsbury in Washington | 14 July, 2010 09:08

  For the first time at the 2010 World Partner Conference, Microsoft delivered a consumer keynote.

• Is Microsoft's Xbox 360 slim press giveaway a bribe?

  By Matt Peckham | 17 June, 2010 02:15

  Giving away video game systems...it's part and parcel of the games industry. Companies dispatch review units perennially and often expect them to remain where sent. But giving them away as "gifts" to thousands of people during a live round-the-world broadcast, including the ginormous iconic screens in Times Square? I'd call that pretty much unprecedented.

• Microsoft Kinect motion sensor launches november 4

  By Matt Peckham | 15 June, 2010 08:16

  Microsoft took the wraps off Kinect (nee Project Natal) at E3 2010, promising an experience that will "bring living rooms to life in a social and accessible way."

• Xbox 360 'Slim' includes WiFi, 250GB for US$300

  By Matt Peckham | 15 June, 2010 08:17

  Available immediately, Microsoft's new slim-sized Xbox 360--unveiled at its E3 2010 press show this morning--will come with integrated WiFi and a 250GB hard drive.

• Foxtel to stream over Xbox LIVE

  By ARN Staff | 20 May, 2010 14:52

  Foxtel will deliver its pay TV services through Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE platform by the end of the year.