Tag Archives: microsoft

Conan O’Brien’s flirtation with the Xbox 360

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When Conan O’Brien and NBC parted ways in early 2010, the talk show host had a lot of suitors. Most were the usual suspects – Fox, Comedy Central, HBO… but when word leaked out that Microsoft was interested, it caught a few people off guard.

Reports at the time said the company was considering launching its own programming channel for the Xbox 360 – and was interested in lassoing O’Brien as the tentpole. Neither party ever talked about the discussions publicly – or even confirmed them – but last month at CES, Jeff Ross, executive producer of “Conan” finally gave some details during the “Hollywood Creative Masters” Super Session.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Vidgames’ motion for changes

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Nintendo may have pioneered the world of motion controlled gaming, but its days as the only player in the field are long over.

Microsoft and Sony, tired of seeing the Kyoto, Japan-based company steal the thunder of their souped-up videogame systems, have started to compete with the Wii on its own turf — and they’re seeing some notable success.

Read more at Daily Variety

Will Kinect replace your TV’s remote control?

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As Microsoft gets people used to the idea of controlling their Xbox 360 with Kinect, its hot selling motion sensor peripheral, the company behind that technology is aiming at a bigger market.

PrimeSense Ltd, which built the technology behind Kinect, says it expects at least one U.S. cable company to release a product this year allowing subscribers to change channels, access video on demand and more through hand gestures.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Microsoft Kinect sales blast past predictions

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Kinect, Microsoft’s recently launched motion capture device for the Xbox 360, has lived up to its reputation as one of the holiday’s must-have gifts.

The software giant says there were 8 million Kinects sold through the end of the year. That’s far beyond the company’s 5 million estimate (which was raised from an initial estimate of 3 million right before the system’s launch).

Read more at Daily Variety

 

CES 2011 Preview: Wednesday’s things to watch

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It’s press conference day here at CES. That means the news floodgates are about to open big time.

Pretty much every major consumer electronics manufacturer attending the show has their moment in the spotlight Wedensday, with some 15 press conferences scheduled – including the evening’s keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

2011: Microsoft’s Year of Mystery

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After the busy holiday-season dust settled, a though occurred to us: we really don’t have a fleshed-out feel for what Microsoft has in store for us next year. Thing is, most gamers probably don’t care too much right now. And that’s just the way Microsoft wants it.

Core gamers have their hands full with “Halo: Reach” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops”. This frees up the marketing wizards at Microsoft to keep as much focus possible on Kinect, building demand and momentum for the motion-sensing peripheral.

Read more in the January 2011 issue of Official Xbox Magazine

Does Kinect Make Microsoft A Better Investment?

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With backings by Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and just about every gift guide the media has written, Kinect for the Xbox 360 has become the “must have” gift of the 2010 holiday season.

The motion capture device has sold more than 2.5 million units since its Nov. 4 launch and Microsoft seems well on pace to meet its sales target of 5 million before the end of the calendar year. But do those sales mean it’s time to buy Microsoft shares?

Read more at CNBC.com

‘Call of Duty’ leads Nov. sales charge

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Activision has done something no other publisher has been able to do this year – pull the video game industry out of its retail sales slump for the second consecutive month.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” led the industry to an impressive 9 percent gain over the 2009 retail sales numbers. Add in hardware, Kinect and the rest of the assorted offerings and the gaming industry made $2.95 billion last month, according to The NPD Group. That’s the best November on record.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Consoles battle for second place

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There’s no denying that Nintendo is the videogame industry’s most powerful force. With sales of its handheld DS topping 43 million and the Wii selling more than 30 million, it’s the indisputable market leader.

But despite that success, there’s something very old school about Nintendo. Its consoles and games don’t capture the bleeding-edge sensibilities of the industry. That’s what makes the fight for second place so interesting.

Read more at Daily Variety

 

Microsoft’s mobile reboot

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Critics, analysts and carriers have all lauded Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, the company’s latest attempt to reclaim ground in the mobile space. But in a field increasingly dominated by Apple and Android, the biggest name in personal computing is still far from a major player.

Opening day sales figures for the phone line were anemic, coming in at a reported 40,000, despite a lavish marketing campaign and worldwide media events. (To put that in perspective, Apple sells roughly 270,000 iPhones per day.) But the early numbers don’t necessarily tell the full story.

Read more at Daily Variety