Next for Microsoft Xbox: winning casual gamers
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Microsoft Corp  has  cemented its reputation among hardcore gamers with the launch  of alien shoot-out "Halo 3," but it is still struggling to  attract the mass market audience that has flocked to Nintendo  Co Ltd's  Wii console.
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Gabe: We did a really awesome project (can I say it"s awesome, is that okay?) for Wired magazine. You can either go pick up the most recent issue and read it there or check it out on their site. They asked us to do a piece for them handicapping all three of the next generation systems. We tried to be as fair as we could and hopefully you"ll get a kick out of it.
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The much-anticipated game goes on sale Tuesday. Can it help lead the Xbox 360 to victory?
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Microsoft will offer a free downloadable video game to users of its Xbox online gaming service after the network was plagued with connection troubles.
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A software update will bring eight new achievements to Xbox Live worth 250 points to any one player's Gamerscore.
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Plus: Microsoft to release three versions of Xbox 2. [News.com Extra]
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Tycho:  Last year's iteration of Tiger Woods had a fairly serious glitch in multiplayer, in that the game could not be played in multiplayer mode.  Or, it worked sometimes, but there was no way to know how or when - what combination of dances and burning herbs would right this aloof mechanism.  It was most likely the rush of new owners securing tee-times on simulated links, but after a week of trying to use the product without success I decided that I had better things to do than try and contextualize EA's grave miscalculations.    The few times we were able to jump on and actually get in there were the kind of epic, unadulterated "guy fun" one sees lionized in hilarious summer comedies.  Golf as a sport (and as a videogame) has the strong undercurrent of shared misery that one usually finds only in dive bars.  The recently released demo for this year's product - on both PSN and XBL, now - recalled those moments to us, independent of the rage that bookended each round of powerfully communal spirit lodge golf.  This year's product has a huge focus on Gamernet, a kind of user created content initiative that will hopefully see them approach the performance of their online infrastructure with more conviction.     GameFace, their face making thing, has seen a significant jump this year as well - it can take pictures from your console's camera and create actual face geometry, and I understand that photos can even be uploaded online and then brought down on the console for processing.  We were able to get some pretty good results with the earlier versions of the tool, but this is very much appreciated.  Of course, in the wrong hands, every tool is a weapon.     Ubisoft is now saying that Haze is an exclusive exclusive for the PS3, and not one of them timed or partial exclusives one might see in the lesser houses.  Truly monogamous games are rare these days, and this is certainly a surprise, but this thing has been hopping back and forth for months.  There was even a leaked document that showed this "exclusive" being released a week later for PC and 360, though all traces of the document were soon obliterated.  Assassin's Creed was (as you'll recall) a PS3 exclusive as well.  For a week, at any rate.        I'm really excited for Haze, but I'm not sure if that's a universally held belief.  The writer made a good impression on me at E3 several years ago, and Free Radical makes a good impression on me whenever they make a videogame.  It's also a four player co-op experience with a unique, asymmetrical multiplayer proposition that you've probably read about.  But, as with Bioshock, I'm really in it for the story - and, also like Bioshock, I think anything that limits its potential audience is a serious mistake.
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The gaming industry is increasingly pursuing casual or coffee-break gamers, those who indulge in short-term play of games including puzzles, solitaire and mah-jongg.
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Tycho:  Mario Hoops 3-on-3 is impressive in many ways, as I've suggested: certainly as a technical showcase, it's nice to have in your bag.  As a catalogue of Japanese aggression toward gamers, it's clear now that future generations will refer to these advanced cups as a deeply scandalous exhibit.  I have seen a Goddamn ninja weave a dark circle, disappear with a burst of leaves in some strictly Hattori Hanzo type shit, and then phase back into the physical plane to haunt our mortal hoops.
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PS3 vs. Wii vs. Xbox. And the winner is: Gamestop.
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A quick screen for making winning picks.
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Microsoft listed the most played games on Xbox Live last year, in addition to revealing that 77 percent of 360 owners are paying Gold members.
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Though Microsoft has sold several million copies of its Xbox, the company has seen few successes with its first generation video game system.
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Microsoft plans to announce a contest to develop the next great digital diversion for the companyâs Xbox 360.
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Microsoft looks to new games, online gaming service to boost sales.
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Amateur coders to create the next Mario? Nintendo is to follow Microsoft's lead and offer a downloadable games programming package for its latest games console.â¦
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Microsoft has made good on its promise to deliver to enthusiasts a basic development platform for aspiring game makers to produce their own games for the Xbox 360 system.