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Tag Archives: microsoft
Amazing Gaming Anagrams
The “BetaShed” touch on the Skyrim job made me laugh out loud.
Tattoos Now Available For Xbox Live Avatars
Microsoft isn’t comfortable selling you firearms for your Xbox Live avatar anymore – but a body modification is just fine, it seems. You can now purchase tattoos for your avatar.
Sadly, they come in the form of shirts and tank-tops with transparent sleeves. In other words, you’re limited to arms only and whatever shirt your avatar was wearing will have to go.
The virtual ink will set you back between 160 and 240 MS Points depending on the design.
Gaming Titans Withdraw SOPA Support
Three of the biggest brands in the gaming industry have officially withdrawn their support for Lamar Smith’s extremely controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill.
Nintendo, Electronic Arts, and Sony Electronics are no longer listed as supporters of the bill as of this morning. Weeks of intense pressure from gamers, threats of retaliation from the Anonymous hacktivist collective, and the mass exodus from GoDaddy in response to their initial support have obviously made it clear to corporations that SOPA will not be tolerated.
Microsoft also dropped their support this week – and there are rumors floating that Google and Facebook have both held internal discussions about the “nuclear option” of completely shutting down operations if the bill passes in its current form.
In other words: goodbye, SOPA.
Gears of War 3 Demo Available, New DLC Coming
If you have an Xbox Live Gold membership but haven’t had a chance to try Gears of War 3 yet, there’s now a demo available for download. It takes you through the Shipwreck mission, which is one of the more intense firefights you encounter during the full campaign.
In other Gears of War 3 news, Epic announced the game’s third piece of DLC last week. The pack is called Fenix Rising. It includes five new maps across three game modes, four skins, and a new multiplayer feature called Re-UP. It’s out on January 17th for 800 MS Points; free if you paid for a Season Pass DLC subscription.
Posted in Games
Microsoft Removing Guns From Xbox Live Marketplace
As of January 1, 2012, you will no longer be able to purchase “gun-like” accessories for your Xbox Live avatar. Microsoft is pulling them from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Epic Games broke the news to their forum community here.
While the company has yet to issue an official statement explaining the reason for the move, it’s obvious that this has everything to do with the Kinect. Microsoft is making a goddamned fortune on the “family” demographic – and guns scare parents away.
Nevermind the fact that every popular Xbox 360 game involves guns.
Anonymous Hacks Top Security Firm Stratfor
Anonymous spread a little bit of Christmas joy yesterday by announcing that they managed to breach Stratfor, one of the top security firms in the United States. Apparently, they’d been storing a lot of critical data in the clear. Whoops?
According to the group’s official Twitter feed, they managed to snag a small fortune worth of Stratfor client data – including government agencies and major corporations such as the U.S. Defense Department, Army, Air Force, law enforcement agencies, top security contractors and technology firms like Apple and Microsoft.
The WTC 12 Days of Christmas (08 of 12)
Mr. Blue just shipped out brand new copies of the Xbox 360 versions of all four Assassin’s Creed games. The package is on its way to a randomly selected VIP member.
We’re sending gifts to VIP members – once a day – over the next four days. Each gift is a bit cooler than the last. The last one, which we’re giving on Christmas Day, is worth $250.
Keep an eye on your email – if you have a VIP account, you could be our next gift recipient!
YouTube + Xbox 360 = Awesome
Starting today, YouTube is available via the Xbox 360 dashboard in 24 countries across the globe. Microsoft also made a handful of other streaming video apps available in more than a dozen markets – including the much anticipated Verizon FiOS TV
(Yes, I realize that this is old hat for PS3 enthusiasts. But the Xbox 360 doesn’t require you to download a firmware update every fifteen minutes, so blow me.)
Gears of War 3: Raam’s Shadow
The newest piece of Gears of War 3 DLC is now available.
Xbox Live App Released For iOS Devices
Microsoft released the new version of the Xbox 360 operating system earlier this week – followed quickly by an iOS app.
It’s called My Xbox Live and it’s available for free. The app lets you do things like manipulate your avatar, browse achievements, and you can even chat with your Xbox Live friends. It’s actually a cool toy – and hilarious considering the platform.