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Spencer: 'I don't want the Rare brand to mean Kinect Sports'
Xbox head Phil Spencer has some encouraging words to fans of GoldenEye and Banjo-Kazooie development studio Rare. Speaking to CVG at Gamescom, Spencer said that the company is developing a new game - a new "Rare game." "I think it's about them thinking about the next game that's going to be the next 'Rare game' and really stand for what they are," Spencer said. "I know they've got some great ideas. I've not been up to Twycross for maybe six months, but I'm planning on getting up there this fall and seeing bits for the new game. But I know they're hard at work and Phil Harrison has been up talking to them." Rare was under evaluation earlier this year, after Microsoft revealed a Kinect-free Xbox One. Rare was the developer behind the Kinect Sports series, and with no more guaranteed Kinect, the studio's future seemed questionable. However, Spencer assured CVG that Rare was an "important" part of Xbox's future. "I don't want the Rare brand to mean Kinect Sports," Spencer said. "The Rare brand can be more valuable to them, to us and to gamers than that." [Image: Microsoft]
Rare veteran George Andreas leaves Microsoft, joins Sony
Former Rare game director George Andreas left Microsoft earlier this month to join Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Andreas, who'd been with British developer Rare since 1996, is working as Creative Director at SCEE's London headquarters.Andreas was creatively involved with much of Rare's work over the last 16 years, including the likes of GoldenEye, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark Zero, and Viva Piñata. After the company was acquired by Microsoft in 2002, Andreas took on lead roles for Xbox 360 games, such as project leader and game director of launch game Kameo: Elements of Power, and creative director on Kinect Sports.
UK pride Xbox Kinect bundle available in May
Microsoft has revealed a distressed Union Jack Xbox bundle for the United Kingdom, featuring a flag-wrapped 4GB console, controller and Kinect. The bundle also includes Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports, along with three months of Xbox Live gold membership. It marches to retail on May 25 for £249.99.Don't live in the UK and still want to get your Union Jack on? Well, turns out GelaSkins has a similar (and prettier) Xbox wrapping available for $30. There's also the Stars and Stripes package for those who feel offended by all this non-Amurikan talk.
Xbox 360 gets limited edition all-white Kinect bundle
Not feeling the Star Wars Xbox 360 bundle? How about this all white special edition? For $300, you get a white 4GB Xbox 360, a white Xbox 360 controller and a white Kinect sensor. Microsoft is also tossing in Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures and a three month Xbox Live Gold subscription. Or, if you're just eyeing the glossy pigment-free Kinect, you can pick one up separately for $50.
New Xbox bundle packs white Kinect, white controller
Did you somehow end up with a white HDTV? If so, you can finally get a Kinect unit to match, as part of Microsoft's new "Xbox 360 Special Edition 4GB Kinect Family Bundle" (whew.) The bundle includes a 4GB 360, the white Kinect from the long-delayed Star Wars bundle, a white controller, copies of Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures, and three months of Live for $300.A "special edition" white Xbox 360 controller will also be available separately for $49.99. It appears to be glossy white. Note that this "special edition" controller has the normal d-pad, and not the improved version.The bundle (and the controller) are shipping today worldwide -- except for Europe and Brazil, where Microsoft says they will be released "in the next few months."
Buy Dance Central or Kinect Sports sequel, get original for half off on Amazon
If you're looking into jumping into either the Dance Central or Kinect Sports franchises sequel-first, Amazon's offering you a chance to catch up on your back catalog for peanuts. For a limited time, if you buy Dance Central 2 or Kinect Sports: Season 2, you can get their prequels for half-off.
Two select Kinect games for $60 from Amazon
Amazon is currently offering two select Kinect titles for a combined price of $60. By "select," we mean precisely seven choices. Your best bet is probably Kinect Sports and ... Michael Jackson, maybe? Both the savings and the momentous choice are yours for the taking.
Free Xbox Live Gold this weekend, help out with a Guinness world record attempt
Even if you've never joined the prodigious ranks of the Xbox Live Gold subscribers, or whether you've simply allowed your honorable title to fall by the wayside, you can get a temporary pass to the Gold Zone this weekend. From today through Monday, free users will find their status upgraded, giving them access to the online multiplayer functionality usually reserved for their premium counterparts. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch -- Microsoft is asking that folks participating in the freekend help break an extremely specific Guinness world record using Kinect Sports: "The most people running a virtual 100m dash at one time." That ... that can't be a very large number to beat, can it? Regardless, if you'd like to participate (and grab a free Avatar shirt at the same time), check out the details on Rare's blog.
Kinect Sports 'Calorie Challenge' DLC lets you play with your food
New DLC for Kinect Sports, coming April 29, will add a new mode called "Calorie Challenge." This, of course, uses the Kinect sensor to scan every Twinkie, Monte Cristo sandwich, and bowl of melted butter you eat, keeping a running tally of exactly how many calories you consume within a time limit. Okay, we're kidding. The Calorie Challenge is actually a mode in which you face off against anthropomorphized snack foods in a series of challenges, with the goal to burn off as many calories as that food typically contains. You'll compete against "Peppy Pizza" to burn off 302 calories, for example, while Steady Celery will provide seconds of competition with 25 calories.%Gallery-121596%
Kinect Sports dev seeks participants for Guinness World Records attempt
A Guinness World Records achievement for "most people running a virtual 100m dash at one time" will take place over Easter weekend, on April 23. According to Rare, a free Xbox Nations gamer pic should be available in the coming week. Downloading it will "automatically enter you into the record attempt." Then, at the appointed time (listed after the break), all you need to do is pop in Kinect Sports and "complete a sprint mini-game while connected to Xbox Live." Make sure not to choose the entire track and field event from the menu or it won't count. All who download the gamer pic and participate in the record attempt will be rewarded with the Guinness World Records avatar tee (pictured). Beyond that point, you can totally make up the reason you earned it: "Yeah, I totally got that for putting four pool balls in my mouth. You should see how many you can do!" [Thanks, David]
Microsoft wants you to help set a Guinness world record for the biggest ever virtual sprint
Microsoft's Kinect has already claimed one Guinness world record, and the company's now asking for your help in setting another -- don't worry, though, you don't have to buy anything else. It's asking folks to take a bit of time during the free Xbox Live Gold preview weekend later this month to set a record for the "most people running a virtual 100m dash at one time." To take part, all you have to do is download a free Xbox Nations gamer pic that will automatically register you for the record attempt, and then load up the sprint mini-game in Kinect Sports and start running at the time specified below. Everyone that takes part will get the snazzy Guinness World Records avatar tee pictured above for their trouble -- actual Guinness certificates still have to be earned the hard way. The Guinness World Record attempt will take place at: • 6pm UK Saturday 23/04 • 7pm CET Saturday 23/04 • 10am PDT Saturday 23/04 • 1pm EDT Saturday 23/04
DC Universe Online logs into UK top ten, Black Ops reacquires top spot
DC Universe Online flew into Chart-Track's UK sales chart this week and nipped a spot in the top ten. The PS3 and PC superhero simulator debuted in tenth place and, according to Chart-Track, is only the fourth retail title on PS3 to be online-only. The other internet-required games are MAG, Warhawk and SOCOM: US Navy Seals Confrontation. The rest of the top ten is composed of the usual suspects playing musical chairs. Call of Duty: Black Ops is back on top, followed by FIFA 11 and the unstoppable Just Dance 2. Speaking of dance games, Harmonix's Dance Central is eyeing a spot in the top ten as it moves from 17 to 12 this week. Check out the top ten after the break.
Dance Central and Kinect Sports sell 1 million each in US
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has called Kinect launch titles Dance Central and Kinect Sports "breakout hits" for the publisher, announcing that each has accounted for one million units in US sales. Globally, the Kinect device has already achieved 8 million units shipped. During Kinect's November launch month, Dance Central just missed making the top ten in US game sales for the month and was trailed by the Rare-developed Kinect Sports and Ubisoft's Your Shape: Fitness Evolved among the bestselling Kinect titles. Harmonix's dance game also just missed landing among our top ten games of 2010.
Xbox's David Dennis on December NPDs, 'best month ever for Xbox 360 hardware sales'
Xbox 360 had a good year. It could've been exclusive hits like Halo Reach, which landed in the No. 3 spot on the top selling games of 2010, according to NPD. Or it could've been the Xbox 360 S console refresh which, since its unveiling at E3 last June, has remained on top of the monthly home console sales numbers for an impressive six months straight. Or maybe it was the Kinect, which shipped a whopping eight million units by the end of the year, and sold well over its five million unit goal. In actuality, it was all three, and Xbox's David Dennis was making the media rounds tonight to talk about it. "We're super pleased with the response we saw," Dennis said, "and we're just working hard to get supply back on the shelves and keep January and February on track as well." During the second half of the December, Dennis said Microsoft resorted to air shipping consoles in to meet customer demand. "For us, the focus was trying to get as much on the shelves before that last push before Christmas. It's not cheap to do things like that but we've got a bunch of really smart MBAs to figure out the right balance when to shift back to our traditional process." That traditional process is the far more affordable, but far slower, ocean-based freight. It's not like there aren't any more Xboxes to go around, retailers will simply have "fewer than [they] normally would have."
Microsoft contest pits UK Kinect Sports players against actual gold medalists
Hey, UK-based readers: Do you feel like totally humiliating yourselves? You should look into Microsoft's "Game with Fame" competition, in which one lucky, Kinect Sports-playing family will compete in virtual track and field events against actual Olympians Linford Christie and Mark Lewis-Francis.
PSA: Kinect Sports demo out now for Xbox Live Gold members
Tis the season to shame your familial relations in contests of virtual athletic prowess! If you're a Gold subscriber, you can now grab a free demo for Kinect Sports on the Xbox Live Marketplace -- just make sure that you don't completely crush your Maw-Maw. She deserves better, you know?
Free Kinect Sports 'Party Pack' DLC available now, Joy Ride DLC coming Jan. 4
If you'd like to freshen up your Kinect Sports experience with fresh fruit and fresh ... chicken, head to the Xbox Live Marketplace right now. Microsoft has posted a free DLC suite, the "Party Pack." The free download adds a "Challenge" feature to track friends' minigame scores. Appropriately, the DLC adds six new minigames: Super Striker (for Soccer), Pinvaders (for Bowling), Rapid Runner (for Track & Field), Target Smash (for Table Tennis), Fruit Splatter (for Volleyball), and King of the Ring (for Boxing). It also includes new games for the multiplayer Party Play mode, and three new "crazy" Party Play mascots: "Zippy Zombie" (okay, so maybe it's not all fresh), Champion Chicken, and Sportastico. Check after the break for descriptions of the minigames. MS also announced that new DLC will arrive for Kinect Joy Ride on January 4. The "Chevrolet Car Pack" adds the Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze to your game. It's free -- all you'll have to do is ... select a Chevy ad in XBLM. Update: Catch a trailer after the break -- a trailer that refers to the set as the "Samsung Party Pack."
Dance Central tops Kinect's November software sales in US
Dance Central, Harmonix's full-body dance title for Kinect, cha-cha-chinged with sales in November. According to NPD, the game was #11 in overall sales for the month and the top-selling Kinect game as a SKU. Of course, by units, Kinect Adventures moved the most copies, as it was bundled with the peripheral, which sold over 2.5 million units globally in the month of November. Although NPD generally no longer shares specific software sales, we were told by the company that Kinect Sports and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved were the second and third best-selling Kinect titles, respectively. For an audience stereotyped as lazy, gamers seem to have responded the most to three of the sweatiest Kinect games.
Call of Duty: Black Ops breaks UK launch records
We already knew Call of Duty: Black Ops shattered day-one sales records in the UK, but let's just add a full week of intel to that with reports of 2 million units sold in the region over five days. Chart-Track estimates Activision-Blizzard's latest installment of the hit franchise took in a comfortable £81.9 million ($131.5M). For some disturbing perspective, Black Ops grossed more during its launch than the whole UK entertainment software market did over the past couple weeks ... combined. According to Chart-Track, last week became the highest grossing week in UK entertainment software history, with £113.8 million in sales. The last record breaker was £107.6 million, back in week 52 of 2008. (What was the number one game then? Call of Duty: World at War.) The record-breaking week was assisted by the launch of Microsoft's Kinect peripheral. Eight of the 11 UK Kinect launch titles debuted in the Top 40. The top premieres were Kinect Sports, Dance Central and Ubi's Motion Sports, which took fourth, 13th and 15th places, respectively. Check out the full UK top ten after the break.
Jimmy Fallon gives everyone in his audience a Kinect
Giving out Kinect to a studio audience just seems like the classy thing to do these days. Oprah did it, and now Jimmy Fallon is doing it too. Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, after demoing Kinect Sports and Dance Central with Microsoft's Kudo Tsunoda and Harmonix's Naoko Takamoto, the affable host announced that everyone in the audience would be leaving with an Xbox 360 Kinect bundle. We're happy for the audience, but the event was overshadowed by another occurrence. It was something rarely seen on the mortal plane, something more precious than a unicorn: Kudo wasn't wearing sunglasses. Jimmy and Kudo actually discussed the missing eyewear before staring their play session, and it turns out he took off the shades for his mother. Say it with us: Awwwwwww.
