Kinect Message Board older than one year ago

Plausible-looking screenshots of a previous version of the Xbox E3 community site reveal, in addition to news about the Halo remake, some new Kinect stuff. We've heard plenty of scuttlebutt about Dance Central 2, including domain registrations and surveys, and ... this screenshot has some more! The blurb promises "new songs and new moves."

Other new stuff includes "Ryse," a Kinect action-adventure game in which "you are the warrior," Kinect Sports Season 2, and Kinect Fun Labs (also seen in domain registrations), which is described as an "app" with "crazy, cool new gadgets."

This certainly looks like a real page, but this is all rumor for now, because Microsoft has replaced the page.

#bigcrystalballs Today isn't just Monday, it's the day that gaming's biggest show, the E3 gaming expo, kicks off in Los Angeles. More »

THQ is bringing Adidas' virtual coach platform miCoach to Kinect and PS Move sometime early next year. [Dtoid] More »

#rumor This week, the E3 gaming expo gets underway in Los Angeles. Gaming's heavyweights are showing off new hardware and new games. According to an insider, here's the list of titles Microsoft will be showing: More »

The announcement of sequels and spin-offs has become too routine to incur huge gasps of disbelief at E3's trio of biggest press conferences. A real surprise, then, would be in those titles staying under wraps until the very last moment. "Spoiler," says the internet, "but that's not happening while I'm around. Check out these domain registrations."

As highlighted by Superannuation, the following Microsoft titles have been linked to internet domain registrars: Fable The Journey, which may be a new jaunt across the land of Albion, Kinect Fun Labs (first mentioned amongst other leaked Microsoft titles), and a pair of body-driven sequels, Dance Central 2 and Kinect Sports Season 2.

Without the presence of a convenient "Kinect" in the title, it's difficult to say whether or not Fable: The Journey (colon assumed) is part of Microsoft's camera-sensitive lineup. The franchise has endured experiments with Kinect before, and it's not exactly difficult to imagine Peter Molyneux pitching it as the best, most amazing, mind-blowing way to experience a hero's life ever. You might already be envisioning it as a spirited on-the-spot march through the streets of Bowerstone, over the surrounding hills and across Milo's unmarked grave.

Japanese game and CGI animation studio Premium Agency has announced (PDF) that it has appointed Shenmue and Virtua Fighter maestro Yu Suzuki as an advisor and executive producer. Suzuki will oversee the studio's newly strengthened development team, covering a wide range of social and mobile projects. Suzuki will also oversee the development of a Kinect-enabled fighting game.

While a Kinect fighter involving Suzuki is certainly intriguing, we'd like to pitch another idea: Kinect Space Harrier. Think about it, Mr. Suzuki. Think about it hard.

Majesco has announced two more Kinect games making their E3 debuts, and neither one involves Hulk Hogan.

Take Shape is a sort of Hole in the Wall game (Hole in the Wall has also been rated!) in which players contort their body to match on-screen silhouettes. It includes both a single-player mode and multiplayer "to unite your on-screen silhouettes in fun new ways." Mind 'n Motion "puts your motor skills to the test" with sets of activities -- "from juggling to dodging shapes to jumping hopscotch" chained together rapidly. It sounds kind of like a Kinect WarioWare thing.

Both games will be on display at E3, which is terrible news for all the journalists who once had hope of looking cool during E3.

#xbox360 What does Microsoft have planned for its E3 2011 showing? Probably plenty of Kinect-centric fare and heretofore unannounced (officially anyway) video games. But the company is also teasing a new "entertainment brand" focus for the console and its motion controller. More »

On March 25, 2011, Microsoft filed for three trademarks Fusion Genesis, Fusion Sentient, and Fusion Vault. Zunited, the site that reported the filings, have speculated that they could refer to a new piece of hardware or, more likely, a forthcoming game series...

#whatchagonnado Being a successful professional wrestler takes more than having the right moves in the ring, and no one knows that better than the legendary Hulk Hogan. That's why the Kinect-powered Hulk Hogan's Main Event focuses as much on winning the crowd as it does winning the match. More »

Hulk Hogan, the wrestling legend, Mr. Nanny star, and guy who nearly showed us his sack in a Def Jam Rapstar trailer, has his very own Kinect game coming this fall, in which he'll teach you how to be a professional wrestler. Hulk Hogan's Main Event, developed by Panic Button LLC and published by Majesco, allows players to "learn the ropes from the man himself," develop a wrestling persona and learn how to put on a show by "emulating famous Hulk poses and performing more than 30 punishing combos."

Players will create their own wrestler, including options for tattoos, clothing, body type, and entrance music, and will get to use that wrestler in both single-player mode and tag-team (in which two players take turns in front of the camera).

In the absence of an actual trailer, find "I Want to Be a Hulkamaniac" by Hulk Hogan and the Wrestling Boot Band after the break. You're welcome!

Microsoft would have you believe that everything is better with a Kinect sensor (just having it near you makes you sexier!), but in terms of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, it's like a real thing. A listing on Xbox.com shows Kinect branding, though no other details were offered.

Voice commands? Ubisoft has done it in the past. Facial recognition? Ubisoft has done it in the past. Fancy Kinect-enabled menu navigation? Ubisoft has done it in the past. It's all specualation, of course. We reached out to Ubisoft, but were given the boilerplate "no comment" response.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Microsoft would have you believe that everything is better with a Kinect sensor (just having it near you makes you sexier!), but in terms of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, it's like a real thing. A listing on Xbox.com shows Kinect branding, though no other details were offered.

Voice commands? Ubisoft has done it in the past. Facial recognition? Ubisoft has done it in the past. Fancy Kinect-enabled menu navigation? Ubisoft has done it in the past. It's all specualation, of course. We reached out to Ubisoft, but were given the boilerplate "no comment" response.

[Thanks, Andrew]

#rumor Ghost Recon: Future Soldier's box art seems to think so, or at least the version uploaded to (and then removed from) Xbox.com today, touting Kinect support for the oft-delayed Tom Clancy game on Xbox 360. More »

#microsoft Entertainment & Devices is the division of Microsoft that makes the cool shit. Xbox, Zune, Windows Phone. Courier. J. Allard was its figurehead for years. He left. And now Otto Berkes, the last original Xbox founder, is gone too. More »

The Australian Classification Board has outed two different titles that might be part of Microsoft's lineup at E3 this year. The first is a game called, no kidding, Kinect Googly Eyes. Obviously, the title will use the Kinect sensor in some way, but it's unclear whether that will be to look out at the world through said eyes, or to pull off some sort of augmented reality-style accessory game.

There's also a rating for an Xbox 360 game called Tetris Party Challenge, likely an update to (you guessed it) Tetris Party. These games join Kinect Me and a few other titles as possible contenders for what we'll see on stage during Microsoft's E3 press conference, which kicks off at 10AM PST on Monday, June 6.

#e32011 Microsoft may be running shorter on genuine new surprises for this year's E3 expo, as Australia's ratings classification board shines a light on new, unannounced Xbox 360 and Kinect games. That said, I'm dying to find out what Kinect Googly Eyes is. More »

A trio of game ratings appeared on the Australian Classification website today, perhaps spoiling some of the titles Microsoft will announce just around the corner at E3. New entries for "Crimson Alliance," "Fusion: Genesis" and "Kinect Me" all list Microsoft as publisher and run the gamut from Mature-rated to PG to G. Only the Crimson Alliance page notes a developer, Certain Affinity, which is corroborated by the game's Brazilian classification. Likewise a rating for Fusion: Genesis has also shown up in Brazil, where both titles are listed for Xbox Live Arcade.

Kinect Me remains the most mysterious of the mystery titles and could perhaps feature some connection to the kinect.me promotional site (pictured above) that's been live since last summer. A source tells Siliconera to expect an E3 announcement of "Kinect Fun Lab," which the site surmises could be a working title for Kinect Me -- both names are at least sufficiently generic-sounding to be one and the same game.

Additionally, Brazil has classified two more Xbox Live Arcade titles, Fruit Ninja Kinect and Hole in the Wall (from Ludia), supporting previous ratings of the pair of pending releases.

#kinect Kinect's patent application said the device could recognize American Sign Language. Microsoft then backed off the claim, at least for the initial generation of the device, saying that sort of application would be supported in later models. Then people started developing open-source Kinect drivers and doing all sorts of cool things with them. And lo and behold, the commercially available Kinect recognizes sign language. More »

A few hacks have hinted at it, a few minigames in collections like Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do have touched on it -- now it seems Microsoft is fully cashing in on the very reason for the Kinect's existence: Hole in the Wall. The game, in which players contort their body in an attempt to fit through the titular cavity, was recently rated by the German USK ratings board. No details about the title were included in the rating, other than the fact Microsoft will handle publishing duties.

Another, equally exciting new entry on the USK ratings site is a DSiWare listing for Chillingo's infinitely addicting puzzle game, Cut the Rope. Again, there are few details, but a tease posted on the Facebook page of indie developer Abstraction Games (which brought Angry Birds to PSP earlier this year) seems to indicate they'll be in charge of porting the title. We'll let you know when we hear more about these two projects!

Avatar Kinect will launch later this Spring, with Kinect owners able to hang-out with up to seven friends in a number of simulated environments. "The gathering spots will range from the set of a late-night talk show to a tailgate party to a magical forest," said Umaimah Mendhro, a senior product manager for Microsoft Startup Business Group...

Originally pegged for a May 27 release, Microsoft's official statement on the release of Avatar Kinect simply states that the new technology/social program (for up to eight people at a time) will be out "later this Spring". [Microsoft Press Release] More »

Though we never assumed that muscular relaxation and gaming peripherals would ever dovetail, massage therapist Jason Stephens has whipped up a Kinect hack that combines the two. Check out Stephens' "technologically mediated healing modality" in this clip, and get ready to taste the colors.

#e3 Microsoft may have had some of its Kinect-heavy E3 2011 showing spoiled a bit early by a Eurogamer report, which pegs "at least 10 non-sequel Kinect games" for the show, including some aimed squarely at the "hardcore" Xbox 360 crowd. More »

Kinect's game line-up will receive a much-needed boost by the end of year, Microsoft has announced. Indeed, the publisher claims that the number of Kinect titles will triple to in excess of 40 by Christmas, according to a report on Joystiq...

A year ago, as Ubisoft reported net losses of €43.671 million for its 2009-10 fiscal year (ending, March 31, 2010), CEO Yves Guillemot brushed aside concern, saying, "We forecast a return to profitable growth in 2010-11." Well, here we are -- and Ubisoft isn't exactly basking in the sun.

For the 2010-11 fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, the publisher's net losses slumped further to €52.120 million (about $74 million). Yet Guillemot again played the role of the optimistic fortuneteller as he looked to the company to "post further growth in both sales and current operating income in 2011-12 and 2012-13." (Notice how he didn't drop the P-word this time.)

He put a positive spin on the 2010-11 fiscal year, too, observing "a sharp upturn in revenue." Indeed, sales were up 19 percent over the previous fiscal year to €1.039 billion. In addition to "another success" with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Guillemot attributed much of the sales growth to a rebounding casual market, which Ubisoft dominated with its (just) dance game segment, as well as strong support for the Kinect and 3DS launches. Notably, 38 percent of the publisher's game sales over the 12-month period came from Wii titles.

Ultimately, Ubisoft's bottom line suffered from reorganization costs, which amounted to €95.9 million in non-recurring charges, including unspecified project terminations (so, Am I Alive?). Presumably, if Ubisoft is now appropriately restructured, it can focus more effectively on making successful products again. "For example," Guillemot offered, "we plan to launch a free-to-play world based on our highly popular franchise for young girls, Imagine."

#trythison European clothing giant TopShop ran a little test in a Moscow store recently: hook a Kinect camera up to a mirror and let the ladies try on clothes without having to actually try them on. More »

It might not bring you to tears, but under the right "conditions" -- like lighting and stuff -- we bet you could totally see some crazy things in this magical Child of Eden pre-order bonus poster (full image) from GameStop. At the very least, it's compatible with any old wall you tack it to. Typical bonus DLC is so limited, you know?

Child of Eden will be released on June 14 for Kinect and plain old controller-induced psychedelic gameplay. Check out this recent video for a better idea of the game's Kinect mechanics.

Rumored by Reuters last night, Microsoft this morning confirmed that they are buying Internet voice talk and video service Skype for $8.5 billion. They also confirmed that the service will "support" devices like the Xbox, Kinect and Windows Phone and that it will be connected to Xbox Live and other Microsoft communities. They will also continue to "support" non-Microsoft platforms, they assured. [Microsoft] More »

Next time Microsoft purchases a company, we know how it'll contact its new acquisition to begin negotiations. Microsoft just entered into an agreement to purchase Skype for "$8.5 billion in cash." There's good news involved, even if you're not a Skype investor: "Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices," Microsoft announced, "and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities."

You won't be stuck exclusively using Skype with Kinect, either, as the company plans to continue supporting Skype clients on platforms other than its own (which means Microsoft is now in control of a PSP app). Microsoft did not provide a timeframe for the debut of these Xbox and Windows Phone services, but we'd be very surprised if there weren't a staged Skype call during Microsoft's E3 presentation next month.