kinect

Hope you're sitting down for this: Jeff actually has positive words about a movie he saw this weekend! Without giving away the surprise, suffice it to say that Jeff's complaints about the lack of creativity in film and his disgust with the movie-going experience disappeared for two hours on Friday.

In advance of Microsoft's mysterious press event today, we'll speculate what's in store for the software giant and how it could fit into the 56-page road map document that leaked over the weekend.… Read more

If a supposedly leaked, 56-page Microsoft document is the real deal, we've now got more details on the Xbox 720, as well as on the next version of Kinect. We've also got an intriguing glimpse of a Google glasses-like project called Project Fortaleza.

Our sister site CNET UK has a report on the document, which was written about by The Verge earlier today. Among other things, the document says the 720 console will feature Blu-ray functionality for showing high-def movies and will be able to play films in 3D. Check out the CNET UK story here.

You know the future isn't going to be all that, don't you?

There might, though, be certain things that will uplift you beyond measure. I now wish to live at least another 50 years, so that I can experience the new potential of Microsoft's Kinect.

For sometime in the future, Kinect is going to start knowing exactly how I'm feeling. Indeed, Microsoft has filed a patent application that promises this during Kinect play: "Online activities for users are obtained and processed to assign emotional states to the users."

Kinect is going to care. Kinect … Read more

We'll wait until tomorrow to go over all the Apple announcements from WWDC, so today's show is all about Jeff's return to the East Coast and his E3 wrap-up. Jeff and Scott Stein agree that the show lacked the hardware announcements everyone expected, with Nintendo playing serious catch-up with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Jeff and I then envision a potential future without E3 or maybe even a move to New York, where my co-host wouldn't be forced to play next-gen hockey games as the LA Kings.

Moving on, we'll talk about Microsoft registering … Read more

LOS ANGELES--It's been a big year for the people behind Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console, and its growing ecosystem. Month after month, the machine tops the console sales charts, and it boasts some of the most anticipated exclusive games in the industry.

This week, of course, the Xbox team is cheek-by-jowl with all of its partners and developers, and its competitors. It's E3 week, after all. And at its Monday media briefing, and at its mammoth booth at the Los Angeles Convention Center here, Microsoft has been touting its latest attempts at separating the Xbox from … Read more

Normally, a new version of EA Sports' Madden Football is an E3 non-event. Not so at E3 2012: in fact, it became a sort of poster-child for future-forward gaming.

Admittedly, the second-screen Madden prototypes on Xbox SmartGlass shown briefly at Microsoft's press conference aren't real (yet), but Madden 13 does feature integrated Kinect features and completely new player physics, dubbed Infinity Engine.

The most interesting part of the Madden's Kinect feature-set is that it doesn't use the camera: instead, it relies on voice commands as a way of controlling pre-snap adjustments on offense and defense. Joe Montana seemed to pull it off well during Microsoft's keynote, but I needed proof. I tried it in a relatively quiet E3 show floor booth, and it not only worked, but it could end up being a feature I actually use. … Read more

LOS ANGELES--I've lost track of how many E3 shows I've been to. It doesn't matter. What's important is that the show used to be larger, more vibrant...and more relevant. What happened?

If you boil down this year's show, new hardware was scarce and new software didn't fill the gap. Still, trends were present and lessons, too, that I hope get applied to next year's show. Yes, it was an odd year this year. … Read more

Get ready to get your game on. E3 has begun:

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, called E3 for short, has kicked off. It's the big video game conference of the year, and even though the show has just begun, it looks like this is the year of the second screen. Both the Wii U and the Xbox 360 are showing off ways to tie tablet screen interaction with what's on the television, creating a richer game and entertainment experience. You can catch all our continuing coverage of the show at cnet.com/e3.

Nintendo's press conference isn't … Read more

LOS ANGELES--An earth-shaking and in-depth demo of Halo 4 opened up Microsoft's annual E3 Xbox 360 media briefing today, getting the thousands on hand worked up about the upcoming blockbuster. But beyond that, Microsoft had little to sustain the excitement.

For years, the video game press has flocked dutifully to Microsoft's shindig, which traditionally gets the honor of kicking off E3 week here, and setting the bar that rivals Sony and Nintendo have to try to jump at their own mega-briefings. This year those companies shouldn't be too worried about whether they can measure up.

While there … Read more