Gaming

Bloggers and forums are buzzing this morning with reports that Microsoft's eagerly anticipated Xbox 360, released yesterday, is prone to overheating and crashing. Gamers are reporting freezes in the middle of playing, and some say that they've gotten email back from Microsoft customer support that says a flashing orange screen (what happened to that pretty Microsoft blue?) means the box is running too hot.

No word yet on how widespread the problem actually is, or whether Microsoft plans to do anything about it.

PALMDALE, Calif.--Since Microsoft's Zero Hour launch event for the new Xbox 360 is a non-stop, 32-hour shindig, it stands to reason that even the hardest of the hard-core gamers here might need a little sleep.

To be sure, some of the many motels and hotels in the Palmdale and nearby Lancaster areas were full up with Zero Hour attendees who needed the comfort of a real bed. But a whole lot of the 2,000 or more gamers who made their way to this desert town an hour outside Los Angeles couldn't be bothered with leaving.

Which … Read more

PALMDALE, Calif.--It's 4:20 on Monday afternoon and deep inside the hangar where Microsoft is holding its Xbox 360 launch event, the hard-core gamers are separating themselves from everyone else.

At 9 p.m., the many people on hand who have purchased one of the next-generation consoles will finally get their machines. Or at least, the people at the front of the line that began forming at 1 p.m. will.

Indeed, the line began when Norm Edwards, a 33-year-old game writer from Brentwood, Calif., sat down on one of the hundreds upon hundreds of beanbags here. And … Read more

Okay, so you don't have your new Xbox 360 yet. No one does, after all, since they don't hit the market until next Tuesday.

But actually, some of gamer and gadget sites got their hands on a few (sadly, I can't say the same for those of us at CNET News.com). And one of those sites, AnandTech, decided to do something pretty interesting with their 360.

Sure, they could have plugged it in and played games on it. But that would have been soooooo conventional. No, these guys don't roll like that.

Instead, they decided … Read more

If you're the kind of person who dreams about "Tetris," can play "Diner Dash" while you work, and can outright destroy the computer opponent at hearts, SkillJam just might have $1 million for you.

The company, a subsidiary of Fun Technologies, on Monday announced that it is giving away that cool million to the world's best casual game player. If that's not incentive to sneak in a little solitaire while your boss isn't looking--or hey, even when she is looking--I don't know what is.

The competition will pit the very best … Read more

If you happen to find yourself near the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, N.Y., on Saturday, it would be well worth your while to stop in, plunk down 10 bucks and spend the day at the 2005 Machinima Film Festival.

Machinima--which the festival's Web site defines as "animated filmmaking using 3D video game technologies"--is cool. Really cool. It may have a long way to go before it's recognized for the art form it is, but, well, it's cool.

After all, what's really happening here is that artists are using the … Read more

It seems that gamers eager to get themselves an Xbox 360 - or at least to ensure that they get one when the next-generation console is released on Nov. 22 - have at least one new option.

But it ain't cheap.

As first noted by the gadget site I4U, Amazon.com has begun offering Xbox 360 bundles that come with the console itself, lots of games and a bunch of tasty extras. But the price is a cool thousand bucks. You heard me right.

There are four different bundles available, two known as a "Core Player's Bundle&… Read more

I've been hearing for some time that Microsoft plans to fete the launch of the Xbox 360 with a big desert celebration. Until now, though, I hadn't heard anything definitive.

But now comes word, via ActiveWin, of something a little more specific.

According to the site, Microsoft is planning a giant event in the desert--"Burning Man meets E3"--where a whole bunch of selected game players will get to be among the first to get their hands on the new console.

It's supposed to be, or so I hear, a 24-hour event scheduled for … Read more

Savvy shoppers may be able to save about $30 on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance this Thanksgiving season.

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores will likely start selling the handheld game player this Thanksgiving shopping season for $48.88, according to Web site Black Friday 2005, which posts information about retail deals. Currently, the Game Boy Advance sells for $79 and change at a variety of retailers and web sites.

The handheld game player is part of an anticipated Black Friday electronics cavalcade by Wal-Mart. Other expected bargains include a $398 laptop from Hewlett-Packard, an $88 Razr phone a Hitachi video camera … Read more