Gaming

Everyone knows that since its inception, Microsoft's Xbox has been a money-loser. The argument always was that sales of the box would drive sales of Microsoft's own game titles as well as hefty licensing fees from third-party publishers.

But now, according to Forbes, comes word that makes it very difficult to imagine that the Xbox could ever have been an effective loss leader.

Forbes says that the Xbox division has lost $4 billion since 2001. Four. Billion. Dollars.

That's a lot of money, even for Microsoft, which Forbes also says has a war chest of $40 billion … Read more

Since it's still months until the expected spring 2006 release of the Nintendo Revolution, there is little hard news about the next-generation console.

True, the Japanese video game giant shocked the world earlier this month by unveiling the revolutionary game controller that players will hold in one hand instead of the standard two.

Other than that, little has been known about the Revolution while competitors Sony and Microsoft long ago spilled their guts about the guts of their next-gen consoles, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, respectively.

Now though, technology site Ars Technica has posted an article with … Read more

What's the first thing you think about when you think of travel Web sites? Games, right? Well, maybe not, but if the folks at Orbitz have anything to say about it, you'll soon be ditching your Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Commodore 64 and other game system and clicking on over to the site's new portal, Orbitz Games.

The idea seems to be that by linking casual games with a travel site, Orbitz will generate an organic community of "Orbitz enthusiasts who will connect with the brand when they are thinking about travel," the company … Read more

As if the video game console battles surrounding the Microsoft Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution weren't enough, Nintendo on Tuesday released its new GameBoy Micro in Japan.

Tiny by game device standards, the Micro, which will hit U.S. shelves on Sept. 19 at around $100, is only 4 inches long by 2 inches deep and 0.68 inches thick, reports PC World.

According to Nintendo, the Micro has about the same power as previous generation GameBoys, despite its miniscule size, and can run GameBoy Advance games.

Nintendo timed its Japanese release of the Micro with the … Read more

If you're gonna go around chopping up hulking monsters, you might as well do it right (that's what Mom always says, at least). If you concur, take note that NubyTech has just upped the ante on its "Resident Evil 4" Chainsaw Controller with an enhanced version for the PlayStation 2. The blood-splattered plastic gadget, based on the infamous in-game chainsaw, is meant to enhance the gameplay's fright factor.

NubyTech already makes the accessory for the GameCube, but the new version has been redesigned down to the blood spots, reddish-orange color and display stand. The machine … Read more

If history tells us anything, it's that the Chinese and Japanese have no love lost for each other. After all, the Japanese invaded and occupied China in 1937, a military struggle that didn't end until 1945.

Well, if a video game said to be currently under joint development by the Chinese government and the Communist Youth League of China is any indication, it seems the bitter feelings between the two countries related to that war may still linger. According to The Asahi Shimbun, China has been working on the "Anti-Japan War Online," an online game that … Read more

Last month, Amazon.com mistakenly posted a pre-order price for the PlayStation 3 and then begged it off, saying it was nothing more than a placeholder page. Well, now it's apparently backtracking again, this time with the Xbox 360.

According to Punchjump, Amazon had been taking pre-orders for the Xbox 360 and was planning to deliver them through its partner, Toys R US. But now, the site reports, the two companies have just sent out a letter to anyone who placed a pre-order apologizing and canceling the transaction.

"Due to a system error, we mistakenly listed the Xbox … Read more

For game developers, one of the stickiest tasks has always been porting their creations to new devices. If they built a game for PCs, it would usually be a major ordeal to get it running on PlayStation 2s, for example.

Well, according to Associated Press reports, if the South Koreans have anything to say about this, that dynamic could soon be a distant memory. That's because the country's Ministry of Information and Communication has unveiled a cross-platform game engine called, appropriately enough, the "cross-platform game engine." How's that for ingenuity in naming?

In any case, … Read more

After months searching the country for someone to play the popular character Queen Antonia from its online game "EverQuest II," Sony Online Entertainment has finally made its choice.

Over the weekend, the company picked Anna Wainscoat, a gamer from Sacramento, Calif., to travel to fan events and conventions and portray the sexy queen. Wainscoat won out over more than 200 other candidates for the gig. She'll also get a pictorial in Stuff magazine as part of her reward for looking more like the animated Queen Antonia, at least to the judges, than anyone else.

The search last … Read more