According to Skype’s vice president, the company will be doing more to integrate their video chat services with Microsoft’s products, including smart phones and the Xbox. Microsoft announced in May that it would acquire Skype, a deal that is still awaiting approval from European regulators. READ MORE
Gamers using the Xbox and Games for Windows platforms are already familiar with Microsoft Points (aka Xbox points), a virtual currency used for in-game microtransactions. An upcoming game for Windows Phone called Birds & Beaks, developed internally by Microsoft Game Studios, now brings the in-application purchases into the Windows Phone universe–though given current trends, it could lead to a legal challenge. READ MORE
Xbox and ad agencies have joined forces to give video game critics a new reason to think that the industry has a master plan to shorten the attention spans of American youths. Microsoft has announced that they will be introducing natural user-interface ads, or NUads, to video games. The ads will be interactive, a feature that game designers and ad agencies say will grab the attention of gamers in a way television advertising does not. READ MORE
In what is becoming a daily headline, another company that handles critical customer information has been hacked. Engadget’s Vlad Savov is reporting that the website for Codemasters, an independent UK games developer responsible for titles like Dirt 3 and Overlord, was hacked on June 3, compromising “tens of thousands” of customers’ data. Fresh on the heels of the Sony attacks and a Citibank breach, this is starting to look like open season on companies that store customer information. READ MORE
How do rumors get started? Well, Timex Social Club might have had some suspicions, but we’re pretty sure that jealousy was not a factor in the news that Microsoft will likely release two new Kinect titles: Fruit Ninja and Disneyland Adventures, the latter the result of a rumored (there’s that word again) partnership between Microsoft and Disney. What, you were expecting Dr. Evil? READ MORE
If you’re eagerly awaiting your next Xbox or Playstation upgrade, you could be waiting longer than you might have thought—eight or nine years, even. Microsoft and Sony are in no rush to release anything new to customers, according to The New York Times. The reason? Cost. READ MORE
It was only a few years ago that “Microsoft” and “games” seemed the unlikeliest of pairings. The OS provider and software giant was firmly entrenched in the business space. Yet the terms now happily co-exist in the company’s quarterly report. And they could get much cozier, says Erik Sherman on bNet. READ MORE
