Microsoft have said today that Kinect will only accept voice recognition in American English, British English, Japanese and Mexican Spanish until Spring 2011.

That means gamers in mainland Europe are not going to be able to use the voice recognition features of Kinect- even if they can speak one of the supported languages. The region-locked nature of the Xbox 360 will mean the features will be completely locked out to them anyway. Microsoft have defended their choice of Mexican Spanish over ..read the full article

You had to see this one coming. Yesterday, there was a reported Kinect Beta listing on ebay for $1200. The listing didn’t stay up for long however, getting not a single bid before being taken down. Whether taken down by the seller or ebay…the world may never know.

I wasn’t one of the lucky few involved in the Kinect Beta nor have I viewed the NDA.  One can assume that somewhere in all that fine print there’s a rather large bit of ..read the full article

When THQ began to reveal info about the newest iteration in the WWE Raw vs. Smackdown series, one item of interest was that Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart would be available as a pre-order bonus for those who ordered the game from Best Buy, as well as major Canadian retailers. And today, they’ve revealed what those who patronize other stores and websites will receive.

“While supplies last,” Toys R Us pre-orders will come with an alternate ..read the full article

There is just all sorts of news coming up from Xbox LIVE Director of Programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb today. First, we learn about the upcoming Xbox 360 controller with adjustable D-pad, and now we get to learn what awaits us on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace throughout the month of September.

Already available before the start of the month is Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, which will run you but 400 Microsoft Points (around five bucks) for the ..read the full article

Yesterday, we learned of Microsoft’s impending price increase for its Xbox LIVE Gold service, much to the dismay of those who use it or had planned on joining. Today, however, we have the words of an analyst to put us in our place and explain to us why this is a good thing.

Indeed, it is the famed analyst Jesse Divinch of EEDAR who has arrived on his white horse to explain to us why paying more for ..read the full article

Another slow week in new game releases, however, there are still a few big games hitting stores including Metroid: Other M for the Wii, Dead Rising: Case Zero for the Xbox 360 and Valkyria Chronicles 2 for the PSP. Hit the jump for the full list of new games coming out this week.

Pick of the Week: Metroid: Other M (Wii)

Xbox 360:

Dead Rising: Case Zero

Wii:

Guilty Party Gunblade NYC & LA Machine Guns Metroid: Other M

PC:

Ghost Pirate ..read the full article

The other day, Ripten brought you some, “Colossal” new footage from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.  Well today we are going to answer a question that many of you have been asking over and over again …  “Exactly how did Hideo Kojima influence this game!?”  Luckily for you, in an excerpt from our upcoming interview with executive producer David Cox, he tells us just that.

You can read the full interview within my upcoming preview, but for now, let’s get ..read the full article

If there is one thing you probably don’t want to do, it’s upset a military man.

Unfortunately, that seems to be precisely what some foul-mouthed young tots have done to war hero, U.S. military adviser, and consultant for Call Of Duty: Black Ops, Hank Keirsey. In addition to Treyarch’s latest, Keirsey has also had a hand in Call of Duty 3 and Modern Warfare, making him not only familiar with the games, but those who play them as ..read the full article

Ripten was lucky enough to get hands on with the final version of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow this week.  Better yet, we we’ve just been given the go ahead from Konami to go live with the gameplay footage that we took.

Not impressed?  Well you may be the only one.  There are several titans like this that you will have to conquer throughout the 25+ hours of intense gameplay. Are you up for it?

Look for more hands on coverage plus my upcoming ..read the full article

Wow…just wow!  While I admit to not being the biggest Halo Fan, the stunning new Halo: Reach trailer “Deliver Hope” has made a believer out of me!  Microsoft has always marketed Halo very well and “Deliver Hope” carries on in this grand tradition.   Halo: Reach explodes to retailers on September 14th. Watch the trailer below:

New Halo: Reach Details Announced Halo: Reach Release Date Announced Halo: Reach to Have “Never Seen Before” Gameplay, Hyperbole Help Build the Halo:Reach Monument of Light Halo: Reach to Feature Matchmaking in Campaign Halo: Reach Download ..read the full article

Recently, news broke that Rare would be redesigning their Xbox Avatars to have more realistic proportions for Kinect games which employ them. The reason being, simply, is that the cartoon-styled proportions were apparently causing people difficulty in coordinating with their on-screen persona.

While it might be a stretch to say that this set the whole gaming community abuzz with concern, there was some chatter and speculation about what a “realistic” Avatar might look like. In the process, ..read the full article

THQ has recently announced the full launch of their online portal for WWE video games at wwe.thq.com/, as well as their official community website for their latest title, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011, at community.smackdownvsraw.com. Together, the two sites will host a variety of new and interesting features, including an exclusive blog written by current United States Champion and Money In The Bank winner The Miz, a “Create-a-Superstar” application, and more regular features, such as the official ..read the full article

When Kinect comes out later this year, you might be looking for a way to mount the device and keep it out of the way. For me, I’d like to be able to mount the device on the wall and keep it out of the way. Performance Designed Products has designed just such mounts, and they are the only ones officially licensed by Microsoft. Here’s the breakdown:

Wall Mount for Kinect, SRP: $14.99 -The Wall Mount provides a quick and easy ..read the full article

Adding more excitement to Pacific City, Microsoft Games Studio and Ruffian Games announce “Toy Box” Game add-on and paid upgradable content DLC for open world game Crackdown 2. In an earlier press release the “Toy Box” DLC was confirmed free and will add new content such as: a Vehicle Tag Mode, Level 6 ability award, and return of the notoriously popular Keys to the City which includes God mode, infinite ammo, a fly cam, new weapons and other delectable goodies. Still want more?  Upgradable content is available for 560 Microsoft points ..read the full article

If you’re anything like me, you loved the Halo 3 viral campaign and every little bit of it. Well my appetite has been whetted once again, with Microsoft and Bungie launching an amazing campaign giving players the chance to experience hundreds of pieces of information prior to the game launching in less than three weeks.

The Halo: Reach “Monument of Light” is set to give players the chance to look at a continually regenerating sculpture that will be composed of thousands ..read the full article

Since the dawn of video games, there has been but one goal set before players everywhere: kill everything in sight.

Oh, sure, some may argue that Pong wasn’t about killing, but they clearly never spent a Friday night in the 70′s playing a round in a bar as the other guy managed to slip the ball past their paddle for the game-winning shot.

Okay, I’ll admit it: I never did, either. But I’ve heard things.

The point remains, however, that ..read the full article

In the early 90′s, two fighting games stood head and shoulders above all the rest: Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. And among the fans of those titles were those who wished the two would come together, if only so that they could prove their brand of martial art was the superior fighter.

Of course, back then, it was all little more than a pipe dream, as companies didn’t tend to collaborate very much. But over time, ..read the full article

As great as Marvel vs. Capcom 3 promises to be, there are bound to be some disappointments with its roster. After all, even with the storage capacity of a Blu-ray disc, it seems as though there is no way to fit the entirety of one company’s universe into the game, never mind both.

With that said, one is left to wonder which of Marvel’s mightiest masters of mayhem won’t make the coveted cut to combat Capcom’s corps.

One well-known ..read the full article