Author Profile
James started his career in video games as News Editor on Nintendo Life. Since leaving in 2012 to join Nintendo of Europe, James has risen through the ranks to become NoE's Senior Product PR & Corporate Communications Manager.
News Look Out Dance Central, Just Dance 3 is Coming to Kinect
This just got interesting
Dance Central 2, your competition has arrived: Ubisoft just announced Just Dance 3. The multiformat game — it's heading to Wii and PlayStation Move too — has got an exclusive mode on Kinect, the karaoke-styled "Shout Out" mode that gives you points for singing along as you groove. Will Just Dance 3 continue to...
News Kinect, PlayStation Eye and Wii All Mount Your TV
Why change?
CTA Digital's Kinect wall mount and TV clip lets you easily switch between the sensor and Sony's PlayStation Eye for PlayStation Move, but if that's just too much like hard work — or you have a Nintendo Wii too — then dreamGear's Trimount might be for you. The enormous mount lets you stack your Kinect, Eye camera and Wii sensor bar...
News Pro Boxer James DeGale Practises with Kinect Sports Boxing
Recently lost. Probably a coincidence.
As countless tired gamers can attest, Kinect Sports boxing is a tough workout, but it's so gruelling even professionals use it to keep their training interesting. Professional boxer James DeGale recently took media behind the scenes at his gym in Essex, where he revealed he loves nothing more than a bit of...
News Blacklight Team Working on Kinect "Zero Person Shooter"
So CV says
According to a pair of CVs posted on LinkedIn, Zombie Studios is in the process of creating a new title for Kinect. The team behind admittedly mediocre online shooter Blacklight: Tango Down is apparently creating a "zero person shooter" according to one programmer's CV, that uses the Unreal Engine 3 currently seen powering Gears...
Talking Point What Should Microsoft Do With Kinect At E3?
Tell us your hopes
Microsoft's E3 2011 news conference is only a few weeks away, and our thoughts are turning towards what the company will show off on Monday 6th June. Here's a list of what we believe Microsoft should do with Kinect in order to capture the imagination like it did at E3 2010. Improved Tracking: In its current form, Kinect can...
News Forget Video Kinect, Skype is Coming to Xbox 360
Welcome news indeed
Video Kinect is Microsoft's free online chat programme for Xbox 360, and while it has a few neat tricks — Kinect will follow you around the room, zooming in and out accordingly — it's about to get some tough competition, as Microsoft has confirmed Skype is coming to Xbox 360. Microsoft shelled out $8.5 billion — the press...
News Microsoft's E3 2011 News Conference Details Confirmed
What new games will we see?
It's still highly unlikely we'll see a new Xbox and Kinect at E3 this year, but at least we know where and when the revelation would be made, as Microsoft has announced its pre-show conference details. The event kicks off on Monday 6th June, with guests asked to arrive by 9am Pacific Time, or 5pm UK time. The show is...
Rumour Avatar Kinect Launching 27th May
New updates roll out soon
According to Joystiq, the next round of Xbox Dashboard updates will begin to hit consoles everywhere from 19th May, with the big addition being the launch of Avatar Kinect on 27th May. Joystiq cites images sent through from a Microsoft technical support employee that reveal the release date, as well as reconfirming the...
News Analyst: New Xbox and New Kinect May Be Unveiled in 2012
Gaze into the crystal ball
Recent rumours suggested we'd see a new Xbox console at E3 next month, but these were quickly squashed and thrown away. But next year? That's much more likely, according to M2 Research analyst Billy Pidgeon. The brilliantly named analyst believes the new machine could be shown off at next year's E3 if Xbox 360 sales begin...
News A Kinect Steering Wheel? Now We've Seen It All
Hold out your hands
Try this tricky test of hand-eye coordination: hold out your hands in front of you. Okay, now pretend you're driving a car. Finding it difficult? Then CTA Digital has the solution for you. The company that brought you the Kinect Perfect Range Game Mat has created the Xbox 360 Kinect Steering Wheel. It's like one of the countless...
News New Kinect Wall Mount and TV Clip has a Dual Identity
Why just have one?
Don't know whether to choose a wall mount or a TV clip for your Kinect? Accessory manufacturer CTA Digital has the perfect solution for such a quandary: a peripheral that does both. The new Universal Wall Mount & Clip for the Kinect Camera & PlayStation Eye can be adjusted either to sit on top of the TV or attach to the...
News Perfect Range Game Mat Makes Judging Distance a Doddle
Get in the zone
Ever been frustrated by not knowing where to stand in your play area to get the most accurate detection from Kinect? Then accessory manufacturer CTA Digital has the solution to your problems! The Perfect Range Game Mat sits on your carpet and tells you exactly where you should stand, whether playing solo or with a friend, to get the...
News Let's Look at the Let's Dance with Mel B Track List
Get on the floor
Ex-Spice Girl Mel B is making quite a name for herself in the motion gaming world: following fitness title Get Fit with Mel B the formerly Scary one has teamed up with Ubisoft in the hope gamers will say Let's Dance with Mel B. Ubisoft has released the 28 songs players will be able to dance to when the game launches in Europe on...
Review Virtua Tennis 4 (Xbox 360)
Anyone for tennis?
Last year's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I was the first game branded "Better with Kinect Sensor" but it proved to be anything but. Now the second green-box-purple-stripe game has landed in the sporty form of SEGA's Virtua Tennis 4, but does it fare any better as a sensor game? If you want to play with...
Review Fantastic Pets (Xbox 360)
Best in show or just plain no-show?
Frontier Developments' Kinectimals captured most of the cuddly critter market last year, with its furry felines pouncing on decent scores in the gaming press and good sales at retail. Six months on, THQ is hoping for similar levels of success with Fantastic Pets, but it can't top the best in show. Fantastic Pets...
Review Michael Jackson: The Experience (Xbox 360)
Thriller?
Michael Jackson's videos and stage shows were extravagant affairs — his Dangerous live show ended with him flying off in a jetpack — so the idea of letting gamers enter that fantasy world is a proposition too enticing to resist for Jackson fans. That's exactly where Ubisoft's Michael Jackson: The Experience wants to put you: centre...
Review Carnival Games - In Action! (Xbox 360)
All the fun of the fair
Kinect's already got a reputation for being home to some awful minigame compilations, with dross like Game Party in Motion and Deca Sports Freedom like a lead weight on the overall quality of the sensor's gaming catalogue. You'd be forgiven, then, for expecting Carnival Games: In Action (also known as Carnival Games: Monkey...
News Kinect Input Lag Could Be Cut to Under 5 Milliseconds
Limb-tracking gets faster
When developers take the time to minimise Kinect input lag it's barely noticeable, but the sensor's response time could get even faster in future, according to a newly published Microsoft research paper. Essentially, the current method works out which of your limbs is which and then tracks them, frame-to-frame, says...
Reel deal?
Acting and singing have a lot in common: plenty of people believe they do them brilliantly, and the speed with which celebrities flit between both disciplines would have you believe they’re easy. As anyone who’s listened to a loved one murder a beloved song at karaoke will tell you, singing is best left to the professionals, yet games...
News Kinect Erotics is a Sexy, Sensual, Sensory Overload (NSFW)
Translation: Bit steamy
Carnivals, pets, minigames: these are all fine uses for Kinect's limb-tracking ability, but when the kids have gone to bed you might want to play a slightly different kind of party game. Ubisoft recently caused a bit of a fuss with We Dare on PlayStation Move and Nintendo Wii, but it's nothing compared to the saucy happenings...
News Join the Party with a Free Zumba Fitness Demo on Xbox Live
Or don't
Funky rhythm fitness game Zumba Fitness: Join the Party may not be the best exercise game on Kinect — in fact, it's one of the worst — but if you wanted to bring a little Latin flavour to your home workout you can now do so for absolutely nothing, thanks to a demo. Exclusive to Gold Members, the Zumba Fitness demo weighs in at a 4GB...
News Forget Kinect Sports Boxing, Kinect Punch-Out!! is the New Champion
One hit KO
We already know it's possible to play Super Mario Bros. on Kinect, but what about something a bit more suited to the sensor's purpose? While Rare did an admirable job of translating the sweet science in its Kinect Sports boxing mode, coder Dan Dockery has brought classic NES fighter Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (also known as Punch-Out!!...
Review Dr Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises (Xbox 360)
Grey matters
The original Dr Kawashima's Brain Training on Nintendo DS started a revolution back in the day: suddenly game developers realised they could tap into a brand new market of buyers eager to kickstart their cerebral centres, and a host of copycat titles emerged over the next few years. With Kinect ready-made for this same market, it's no...
News Kinect to Receive its First Wartime First-Person Shooter
Heavy Fire: Afghanistan is real
The other day we told you about a new Kinect first-person shooter called Heavy Fire: Afghanistan, leaked by Gamefly. Since then we've been in contact with developer Teyon, who has confirmed the game is very real and on the way to multiple formats in April. The Heavy Fire series has appeared on WiiWare in the form of...
