Xbox Game Studios is an American video game publisher and part of Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, for the development and publishing of video games for Microsoft Windows. It has since expanded to include games and other interactive entertainment for the namesake Xbox platforms, Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms, and web-based portals.
The Xbox network, formerly Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system on November 15, 2002. An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the system's launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. This same version is also used with Xbox Series X and Series S. This service is the account for Xbox consoles, accounts can store games and other content.
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo.
All 4 is a video on demand service from the Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to have a TV licence—required for live viewing and the BBC iPlayer on-demand service—when watching on-demand services. The service launched on 16 November 2006 as 4oD. The service offers a variety of programmes recently shown on Channel 4, E4, More4, Film4 and 4Music and shorts. However some programmes and movies are not available due to rights issues. The service was originally available without registration, but free registration was later required. The service is available without advertising on payment of a subscription, under the name All 4+.
National Geographic Wild is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). The channel primarily focuses on wildlife and natural history non-fiction programming. It is a sister network to National Geographic TV.
The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006 and Nintendo's Wii on November 19, 2006, the following year. Each new console introduced new technologies. The Xbox 360 offered games rendered natively at high-definition video (HD) resolutions, the PlayStation 3 offered HD movie playback via a built-in 3D Blu-ray Disc player, and the Wii focused on integrating controllers with movement sensors as well as joysticks. Some Wii controllers could be moved about to control in-game actions, which enabled players to simulate real-world actions through movement during gameplay. By this generation, video game consoles had become an important part of the global IT infrastructure; it is estimated that video game consoles represented 25% of the world's general-purpose computational power in 2007.
Relentless Software was a British video game company formed in 2003 that was based in Brighton. The company was best known for developing 12 games in the BAFTA award-winning and multi-million selling Buzz! franchise from 2005 to 2010. Relentless released its first self-published title, Blue Toad Murder Files on PC and PSN in 2009 and Quiz Climber Rivals, for iPhone in 2011. Relentless has also developed Air Band and Mutation Station, for the Kinect Fun Labs series. In 2012 it released Kinect Nat Geo TV, after which co-founder David Amor left the studio. In 2014 the studio released Murder Files: The Enigma Express on iOS, Google Play, Google Chrome and Kindle Fire. In 2016, the studio was shut down. The studio was working on an unannounced title for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One prior to its closure.
Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flight calculations, which can in turn be used to perform real-time gesture recognition and body skeletal detection, among other capabilities. They also contain microphones that can be used for speech recognition and voice control.
BigPark was a Canadian video game developer owned by Microsoft Studios.
Kinect Sports is a sports video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. The game utilizes the Kinect motion-sensing peripheral and was released in North America on 4 November 2010 as a launch title for Kinect, then, a few days later, Europe, Australia and Japan.
Fruit Ninja is a video game developed by Halfbrick. It was released April 21, 2010 for iPod Touch and iPhone devices, July 12, 2010 for the iPad, September 17, 2010 for Android OS devices. It was released for Windows Phone, on December 22, 2010. Also, in March 2011, versions for Samsung's Bada and Nokia's Symbian began to be distributed on their respective application channels. Just prior to E3 2011 Fruit Ninja Kinect, which utilizes the Kinect peripheral, was released for the Xbox 360 on August 10, 2011. Fruit Ninja was also released for Windows 8, on June 7, 2012. Versions with alternative names exist, such as Fruit Ninja HD on the iPad, Fruit Ninja THD for Nvidia Tegra 2–based Android devices, Fruit Ninja VR for HTC Vive and PlayStation 4, and an arcade version called Fruit Ninja FX. In the game, the player must slice fruit that is thrown into the air by swiping the device's touch screen with their finger(s) or in the case of the Xbox 360 version, the player's arms and hands, and must not slice bombs. It features multiple gameplay modes, leaderboards and multiplayer.
Kinect Star Wars is a Star Wars video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by LucasArts and Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 that uses the Kinect motion peripheral. The game features four game modes: "Jedi Destiny", the primary game mode; podracing; Rancor Rampage; and Galactic Dance-off. In Jedi Destiny, players assume the role models of Jedi Padawans as they wield their lightsabers and use the Force to attack enemies mostly from the prequel trilogy using gestures. Podracing is a race-based game mode, Rancor Rampage is a destruction-based game mode, and Galactic Dance-off is a dance-based game mode similar to the Dance Central series.
Haunt is a horror-themed adventure game developed by NanaOn-Sha and Zoë Mode, and published by Microsoft Studios. It was made available for download worldwide on the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on January 18, 2012. The game requires the Kinect peripheral.
Kinect Sesame Street TV is a Sesame Street video game of an interactive television program for the Microsoft Windows & Xbox 360 consoles. It is based on the children's television series of the same name and is aimed at children. Because of its motion gesture features, the game requires the Xbox 360's Kinect sensor to get into action. It is developed by Microsoft Studios' Soho Productions & published by Microsoft Studios. This interactive television program was released on 18 September 2012.
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the name of Xbox Game Studios. The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console.
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013 and in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, specifically in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Microsoft marketed the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", hence the name "Xbox One". An eighth-generation console, it mainly competed against Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U and later the Switch.
Kinect Sports Rivals is a sports video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One. It is the third game in the Kinect Sports series and utilizes the console's Kinect motion-sensing camera. The game was announced during Microsoft's E3 2013 press event and was released on April 8, 2014.
ID@Xbox is a program by Microsoft allowing independent video game developers to self-publish titles for Windows, and the Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S home video game consoles.
SkyBox Labs Inc. is a Canadian independent video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Derek MacNeil, Shyang Kong and Steven Silvester formerly from EA Vancouver, they are mostly known for their work with Xbox Game Studios on the Halo, Age of Empires and Minecraft franchises.
