GeekSugar

May Must Haves: Your Geek Girl Summer Essentials

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:28:57 PDT

Before we start our Summer vacations, we'll be spending a few more days inside: perfecting our digital painting technique with a new iPad accessory, catching up on the latest season of a new geek classic, and basking in the glory of the coolest gaming console this side of Tatooine. See what the GeekSugar team must have this May in the slideshow!

Do You Turn Off Your Gaming Consoles?

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:22:29 PDT

A new study shows that 68 percent of the consumed US game console energy happened while in idle mode in 2010, meaning players simply walked away from the console instead of powering down after a session. While this may be more convenient for you, it's costing you an arm and a leg in energy costs; $1.24 billion total nationwide.

Even better than powering down your consoles? Unplugging them altogether to save even more dough when not at home.

Are you guilty of leaving your gaming console on instead of powering down?

Source: Flickr user PseudoGil

5 Movies We'd Like to Play On Kinect

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 06:30:27 PDT

Our long wait for the Kinect Star Wars game is finally over! Landing on store shelves today, non-Jedis can now use the Force to battle Darth Vader himself, fly through pod races, and dance the Clone War battles away in groovin' competitions.

After months of waiting, we're excited for the motion-based Star Wars game, but it has us wondering what other movies would make thrilling Kinect games. We're adding these movies to our Kinect dream list; what movie would you like to play a part of in Kinect?

Harry Potter - There's an amusement park in Florida and a studio tour in London, but for fans that can't travel to these destinations, casting spells and vanquishing Dementors the Kinect way would be just as wizardly.
The Hunger Games - A story with the premise of adolescents killing other adolescents as part of a nationwide reality TV show is disturbing, and any video game would be just as gruesome to imagine. However, just the talents exhibited by Katniss, like archery and hunting, could make for interesting interactive role-play.
Lord of the Rings - Enter Mordor? No problem in Kinect form! If you've read all the books and obsessively watched all the movies, a Kinect game of the hobbits' journey is the last step in a complete Middle Earth adventure.

See two more movies we'd like to play on Kinect after the break.

Podraces and Jedi Dance-offs: Kinect Star Wars

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:02:02 PDT

We first learned of Kinect Star Wars with a teaser trailer at E3 2011 and have been waiting eagerly since for the game to finally debut. April 3 marks the day we can begin to harness the interactive Jedi Force at home.

This new behind-the-scenes video from Xbox gives us a closer look at what we can expect in becoming part of the virtual Star Wars universe. Begin the game as a Padawan with Yoda serving as your Jedi Master. Move through the game by duking it out in podraces, as the pilot of a starfighter, intimidating enemies such as a Rancor monster, and partaking in the very essential Star Wars character dance-offs.

You can preorder Kinect Star Wars now for $50. In the meantime, make like those Stormtroopers and practice your best high-snap dance moves.

Star Wars LE Xbox 360 Bundle Finally Gets Release Date

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:56:20 PST

The Star Wars limited-edition Xbox 360 Kinect bundle we've all been waiting for finally (finally!) got a release date and price: April 3 for $449. Hurry on over to Amazon where you can skip the midnight release lines and preorder the bundle now.

Not only will this 320GB hard drive Xbox 360 bundle come packaged with Kinect Star Wars (and standard-issue ), but the console itself will be dressed in R2-D2 garb (complete with on/off and open/close sounds), a stormtrooper white Kinect sensor, a C-3PO gold Xbox controller, and a wired headset. Check out more images of the package in the gallery!

5 Fitness Games to Help You Burn Off Holiday Bulge

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:22:56 PST

The family binging events are over, so now it's time to talk resolutions and fighting off some of that bulge you may have picked up during the holiday season. Good news is there are plenty of ways to burn some calories without spending half an afternoon in the gym. Fire up your favorite gaming console and pop in one of these titles that will have you working up a sweat in no time.

Your Shape Fitness Evolved ($34) - Working with the Xbox 360 and Kinect sensor, this game provides a personalized fitness program based on your skill level, but the Kinect actually senses where your joints are to give you proper form tips while you're playing. Add in special martial arts and weight loss classes led by actual celebrity trainers, and you have yourself a pretty amazing fitness game that really isn't a game at all.
The Fight: Lights Out ($20) - I like The Fight (which works in conjunction with the PlayStation Move), and in comparison to other fitness specific video games it doesn't feel like a workout; it just feels like fun.
Get Fit With Mel B ($) - Another PlayStation Move title, Get Fit With Mel B seems like it would be a good alternative to the gym; mostly cause Mel B is ripped, and if this helps her stay fit, it's gotta work for me, right?
Just Dance 2 ($34) - Like DDR before it, the Wii-compatible Just Dance 2 lets you work up a sweat with some awesome moves, and sing along to popular music. It doesn't get any better than that!
EA Sports Active 2 ($45) - I'm already a big fan of the EA Sports Active titles, so pairing it with the Kinect system is sure to give me an even better, more engaging workout experience.

15 Days of Holiday Giveaways, Day 12: Win an Xbox 360 Kinect Prize Package

GeekSugar — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:14:54 PST

It's the holiday season, and we're getting in the spirit with our third annual 15 Days of Holiday Giveaways! Every day for the first 15 days of December, one of the PopSugar Network sites - plus our sister sites PopSugar Shop, Fashionologie, and ShopStyle - will feature a new fabulous giveaway.

For our 12th day of holiday giveaways, we are giving away two Xbox 360 prize packages filled with an Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Holiday Bundle, an Xbox LIVE 12-month Gold Membership, and four games: Dance Central 2, Kinect Sports: Season Two, Forza Motorsport 4, and Kinect: Disneyland Adventures. There are two chances to win this ultimate Xbox 360 prize package, enter now!

This giveaway has ended.

After you enter our giveaway above, don't forget to enter BuzzSugar's giveaway of a year of movie tickets for you and a friend from MovieTickets.com, BellaSugar's giveaway of $2,000 to Saks Fifth Avenue, and Fashionologie's giveaway of a $1,000 shopping spree to Theory. Good luck and happy holidays!

Xbox Live Pushes Major Updates Tuesday

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:17:16 PST

This Tuesday a major change (for the better) takes place on Xbox Live. With a revamp of the dashboard and the addition of media content partners, Microsoft hopes to turn the Xbox into the living room's primary entertainment hub. The free upgrade will push to all Xbox Live accounts Dec. 6, opening the gate to a larger world of media applications to be released in waves.

The initial media partners released alongside the software updates are Today from MSNBC, Epix, and changes to the Netflix and Hulu Plus dashboards. Look for other well-known partners and apps including TMZ, Verizon FiOS TV, Vevo, Vudu, and YouTube (finally!) to hit Xbox Live later this month. As with Hulu Plus and Netflix, many of these programming options will require a paid subscription.

The addition of a smartphone remote and voice-controlled Bing search bring an extra dash of competitive technology to Xbox. The Xbox Companion app for Windows Phone syncs to the larger onscreen console display and searches across the program partners for content, updates social statuses, and does something as basic as fast-forwarding through a movie. Kinect owners can also choose to speak their search queries and navigate the entire dashboard through voice.

Check out a gallery of images highlighting Xbox Live's new features and sleek dashboard here.

7 Ways to Stream Video on the Xbox 360

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:01:14 PDT

Microsoft announced some major additions to the streaming media options available on Xbox Live, which may see the Xbox 360 platform become your main gateway to at-home entertainment. Beginning this holiday season, Microsoft is teaming up with nearly 40 media companies, networks, and web destinations to get global entertainment in one spot. As they say, "Gone are the days of managing a handful of remote controls." Details on exact subscription costs for each service within Xbox haven't been released.

While services and entertainment options vary by region, these six streaming options are bound to make you Xbox's biggest fan.

HBO GO - If you're already an HBO cable subscriber, this will stream your favorite HBO programming directly into the Xbox dashboard.
Hulu Plus - Catch up on a broad selection of network television programming and movies at $7.99 per month.
Comcast Xfinity - Available to Xfinity TV subscribers, Xfinity On Demand brings the most current episode of shows, along with season archives, and movies to the Xbox Live dashboard.
Vevo - Check out the latest music videos without cramming around a computer screen or worrying about software plug-ins.
Verizon FiOS TV - Available in time for the holiday season, Verizon is slated to bring a selection of live TV channels to Xbox 360 that will also be integrated with Kinect.
Netflix - Netflix has long been available on Xbox Live, but it's a classic complement to the slew of new programming on the platform. This may be the call to drop the DVD subscription as well.
Youtube - Don't forget the viral videos. You can still view the buzz-worthy videos of the Internet with YouTube on Xbox.

When the Gaming and Fashion Worlds Collide

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:25:06 PDT

If you spend hours perfecting the moves of Dance Central for Xbox Kinect, know that you're not alone. The craze has spread to the world of high fashion. French label Lanvin took a cheeky turn to promote its upcoming Fall/Winter 2011 collection, by filming models dancing to Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me" from the perspective of the Kinect. Check out the fabulous fashion folk, including singer Karen Elson and designer Alber Elbaz up their Kinect cred. The important question is, what level of difficulty are they on?