GeekSugar

4 Reasons We Can't Wait to Play Harry Potter For Kinect

Laura Marie Given — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:02:00 PDT

There's a book series, a film series, a Florida amusement park, a London studio tour, and, coming this Fall, there will also be the Harry Potter For Kinect video game! Based on the eight films, the game gives diehard fans a chance to experience the movies' most memorable moments for themselves, whether as a character or as their own avatar. Check out the top four reasons we're excited to play:

Pretending we're wizards: Thanks to hands-free and voice-recognition technology, users can cast spells using physical maneuvers or by calling out spell names. We're already practicing our "Expelliarmus!" technique.
Flying (sort of): It's a dream come (virtually) true. Gamers will have the opportunity to fly on a broomstick for their very own Quidditch match.
Walking in Harry's shoes: With the game, users can experience some of Harry's classic moments, like choosing a house at Hogwarts, visiting Ollivanders, and confronting He Who Shall Not Be Named in a final, dramatic battle.
Some friendly competition: Select co-op gameplay to connect with wizardly friends, and master lessons so you can challenge other opponents in competitive minigames.

Do you plan to buy Harry Potter For Kinect?

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

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.

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!

Back-to-School Gaming Deals: Free Xbox With Laptop Purchase

Kelly Schwarze — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:41:28 PDT

Good news gaming fans: major tech players Sony and Microsoft are tempting you to buy their products this Fall by throwing gaming units in with the purchase of qualifying computers.

Students who are also Xbox 360 fans can select from a nicely priced ($700 or more) Windows 7 Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, or Toshiba laptop or desktop to qualify for a free Xbox 360 console. Better yet, you don't even have to leave the dorm as you can buy online with a valid .edu email address or buy at a Microsoft store with a student ID.

Gamers not currently in school also benefit from Sony's current deal; purchase a Sony VAIO F Series notebook with a Sony Playstation 3 console for a total of $950. Just remember to leave time for studying between games.

E3 Announcements: 5 Xbox Games I'm Excited About

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:17:41 PDT

Yesterday's Microsoft E3 press briefing gave us a look at what's to come in the next year for Xbox, and I gotta say - it's looking pretty good, folks. Though the presentation brought a ton of new titles (but very little launch dates), there were some standout games that I can't wait to see more of. Check out which ones below, then tell me your favorites in the comments!

Tomb Raider - This new look at the series takes us back to Lara Croft's origin - when she was just 21 years old, fighting her way through a mysterious island. The demo looked really intense and sometimes even a little bit frightening.
Kinect Star Wars - I perked up when I heard the Star Wars theme music playing during the presentation for this new title. I'm hoping LucasFilm does what it does best to help Kinect Star Wars take off - produce some awesome accessories to go along with it. Hello, light saber!

See the rest of my list after the jump.

Steve Ballmer Wants Girls to Get Excited About the Kinect, Xbox 360

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:00:07 PST

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently spoke to USA Today on the company's future plans, goals, and the state of gaming today. When asked if Microsoft resonated with the younger crowd like Apple seems to, Steve had an interesting response about girls and games. He says:

You go to your average 15-year-old boy, and he will say "I'll take an Xbox." I want that average 15-year-old girl as excited about the Kinect, and we haven't done as good a job drawing in that broader set of demographics.

While I appreciate Microsoft's efforts in making the Xbox more of a family entertainment center (heck, even Oprah gave them away), I have to say - I love the Xbox for its other games as well. One of my favorites, Fable II, is exclusive on the Xbox and really got me interested in other types of games that would normally be categorized as predominantly "male" titles. Now, I play Call of Duty, Gears of War, and Mass Effect just as often as I queue up Dance Central. Am I an exception, or are there more of you out there like me? Now I'm curious, girls, so tell me - which gaming console do you have at home?

Want a Kinect For Christmas? Better Order It Now

Michele Foley — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:47:07 PST

It's safe to say that the Kinect is the must-have gift this holiday, but it looks like there might be some disappointed faces come Christmas. Don Mattrick, the president of Microsoft's Xbox business unit, told audience members at the Web 2.0 Summit that if they want a Kinect in time for Christmas, they need to buy one within the week. Don speculates that at the rate Kinects are currently flying off shelves, there won't be any left by the time Christmas rolls around.

Microsoft moved one million Kinects in under two weeks and is projecting to sell five million by year's end. A quick look around the web shows that it's currently sold out online at GameStop, Amazon, Target, and BestBuy. Is this the equivalent of the Cabbage Patch Kid craze of the '80s or more recently, the great Wii shortage of 2007?

Xbox Live May Be Growing Faster Than Cable

Kristen Hawley — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 09:30:14 PDT

Microsoft's Xbox 360 is a popular gaming system, but fans can use for much more than games given its streaming capabilities and Internet connectivity. Xbox Live, Microsoft's Xbox content service, now has 25 million subscribers worldwide, which is officially more than top cable company Comcast. This is bad news for the cable service, which has been seeing a recent decrease in subscriptions, down to 23 million subscribers nationwide.

Find out why Comcast should continue to worry after the jump.

12 Days of Holiday Giveaways, Day 9: Win Sherlock Holmes Tickets, Limited Edition Xbox 360, and More!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:00:16 PST

It's holiday season, and the PopSugar Network is getting in the spirit with 12 days of amazing giveaways! In case you missed them, Très' gifting one reader a $500 Travelocity hotel gift card redeemable for stays at more than 55,000 hotels, Pet is giving away a new doggie wardrobe from Ralph Lauren Pup, Savvy is bringing you $500 from exclusive invitation-only private sale destination Rue La La, and much, much more!

Now it's time for me to get in on the giving with an awesome prize package of my own! One lucky winner will score tickets for you and a friend to a special preview screening of the film Sherlock Holmes, a limited edition Sherlock Holmes Xbox 360 (valued at $1,000!), and a grand prize package of Sherlock Holmes gear such as his iconic wool cap, an umbrella and much, much more!

To enter, all you have to do is take this quiz. It doesn't matter how you do, you just have to answer the three questions - official rules here. This giveaway is open for a week, but you won't want to miss any of our fabulous giveaways, so stay tuned every day and enter them all. Be sure you're logged into your PopSugar Community account to be entered, so if you're not already a member, register now. This giveaway is open for a week, but you won't want to miss any of our fabulous giveaways, so stay tuned every day and enter them all. Don't forget to tell your friends to join in the fun.

To enter for the chance to win tickets for you and a friend to a special preview screening of the film Sherlock Holmes, a limited edition Xbox 360 (valued at $1,000!), and more take the quiz now!

Take the Quiz