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News

• Kinect could have been Apple's, report says

  PrimeSense, the company behind Microsoft Kinect's camera, initially pitched its motion sensing technology to Apple, according to Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac.

• Kinect Gets Disconnected In Teardown

  Kinect, Microsoft's new motion control gaming system, launched across America this Thursday. And as is the case with any new and noteworthy tech product, the folks over at iFixit got straight to work on taking the Kinect apart, all in the name of geek curiosity.

• Sony's 10 greatest tech flops

  Since its founding in 1946, Sony has produced some of the biggest hits in consumer electronics. Brand names like Walkman, Handycam and Trinitron helped define the company as a giant in the industry and more recent hits like Cybershot, Vaio, Bravia and PlayStation have helped keep it there.

• Nintendo loses grip on handheld gaming, drops into loss

  Nintendo reported a 2.01 billion yen (US$24.6 million) net loss for the six months to Sept. 30, as its sales of hardware and software dropped, the company said on Thursday. It sold 42 percent fewer handheld game consoles than a year earlier.

• Games for Windows Marketplace to launch with 100+ games

  Microsoft plans to open a new online PC game store called Games for Windows Marketplace in the middle of November, it said Monday.

• Facebook privacy fail: Apps leak private info, report

  Even if you use the strictest privacy settings on Facebook, many applications can pass on information that personally identifies you and your friends to advertisers, says a Wall Street Journal investigation.

• Control a game of Tetris with your body and a buddy

  A new take on Tetris called Lummo Blocks lets you use your body as the controller for directing the motion of the famous falling blocks. Playing with a buddy, one of you takes charge of moving the blocks left to right, and your partner controls the blocks' rotation, all in the public space of a Spanish plaza. Will strangers help or hinder you as you try to create lines of blocks?

• Nintendo 3DS 101: pricing, launch date, tech & games

  Nintendo's 3DS, the first portable game device with a 3D screen, will go on sale in Japan on Feb. 26 next year, the company said Wednesday.

• Leaked Nintendo 3DS hardware specs analyzed

  Nintendo's forthcoming 3D-without-glasses gaming handheld sounds mighty indeed, if just-leaked internal specs prove legitimate.

• Microsoft pushes Zune expansion outside the US

  Microsoft plans to offer elements of its Zune music and movie services throughout Europe and other countries this fall in conjunction with the release of its Windows Phone 7 operating system.

• Smartphone users gobbling up game apps

  Americans are increasingly stuffing their smartphones with apps, with games leading the way and productivity apps in the middle of the pack.

• Microsoft suspends Xbox gamer for living in Fort Gay

  You've just signed up for Xbox LIVE. You're entering your personal information, and when you get to the city and state fields, you tap in 'Intercourse, Pennsylvania'. A couple days later you get an email from Microsoft notifying you that your account's been suspended. Why? Because you violated the online gaming service's code of conduct by using a term with overtly sexual connotations.

• Microsoft gaming director moves to Amazon

  Amazon may be preparing a move into gaming after hiring away Microsoft's director of games platform strategy.

• US FTC settles complaint about fake video game testimonials

  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has settled a complaint it made against a public relations firm accused of using employees to pose as ordinary customers to post reviews of video games on Apple's iTunes store, the agency said Thursday.

• 'Jedi Mind' tricks don't work on George Lucas

  The force had better be strong with Jedi Mind, Inc. if it hopes to metaphysically magic its way out of this one.