This week Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox is set to be revealed – at least in part – and the Xbox 360 will at last have a replacement. But for those thousands and millions of Xbox 360 owners, what comes next? Is this console doomed to go the way of the dodo, or will a software update
Microsoft’s big “Xbox 720” reveal isn’t the only Xbox-related launch this week. The company has also announced a new interactive TV series, The Music Room, which will be exclusively available to Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. The show will, unsurprisingly, focus on musical performances, but allow viewers on their consoles to shape the direction the content
An Xbox TV, a console piggy-backing on your cable box, DVR functionality, streaming gaming, and augmented reality have all been topics of Microsoft development for the next-gen “Xbox 720“, sources claim, though how much of the prototype tech will make it to the eventual hardware is still unclear. Microsoft has been working on multiple possibilities for embedding the new Xbox further into the living room, multiple insiders whispered to the WSJ, as it attempts to challenge not only Sony’s PlayStation 4 but the rising star of smartphone and tablet gaming. Still, wariness about potentially frustrating gamers with laggy play, or content and entertainment partners, has apparently forced Microsoft to temper its console ambitions.
Some of the strategies for extra console “stickiness” Microsoft considered involved making sure the new Xbox was always involved in whatever the gamer’s TV might be showing at the time. One possibility apparently worked on was an HD input on the Xbox, which could be used to input signals from a cable or satellite box and then overlay Microsoft’s content on top.
That – a similar strategy to what Google used with the early Google TV boxes – could then be used to flash up Xbox-related news and notifications on top of regular TV. So, the sources suggest, gamers could challenge their friends to a multiplayer match, with the alert showing up on top of broadcast television.
The system could also be used to further break down the walls between live content, whether from cable or another source, and on-demand content and gaming served up by the next-gen Xbox, it was claimed. Microsoft even whipped up DVR functionality for one prototype version of the console, but “has been wary of including it” because of concerns that it might negatively impact current partnerships with content owners.
Such fears haven’t, apparently, affected Microsoft’s arch gaming rival, however. Sony has offered a TV tuner, the torne, and a DVR accessory, the nasne, for the PlayStation 3 for some years now, though only in Japan.
In fact, Microsoft supposedly went one stage further than a heavily-integrated console, and developed a full Xbox TV. The likelihood of such an all-in-one reaching the market seems low, however, given the commoditization of TVs, and the fact that – over the typical multi-year life cycle of a console – Microsoft would probably have to more frequently update its screen technology.
Meanwhile, there’s also chatter around streaming gaming, another topic Sony has confirmed will be integrated in some way into the PS4. Microsoft’s strategy on cloud gaming – though still a work-in-progress, the tipsters say – is more cautious, apparently, with concerns that the cost of infrastructure might prove unwieldy, while the potential for underwhelming and frustrating gamers with slower internet connections raised fears about the possibility of a negative backlash.
Any eventual implementation of cloud gaming on the Xbox 720 could start off in more humble ways, ensuring backward-compatibility with existing Xbox 360 titles. According to previous rumors, the new AMD-based architecture of the incoming console won’t be natively compatible with that of the 360, and one possible workaround to that is allowing upgrading gamers to stream their old titles running on a remote server.
Exactly which elements of these features – if any – will make it to the production console is unknown at this stage. However, a more accurate Kinect motion-controller seems more than likely, though talk of 3D glasses that could add augmented reality-style gameplay to titles is perhaps somewhat more shaky. Microsoft is known to be working on IllumiRoom, a projection system which expands gameplay and other home entertainment beyond the confines of the TV for more a immersive experience, but the company has said it won’t be ready in time for the Xbox 720 release.
Microsoft is due to announce the new Xbox on Tuesday, May 21, though the first big games announcement will take place at E3 in June. Previous talk has indicated a November release date, with the possibility of both outright purchase and a subsidized model, similar to those of cellphones, where the console would be cheaper but gamers would be tied into a two-year Xbox LIVE GOLD subscription.
Xbox 720 prototype secrets leak: TV, DVR, streaming, AR and more is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 dashboard is in line for a new, significant update, insiders claim, paving the way for the next-gen “Xbox 720” with elements of Windows 8.1 among other changes. The interface will include smaller Live Tiles and a new color-theme, according to The Verge‘s sources, though also be used to more readily transition gamers from the current Xbox 360 to the new console expected to be officially unveiled this coming week.
That will mean cross-platform support for both the existing console and its replacement. Messaging systems will work on both models, apparently, allowing gamers to communicate whether they have the 360 or the next-gen model, while beacons and achievements will also supposedly be supported across the board.
The change in the Xbox dashboard will also see the Xbox Points system deprecated, as has previously been rumored, with new currency and gift cards used in its stead.
As for when all this will happen, the first signs could be as early as next month. The initial public beta will take place either late in June or in early July, the sources suggest; assuming all works as expected, that should be followed by the final update in August.
Speculation about the new Xbox – which has colloquially been referred to as the “Xbox 720″ – has been rampant over the past twelve months, particularly in the period since Sony announced the first details of its PlayStation 4 earlier this year. Exactly what hardware will be included is uncertain, though there has been chatter of a smaller overall device with mandatory Kinect motion-gaming control and redesigned gamepads.
Nonetheless, there have been notes of caution from industry insiders, warning that the days of blockbuster game-dedicated consoles may be behind us. Earlier this month, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick warned investors that both the Xbox 720 and the PS4 could face the same sort of gamer apathy that Nintendo has encountered with the Wii U, sales of which have proved underwhelming.
As Kotick sees it, mobile and casual gaming – such as might be played on a smartphone or tablet – has made significant inroads into the segment overall, and that will make for a far tougher market for the next-gen consoles to break into. “We continue to face the uncertainties of the console transition” Kotick told investors.
More details will become clear when Microsoft makes its first public announcement about Xbox 720 this coming week, with an event on May 21 expected to see some – though unlikely all – of the console’s features revealed.
Big Xbox Dashboard update tipped to pave Xbox 720 transition is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
As a child of the 80s, I spent plenty of time in the arcade playing video games and continued that practice as long as there were arcades in the mall. One of the things that used to irritate me more than anything was when my favorite fighting game had a damaged joystick. There’s nothing worse than a junky joystick when you’re playing a fighting game. I miss the days of brawny joysticks for gaming, and if you do too, Razer has got your back with its latest offering.
Razer has unveiled the Atrox arcade stick – made specifically for the Xbox 360 console. This is a big and beefy controller with an actual Sanwa Denshi arcade-quality joystick, along with 10 Sanwa arcade buttons. The coolest part about the controller is that Razer has designed it to support the modding community.
Razer offers a template to allow you to print out your own custom artwork for the lid, and the top opens to reveal a storage compartment underneath. Inside that compartment the controls is an interchangeable bat-shaped handle for the joystick, a screwdriver, and a storage compartment for its detachable 13-foot-long USB cable.
You can also mod the controller and it has a special honeycomb system inside designed to make it easy to screw in additional hardware or accessories. The Atrox controller will ship worldwide this June for $199.99(USD).
Microsoft may be prepping to unveil it’s next-generation Xbox next week, but the Xbox 360 is still going on strong. Keeping up with its staggering consistency, the Xbox 360 has remained at the top of the best-selling consoles list for the month of April in the US selling 130,000 units throughout the month and capturing a 42% market share during April.
However, 130,000 units is a far cry from March and February, when Microsoft sold 261,000 and 302,000 consoles, respectively. Total revenue brought in for the Xbox 360, including hardware, games, and accessories, adds up to $208 million, which is also more than any other gaming console for the month of April. However, its more than half of what Xbox 360 sales were a month previous, when March brought in $402 million.
During April, the Xbox 360 also held six out of the top 10 console games, which include NBA 2K13, Dead Island: Riptide, BioShock Infinite, Defiance, Injustice: Gods Among Us, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. NBA 2K13, BioShock Infinite, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II were also on the list during March.
The steep drop in sales could be a result of the impending announcement of the so-called Xbox 720, which Microsoft will unveil on May 21. However, the console most likely won’t actually release to the public until later this year in the fall, meaning that if sales are slipping already, it’s going to be a long summer for Microsoft and its Xbox 360.
As for the latest gaming console that has hit the public pipeline (the Wii U), sales aren’t doing so well either. The console has missed Nintendo’s expectations, and it seems many developers and publishers are beginning to rethink their strategy to makes games for the new console, including EA, who has said that they don’t have anything in the making for the Wii U, which could potentially hurt the console even more.
SOURCE: Official Microsoft Blog
Xbox 360 sales dropping drastically, still remains top-selling console is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox will be unveiled on May 21, which means they probably have a lot planned to be announced that day not only for its newest Xbox video game console, but also its games ecosystem, such as it reportedly […]
Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo. 
     |
It’s been rumored multiple times that Microsoft would be ditching its Points system for something a bit more real, and as we get closer to the company revealing its next-generation Xbox console, rumors have started to pick back up again. Now it’s reported that Microsoft will ditch its Points system for all of its services in favor of real currency and a gift card system.
According to The Verge, sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans for Xbox have said that the Points virtual currency will be shut down, and real currency will be brought in, as well as a new gift card system that is said to be similar to iTunes. Normal cash transactions using credit and debit cards are said to be supported alongside the gift cards.
The new currency system will supposedly work across Microsoft’s various services, including the Windows Store, Windows Phone Store, and Xbox Live, however it’s not said if it will be a universal system that will seamlessly integrate all of these services together (for instance, buying a gift card in the Windows Store, but using it in Xbox Live).
As for when Microsoft plans to unveil this new system, it’s said that it could be as soon as E3 next month, with an official launch later this year that will either coincide with the Xbox 720 launch or just right before the new console’s release. There was no mention of revealing the new system at the company’s May 21 event later this month, so it looks like Microsoft will be keeping some of its new details until E3.
Microsoft will be spreading out its announcements of its next-generation console throughout the year, with the first unveiling of the Xbox 720 on May 21, followed by more details at E3 2013 in June, and an appearance by the company at Gamescom in August, where it’s expected that Microsoft will unveil more games for the new console.
SOURCE: The Verge
Microsoft tipped to ditch Xbox Points for gift card system is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
