Hasta La Gadget!

Some new sources have reinforced previous rumors that Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 720 will require a constant connection to the internet in order for you to play your games. The news comes from Microsoft Blogger Paul Thurrott in a discussion with Andrew Zarian on What The Tech. His sources say that there is a note for the Xbox 720 saying, “must be internet-connected to use”.

Thurrott notes that this may not exactly be a terrible thing because he sees the Xbox 360 as an always-on device anyways. He says that most of the games he plays are multiplayer, and most of the time people use the Xbox 360 as a media player to stream movies off of services like Netflix. However, we can’t forget that a good amount of Xbox gamers have single-player games in their libraries as well, and shouldn’t be restricted from playing them if they aren’t connected to the internet.

He also says the Xbox 720, codenamed Durango, will be a pretty expensive system. It will most likely retail around $500, and that’s without the reportedly required Xbox Live subscription fee. There have been reports that if a player is disconnected from the internet for more than 3 minutes, their entire game session is terminated, and their progress (if unsaved or auto-saved) will all disappear.

There have also been suggestions that the next Xbox will not have backwards compatibility. It may also require you to install games onto your hard drive, and not allow you to play games via the optical disc. Microsoft is also reportedly planning on releasing a new version of the Xbox 360 for $99. The new Xbox 360 is codenamed “Stingray”, and Thurrott states that you can look at it as Microsoft’s solution to “Backwards compatibility”.

Things are already looking pretty bad for the Xbox 720, however, we should wait until Microsoft’s announcement for the gaming system before we make our final decisions on it. Microsoft originally planned on making the announcement on April 24th, but has pushed the date back to May 21st. You can check out Thurrott’s segment about the Xbox 720 on What The Tech here. Also be sure to check out our timeline below for more related Xbox news.

[via Forbes]

Sources reinforce rumors that Microsoft’s next Xbox requires constant internet connection is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In an effort to get Xbox Live users to play more of Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade games, the company will be launching a new “Play To Earn” rewards system on Xbox Live on April 1 that will reward gamers with free items and Microsoft Points in exchange for playing XBLA games. The new program is only available to Xbox Live Reward members, so if you aren’t a member, get signed up now to take advantage of the new rewards.

Microsoft currently has three ways that you’ll be able to earn new rewards. First, you can play 20 hours of any combination of XBLA games and receive a free avatar item. Second, you can purchase any combination of four XBLA games that cost at least 400 Microsoft Points each, and receive a free month of Xbox Live Gold. Lastly, you can spend 3,200 Microsoft Points on XBLA games and get 800 Microsoft Points in return.

Furthermore, Rewards members can attempt to black out all three XBLA Punchcards during the month of April, which will give themselves a spot in an “upcoming VIP Exclusives.” From the looks of it, it seems that every XBLA game will qualify you to earn rewards by playing them, and some of the most popular XBLA titles include Minecraft, Trials Evolution, Castle Crashers, The Walking Dead, and Limbo.

Furthermore, six new games will be released in the XBLA market in April. These include BattleBlock Theater, Double Dragon II, Motocross Madness, Sacred Citadel, God Mode, and Monaco. Frankly, the new Play To Earn looks pretty great, and it seems like an easy way to earn extra stuff, while playing your favorite games at the same time.

Microsoft announces Play To Earn rewards on Xbox Live is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We don’t know if Stepto has been hacked again. This is just an example image of a “high profile” account.

South Korea isn’t the only place to see some hacking activity occur today as Microsoft has been the victim of a number of “high profile” accounts get hacked.

“A handful of high-profile Xbox LIVE accounts held by current and former Microsoft employees” have in fact been compromised, said Microsoft in a statement to The Verge. The method used to acquire access to these accounts reportedly utilized the employee’s social security numbers along with some social engineering, which we assume means using pictures of the meals they are about to eat during their travels. Microsoft denies the SSNs were obtained from their connected Xbox Live account, instead pointing blame at a third party for the leaked SSNs.

Microsoft says they’re working with both “law enforcement and other affected companies” in order to hopefully close the hole this hack uncovered. At this time no one knows who exactly carried out these attacks on the high profile Xbox Live accounts, although ultimately we’re sure you’re glad you probably don’t consider yourself a high profile person. And if you are, well, we think you might want to keep an eye on your Xbox Live account for a couple of days.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Stinky Footboard: A PC Gaming Accessory In The Right Direction?, SimCity 1.7 Update Helps Fix Traffic Congestion,

Microsoft is unlocking two of the most popular video-streaming services on Xbox Live this weekend. Xbox Live Silver members will be able to access Netflix without having to pay for a Xbox Live Gold membership. As for Hulu AdZone, you’ll still need a Gold membership on Xbox Live, but you won’t need a Hulu Plus subscription like usual.

Netflix’s new original series House of Cards is debuting this weekend, and it seems Netflix wants as many users as it can get to watch the new show, even if it means unlocking access on Xbox Live. Plus, all episodes of the new show will be available for streaming, so clear all your weekend plans and make sure to tune in if you’re interested.

Furthermore, Hulu’s AdZone on Xbox Live will be completely free this weekend using the Internet Explorer app, as long as you have a Xbox Live Gold membership (you’ll need it to access IE). Since it’s Super Bowl weekend specifically, Hulu is letting users access the Hulu AdZone in order to watch all the commercials from this year’s Super Bowl, as well as commercials from as far back as 2008 that aired during the big game.

Again, both Netflix and Hulu’s AdZone (not Hulu Plus) will be available for free. You’ll still need a separate Netflix subscription in order to access the service, but Hulu AdZone will be completely free (even if you don’t have a Hulu Plus subscription) for Xbox Live Gold members. Happy watching!

Netflix and Hulu AdZone access on Xbox Live is free this weekend is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Many gamers played a bunch of different games on Xbox Live throughout 2012, but there are a handful of titles that obviously rise above the rest in terms of activity. Today Microsoft‘s Major Nelson released a list of the top 20 Xbox Live titles of 2012, and we’re seeing some entries that are predictable and others that are somewhat surprising. Care to guess which game landed at the top of the list?

If you guessed Black Ops II, you were right. Activision’s latest entry in the Call of Duty series settled at first place for the year, followed in second by Modern Warfare 3. Halo 4 managed to work its way into third, pushing the incredibly popular Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition into fourth place. That Minecraft finished in the top five is important – normally, we’d expect the most-played games of the year to be full retail releases, while Minecraft is an Xbox Live Arcade title.

The original Black Ops (which has been on shelves since November 2010, remember) rounds out the top five, so it seems that only Halo and Minecraft had the player base to challenge the Call of Duty series. Borderlands 2 just missed the top ten with its 11th-place ranking, while it seems that a healthy number of people were playing Skyrim all through the year, as Bethesda’s epic managed to secure 13th place. Despite the fact that it was only released on December 4, Far Cry 3 broke into the list nonetheless, coming in at number 18. Here’s the full list of Xbox Live’s most-played games for 2012:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
3. Halo 4
4. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops
6. FIFA Soccer 13
7. FIFA Soccer 12
8. Battlefield 3
9. Halo: Reach
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
11. Borderlands 2
12. Assassin’s Creed III
13. Skyrim
14. Madden NFL 13
15. Gears of War 3
16. NBA 2K13
17. NBA 2K12
18. Far Cry 3
19. Grand Theft Auto IV
20. Forza Motorsport 4

Major Nelson also shared lists of the top Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Indie, and Games For Windows Live titles for 2012. Though Minecraft was pushed out of the top spot on the overall list, it came in at first place on the Xbox Live Arcade list, with CastleMiner Z taking the first place crown for the indie list. Surprisingly, Grand Theft Auto IV was the top Games for Windows Live title of 2012, beating out more recent games like Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition and Batman: Arkham City. If you’d like to see all four full lists, they can be found over on Major Nelson’s blog.

Call of Duty unsurprising tops Xbox Live activity list for 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.