It's possible that when Microsoft releases its next console gaming platform, it won't outright kill off the Xbox 360.

At least, that's a sentiment that Microsoft VP Chris Lewis gave in a recent interview with UK news site Metro.co.uk

Even before the Xbox 360 first came out in 2005, Microsoft championed its plans to make the console a 10-year platform, which would lead most to believe that the next Xbox wouldn't be until 2015.

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Bethesda's Todd Howard, game director for the forthcoming blockbuster Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, says that gamers should not expect follow-ups to the PS3 and Xbox 360 until 2014, at the very earliest.

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The title says it all, you will be able to play Xbox360 games on your PC with Windows 8, Microsoft’s latest and greatest operating system.

Although there isn’t much information about the features or limitations, one thing is for sure: You are able to play Xbox360 games by simply placing the game disk into your DVD tray.

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The Entertainment Software Association has just released its annual report.

The 2011 Essential Facts study was conducted by Ipsos MediaCT and consisted of a poll of 1,200 console-owning households. The ESA has been commissioning this study for several years and uses the results as its main talking points whenever it has to represent the gaming industry.

This year, it found the average game player is 37, which means most of them have probably been playing games their whole adult life.

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New Japanese Playstation 3 320GB Drops Power Consumption by 30 Watts, Drops Component Resolution to 480i

Sony is releasing a new generation of Playstation 3 consoles (CECH-3000B) in Japan. The consoles have a lower power draw than the previous models. During play, power consumption is now just 200 watts, 30 watts less than the previous mode which was rated at 230W.

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Microsoft. Sony. Nintendo.

As far as core gamers are concerned, the above mentioned companies are the only harbingers of traditional gameplay experiences going forward, but there's a new player nipping at their heels: Apple.

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When Nintendo showed off a reel of major third-party games currently in development for its newly announced console, the Wii U, the footage wasn't actually playing on Wii U hardware.

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For those who find that lifting the TV remote is just too much effort, a revolutionary update of the Xbox Kinect will allow people to control their sets by shouting.

Microsoft has announced upgrades for its Xbox and Kinect system that are designed to make the console the entertainment hub for the home.

In future the Xbox will incorporate a microphone, TV service, an internet connection and the ‘Bing’ search engine to transform viewing options through the set.

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With the first day of E3 in the rear view mirror, we learned a lot about the future of gaming. We witnessed new franchises. We watched reboots of old franchises reimagined and remastered. We were fed tons of great visuals and stunning graphics as well as teased with short, punctual trailers of great games to come from some of the world’s best developers. But the one thing that stuck out this E3 is, without question, the Xbox Kinect.

Recently, I (Rhillis of gaming irresponsibly) wrote an article entitled “Dear Kinect, I Am Sick of Dancing” that can still be viewed at Gaming Irresponsibly (shameless plug). In the article I ranted about how I wanted the Kinect to do amazing things, how I wanted the peripheral to accomplish the extraordinary and show hardcore gamers that the Kinect is for real. With this year’s E3, Microsoft, Xbox 360 and Kinect showed me just that.

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Relentless Software, the UK studio behind PS3 titles Buzz! and Blue Toad Murder Files has announced a partnership with Microsoft

Relentless has signed a deal with Microsoft for exclusive title Music in Motion, set to become part of the Kinect Fun Labs which was revealed yesterday.

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Hacker headaches are no longer a PlayStation 3-excluisve. Nintendo today confirmed to the Associated Press that a Nintendo of America server was unlawfully accessed recently, but no user information was exposed during the attack.

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New domain name registrations hint at tech giant partnering with amusement park behemoth; Kinect Disney World, Kinect Disneyland, Kinect Magic Kingdom, and others outed.

LOS ANGELES--Mickey Mouse and Kinect? It appears Microsoft is continuing to bill its popular motion control technology as family-oriented and is preparing to announce a new partnership with Disney's major North American amusement parks.

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The Oklahoosa County Sheriff's department in Florida is forcing GameStop and other local game store retailers to require Pawn Law Service Implementation from gamers hoping to trade in their used games.

UPDATE: It appears that Oklahoosa County is not the only place that this is happening, as many other gamers have reported this happening in their county as well. Hopefully this is not a pratice that will not be adopted nationwide.

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Microsoft is working hard to improve 10-million selling motion sensing add-on Kinect so that the games you play feel and control better.

Improvements made by Microsoft to the way the Xbox 360 works with Kinect mean it will detect finger movement – and even pointing.

Eurogamer sources have indicated that gamers should see "pretty big improvements" in the short term via new software updates

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Eurogamer: "Sony has confirmed that work on a "future platform" to follow the PS3 "is already under way". Sony's executive vice president and chief financial officer Masaru Kato made the revelation on a conference call to investors today. He was asked to explain increased research and development (R&D) costs."

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With Microsoft's new firmware update introducing support for Microsoft's all-new XGD3 DVD format, now available to millions of Xbox 360 owners worldwide, there are a select few left with a console unable to play retail games. Microsft has addressed this issue in a rapid manner to ensure that they keep their customers satisfied and have them back up and running in no time. Meanwhile, Sony is currently wrapping up the restoration process of the PlayStation Network, at least let's hope so, and is now facing a crowd that will be hard to please.

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Will Nintendo's Next Wii Game Console Be the Last of Its Kind? The end is near -- for game consoles, anyway.

While dedicated machines like Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 currently rule the gaming world, they may be the last of their kind. Evolving consumer demand, falling prices, and smartphones that play a whole lot more than Brickbreaker threaten to completely change how consumers play games at home and on the go.

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Some gamers were left unsatisfied by Sony's offerings for its Welcome Back program. Sony has attempted to justify some of its decisions.

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Sony Online Entertainment brought its PlayStation Network back online in parts of Europe and the U.S. Saturday following a three-week outage resulting from the hacking of the network by unknown individuals, the company said on the PlayStation blog...



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-- Edited by SP_Sage on Tuesday 17th of May 2011 02:38:16 PM

The PlayStation Network is finally going live throughout North America.

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Fed up with the continued PlayStation Network downtime, PS3 owners are increasingly opting to trade in their consoles for cash or Xbox 360s...

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TKN™

An Independent video game news website is reporting that Sony and Google are working together on the next playstation console.

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Microsoft’s blockbuster agreement to acquire Skype is all but assured now, with multiple reports citing a purchase price of $8.5 billion, including assumption of debt. The deal is already raising lots of eyebrows, with New York Times columnist David Pogue’s readers turning it into a running joke on Twitter.

The skepticism is warranted. Microsoft has had a rough time with big acquisitions in the past, and Skype will be seen by many in the industry as tying its fortunes to an over-the-hill technology giant that has struggled in consumer markets.

But many of the people trying to wrap their heads around the deal are missing an important point — the more than 10 million Microsoft cameras connected to television screens in homes around the world...


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