Of course, the biggest probability is that “later this year” means in time for the holiday shopping season. That would fit in with rumors we’ve heard before of a November release, certainly.

As for price, that’s also a detail Microsoft is yet to confirm. The current Xbox 360 has an MRSP of $199.99 for the Arcade model or $299.99 for the regular model, but the Xbox One is more likely to come in above that, given the nature of the specifications and the fact that the Kinect will be standard in the box.

Sony is similarly yet to confirm pricing or availability for the PlayStation 4, and it may well be that Microsoft is waiting until it gets more hints from its arch gaming rival to settle on a date.

Still, even if it’s more expensive than the old console, it could well replace a few of your other devices on the A/V rack. The Xbox One has a Blu-ray drive, for instance, as well as on-demand content.

Much of the summary is dedicated to how much more straightforward it is to develop titles for the PS4. The console uses the same concurrency model as the PS3, for instance, with a main “orchestrator” thread and then the rest of the code running in jobs across all the cores; on the PS4, though, Guerrilla found that 80-percent of all code could now be run in jobs, versus 20-percent on the current-gen console.

To show how well the game ran, the developers had to cook up their own CPU and GPU profilers, since the official tools still aren’t quite ready. On-screen, there’s a physically-correct lighting model and volumetrics supported on every light, along with real-time reflections. Some of the most obvious improvements are in characters, with far greater detail allowed.

Killzone Shadow Fall PS4 tech demo:

“Our aim for [the] announcement event was to run on PS4 hardware” Guerrilla writes, meaning “1080p, solid 30FPS, [and] no cheats.” The latter is presumably a reference to the Killzone 2 for PS3 demo gaffe, where what was later revealed to be rendered game footage was initially portrayed as running on the console itself.

Killzone Shadow Fall PS4 gameplay demo:

“PS4 is really easy to program for!” lead tech Michal Valient concludes, and the “GPU is really fast” while “GDDR5 bandwith is awesome” assuming you handle the memory mapping properly. “We’ve only scratched the surface” he says.

Sony didn’t show off the final hardware at its PS4 launch event, only the peripherals and some game demos. It did, however, confirm the core specifications: 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, an x86 CPU, an enhanced PC GPU, and a hard-drive; there’s also WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth, USB 3.0, gigabit ethernet, and a Blu-ray drive.

Thanks Zak!

Rumors about that brand have pointed to Xbox Infinity most recently, with what was tipped to be leaked promotional material from Microsoft indicating an infinity-sign style logo for the upcoming hardware. However, the fact that Microsoft does not own the “xboxinfinity.com” domain has led to doubts that it will be the eventual brand.

That’s not the case for Xbox Infinity, however, as Fusible points out. Microsoft registered “xboxinfinity.com” all the way back in early 2004, the site points out, with the URL currently redirecting to Xbox.com.

In addition to the .com domain, Microsoft has also registered the .info, .biz, .de, .co.uk, and other variants of the XboxFusion URL. As for how the name might link with the leaked infinity symbol, there are arguments that the two interconnected loops could well be seen as elements fusing together.

Of course, it’s too soon to say that Fusion will be Microsoft’s choice of name, and it’s worth noting that a quick glance through the company’s trademark registrations shows it’s missing from that list at present. Fusion, if indeed it ever gets used for a commercial product or service, could instead be to do with how Xbox, Windows, and Windows Phone devices play together, for instance; indeed, there’s some speculation that Microsoft will go with the relatively simple “Xbox” as the name for the new console.

The first details will come on May 21, when Microsoft will hold an event on the Xbox campus to show the initial fruits of its endeavors.

Total money spent on the Xbox 360 platform reached $402 million in March as well. This includes hardware, games, and accessories, and the Xbox 360 has sold more of all that than any other gaming console in the US as well, which is fairly impressive, especially for a console that’s several years old and still beat out the new Nintendo Wii U.

As for the most popular video games during March, Xbox 360 versions held six of the 10 positions on the list, with games such as BioShock Infinite, NBA 2K13, Gears of War: Judgment, Tomb Raider, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. BioShock Infinite just released last month as well and it lead the list for most sales in March.

If you’re rocking an Xbox 360, don’t forget about the free Xbox Live Gold weekend that’s going on right now. Silver members can get free access to the good stuff until Monday at 1 pm ET. You’ll be able to use Netflix to watch the new Hemlock Grove original series, as well as take part in double XP in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Far Cry 3, and Assassin’s Creed III.

Such demand already might surprise some folks. After all, it took a long time for the PlayStation 3 to truly get off the ground and although it’ll likely end this generation with more worldwide sales than the Xbox 360, in the U.S., especially, it’s no match for Microsoft’s console.

To make matters worse, it appears that gamers aren’t all that excited about the next generation of consoles across the board. The Wii U, after all, has been watching its sales slow to crawl and even GameStop said publicly that it’s been disappointed by the Wii U. What in the world would make the PlayStation 4 different?

Well, I think there are a host of reasons. I’m a firm believer that Sony is still a household name in the U.S. and in Japan – its two key markets – and people buy products from the company solely because they trust the name. And despite the PlayStation 3’s initial troubles, the console turned out to be quite a success, allowing its predecessor to deliver solid results next time around.

It’s also unfair to compare the PlayStation 4 with the Wii U. Nintendo’s console is one that’s a barely updated alternative to the predecessor. As I’ve said here before, I believe the Wii U is a catch-up device. And historically, catch-up devices don’t really perform all that well on store shelves.

The PlayStation 4, however, is a high-end product with all kinds of graphical firepower; it’s the kind of device that true gamers really want. And chances are, Sony will once again have the full support of the developer community to ensure it doesn’t fall short from a library perspective.

Most importantly, though, I think the strong demand for the PlayStation 4 tells us that, despite conventional wisdom suggesting that mobile and casual gaming is the future, console gamers are still extremely engrossed in their favored way of playing games. And that’s not going to change anytime soon.

The fact is that console gaming has a long way to go to ultimately match the promise gamers have been hoping for all this time. And companies like Sony and Microsoft are willing to push the envelope and put themselves in a position where they can capitalize on customers that want a true next-generation device, and not something that’s simply labeled as one.

So yes, I understand the excitement surrounding the PlayStation 4, and I can say without any hesitation that I’m one of those folks that’s excited to see what’s coming next from Sony. The future is now. And Sony is one of the few companies in the gaming industry that’s willing to embrace it.

The only games that could end up being affected are those that take advantage of WiiConnect24, including games like Wii Music and Mario Kart Wii, which allow you to send messages and other game information to friends via WiiConnect24. Now that the service is being shut down, these games may end up being slightly less appealing.

For now, it just looks like that North America and Japan are affected by the retirement, but other regions of the world could see the same thing happen sooner or later. The Wii is over six years old, which is certainly a long time, but we’re not sure that’s old enough to warrant discontinuations of various Wii features just yet.

Of course, it makes sense in the end, because Nintendo has the Wii U to focus on, and whenever a company releases a new console, its predecessor usually falls by the wayside. However, the slow discontinuation of the original Wii will put more pressure on Nintendo to step up its game with the Wii U. Hopefully they can keep their new console relevant and up-to-date.

[via The Next Web]

Back in February, Ouya announced that it would start shipping consoles on March 28. The shipments were only for the early backers of the project who purchased the console via Kickstarter. If you missed that Kickstarter campaign or only recently decided that you wanted to get your hands on these little consoles, Ouya has announced that general availability will be June 4.

The game console will launch simultaneously in the US, Canada, and the UK. Ouya says that “tens of thousands” of the consoles were sold in the first month when the device was announced in 2012. The console promises HD graphics, immersive sound, a real game controller, and a unique platform for enjoying all sorts of game genres. If you somehow missed this console and all of the previous coverage we’ve published, it’s a slick little device that looks like a small cube and is designed to plug directly into your TV.

The console uses an integrated Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset and supports full HD resolution graphics. All of the games available for the console will be downloadable and free to try. In addition to games, the little console will also support streaming video and music applications. One of the best things about the console is its low price of only $99.99 for the console and controller. An extra controller will also be available for $49.99.

[via Ouya]

Diablo 3 on the PlayStation 3 will feature all of the current offerings of the PC version of the game. There will be Paragon levels after you reach level 60, Monster Power settings, PvP, and more. Along with those additions, there is also one, very important selling point. The game will have 4-player split-screen co-op. So you, and 3 of your friends, will be able to join together to take on Diablo in a nostalgic, Champions of Norrath/Gauntlet Dark Legacy-like way.

Diablo 3 has seen great commercial success, selling over 12 million PC copies to date, however the game had received a lot of negative criticism shortly after its launch.  It received negative criticism for its Always-on DRM, previously difficult gameplay (like floors blanketed in desecration and plague), and lack of end-game content. Many consumers complained that it was the worst Diablo, if not the worst game, ever. The developers were able to make the game more enjoyable by adding a lot more content (like the Infernal Machine), dramatically reducing the difficulty of monsters and their affixes, and by allowing players to choose the difficulty of their gameplay via Monster Power levels.

There isn’t any specific release date for the Playstation 3 version of Diablo 3, but we do know that it will be released for the PlayStation 4 in the future as well. The developers of the game have also stated that the game isn’t necessarily a Sony-exclusive, so we could be seeing the game on other consoles like Nintendo’s Wii U and the Xbox 360/720. And many of you will be pleased to know that the console game will have an offline mode.

The Wii U had a really rough January, seeing sales as low as 57,000, but while February sales of the new console saw a jump by 40%, that only means that the Wii U sold 64,000 units, which is still lower than the lowest that the PS3 or the Xbox 360 has ever gotten. It’s said that January was a particularly bad month for the Wii U due to holiday backlash and people returning the console to stores.

However, as for the Xbox 360 console, it holds 41% of the market share among current-generation consoles, and the total money spent on the Xbox 360 in February — including hardware, software and accessories — was the most for any console in the US. Some pretty impressive numbers considering that Microsoft hasn’t lost the number one spot in over two years.

Total video game sales for February topped out at $810 million, which is actually down 25% from the same time last year. Console sales racked up $244.2 million, video game sales reached $369.9 million, and accessories rang in at $213.9 million while also boasting just a 3% drop from last year, while all other categories dropped 25% or more.

[via Gamasutra]

It’s good to know that pricing seemed to be the only barrier stopping gamers from buying the device rather than the PS Vita software itself. It would be terrible to see the PS Vita suffer the same horrible sales as its predecessor, the PSP Go. The sales for the PS Vita should equal around 44,000 this week, considering two weeks ago the PS Vita sold somewhere around 11,000 copies. The official sales number won’t be released until tomorrow.

Sony stated that the United States won’t be receiving the same sales cut treatment for its PS Vita systems. Maybe after seeing the success rate that the PS Vita can achieve with a price cut, Sony will change its mind. However, it did state that one of the major reasons for reducing the price of its Japanese PS Vitas was due to Japan’s “current exchange rate”.

Now more Japanese gamers can enjoy the wonders of PlayStation 4 cloud-gaming with their new PS Vita devices. The PlayStation 4 will allow gamers to access all of their games remotely through the PS Vita. So if you’re in a situation where you can’t play your PlayStation 4 in peace, you can just enable remote play for your PS Vita and run off to a different room. Sony is redefining the way games are meant to be played.

[via Gematsu]

But all of that debate and all of the talk about the success or failure of devices like the Wii U make me question what the future looks like. We’re expected to see more game consoles hit the marketplace in the next year or so, and Steam is also planning to enter the fray. Add that to OUYA and the possibility of Apple gaming, and it becomes clear that the console market will only grow in the coming years.

All of that growth in the number of consoles might sound nice to gamers. But what if I told you that the future – the ideal future – would not rest on more game consoles, but on less?

The way I see it, a single, universal console should dominate the future.

I know I’m not the only person to ask for a universal game console, but I think it’s for the best. In order to get the most out of our gaming experiences, we’re forced to buy several devices costing hundreds of dollars. From there, we need to buy extra controllers and sign up for Web-based services. And that’s all before we even buy different games for the consoles.

In a world I’d like to see, all of that would be stripped away. We’d have just one new console to buy every few years and the top game publishers in the world would deliver titles for that device. We’d only have to buy one set of controllers and sign up for one online-gaming experience.

Industry observers might reason that such a scenario would actually hurt the gaming industry. After all, we’d be spending a lot less cash in that scenario than the current one, they say.

But is that really true? By saving all of the cash on hardware and online services, we might be able to dedicate the same amount of money to the games themselves. All of the savings would increase spending across the software market. The result? The possibility of an even stronger game industry.

Of course, which company would actually deliver the console is up for debate. Some might say that Nintendo is the best option, since it’s been building consoles for years. Others might suspect that Microsoft or Sony could get the job done. Even Apple might be a candidate.

The nice thing about a universal console is that it really doesn’t matter which company builds the hardware. In my dream world, gaming goes back to, well, gaming, and does away with the obsession with hardware.

The game industry needs to change. And it needs to realize that the console wars need to go. If they do, we all win.

The PlayStation 4 has been confirmed. It will have 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, an x86 CPU, an enhanced PC GPU, a local storage hard drive, a feature a supercharged PC architecture. Sony says the new PS4 will represent a “significant shift from thinking of PlayStation as merely a box or a console.” The PS4 will be a “gamer-centric” system, made by game developers for game developers. The gamer is in charge.

The new Dual Shock 4 controller revealed at the event gives players more in-depth control when they’re playing their games. It features a touchpad on the front that allows players to do many things, like control the player’s camera during cinegraphic events. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack for connection to products that will improve social gameplay, and a “share” button that lets you live-broadcast your gameplay to your friends on the PSN network.

The “share” button also lets you share games with your friends, meaning if you’re having a tough time in your game, you can invite a friend to help you out. Along with the “share” button feature, there is also a feature called “Remote Play” that lets you share games with others, or lets you play games from your PlayStation Vita device. If there are distractions in your general area, you can pause your game and switch on over to your PS Vita. You’ll start right where you left off.

The sharing feature is all part of Sony’s 5 key principles for the PlayStation 4′s UI. The principles are: Simple, Immediate, Social, Integrated, and Personalized. Sony’s new user interface emphasizes simplicity and speed, with everything you need to do only being a “button click away”. The user interface also emphasizes social gameplay, with Sony’s goal for the PlayStation Network to be one of the most powerful social gaming networks around.

While the PlayStation 4 won’t natively have backwards compatibility with PlayStation 3 games, it will definitely have it through the Gaikai cloud-gaming service. Sony and Gaikai are working together to bring a revolution to cloud gaming. Sony says that Gaikai is an investment in its players, and that millions of players would love to have all of their PlayStation games, from the past, present, and future, be available to them at any time. All of the old PlayStation games, from PlayStation 1 to PlayStation 3, and even the PlayStation Portable games, will be available in Gaikai’s cloud storage in the future. Not only will you be able to play these games on the PS4, but you will also be able to play it on your PS Vita, smartphone, tablet, and even PC.

Besides all of the new features and hardware shown off at the event, Sony also invited a lot of its partners on stage to show some of the new games you can expect on the PlayStation 4. There was Killzone Shadowfall, which looks absolutely beautiful in terms of graphics, and is complimented with intense gameplay, both of which will fully utilize the PlayStation 4′s hardware. Knack, which is a graphic’s intense game, blurs the line between story-line and gameplay. DRIVE CLUB, a team-based racing game, is filled with extremely detailed sports cars and challenged-filled tracks for all of you car-fanatics. InFamous: Second Son, an action-packed game filled with lots of killing and special abilities, is sure to bring back fans of the franchise as well as bring in a whole new audience.

Capcom showed off its new Panta Rhei game engine, which includes very detailed faces and realistic scenery, all of which will be utilized in its upcoming game, Deep Down. Square Enix showed off its next-gen technology that blurs the line between cinematics and gameplay. Blizzard announced its partnership with Sony, and that it will be bringing Diablo 3 and more games to the PS4. Last, but not least, Activision and Bungie show off Destiny, it’s new multiplayer, shared-shooter that will be available for the PS4 in the future.

While the PlayStation 4 event was jam-packed with new and exciting information, it was still disappointing that we didn’t actually get a look at what the PlayStation 4 will look like. However, from all of the features that we learned about, and all of the games we previewed, the PS4 looks to be an amazing and promising console.

The Playstation 4 Dual Shock 4 controller brings in a whole bunch of new features to make gaming interaction much more personal. There is a new touchpad in front that can be used in a variety of ways, including the ability to manipulate the player’s camera during cinegraphic events in the game. There is a share button that allows you to share your latest achievements through social media or with your fellow PlayStation Network buddies, a 3.5mm headphone jack that will allow players to have better social interaction during online gaming, and a light bar that helps identify players.

There is also a second peripheral that will interact with the Dual Shock 4. This peripheral is a stereo camera that senses the player’s interaction with the Dual Shock 4 and tracks the controller’s movements through the front-facing light bar. There is a suspend/resume button that can make your PlayStation 4 go idle.

The Dual Shock 4 will bringing gaming alive for you and your PlayStation 4. Its design and features will personalize every game for you and follows Sony’s new theme to make the PlayStation 4 more gamer-centric, rather than just something you play in your living room. Catch up on more of the PlayStation 4 news announced today in the timeline below!

Along with its move to back away from licensed games, Activision will also be laying off 30 people from its company. That’s about 0.5% of the company, and those that are being let go will be offered “outplacement counseling services” to help them find a new job. Activision made it clear though that the cuts will barely affect Treyarch. The company says that there will be “minimal reduction in staff to better align our development talent against the needs of DLC development.”

Like EA Games, Activision feels that the licensed-games industry isn’t bringing in enough revenue to make the projects worth it. Due to the high-costs of making the movie-based games, and the decreasing demand for them, the games started becoming more trouble than they were worth. Activision will still be releasing a few licensed-based games this year, including games based on The Walking Dead, Deadpool, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I can see why companies are beginning to stray way from licensed games. The licensed games as of late aren’t as amazing as games from the older generation (does anyone remember Goldeneye 007?). Even 007 Legends, which was highly anticipated, turned out to be a let down, which is why the James Bond series might be the first of the licensed games to get the axe.

PlayStation 4: a whole new machine

The next-generation console from Sony is being tipped to be a lot of different things, so before you jump in here, know this: the lot of these tips are rumors. Unless it’s written here specifically that we’ve got confirmation of anything, you’ll want to follow the link back to the post where we first encounter each bit of information. Take everything here with a salt block. Also remember that Sony has promised commitment to the PlayStation 3 through the year 2015.

With Microsoft’s own Xbox 720 hot on its heels, Sony will likely set a release date for sometime inside November. There you’ll find a remote control for TV-related content and a new set of wireless controllers as well. You can also expect pricing on the PlayStation 3 to be slashed almost immediately after the announcement of the PlayStation 4 as well as surprisingly low prices coming with the PS4 itself.

Concept PS4 via Yanko Design (designer: Joseph Dumary)

We’ve seen more than one PlayStation 4 controller leak with a rather similar-looking overall body to the classic PlayStation controller design. The big differences will be in touchpad controls not unlike what we’re using currently on the PS Vita which, also, has seen some price slashes as of late. This touchpad tip has come more than once.

Transparent PlayStation 4 concept via Tia Chiem

Also take note that the PlayStation 2 is now no longer being manufactured. The code-name for the PlayStation 4 has been tipped as “Orbis” several times over the past few months and has been suggested to be working with an AMD processor. We’ve also seen a rather unbelievable tip for a Sony PlayStation EyePad for 3D control of the PlayStation 4 – not to mention the Dual-Shock/Move hybrid that, once you see, you’ll never be able to un-see.

Software Features

You’ll be seeing some backwards compatibility with the PlayStation 4 that’s entirely virtualized. In this case that means that you’ll be able to play PlayStation 3 games and legacy games galore, but they’ll all be downloaded from the cloud in one way or another. You can expect Gaikai technology to be in full effect for streaming content as Sony picked them up last year. PlayStation Home Arcade should give you some more clues on this futuristic universe – sort of like a microcosm.

The Sony Entertainment Network Online Store has been ramping up with games, movies, and more and will certainly be re-addressed at the event tonight. The PayPal bump for the PlayStation Store earlier this year also points toward larger anywhere-purchase strategies for Sony. There’s also a rumor of a Sony online TV service launching soon.

The one-owner-only rumor for games on the PlayStation 4 rages on – that one’s still a toss-up, mind you – see the discussion on this in the “Opinions” section below.

Games

You will be seeing Destiny on the PlayStation 4 after it hits the PlayStation 3. That’s all but confirmed by everyone and their mother now that a legal document was made public surrounding a case that involved Destiny content and the companies that will work with it. Have a peek at this Destiny trailer and freak out about it!

One game you can expect will not be optimized for PlayStation 4 is Grand Theft Auto V – its creators have specifically addressed the idea that they’re waiting for the PS4 release and have said no way! You can expect The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt though in all its REDengine3 glory.

Opinions

We’ve got a few opinions you should have a peek at before continuing on to the real deal as well, starting with Why Motion Gaming Should Be Left Out of the PlayStation 4 and continuing on with Why the Used Game Model Needs Fixing (But Not Banning). You should also read the column called PlayStation 4: What Sony Must Do for some pre-event anticipatory action and discussion – the chat rages on!

Event Time

The event starts at 6PM Eastern Time – that’s New York City time, if you did not know. If you’re living in Minnesota like your humble narrator, you’ll be tuning in at 5PM (CST), and if you’re in England, you’ll be tuning in at 11PM. Over in California you’ll be seeing this event at 3PM (PST). We’ll have the whole lot of announcements ready to rock as they pop up straight from Sony right here on SlashGear – don’t miss it!

US pricing isn’t suggested by the newspaper, but a similarly trimmer cost is likely to follow. At its release, the PS3 was priced at $499 for the entry-level, 20GB model, which if the UK price whispers are true suggests a starting point more along the lines of $399.

That would leave the PS4 still more expensive than the Wii U, the only other next-gen console on the market today, though with what are tipped to be considerably more impressive specifications. The device – believed to be codenamed “Orbis” internally – is expected to be more powerful and more graphically capable than its Nintendo counterpart, with recent leaks suggesting Sony will include Gaikai-powered game streaming.

Arguably, the days when Sony could charge what it liked for a new PlayStation are behind it. Although the console was praised at launch, the Xbox 360 has comprehensively clung to the top sales spot for months on end, and Sony’s financial results in gaming have been left hurting as a result.

Meanwhile, more casual gaming systems, such as Kickstarter success OUYA, have opened the door to more affordable consoles, borrowing mainstream chips more commonly found in smartphones and tablets to keep prices low. Sony is expected to detail the PlayStation 4 more thoroughly at an event in New York on Wednesday.

[Image via GameTrailers]

The console will also be available online at the company’s website and on Amazon. Of course, though, Kickstarter backers will be the first to get their units. Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman says that Kickstarter backers will receive their consoles in March, while orders from the OUYA website will go out in April, and retail stores will begin selling them in June. You can pre-order the console now through Amazon, Best Buy, or Target.

The console will sell for $99.99, and it’ll come with one controller. An extra controller will cost you $49.99 in retail stores, while getting one on OUYA’s website will only cost $40 shipped. Paying $50 for a controller certainly isn’t outrageous, but it raises some concerns when a controller costs half the price of the console itself. Uhrman says that $49.99 is a “premium price” for a controller, indeed, but she says that the touchpad built into the controller makes up for the cost.

The OUYA console raised more than $8.5 million on Kickstarter and has been taking pre-orders for the consoles on its website. There are over 68,000 consoles that need to be shipped out so far, with potentially even more orders to come no doubt. The tiny Android-powered gaming console is already a huge hit, and we’re pretty excited to see how the OUYA community will grow once the consoles start selling.

[via WSJ]

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that the new Zelda was still too early in the production process to be previewed in today’s webcast, and so there was no footage from the game. Speaking of the ethos of the title, however, there were suggestions that it would support a multiplayer mode, as well as free-form roaming around the landscape rather than necessarily completing challenges in order.

However, the chief exec was a little more talkative about The Wind Waker HD, which will see more than just a graphics update. In addition to the new visuals, Nintendo will “tune up” the game’s experience all-round, it says, as well as introduce Miiverse support.

Finally, there’ll be explicit GamePad support, allowing players to pull the title off the TV and play it solely on the Wii U’s tablet-style controller.

The new Legend of Zelda game isn’t the only classic to be resurrected for the Wii U. Nintendo also confirmed today that it would be releasing a new Yoshi game, the first in many years, for the motion-gaming console, putting the character in a 3D environment. Meanwhile, there’ll also be a new Mario Kart.

What you’re able to bring with you region to region is your Xbox LIVE profile, this including gamerscore and unlocked achievements galore. You can bring along time you’ve got left on your Gold membership as well as any Microsoft Points you’ve got saved up. The rest is really up to the region you’re headed to. The following items may not (and most likely wont) be able to move with you:

1. Some services you use now might not be available in your new region. To find info about services, like TV providers, available in a specific region, visit the Xbox.com website for that region. (To find that other region’s website, click the name of your current region at the bottom of any Xbox.com page.)

2. Xbox Music subscriptions can’t be moved. If you have a current Xbox Music subscription, it will be cancelled as part of the move. Any subscription time remaining can’t be refunded.

3. Some content may be blocked in the new region because of legal obligations or regional restrictions. Before you change your region, make sure you’ve downloaded any purchased content you want to keep, like movies or music. Content purchases aren’t refundable.

This information comes from Microsoft itself, and a full Region Change Overview can be found as well if you’ve got some really, really specific questions or concerns. Some of the odd rules here include a limit of 1 region change every 3 months and the fact that you can change a child’s account’s region with a parent’s account staying in the original region so long as the parent signs region change agreements on the child’s behalf.

You’ll be agreeing to a statement such as this: “Clicking ‘I Accept’ means that you have read and understood the effect of moving your account, including the pre-requisites and restrictions, as listed on the Region Change Support Page and have read and agree to the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and Privacy Statement” and it’ll all be really, really simple from top to bottom to get from one place to another. If you’ve got lots of purchased content, you might want to think twice about moving.

This tool is live for all right this minute, so if you’re about to hit the runway, get prepped at once! Head over to Account Migration at the Xbox LIVE webspace and make it happen! Also have a peek at the timeline below to keep up to date on recent Xbox Live goings-on here on SlashGear.

[via Major Nelson]

Questioned as to whether that news would be a “big announcement” or something else, Sakamoto reconfirmed that it was set to be a significant milestone in Sony’s console roadmap. “We expect to deliver great news,” the vice president teased, “but we must wait until May at least.”

E3 2013 has long been expected to see announcements from both Sony and Microsoft as to their plans for replacing the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 respectively, though until now neither firm has been particularly willing to either spoil the surprise or indeed go on the record with such intentions. That hasn’t stopped speculation and leaks about potential specifications, however; last we heard, Sony was flirting with a so-called “Orbis” prototype for the PS4, using specially-fettled AMD A10 APUs.

One feature Sakamoto hints at likely to be included is NFC, which Sony has used extensively in its CES 2013 line-up for easier device interaction. The Sony One-touch mirroring system, for instance, uses NFC chips in the company’s new handsets, such as the Xperia Z, and the remote controls of 2013-year Smart TVs to instantly pair together, and begin streaming media from phone to screen.

Microsoft is believed to be waiting for E3 to spill the beans on the new Xbox – unofficially dubbed the Xbox 720 - though there have been suggestions that the IllumiRoom projected virtual reality demo it gave as part of Samsung’s CES keynote last week is a hint at the immersive gaming the company has in mind for the upcoming console.

As for PlayStation 4 specifications, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai insisted back in 2010 that the new console would still support optical media - no great surprise, given the company’s emphasis on Blu-ray entertainment – but it’s possible it could step up from Full HD support to Ultra HD. Sony certainly didn’t stint on 4k hype at CES, for instance, including showing off a prototype Ultra HD player (shown above) and sets capable of the high-resolution standard.

[via Geek; PS4 concept art by Joseph Dumary]

According to an email being sent out by the Kickstarter support, the GameStick campaign has been completely removed. Their Kickstarter page is no longer accessible for users and those who’ve helped fund the project are being greeted with a message stating it “is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and currently unavailable.”

IP disputes are nothing new in the world of Android. Just ask those folks from Samsung, HTC, and many many others. The Kickstarter email goes as far as to say if they aren’t able to repost in the next 30 days the project could be canceled altogether. For those hopeful for a $79 Android gaming console don’t worry though, as we have good news.

Our friends from Android Community received word that the project is experiencing a very small hiccup, and will be back shortly. The folks behind the GameStick, PlayJam, have apparently confirmed the product isn’t experiencing a IP dispute and instead a small part of their demo video is the cause. PlayJam is currently editing that out as we speak and should be back shortly. Have no fear folks, the project should be returning soon.

Update: And it’s back. That didn’t take long. The IP dispute has apparently been cleared and the project is back. Move along folks.

OUYA is based on Android, but the team responsible for the box has reskinned Google’s OS with a UI more suited to TV use. The latest previews of that interface were given last week, though OUYA was keen to point out that it’s a work-in-progress and is likely to change from what we see here before the final build is signed off.

OUYA Dev Console interface:

Still, it’s a good preview of the overall owner-experience. The UI is clean, a little like the Metro-style interface on Windows Phone, and there’s an easily-navigable onscreen keyboard for text entry (though external peripherals should be supported). The most obvious thing is adjusting games to suit widescreen TV displays: CodeZombieGames’ choice of title is clearly formatted for a portrait phone orientation.

Those regular buyers who backed the OUYA Kickstarter or who have preordered the console since will have to wait a little longer to get their hand on the Android cube. First shipments are expected in March 2013.

OUYA Dev Console overview:

OUYA Dev Console hooking-it-up:

Once those devices launch, it will be time to handicap the marketplace. Which console will succeed? Which console will fail? And perhaps most importantly, which console will win the next-generation battle?

[Image credit: Andreas Levers]

I’m sure there are those in each company’s camp armed with reasons their particular favorite will win.

Those who support Nintendo will say that the company’s commitment to innovation and fun, coupled with its high-quality first-party library, will be enough for the Wii U to dominate the gaming market.

Sony fans disagree. They point to the PlayStation 3’s late surge in the gaming space to make their case. Sony fans believe that the PlayStation 4 will come with high-quality specs and a large game library that will give it the edge. To think otherwise, they might say, would be nonsense.

Microsoft, however, has a different take. The Xbox 360 has proven steady over the last six years, and it’s likely that in the U.S. and Western Europe, it will have a strong showing. And Microsoft’s fans say that the software giant’s online experience and Kinect functionality will impress gamers and get enough people to join up to take over the console market.

I honestly believe that all three companies have a chance at dominating the next-generation console market. After all, coming off the GameCube, no one thought that Nintendo would win the space, but it did so with the Wii. And although the PlayStation 3 got off to a slow start, it’s starting to show now why it had so much promise in the beginning.

At this point, though, I don’t quite know how Nintendo expects to hang tough over the long-term. The Wii U, while nice for its fans, will be trumped very quickly by whatever Microsoft and Sony offer. And if Nintendo doesn’t find a way to respond with some sort of update or new addition to the console’s featureset, it will be impossible for the game maker to keep pace.

Sony’s issue might have something to do with cost. The company has historically tried to deliver a high-end product, but in the gaming market lately, value has been the name of the game. And I’m not sure Sony realizes that.

Microsoft, meanwhile, might be popular in the U.S. and Europe, but the company has yet to establish itself in Asia. And until it capitalizes on that extremely important continent, the Xbox 720 will have some trouble.

So, while all three consoles might have some features that could push it over the top, they all also have some troubles. And the winner of the next console generation will be determined not by how much “stuff” they all have, but by how well they can get over the issues and capitalize on their virtues.

It should be a fun fight to watch.

The OUYA Development Kit is also being released under a free license - Apache 2.0, in fact, just like Android itself – meaning as long as coders steer clear of OUYA’s own trademarks, they’re free to modify the console software at will. However, with an eye on the fragmentation that has become a headache for Android-based phones and tablets, the OUYA team say there’ll still be some control retained, to make sure it’s a safe, welcoming, and productive place for developers and gamers alike:

“It’s worth mentioning that “open” does not mean “anarchy” — and as we continue to build out OUYA’s core services, please know that not every facet of OUYA will be totally open. In order to ensure the best possible experience for our gamers and developers, for example, we will be screening games for copyrighted content and offensive material (which we’ll define under our developer guidelines), and we’ll make sure that OUYA is a secure place to discover great games and conduct business” OUYA

The first developer boxes should be reaching lucky recipients in the next couple of days, though the ODK is available to anybody who wants to sign up. In addition to the frosted casing, it has a microUSB port for connecting to a computer and debugging more straightforward. There’s also a fan, as you can see in the company’s new video:

OUYA Dev Console overview video:

The full package contents include:

• Jet-black OUYA Devs package
• Official Developer Welcome Letter
• One frosted translucent OUYA Dev Console
• Two frosted translucent OUYA Dev Controllers
• HDMI cable
• Micro-USB cable
• Power adapter

Meanwhile, there’s also a sneak peak at the UI which will face gamers; it’s still a work-in-progress, OUYA says, as is the version loaded onto the Dev Consoles, but the final thing should look something like this:

Regular Kickstarter supporters and those who have pre-ordered the console since its funding round finished will have to wait until 2013 to get their unit. Shipping is expected to begin in March.

Open-source games console start-up OUYA has begun shipping out its first batch of developer hardware, with eager recipients told to expect their new toys before January 10. The first shipping notifications began to hit inboxes today, according to the official OUYA forums, with sample dev kits consisting of the console itself and two controllers.

OUYA was one of the most high-profile Kickstarter successes of 2012, closing its public funding round with more than $8.5m in backing. Consumer units aren’t expected until March or April 2013, but developer kits were promised to begin shipping before 2012 was through, to give coders an opportunity to get their Android apps up to speed ahead of the official launch.

In fact, OUYA is slightly ahead of schedule, having initially said the first batch would go out tomorrow. The SDK is also expected to be released on Friday, allowing even those without a dev console to begin creating games and other software.

Adoption of OUYA hasn’t been slow from existing game studios. The company announced a further ten titles earlier this month, and has previously muttered about ongoing talks with Namco Bandai. Even before the Kickstarter finished, OUYA had announced it would feature Final Fantasy III as well as non-gaming titles.

Developers will begin receiving their consoles anytime from December 31 to January 10.

Nintendo’s original plan had been to include the TVii functionality from launch, though that quickly slipped to the promise of a launch-day update. Unforeseen delays, however, pushed that back to mid-December.

A surprise addition to the Wii U’s spec sheet, TVii also includes various social integration features, including the ability to share what they’re watching – and how they feel about it – via Nintendo’s own Miiverse, or through Facebook and Twitter. The GamePad can also be used as a second screen, showing actor bios, show information, sports scores, and more, while leaving the main TV free to show the content itself.

At launch, TVii will support cable and satellite providers in both the US and Canada. You’ll need to be in the US to get Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus access, while Netflix and TiVo integration will arrive early in the new year, again in the US. However, the regular Netflix application will remain a standalone option from the Wii U’s main screen in the meantime.

Japan got the TVii update earlier this month. However, Nintendo is still yet to confirm a launch date for the smart TV service in Europe.

The Wii U has already been on sale in the US for some weeks now, with Nintendo struggling to keep either the Basic or Premium bundles in stock. In fact, over 400,000 units have apparently been sold according to first week US figures, with company execs forced to scramble to deliver new stock in order to meet Black Friday demand.

In Europe, the Wii U has been up for preorder since mid-September, but early availability quickly dwindled as customers got in early. That’s despite the console missing some functionality, at least initially, that US and Japanese users will enjoy: the delayed TVii smart TV system won’t hit Europe until sometime in 2013, whereas it’s expected in early December the the US and Japan.

That hasn’t been the only hiccup along the way. A sizable day-one update to deliver features like backward compatibility with Wii titles left early-adopters waiting an hour or more before they could actually play with their new console, and some unlucky owners found the update actually bricked their Wii U altogether.

Nintendo World Report apparently received this information from an employee of a major retailer, but sadly, doesn’t spill the beans as to which retailer we’re talking about. According to this retailer’s internal release information, the Wii Mini is scheduled to launch on December 7, 2012, which is right around the corner. It’ll come packed with a sensor bar, nunchuk, and Wii Remote Plus, which is standard fare for normal Wii consoles.

Unfortunately, we’re don’t have any word on the price or size of this new Wii. It’s hard to imagine that it’ll be much smaller than the current Wii, considering that console is already significantly smaller than the Xbox 360 and PS3. New Wiis tend to be priced around $130, so we can’t see Nintendo going much higher than that in terms of pricing – if it does, we probably won’t see the price go over $200.

Now we play the waiting game. If Nintendo is really planning a Wii Mini and it’s actually scheduled to launch on December 7, we should b3 getting official word shortly. Such a redesign isn’t necessarily out of the question considering it would be a chance for Nintendo to capitalize on the holiday sales rush, but it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to take these rumors with a grain of salt anyway. Stay tuned.

There’s also the functionality to stream Hulu Plus content directly to the GamePad, meaning that even if you’re roaming around the house, you should still be able to watch. A button in the lower right corner of the screen flips playback between the GamePad and the TV.

Hulu has also taken the opportunity of Wii U functionality to launch its new Hulu Kids section, with over 43 shows – including some from Nickelodeon – with no commercials. Adults get content from ABD, Comedy Central, NBC, and other networks.

There’s a free week’s trial for Hulu Plus on Wii U, and after that it’s priced at $7.99 “with limited advertising.” Unfortunately there’s no way to access the free, more ad-heavy basic Hulu service on the Wii U.

“We want consumers to know upon launch they can go into their stores, and there will be new quantities available there to go in and buy” Moffitt said of Nintendo’s strategy with the US launch of the Wii U. “There may be lines, and we do anticipate tremendous demand. We’ll do our best to keep up with it, but there should be a great quantity available at launch. We know that for this launch week, we will have more available than we did during the Wii launch.”

However, the prospect for holiday sales may well be mixed, especially with Black Friday approaching at the end of this week. Moffitt is ambitious about Nintendo’s ability to meet demand in the run up to the holidays. “We’ll have more replenishment during the holiday season to replenish those stocks and refill those store shelves as quickly as we can” he said. “We can’t guarantee there won’t be shortages, but we’ll do our best to keep up with it.”

It’s not solely availability that is causing some gamers headaches, however; a launch-day update for the Wii U has seen consoles out of action for several hours as they gained features like backward compatibility with the Wii, but some owners found that their Wii U was bricked in the process. With supplies so tight, getting a replacement for a broken Wii U is also a challenge. GameStop is entirely sold out of Wii U, and Walmart, Best Buy, and Target all have limited stock; there are some mutterings that they might be holding select units back for Black Friday sales, however.

Moffitt also suggests that the US will get stock priority over other locations, such as Europe and Asia, where the Wii U is launching at a slightly later date. “Since the US is launching first, you can expect there probably would be more available in the US than in other territories” he admitted. “We’re going to manufacture as many as we can to keep up with demand, and hopefully we can do that this time.”

Out of the box, not all of the Wii U’s functionality is ready: the console demands a firmware update in order for some of the headline features to be enabled. That includes Miiverse, Nintendo’s social avatar feature, and the eShop, along with the internet browser.

The update also adds backward compatibility with the Wii, opening the door to a huge catalog of older games. The Netflix streaming app is also available today.

However, even with that update, one of the last-minute additions to the Wii U will still be missing. TVii, Nintendo’s take on the second-screen smart TV space, has been pushed back until December. Even when it launches, it won’t be available in all of the markets the Wii U will be sold in, limited to US users initially. Similarly, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and Amazon’s Instant Video player will all follow on in later updates.

Unsurprisingly, supplies of the Wii U are tight. Online sales have been frozen at retailers including GameStop and Amazon, while in-store availability is similarly constrained. Opportunistic eBay sales are seeing the Deluxe version of the console change hands for $480 to $550, versus the RRP of $349.99.

Meanwhile, the console will arrive in Japan and Europe later this month. Are you planning on scoring the stores to pick up a Wii U today, or are you eagerly awaiting delivery of a pre-ordered console? Or, is your heart set on a next-gen model from Sony or Microsoft? Let us know in the comments!

A key component in my video game love over the years has been consoles. From the Nintendo Entertainment System through the Sega Genesis and countless devices that came after, consoles have been the cornerstone of my gaming experience.

[Image credit: jammagames]

For a long time, I believed that consoles were important, necessary elements in gaming. Without them, I reasoned, the gaming business just wouldn’t be the same.

But now I feel differently. Consoles might still be delivering some of the best gaming experiences out there, but I’m just fine with the prospect of them dying off. It’s a grand new world, and I’m not so sure that consoles are as important to capitalizing on that as they were in the past.

I first came to that realization recently, after a report surfaced claiming cable companies are considering launching a digital-delivery video game distribution model that will allow us to play titles without any additional hardware. The controller would either come from the cable companies.

That story made me realize just how unnecessary consoles have become. Sure, they facilitate gaming, but over time, they’re going to become less and less important. After all, with Web speeds increasing and cloud-based delivery gaining a footing, there appears to be a growing chance of consoles losing their importance in the gaming industry.

Of course, we should couch that by saying that the chances of consoles dying anytime soon are slim. For now, we still need hardware to produce outstanding visuals, and with major companies like Microsoft and Sony dominating that space, it seems difficult to fathom the possibility of either company allowing the console market to slip away.

However, I do think it’s time we start accepting the reality that eventually, consoles will die. The technology industry is slowly but surely moving towards a model in which we don’t have unnecessary hardware connected to our televisions. The Web is our new platform, and over time, we’ll expect more streaming and cloud-based delivery than we do right now.

Already we’re seeing consumers opt for services that reduce their reliance upon hardware for movies and music. And if history is to be our guide, the video game industry typically follows close behind.

The big question now, though, is when the gaming industry might finally reach a place where consoles are no longer necessary. Current Web speeds are nowhere near where they must be in order to accommodate a Web-only solution. And there is still the issue of storage and the costs associated with that.

But the time is coming. It must. Consoles are great when they launch, but keep us locked in the past after several years. With consoles pushed out of the way, developers won’t be held back by hardware requirements and could enhance the state of gameplay far more rapidly than they are right now.

It might take a decade or more, but I, for one, can’t wait to see consoles go the way of the Dodo.

It’s not clear whether that’s Jelly Bean 4.1, as has been out for a while now, or Jelly Bean 4.2 which was made official on Monday; of the features in the latter, it’s the multi-user logins which strike us as being most useful. That could mean different gamers could easily switch between their own highscore profiles, as well as keeping age-inappropriate titles out of the reach of younger players.

As for the hardware, the board shown up in the top photo – looking dwarfed by a Coke can – is from the first development run, and apparently worked with no hardware problems. OUYA is now tinkering with graphics, wireless, and user-experience performance on the quadcore processor.

Next on the roadmap are developer units, which should be ready by December the team re-confirms. They’ll be produced in limited numbers – and have aesthetic differences from the production versions – though won’t have games or the final UI, instead only being intended for developers to bring their apps up to speed.

There’s more for developers keen to get on board here, while those gamers who still want to preorder an OUYA can find more here.

This system has been detailed several times in the past half year with our own hands-on experiences spanning the distance. You’ve got a Wii console and several different ways to control the system including the classic stick and nunchuck, a Pro controller that’s closer to a traditional console controller than any other, and the next-generation GamePad with integrated second screen. This system will be working with two set releases, each of them with different amounts of excellence inside – and different hardware, too.

As for the games, you’ll be working with the following relatively massive list – and note, some of these titles had already been announced before now, but most have just popped up this week:

Funky Barn
NBA 2K13
007 Legends
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
TRANSFORMERS PRIME
Wipeout 3
Skylanders Giants
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
Ben 10: Omniverse
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Mass Effect 3
Madden NFL 13
EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 13
Trine 2: Director’s Cut
Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
Majesco Entertainment
Zumba Fitness Core
Jett Tailfin
TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2 Wii U Edition
TANK! TANK! TANK!
Nintendo Land
New Super Mario Bros. U
NINJA GAIDEN 3: Razor’s Edge
SiNG PARTY
LEGO City: Undercover
Wii Fit U
Game & Wario
Pikmin 3 
The Wonderful 101
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Nano Assault Neo
WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Hyper
Darksiders II
Wheel of Fortune
JEOPARDY!
Toki Tori 2
Assassin’s Creed III
Just Dance 4
Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
Rabbids Land
Sports Connection
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
ZombiU
Rayman Legends
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Game Party Champions
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition

Each of these games has been confirmed by Nintendo – and/or their publishers – as being ready for in-store action either at launch day or inside the launch window for the console. The Launch Window in this case is sitting in-between November 18th 2012 and March 31st 2013. Have a peek at our timeline of Wii U news bits below to see the other items revealed this week – and stay tuned for the big launch later this year!

The Wii U Premium Set has been revealed in Japan as containing a Wii U console, AC adapter, Wii U GamePad (one unit), GamePad AC adapter, and HDMI cable – with the console having 32GB onboard storage right out of the box. The Basic Set, on the other hand, has that same set of gear but with 8GB of onboard storage instead – and there’s more!

The Premium Set also includes a membership to the Nintendo Premium Network. This membership gives you 10% off of digital software purchases and will have additional benefits listed soon! The Premium Set also includes bonus bits such as stands for both the GamePad and the console itself. Of course each of these accessories are able to be purchased on their own.

NOTE: have a peek at our 2012 hands-on with Wii U as well as our 2011 E3 Wii U hands-on for sweet Nintendo action!

The stands as well as new iterations – new colors, that is, of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk will be available too. There’s also a new Sensor Bar set for a new price coming up too, each of these shown in the gallery below complete with Japan-based cost for now. There’s also a Wii U Pro Controller launching in black and white for 5,040 yen – that being right around $50 USD, and the whole lot will be available at essentially the same time – soon!

In addition to pricing and release information, this short press conference also showed off a couple elements we’d seen a bit of in the past like HUD data and map information on your controller instead of up on the big screen. Also revealed were a couple new games – New Super Mario Bros. U and NintendoLand. The Mario title, said Iwata, will be the first Mario title to launch with a Nintendo home console since Super Mario 64 all the way back in 1996.

Stay tuned to our Wii U tag portal for more information as it’s released throughout the day – there’s still a USA-based press conference on the way!

This package will be set up for the gift-giver who knows their friend or associate well enough to see that they don’t have any of the accessories beforehand. If you’re a keen-eyed gamer, you’ll likely have several or all of these bits before you see the package in the first place – and you likely got them cheaper as well. The HDMI cable alone should cost you no more than a few bucks if you know where to shop, for example.

For a family member though, or a youngster with no cash of their own, this package will be fabulous for a holiday gift. Releasing this package in October give you plenty of time to pick it up for the late-year gift giving of your choice, and the price should put it right up there in the top-tier Santa collection, too. Don’t forget to grab the actual Xbox 360, too.

Note that you’ll be working with Xbox Live for 3 months with this amount of gold, and after that you’ll need to pay your way forward. The remote control will help you play media of all kinds and work with your web-connected system with television software galore. The controller is, of course, a wireless controller, and needs batteries one way or another. Check the whole pack out soon!

This event has been set for 10AM EST on the 13th of September, just one day after the rumored date for the next Apple press event. Nintendo COO Reggie Fils-Aime will be at the event to present the console once again and hands-on game play and demos will be there as well. The launch line-up for games is a likely candidate for announcement on the event’s schedule, as are the launch date and price of the console. Nothing is assured, however, and a simple presentation may be the best thing available.

The event coming here next month also comes right after the Nintendo E3 presentation which was rather devoid of Wii U news. It would seem that Nintendo is hoping that a separate event will take the place of what may have been quickly-lost bits of news during the convention. Here in the summer of 2012, we’ll be hoping to see what the Wii U will be in its final release form once and for all.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see our hands-on time with the Wii U thus far, and stick around as the next event approaches. Also feel free to hit up our Wii U tag for more Wii U information than you can handle!

UPDATE: The listing has now been taken down – perhaps a bit too revealing for the public to see with prying eyes.

What we’re to understand here is that Microsoft is looking for someone willing to be part of an initiative in Microsoft that’ll revitalize their whole empire. Of course we know that Windows 8 is coming and that Windows Phone 8 is popping up too. We also know that the next version of Office is well on its way into our hearts this season as well. What we don’t know is what precisely Microsoft will bring to the Xbox universe.

“Over the next eighteen months Microsoft will release new versions of all of our most significant products including Windows (Client, Server, Phone and Azure), Office and Xbox.” – Microsoft job listing

Earlier this season we saw Microsoft speaking about a “new Xbox” only to quickly turn around and assure the public that it was only a software update that’ll be bumped. We imagine they’ll say the same thing about this situation. Perhaps a new thinner console could be in the works as well. Have a peek in the timeline below to check on all of the most recent rumors, tips, and leaks of information on the next generation gaming beast.

[via Laptop Memo]

The Android-based version of iHeartRadio has been promised by the developers at Clear Channel for the OUYA with essentially the same features as the standard edition, but one whole heck of a lot larger. In essence, this version of iHeartRadio will have an interface that’s made for a large screen and, like the current Android app, will be HTML 4 based. You’ll be getting sweet radio action right from your home audio and HDTV setup right after the OUYA console is released – easy as pie.

OUYA gained major traction after it reached the $1 million USD funding mark in the first eight hours after it was pushed to Kickstarter, making it the fastest Kickstarter project to reach such a goal in their short history. This console will end up costing right aroudn $99 USD when it’s out for real, and is the size of a Rubik’s Cube – easily transportable and made for plug-and-play action for real.

You can currently grab iHeartRadio on your Android or iOS device right this second and can access their radio environment from Xbox and GoogleTV right now as well. The OUYA iHeartRadio app will bring on web-connected radio stations from across the United States and will allow you to create custom-made radio stations at will.

Have a peek at our OUYA timeline below and don’t forget to hit up the [OUYA portal] for all the OUYA you can handle the whole weekend long!

[via iHeartRadio]

For those of you wondering what’s going on here, the following nutshell explanation should suffice, starting with the difference between “hacking” and “rooting” : When you’ve got an Android-based device, you need to be able to get past a block or two before you can get at the guts if you want to “hack” the device. The OUYA device will be provided in two states, one of them “rooted”, one of them not rooted. The non-rooted device will also be able to be rooted with a set of instructions given by the manufacturer on request.

If your device is rooted, this generally means that you’re going to be able to make whatever changes you want to the Android software inside. The fact that the OUYA team is providing this set of root services to all of its users is unprecedented entirely. Google’s Nexus line of devices is root-able and Google encourages developers to get into the line’s insides, but never before has a company provided the means to do so with the product itself.

In addition, again, OUYA is providing several different software builds so that if you change your software in a way that leads you to a dead end, you can simply load the software given to you by the OUYA team and you’ll be fresh and clean. Have a peek at the timeline below to see all the other elements that are making this Android-based project a blockbuster over and over and over again.

[via OUYA]