microsoft

Last week Microsoft announced that it would be discontinuing production of Inside Xbox in the U.S. and as a result this content would also no longer be available in Canada, …
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The day has finally arrived this XBLA Wednesday for all your building and recipe-making craft hands. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition finally hits XBLA today at 1600 MSP. You can …
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Microsoft today launched a “pilot program” at its chain of 16 stores in the United States that will “test a new pricing model for the Xbox 360.” The …
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Major Nelson announced on his blog that Microsoft’s E3 press briefing, titled Xbox: Entertainment Evolved, can be seen live on Xbox Live for the first time ever. It will air Monday, June …
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If an IGN source is to believed, then production has officially begun on Microsoft’s next-generation video-game console. The insider reports that Flextronics International, manufacturer of the both the original Xbox and the Xbox 360, just recently fired up the production line for the console believed to be codenamed Durango at its Austin, TX plant. Flextronics declined IGN’s requests for comment on the story.

Before reaching this stage in the process, Singapore-based Flextronics is said to have formed an internal division solely concerned with testing the Xbox 360’s successor. IGN claims that said division, operating autonomously from the rest of the company, focused its efforts on “comprehensive marketing, software, and hardware tests” of the device it is said to be producing. With those efforts behind them, the time to build is now.

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Microsoft will release a $99 version of its 4GB Xbox 360 video-game console complete with a forced $15 monthly subscription fee as soon as next week, reports The …
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Microsoft will soon be replacing Zune as their music service. Their new service, codenamed Woodstock, will be showcased at E3 2012. This new service will allow play across multiple …
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In a development that will come as a surprise to precisely no one who followed Microsoft’s $8.5 billion-dollar acquisition of Skype nearly one year ago, the console-maker is now seeking to fill the position of “Software Development Engineer, Xbox – Skype.” Though Microsoft has issued no formal confirmation that it will be bringing its voice-over-internet-protocol service to its home home video-game console, the job opening — which is based in London — would seem to imply that is precisely what the firm is doing.

“We’re building the next generations of our products and technology right here in London,” reads the listing, “and Skype is looking to hire a Software Development Engineer to contribute to the development of our experiences on Xbox.” The individual who is ultimately hired as said engineer will join a “new team” within Microsoft.

Interestingly, the listing specifically mentions as a “passion for shipping product” as an attribute Microsoft is looking for in candidates. While there is of course nothing to ship when it comes to Skype, the wording strongly alludes to the software titan’s desire to make Skype on Xbox Live an actual service, rather than just a pet project. Again, such a move would not exactly come out of left field. Still, with the move still being qualified as unofficial at this time, there is no target date for its Xbox release.

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Earlier this week, we reported on Microsoft’s plans to further monetize its already quite profitable Xbox LIVE service. At that time, it was anyone’s guess as to what that …
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Microsoft has revealed the date and location of its 2012 pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing. The conference will be held on Monday, June 4 in Los Angeles’ Galen Center. Industry and press members who have been invited have been asked to arrive at 9 a.m. PST. A precise start time for the conference itself was not identified by the console-maker, but it should be noted that the doors swung open at the same hour for last year’s briefing, with the official start time being 9:30 a.m.

It is expected that Microsoft will focus its efforts heavily on promoting Halo 4, its flagship 2012 title, during the course of the show. Judging from the strategy the company has employed at the past several Electronic Entertainment Expos, gamers can also expect the firm to make a multitude of announcements and show plenty of footage of the major Xbox 360, XBLA and Kinect titles arriving during the second half of 2012. The most recent reports have Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft focusing solely on Xbox 360 wares and electing not to pull back the curtain on its next-generation console, supposedly codenamed Durango.

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