According to the website BGR, “A source with knowledge of Microsoft’s plans within the company’s Entertainment and Devices Division has confirmed with BGR that Microsoft intends to unveil its next-generation Xbox console at E3 2012 next summer. The source is not aware of Microsoft’s launch plans for the new Xbox, which we are told has been in development since 2006. Microsoft has sold nearly 54.4 million Xbox 360 units since the console’s introduction in November 2005. The video game system is currently the ninth most popular gaming console of all time behind Nintendo’s original NES and just ahead of Sony’s PlayStation 3, which has sold 51 million units to date.”

This backs up the rumor of Microsoft revealing a new Xbox in E3 2012. There was also a rumor that Crytek is already developing TimeSplitters 4 for the new console. This rumor was dismissed, saying that the company doesn’t have the development hardware for the new console.

Chris Lewis, Xbox’s EMEA vice president, stated recently that the Xbox 360 is about halfway through its life cycle.

Sony, on the other hand, was reported to reveal the next-generation PlayStation 4 within 18 months, which dispels Sony’s claim that the PlayStation 3 will have a 10-year life span.

Is the world ready for next-generation gaming consoles or do you think there is still plenty of life in the current range?

Microsoft to reveal Xbox 720 next year is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Microsoft themselves has issued a statement explaining that some users may experience disk errors when upgrading their firmware, the actual error will read ‘disc unreadable’ or ‘disc unsupported’.

When a games manufacturer issues an update its usually designed to improve the user experience of gamers, not ruin it but thankfully the error will be automatically logged and affected users have been advised to contact support at www.xbox.com/support/contact to arrange replacement of their hardware.

The new firmware will be rolled out on the 19th May with a gradual expansion to different areas of the world over the following eleven days. If all goes well the whole process should be complete by 30th May.

It will bring in a new type of disk management in preparation for new games and downloads arriving later in 2011, Paypal support will also be added which should make paying for add-ons and downloads a whole lot simpler for some people.

Via: Euro Gamer

Microsoft Admits Firmware Update Could Brick Your Xbox 360 is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Fallout: New Vegas is similar to Fallout 3. The setting is different but strikingly similar in its design (it is, after all, the same nuclear wasteland). You also rely heavily on your Pip-Boy to get around and to generally organise your life.

The whole decision making process and the consequences of those decisions has changed. The last game was, in hindsight, limited in this respect. You basically chose the good path or the bad path. However, Fallout: New Vegas has multiple factions and your actions which can be decidedly grey rather than simply black or white, will not only determine your popularity and reactions from others in the whole game world but also with each of the factions.

The design of the gaming world is also improved. Fallout 3′s Capital Wasteland was massive but that meant a lot of needless and frankly irritating trekking around. The Nevada setting preferred in the new game is quite different. It’s more confined but this improves the gamplay as there’s an equal amount of stuff to do but in a slightly smaller space. Bigger isn’t always necessarily better.

In many respects Fallout: New Vegas is the game that Fallout 3 should have been and that’s some going because its predecessor was a massive and largely very entertaining game.

Fallout: New Vegas Out Now is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The entire Fable franchise has been about decisions and consequences. Fable II was the first release for the latest generation in consoles and while it had its bugs and its problems, it was widely considered to be a very good quality role playing game. It was well westernised and it had been simplified well enough for console gaming. In fact, one of the bugbears of some of the more battle wearied gamers was that it was too simple and therefore too repetitive and tedious but this is another area where the game has changed.

The Fable III world is considerably larger than the game world in the 2nd and as for the cast list of voice actors it’s quite ludicrous as it includes John Cleese, Sir Ben Kingsley, Simon Pegg, Michael Fassbender, Zoe Wannamaker, Stephen Fry, Bernard Hill, Nicholas Hoult, Naomie Harris and Jonathan Ross.

When it comes to making decisions, Game Creator Peter Molyneux said that when presented with the choice of good or bad, 90% of gamers would choose good and the “we must be good no matter what” attitude meant that there really wasn’t a decision to be made anymore taking a lot away from the game.

Not only do you actions immediately affect how much others like you but it will have an even greater impact when you’re crowned king in Fable III, which is due out on the XBox 360 on Tuesday.

Fable III Tries To Make You A Little Meaner is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

There were a few surprise disappointments this week as the latest Halo title, Halo Reach slipped right down to 8th place perhaps showing that while a franchise name will help you to a good starting position, it’s quality and quantity that count for longevity. Dead Rising 2 was in 7th place while the long awaited Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was only 10th behind Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 in 9th.

The release of the Medal of Honor game has caused quite the stink in the US and here in the UK. Initially, the game was to feature multiplayer that offered gamers the option to play as a US troop or as the Taliban. However this caused mass hysteria with UK defence secretary advising everybody to steer away from the game because of this obvious lack of patriotism.

EA initially tried to stick by their guns, if you pardon the pun, by saying that war based shooters always offer the opportunity to play as the other side (we don’t remember any complaints about being able to play as the Axis in Call of Duty games for instance).

However, the controversy spread and obviously got too much for the game developers, as a last minute change meant that rather than being able to play as the Taliban, gamers can now take on the role of the “Opposing Force” which smacks of last minute desperation in all honesty.

Controversial Medal Of Honor Takes Top Spot is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The Nintendo Wii is another device that, while it may not compete directly with the likes of the PS3 and the XBox 360, is widely considered to be the most accessible games console that appeals to gamers and non-gamers of every age. If you need proof that this strategy has worked then Nintendo has provided:

Gfk Chart-Track shows that one third of all households in the UK now have a Nintendo Wii console which is seriously good going and shows that it is almost considered an essential part of home entertainment kit along with the digital set top box.

Nintendo also announced that more than 11 million people own one of their handheld Nintendo DS consoles and they also took the opportunity to start the early promotion of its Christmas games lineup.

The usual Nintendo suspects are all there, in fact that largely seems to be all that’s there with the likes of Brain Training and New Super Mario Brothers being vaunted as the best Christmas gifts that money will buy. You can bet your bottom dollar that there will be at least several more iterations of Mario thrown in for good measure as well as some Sonic games and probably a few crossovers too.

As well as a list of games, Nintendo has also offered gamers a list of celebrities that will be used to help promote their games and presumably to further increase the amount of market share that the Japanese company is able to muster. Dame Helen Mirren, JLS, Terry Wogan, The Redknapps, Ant & Dec and various X Factor stars including Olly Murs, Alexandra Burke, and Jedward will all be used to promote various titles.

1 In3 UK Households Have A Wii While 11 Million Own A DS is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

What’s more, Nintendo have announced that it will be released in Japan first, as is usually the case with such Nintendo products (they are a Japanese company after all) and it will hit their shelves in February (the 26th to be exact) of next year. It will then be released in the US and the rest of the world the following month. When released in Japan it will actually have a price tag of around $300 but this may rise to mroe like the predicted $350 in America.

There’s quite a reasonable list of games that has already been announced that includes the likes of Pilotwings Resort and the Legend of Zelda as well as the submarine game Steel Diver. As the release date looms, mroe and more games are being rumoured or officially announced and several more games can now be added to the expected release date title list.

Capcom is gearing up a 3D version of Resident Evil called Resident Evil: Revelations and another from the same series called Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D which offers 3D versions of missions from the 3rd and 4th game in the title. Metal Gear Solid is also making its 3D debut with Snake Eater and there will also be a 3D Street Fighter, and Dead or alive game for you to enjoy if you’re going to fork out and be one of the first.

Nintendo 3DS Gets February Release Date In Japan But What Games Will There Be? is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

While the previous Halo games were undeniably popular there were still some gripes with the action; not least the fact that the graphics were only ever revamped and modernised from the first game. The pre-360 graphics have now been updated with a graphics and gaming engine built completely from scratch which offers greater looking environments and people as well as improved frame rate and more fluid gaming motion.

More than 2 million people played the game online yesterday and were undoubtedly benefiting from the improved combat system too. While the game does remain linear for the most part, the battles themselves are far from being rigid in how they will play out. Every time you play it, each preconceived battle can and probably will play a little differently.

The group aspect of Halo: Reach has also been improved so that you can actually rely on your AI squad mates to occassionally pop up with a useful and life saving kill.

One upgrade that has proven slightly less useful is the customisation ability. As you progress through single and multiplayer games you will be rewarded with the opportunity to further enhance the look of your character. You won’y find any major game-playing benefit from doing so and this may harm the game’s long term multiplayer popularity which tends to see games remaining in the charts for longer.

Were you online playing Halo Reach yesterday?

Halo: Reach Already A Record Breaker After 24 Hours is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Last week’s leader, Kane & Lynch 2 has dropped to 2nd place while the arguably better title Toy Story 3 (we never throught we’d say that either) is holding number 3. Other new entries include Grease on the Wii but nothing has managed to dislodge Super Mario Galaxy 2 from the top spot and the rise of Mario Kart Wii back into 3rd place means that the 25 year old plumber holds all three of the top spots on the Nintendo machine.

XBox 360

Mafia II is top of the pile, pushing Kane & Lynch 2 down to 2nd place. Sniper: Ghost Warrior slips back into third place with Red Dead Redemption in fourth and the lack of decent titles seeing Crackdown 2 rising from the ashes, or at least rising from 9th to 5th. Here’s hoping Dead Rising 2 can help out next week.

• 1 – (-) Mafia II
• 2 – (1) Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
• 3 – (2) Sniper: Ghost Warrior
• 4 – (3) Red Dead Redemption
• 5 – (9) Crackdown 2

PS3

Things don’t look much better on the PS3 either with Mafia II at the top, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days in second and Red Dead Redemption pushed back to third spot. Modern Warfare 2, enjoying its 42nd week in the charts, is back in 4th and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is holding up the pile in 5th spot.

• 1 – (-) Mafia II
• 2 – (1) Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
• 3 – (2) Red Dead Redemption
• 4 – (5) Modern Warfare 2
• 5 – (4) Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Wii

The Wii charts are all about Mario, as ever. Super Mario Galaxy 2 retains top spot with New Super Mario Bros Wii in 2nd and Mario Kart Wii rising one place to 3rd spot. Toy Story 3 has slipped one place to 4th and LEGO: Harry Potter Years 1-4 has managed to hold onto its 5th position.

• 1 – (1) Super Mario Galaxy 2
• 2 – (2) New Super Mario Bros Wii
• 3 – (4) Mario Kart Wii
• 4 – (3) Toy Story 3
• 5 – (5) LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Join us on Facebook and let us know what you think of the charts this week – you could even win some gadgets for your troubles.

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Gaming Charts – Mafia II Somehow Takes Top Spot is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

However, training a cat to do tricks? Unlikely. All with a single hand gesture? Very unlikely.

And yet, you might have guessed from the name that Kinectimals for the XBox 360 has been developed to show off the tech behind Kinect and in all honesty it does look impressive. It’s definitely a game for kids, allowing them to train any of five exotic animals so that they will perform tricks and even complete the obstacle courses that have been laid out especially.

While the game is primarily aimed at kids (just look at the sickeningly cute cover), that’s not to say that the parents won’t appreciate the tech behind it and it will undoubtedly give an hour or so amusement getting to grips with the motion sensor but after that everything else would prove a little too simple for all but the most casual or juvenile of gamers.

The technology behind the Kinect does look and sound mighty impressive but with a launch list of 15 titles that is little more than a collection of bundled mini-games, exercise/fitness/dancing titles, and the occasional smattering of extremely young games like Kinectimals it’s not going to attract the hardcore gamer. With a fairly hefty price tag and direct competition from the well established Nintendo Wii it’s also not really going to be all that appealing to the casual gamer.

Will you be buying the Kinect for the XBox 360 just to get your hands on a furry kitty?

Join us on Facebook and let us know for your chance to win tech goodies.

Kinectimals – Train A Virtual Cat; No Bins In Sight is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos