Earlier this morning Microsoft revealed the Xbox One, the follow-up to its 8-year-old Xbox 360. After the jump, we've got a video where Microsoft Xbox executives discuss the new Xbox One console and what they believe makes it the best home console on the market. Check out the video, and let us know if you agree.

Aside from revealing the Xbox One, Microsoft has also updated Xbox 360 controller for the new Xbox One, bringing over 40 optimizations to the input device. Features mentioned include dynamic impulse triggers that support feedback, and a new D-pad design that, we bet, will do away with many of the complaints. The controller is also recognized by Kinect, with the example given that you might lift your controller, and in-game, you'd be raising a shield.

Check out the Microsoft Xbox One reveal video.

Many popular movies have been adapted into LEGO video games, and the video below aims to show what it would look like if Breaking Bad were given the LEGO game treatment. In the four-and-a-half minute parody, we get a look at the great-looking LEGO versions of Walter White, his sidekick Jesse Pinkman, Skylar, Hank, and all the other characters from the show. And yes. You can cook meth. Blue, LEGO meth.

This matches up nicely with the Bathing Bad blue bath salts, no?

Check the video after the break, just be warned, there are spoilers if you're behind on the series.

Windows super-fan Paul Thurrott, who has a good track record for internal Microsoft rumors, is sharing information that he has heard as it pertains to the launch window and pricing of the new Xbox (which we are assuming will be called Xbox Reveal or Infinity, but is codenamed Durango.) First, the next Xbox will launch in early November 2013, and will cost $499 out of the gate. Alternatively, you'll be able to pay $299 for the console if you also pay a $10 monthly subscription fee.

If this is true, then we imagine that this is where all of the hoopla over an "always-on" console is coming from. If you choose to go the subscription route, then your Xbox will likely need to be connected to the Internet in order to make sure the subscription is active. Piggybacking on that thought, maybe if you stop paying (or if you can't get the Xbox online,) then the Xbox will simply not let you play games until you are paid up or reconnect it to Xbox Live.

Other information shared include that the new console will ship with a Blu-ray drive, and will run on a modified version of Windows 8. We will have all the news as it happens when Microsoft unveils the next Xbox on May 21.

Read More | Windows IT Pro ]]> 2013-04-25T17:27:41+00:00 http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/next-xbox-november-2013-499-299-subscription-blu-ray-q213/ http://feeds.gearlive.com/~r/playfeed/~3/JzKjcTduu8U/ Corporate News, E3, Nintendo, Wii U

Nintendo has made a major announcement, saying that it will not be holding it's regular annual E3 media briefing this year. The E3 press conferences held by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are usually the highlight events of E3, setting the stage for the rest of the event by letting us know what each of the Big 3 have coming over the next year. With Wii U sales not meeting anywhere near Nintendo's expectations (and even falling short of the updated guidance,) alongside corporate reshuffling at Nintendo of America, one has to wonder if the move to not hold a major press event is because the company is putting out fires internally. Nintendo says that it will, instead, hold two smaller events at E3 for media and distributors, limited only to showing off new games.

Read More | Nintendo ]]> 2013-04-25T15:01:19+00:00 http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/nintendo-e3-media-briefing-2013-q213/ http://feeds.gearlive.com/~r/playfeed/~3/6zn-NjBuygM/ Corporate News, Hardware, Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live

Microsoft has announced that it will reveal the next Xbox on May 21st at an event to take place at the Xbox campus in Redmond. Gamers have been patiently waiting for an announcement from Microsoft on the next Xbox (codenamed Durango,) especially after Sony announced the Playstation 4 at an event in February. The company says that the event will "mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV, and entertainment." Aside from inviting select press to be on hand, the event will also be broadcast as it happens on Xbox LIVE for all to see. It'll also be broadcast on SPike TV for those who are in the US or Canada.

Don't expect all the info on the next Xbox to be revealed on the 21st, though. Microsoft says that they'll wait about three weeks before announcing the full line-up of games, which it'll do at E3. There's a lot riding on the next Xbox, which follows up the current generations most successful console, the Xbox 360.

Read More | Major Nelson ]]> 2013-04-24T18:08:09+00:00 http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/microsoft-next-xbox-may-21-q213/ http://feeds.gearlive.com/~r/playfeed/~3/fI1jcLx0uVM/ Microsoft, Xbox 360

This morning Xbox SmartGlass made its long-awaited debut on the Amazon Appstore. You can now download Microsoft's second-screen app for the Amazon Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD, fitting perfectly on the display of all Fire and Fire HD tablet models. With Xbox SmartGlass, which has been available for iOS, Windows, Windows Phone, and Android for the past six months, users can navigate and control their Xbox 360 consoles right from the tablet or smartphone.

Read More | Xbox SmartGlass for Kindle Fire ]]> 2013-04-22T18:04:15+00:00 http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/xbox-smartglass-amazon-kindle-fire-tablets-q213/ http://feeds.gearlive.com/~r/playfeed/~3/EEs4nkp_ANg/ Accessories, Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS, Portable/Mobile

Nintendo 3DS XL owners have been clamoring for the Circle Pad Pro for the past eight months, and Nintendo is finally set to deliver. The company has listed the Circle Pad Pro device, and it is set to ship tomorrow. The trade off? Look how ugly and uneven it looks. Sure, you get an extra analog controller over on the right-hand side of the device, but we have a hard time understanding why Nintendo couldn't have built-in this functionality right on the 3DS XL itself. Still, unsightly or not, you get a more ergonomic design. You'll be able to pick up a 3DS XL Circle Pad Pro for $20--it's compatible with select titles, including Kid Icarus: Uprising, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Resident Evil Revelations, and more.

Read More | Nintendo 3DS XL Circle Pad Pro ]]> 2013-04-19T04:13:03+00:00 http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/circle-pad-pro-nintendo-3ds-xl-q213/ http://feeds.gearlive.com/~r/playfeed/~3/TTb-AY96jLQ/ Electronic Arts, PC, Simulation

EA has announced this morning that SimCity will be coming to the Mac on June 11 by way of its Origin digital download service. While OS X users will have had to wait over two months since the release of SimCity for PC, they will have been spared all of the ridiculous drama that unfolded when the game launched and crushed EA servers, making it unplayable by those who paid for it for almost two weeks. Also of note, the Mac version was written entirely for OS X, so it's a native game.

Any Mac users looking forward to SimCity on OS X?

Read More | EA ]]> 2013-04-10T18:37:05+00:00 http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/simcity-mac-june-11-1.2-million-pc-copies-sold-q213/ http://feeds.gearlive.com/~r/playfeed/~3/Jaw6zAlVXQU/ Corporate News, Nintendo, Wii U

It looks like Nintendo's Wii U, the follow-up to the highly successful Wii, is continuing to falter in terms of sales. In fact, Gamasutra is reporting that it received a tip from someone with access to the latest NPD sales data for January, and it shows Wii U sales were well under 100,000 sold. In fact, it estimates that the number lies somewhere between 45k-59k for January. That is bad. To put that into perspective, the Wii U is not even four months old yet, and it has already sold less in January than the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or Nintendo Wii sold in any month, ever. Nintendo is going to have to do something about this fairly quickly. The Playstation 4 has already been unveiled, and the next Xbox is reportedly set for an unveiling next month, and you can bet that both of these consoles will offer "true" next-generation experiences.

Read More | Wii U ]]> 2013-04-08T20:39:13+00:00 http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/no-one-is-buying-the-wii-u-q213/