Microsoft Plans Event to Unveil Next-Gen Xbox Console

Microsoft announced this week that it has scheduled a special Xbox event to be held May 21 at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The company is expected to unveil its next-generation Xbox videogame console during the event, and is believed to be prepping the new console for a holiday release to compete with Sony’s anticipated PlayStation 4. Continue reading Microsoft Plans Event to Unveil Next-Gen Xbox Console

Xbox 360 Tops Sales Charts for 27th Consecutive Month

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was once again the best-selling game console in March, marking its 27th consecutive month topping the sales charts, according to The NPD Group. Microsoft reports that 261,000 Xbox 360s were sold last month in the U.S., while spending on related hardware, software and accessories totaled $402 million. While the Xbox beat Nintendo’s Wii U and Sony’s PlayStation 3, hardware sales were down from the previous year. Continue reading Xbox 360 Tops Sales Charts for 27th Consecutive Month

Gaming Takes Physical Therapy Program to the Next Level

At the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, doctors are taking a new approach to pain therapy. Patients are encouraged to be active through the use of interactive video gaming consoles such as the Xbox 360. This new type of therapy allows doctors to track data and progress of patients, while the children are physically and mentally stimulated in order to improve their health. Continue reading Gaming Takes Physical Therapy Program to the Next Level

DECE GM Answers Questions About Future of UltraViolet

Mark Teitell, GM of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, spoke recently during a Home Media Magazine UltraViolet presentation. Teitell says we should expect a marketing push this year and suggests there will be increased transparency involving the number of titles within the 12 million-plus UltraViolet accounts. During a Q&A session, he also addressed the status of UltraViolet’s Common File Format and in-home disc-to-digital efforts. Continue reading DECE GM Answers Questions About Future of UltraViolet

Details for New Xbox to be Revealed at Microsoft Event

Microsoft is planning to reveal the details of its new Xbox gaming console during an event on May 21, several weeks before the E3 video game conference. The console, code-named Durango, reportedly features a processor from chipmaker AMD along with new graphics enhancements. As part of its initiative to make the Xbox a hub for all entertainment, the company plans to sell its Mediaroom IPTV business to Ericsson. Continue reading Details for New Xbox to be Revealed at Microsoft Event

Microsoft Pays Startups to Create Software Using Kinect

Microsoft is introducing a company-funded incubator program in China for outside developers to build projects based on its popular Kinect technology, hoping to fuel innovation beyond gaming and into industries like healthcare and retail. Last year in Seattle, Microsoft gave select startups $20,000 each to create software, of which it requires no ownership stakes or intellectual property rights and has no veto power. Continue reading Microsoft Pays Startups to Create Software Using Kinect

Original Online Content: TV Pilots Finding New Audiences

Online streaming companies are beginning to pursue primetime programming. Amazon is producing original content now; Netflix is following its successful “House of Cards” with four more original programs; Microsoft is working on programming for the Xbox gaming console; while AOL, Sony and Twitter are all likely to follow in these footsteps. Will these companies change the way we watch TV? Continue reading Original Online Content: TV Pilots Finding New Audiences

ABC Unified: Disney to Use Nielsen Cross-Platform Metrics

As TV audiences increasingly turn to online options for content discovery and consumption, audience-measuring firms such as Nielsen have made necessary adjustments regarding cross-platform analysis. The potential of the new metrics will be tested with Disney’s new Unified initiative in which ABC, ABC Family and ESPN will start using Nielsen’s Online Campaign Ratings to sell their ad inventory. Continue reading ABC Unified: Disney to Use Nielsen Cross-Platform Metrics

Wearable Tech Gadgets Put Users Back in the Physical World

New trends in the tech gadget space are returning to a consumer more engaged with his or her surroundings. Whereas smartphones and computers require that people’s attention go toward a screen, pulling attention away from the real world, new innovations may lead to the consumer becoming once again more engaged with the physical world. Many of these new ideas involve wearable devices. Continue reading Wearable Tech Gadgets Put Users Back in the Physical World

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Talks Windows 8 and Surface

Technology Review interviews Microsoft’s chief executive Steve Ballmer about Windows 8, which the article refers to as the most ambitious and strangest major product ever released by the software mainstay. Windows 8 was designed to run on smartphones, tablets, laptops, servers and even on supercomputers and provides users with the same interface on any device, with minor variations from one to the next. Continue reading Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Talks Windows 8 and Surface

Nielsen to Redefine TV Ratings by Measuring New Platforms

Ratings company Nielsen announced this week it will expand its definition of television with a new comprehensive plan to measure video viewing across multiple platforms including broadband, Xbox and iPads. The decision to reach beyond traditional television viewing comes from the What Nielsen Measures Committee, a group comprised of members representing TV and cable networks, local TV stations, ad agencies and several big brand advertisers. Continue reading Nielsen to Redefine TV Ratings by Measuring New Platforms

Microsoft Talks Transition of Xbox into Entertainment Hub

Peter Kafka questioned Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, to kick off this year’s D:Dive Into Media conference in Dana Point, California. Alongside Mehdi was Nancy Tellem, corporate vice president at Microsoft LA Studios, and both were questioned about the company’s Xbox and how it is transforming from a gaming console into an entertainment hub. Continue reading Microsoft Talks Transition of Xbox into Entertainment Hub

Could Success of 4K TV Be in the Hands of Console Gamers?

The adoption of 4K TV technology could be in the hands of console gamers, if the history of HDTV is any indication. In 2005, when few households owned HDTVs, due largely to a lack of available HD content, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 helped transform the industry. “They gave people a reason to buy an HDTV and that gave content producers reason to invest in the formats it supported,” suggests Wired UK. Continue reading Could Success of 4K TV Be in the Hands of Console Gamers?

CES 2013: Illumiroom Set To Light Up Your Viewing Experience

Microsoft demonstrated a research project called Illumiroom at the Samsung CES keynote event. Illumiroom is a display technology that fills the room with images and lights beyond the traditional limitations of a television screen. For example, the technology was used to present a video of an individual playing Xbox games while providing the appearance that it was snowing in the room. Continue reading CES 2013: Illumiroom Set To Light Up Your Viewing Experience

With Steam Box, Valve Could Disrupt Big Game Console Makers

The three big game console makers — Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii — could see competition in the upcoming Steam Box from Valve. Gabe Newell, founder and CEO of Valve, explains the device is built around the company’s Steam service, which provides PC game publishers with a secure, turnkey solution for publishing, while offering gamers a central hub for buying thousands of titles. Continue reading With Steam Box, Valve Could Disrupt Big Game Console Makers